Unravel Read online

  ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA was nominated for the 2017 Pushcart Prize in Poetry, has been internationally published, and won poetry awards from numerous publications. She is the author of 9 poetry books. Christine lives in Delaware, USA. She loves gardening and cooking. Chris lives with her husband and two cats. Her most recent credits are: Burningword Literary Journal; Ethos Literary Journal, North of Oxford, Pomona Valley Review, Page & Spine, West Texas Literary Review, The Hungry Chimera, Sheila-Na-Gig, Pangolin Review, Foliate Oak Review, Better Than Starbucks!, The Write Launch, The Stray Branch, The McKinley Review, Fourth & Sycamore.

  The Cross and Dollar Gang

  by Pamela Jeffs

  Smoke rises from the end of Inspector Carnegie’s cigar. A man in a suit, murdered, lies at his feet uncaring of the fumes.

  There’s only one clue in the room. Bloody footprints on the carpet. Carnegie’s partner, Phillips, rolls the body over.

  Another clue.

  The corpse has two symbols painted on its forehead. A cross and a dollar sign.

  Phillips recoils. “Is that what I think it is?”

  Carnegie sucks in another breath of smoke. The burning end of his cigar brightens then fades back to dull ember. “Yup. Looks like the Cross and Dollar gang are back in town.”

  PAMELA JEFFS is a speculative fiction author living in Queensland, Australia with her husband and two daughters. She is a member of the Queensland Writers’ Centre and has had numerous short fiction pieces published in recent national and international anthologies. In 2017 and again in 2018, Pamela was nominated for an Australian Aurealis Award in the category of ‘Best Science Fiction Short Story’. Her debut collection titled ’Red Hour and Other Strange Tales’ was released in March 2018.

  Website: www.pamelajeffs.com

  Facebook: pamelajeffsauthor

  New Message

  by Brian Rosenberger

  To: Melody

  CC:

  BC:

  Subject: Update

  Sorry for the chaos. My upstairs neighbour (that one) had her apt broken into. Her TV, a bag of frozen tater tots and jewellery were stolen.

  The cops questioned me. I said I wasn’t home.

  Later, I surveyed the crime scene and saw no visible damage.

  Anyway, dinner is still on. About 7 yrs old. Poor little thing. I know you prefer the taste of tender flesh. She’s still draining. About to don the butcher’s apron (and nothing else). How’s that for a tease?

  See you soon. Bring an appetite. No snackin!!!

  The Chef

  BRIAN ROSENBERGER lives in a cellar in Marietta, GA (USA) and writes by the light of captured fireflies. He is the author of As the Worms Turns and three poetry collections. He is also a featured contributor to the Pro-Wrestling literary collection, Three-Way Dance, available from Gimmick Press.

  Facebook: HeWhoSuffers

  Obsession

  by Carole de Monclin

  I’d spotted him or found proof he’d lurked undetected enough times to know anywhere, anytime existed the possibility he was watching me. Despite having repeatedly cheated and lied, the bastard claimed he loved me.

  He’d created a nightmare where he was always on my mind.

  Just when I considered involving the police, he vanished. No more calls, messages, or sightings. Friends told me he was seeing someone.

  How sweet freedom tasted.

  Months passed before I accepted another man’s invitation.

  I was leaving my apartment to meet my date when a hard hand closed over my mouth.

  “You belong to me.”

  CAROLE DE MONCLIN travels both the real world and imaginary ones. She’s lived in France, Australia, and the USA; visited 25+ countries; and explored Mars, Ceres, and many distant planets. She writes to invite people on a journey. Stories have found her for as long as she can remember, be it in a cave in Victoria, the smile of a baby in Paris, or a museum in Florida.

  Website: CaroledeMonclin.com

  Twitter: @CaroledeMonclin

  The World’s Greatest Artist

  by Charlotte O’Farrell

  Verity made the trip to see the world’s most famous painting every year with her elderly father. They waited for the quieter times so they could be alone with it.

  They admired the artistry, the pure talent. They gushed over each masterful brushstroke.

  She took his hand.

  “You did a great job, Dad,” she whispered. It was the same thing she told him every year. And he had: in the fifty years since he’d replaced the painting with his forgery, no-one had guessed.

  They left the museum and looked forward to seeing the real thing hanging up in their cellar.

  CHARLOTTE O’FARRELL is a lifelong horror fan who writes about all manner of the weird and wonderful. Her work can be found at the Drabble, the Rock N Roll Horror Zine and Horror Tree, among other places.

  Twitter: @ChaOFarrell

  Caught Red-Handed

  by Rowanne S. Carberry

  Sammie looks up as she hears the bell above the door. Her heart skips a beat as two officers walk into the shop.

  “Good morning, officers.”

  “We’re here about Chris.”

  Straight to the point. It takes all her strength not to look down.

  “I haven’t seen Chris in weeks,” Sammie replies.

  After asking a few questions the officers go to leave until they look down.

  Both pulling out a Taser, they’re pointed at Sammie.

  “Hands in the air!”

  Everything freezes. She tries to work out how she’s been caught, then she sees the stream of blood from under the counter.

  ROWANNE S. CARBERRY was born in England in 1990, where she stills lives now with her cat Wolverine. Rowanne has always loved writing, and her first poem was published at the age of 15, but her ambition has always been to help people. Rowanne studied at the University of Sunderland where she completed combined honours of Psychology with Drama. Rowanne writes to offer others an escape. Although Rowanne writes in varied genres each story or poem she writes will often have a darkness to it, which helped coin her brand, Poisoned Quill Writing – Wicked words from a poisoned quill.

  Facebook: PoisonedQuillWriting

  Instagram: @poisoned_quill_writing

  Living Forever

  by Charlotte O’Farrell

  WHAT SHOULD I DO? I’M SCARED. Fiona texted, tears in her eyes.

  After a pause, the reply appeared: FOLLOW YOUR HEART.

  Grandpa was the wisest person when he was alive. It was comforting to have his sayings frozen in time and repeated back to her via the Live Forever app. As soon as his funeral was done, she’d uploaded all their old conversations into it.

  But it didn’t help her decide where to hide the bodies, and the smell in her basement was starting to get unbearable. Grandpa always dumped his victims in the quarry, but that seemed too predictable.

  CHARLOTTE O’FARRELL is a lifelong horror fan who writes about all manner of the weird and wonderful. Her work can be found at the Drabble, the Rock N Roll Horror Zine and Horror Tree, among other places.

  Twitter: @ChaOFarrell

  Thieves and Cigarettes

  by Rhiannon Bird

  He puffed his last cigarette as he crept towards the store. There was no one else in the street.

  “You sure that it’s disabled?” he said into the phone.

  “No alarms, just like every other time, Boss,” the youngster replied lazily. He took a last glance around and threw a rock through the glass. Instantly an alarm rang out. “Shit, there must be a secondary system we didn’t know about,” the youngster said, but he was already running, he would not be caught.

  It was only once he was a safe distance away he realised the half-smoked cigarette was gone.

  RHIANNON BIRD is a young aspiring author. She has a passion for words and storytelling. Rhiannon has her own quotes blog; Thoughts of a Writer. She has had 4 works published. This includes 3 short stories and 2 poems.
These are published on Eskimo pie, Literary yard, Down in the Dirt Magazine and Short break fiction. She can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

  Mrs. McAdilly’s Garden

  by Shelly Jarvis

  Alice McAdilly was eighty-seven years old when they found the bodies.

  She lived in a nursing home in the Garden District, with views of devil’s trumpet and yellow queen, the air thickly scented with coral honeysuckle.

  She watched officers pass under thick-limbed trees that offered swathes of shade from the oppressive New Orleans heat.

  “We found thirteen bodies under your house.”

  She shook her head. “Should be fifteen.”

  “Why’d you do it?”

  Her milky eyes took on a faraway look. “Why does anyone do anything? Because I wanted to. Because I could. I just gave the bastards what they deserved.”

  SHELLY JARVIS is a speculative fiction author from West Virginia, US. She found a life-long love of sci-fi and fantasy in the 3rd grade when she found Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time.” Shelly is an avid reader, a Whovian, the ideal viewer of dog rescue videos, and undoubtedly Ravenclaw. She currently has three YA sci-fi books available for purchase on Amazon.

  Website: www.ShellyJarvis.com

  The Rat

  by Roxanne Dent

  Bennie the Rat knocked back his seventh Blue Ruin as the blonde bombshell with gams that wouldn’t quit walked in. Her eyes passed over me and settled on Bennie as she sauntered up to the bar.

  The doll leaned over, and I heard her whisper, “Eddy the Carp sends his regards.” She straightened up and winked at me before she sashayed out.

  Bennie was so sloshed it took three minutes for him to drop, another five for the rest of us to realise the dame had buried a shiv in his ribs and Bennie the rat was stone cold dead.

  ROXANNE DENT has sold nine novels and dozens of short stories in a variety of genres including Paranormal Fantasy, Regency, Mystery, Horror and YA. She has also co-authored short stories and plays with her sister, Karen Dent. Member of New England Horror Writers, The Fiction Writers Guild, Berlin Writers Group, Essex Writers and Artists Group.

  Third Round

  by Sam M. Phillips

  My opponent might look tough—a mean faced boxer ready to knock my block off—but what he has to dish out is nothing compared to the punishment waiting for me if I don’t deliver.

  I suppose, in the end, it’s just my stupid pride getting hurt. Yeah, I’m thirteen for zero, all of them knockouts, but everyone loses eventually. It’s just the business we’re in.

  Off to the side of the ring, I can see his goons watching. I’ll be dead before I leave the building if I don’t take a dive, third round.

  And they’ve got my daughter.

  SAM M. PHILLIPS is the co-founder of Zombie Pirate Publishing, producing short story anthologies and helping emerging writers. His own work has appeared in dozens of anthologies and magazines such as Full Moon Slaughter 2, 13 Bites Volumes IV and V, Rejected for Content 6, and Dastaan World Magazine. He lives in the green valleys of northern New South Wales, Australia, and enjoys reading, walking, and playing drums in the death metal band Decryptus.

  Website: zombiepiratepublishing.com

  Blog: bigconfusingwords.wordpress.com

  The Colour Red

  by Lyndsey Ellis-Holloway

  “It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?” she asked with a smile, glancing over her shoulder at the detective.

  “Put the weapon down, Ma’am,” the detective replied gently, hand lingering over his own gun.

  “What a perfect sunset! What stunning colours! That red! I’ll miss this.”

  She smiled before she took a long sip of wine. “I do so love the colour red...he always looked good in it, too.”

  Placing her wine glass and the gun on the table beside her she turned to face the detective, her blue eyes lingering on her husband’s corpse. “Goodbye, darling. Rest in peace.”

  LYNDSEY ELLIS-HOLLOWAY is a writer from Knaresborough, UK. She writes fantasy, sci-fi, horror and dystopian stories, focussing on compelling characters and layering in myth and legend at every opportunity. When she’s not writing she spends time with her husband, her dogs and her friends enjoying activities such as walking, movies, conventions and of course writing for fun as well!

  Jack and Jill

  by Gabriella Balcom

  “Let me show you the best way to cut,” Jack said, demonstrating with a knife. “You want to hit the jugular the first time and not have to try again.” He smiled because killing was enjoyable, regardless of how it was done. Afterward, he guided Jill in washing the body in the shower, wiping down everything, checking the drain for hair and debris, and vacuuming.

  “Here’s my favourite way,” he said days later, pointing to the vat of acid he’d prepared.

  “Nice.” Jill nodded approvingly. “I love these names you’ve chosen for us, too.”

  Jack grinned. “They’ll never catch us.”

  GABRIELLA BALCOM lives in Texas with her family, loves reading and writing, and thinks she was born with a book in her hands. She works in a mental health field, and writes fantasy, horror/thriller, romance, children’s stories, and sci-fi. She likes travelling, music, good shows, photography, history, interesting tales, and animals. Gabriella says she’s a sucker for a great story and loves forests, mountains, and back roads which might lead who knows where. She has a weakness for lasagne, garlic bread, tacos, cheese, and chocolate, but not necessarily in that order.

  Facebook: GabriellaBalcom.lonestarauthor

  Eye on the Prize

  by Crystal L. Kirkham

  The necklace sparkled under the dim illumination from the security lights. A one of a kind that she couldn’t wait to hold. Lifting the protective glass, she held her breath. Silence.

  She exhaled with relief and lifted her sparkly prize from the display. It was heavier than she’d expected. Knowing she shouldn’t, she placed it around her neck. It suited her.

  Too bad this was for a client. Slipping it in her pocket, she crept out, locking doors behind her. No one would know she’d been here. One last job and she’d spend the rest of her life in luxury.

  CRYSTAL L. KIRKHAM resides in a small hamlet west of Red Deer, Alberta. She’s an avid outdoors person, unrepentant coffee addict, part-time foodie, servant to a wonderful feline, and companion to two delightfully hilarious canines. She will neither confirm nor deny the rumours regarding the heart in a jar on her desk and the bottle of reader’s tears right next to it. Her paranormal urban fantasy series, Saints and Sinners, is available on Amazon and her YA Fantasy, Feathers and Fae will be released October 11, 2019, from Kyanite Publishing.

  Website: www.crystallkirkham.com

  To See Myself Bleed

  by Cindar Harrell

  I’ve always wondered what my insides look like. I suppose it is an obsession of mine. What colour is my blood? How pink are my lungs as they take in air? How fast does my bleeding heart beat?

  I look at myself all day, but it’s not really me. They always say that it’s what’s inside that counts.

  Today, I prove them right. I take the scalpel and turn to view my face, contorted in terror as my sister struggles.

  “That’s the thing I love about twins...our minds are different, but inside and out, we are just the same.”

  CINDAR HARRELL loves fairy tales, especially ones with a dark twist. Her stories are often fairy tale inspired, but she is also working on a mystery series. Her stories can be found on Amazon and in various anthologies. You can follow her on Facebook and visit her blog, which she promises to try and update more often,

  Website: cindarharrell.wordpress.com

  Facebook: CindarHarrell

  Sprinkled in With the Sugar

  by Michael D. Davis

  I must say, it was rather easy. I had most of the things I needed on hand before I even decided anything. The wine glass I used had been gathering dust for years,
I don’t even remember where we got it. The pot I broke it into was just one I don’t use anymore, no special reason. To grind the shards down into tiny sprinkles of light, I used a variety of items. Then I just mixed them into the frosting.

  We always have cupcakes for my son’s birthday parties, that is if his father doesn’t eat them all first.

  MICHAEL D. DAVIS was born and raised in a small town in Iowa. A high school graduate and avid reader he has aspired to be a writer for years. Having written over thirty short stories, ranging in genre from comedy to horror from flash fiction to novella. He continues in his accursed pursuit of a career in the written word and in his hunt Michael’s love for stories in all genres and mediums will not falter.