Breathless

Mark Steinwachs's avatarPen of the Damned

His wide eyes shadow my every move, veins throb in his neck. A look I’ve seen numerous times. Lying stomach-down, each limb bound to the table I bolted in place. He shakes, sweat plastering cropped hair to his skull. The acrid smell of urine and sweat fills my soundproofed basement. An odor I’ve learned to ignore. Can he? I’ve never asked them, not even the ones who lasted a while.

He struggled at first, like they all do, but the bonds are too tight. Any background noise will ruin what I need. The ball gag is slick with saliva but muffles the sounds. Situations like this remind me that humans are animals—base, instinctual creatures. We’ve grown arrogant because we have thumbs and big brains.

He started with questions. Like a dentist talking to a patient, I understood every word—and ignored him. Then he begged, pleaded. Cried. Screamed.

They’re all the…

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Fetchling

Nina D'Arcangela's avatarPen of the Damned

Flash!

The light strobes; its flare blinding.

Flash!

The heat from the bulb dries the sweat from my face.

Flash!

My eyes slam shut; they flicker open to rivulets of blood running down my thighs.

Flash!

She screams for me to turn back to the camera. A line of spittle draws its way past the rag in my mouth; drips from my wet chin.

Flash!

An involuntary blink, I jerk and turn away; this enrages her.

Soothing darkness falls; I feel movement within the shadows.

The dog whip sounds its crack just beyond my right ear. Her intent to miss, I’m certain; we’ve been at this for hours.

Crack again, this time it strikes my bare shoulder. Another flick and the skin shreds, the blackness so acute I can hear her draw back for another strike. I scream through the gag, this pleases her; she returns to the camera.

Flash!

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FREE Download: Mental Ward: Experiments | May 25-29 | Only on Amazon!

Sirens Call Publications's avatarThe Sirens Song

Free Download

May 25th – 29th on Amazon!

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Mental Ward: Experiments

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We’ll take fine care of your loved one – no need to worry…

A dank basement, shadow filled hallways, the deep echo of a metal latch being thrown while faint screams are heard… These are the things you might experience in a place where the unspeakable happens, where conscientious action and moral turpitude turn a blind eye in the interest of advancing one’s own personal pursuits in the most deranged and unjustifiable manner. The type of place where power corrupts, and depravity runs rampant among those imbued with it. A place where the unfortunate are abandoned to the devices of those who convince themselves their actions are in the best interest of science.

Mental Ward: Experiments is a collection of ten short stories that demonstrate the worst of humanity’s ambition in the interest of ‘civilized’ advancement. Step into a…

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FREE Download: Wicked Deeds | May 15-19 | Only on Amazon!

FREE for 5 days!

Sirens Call Publications's avatarThe Sirens Song

Free Download

May 15th – 19th on Amazon!

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Wicked Deeds
Witches, Warlocks, Demons and Other Evil Doers

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Sometimes wicked people do wicked things simply because they can…

The twelve stories in Wicked Deeds tell tales of witches and warlocks with ill intent, devilish demons bent on destruction, and other doers of evil who make the world a terrifying place.

What is a mother to do when her daughter is gifted but lives under the thumb of her fanatical preacher husband who will brook no talk of the supernatural? What of a demon so desperate to free himself of a trap that he will force another to repeat his atrocities and condemn a young boy to his demonic fate? Or maybe the story of a crotchety old witch with a score to settle against the town she lives in is more to your liking – what evil will the seemingly harmless…

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FREE Download: Through Clouded Eyes | May 10-14 | Only on Amazon!

FREE for 5 days! ‘Through Clouded Eyes’, an anthology from Sirens Call Publications.

Sirens Call Publications's avatarThe Sirens Song

Free Download

May 10th – 14th on Amazon!

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Through Clouded Eyes
A Zombies Point of View

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Through Clouded Eyes: A Zombie’s Point of View: a collection of twelve stories told from the Zombie’s perspective.

They’re shambling toward you, feet dragging on the broken roadway. Arms outstretched, faces slack, they move as if they’re tracking your scent on the wind. You want to run, but you know there’s nowhere to hide.

Aware of their insatiable hunger, fear paralyzes you. These things were once human, people someone loved. Is there anything left inside them – some sliver of humanity that may save you from this nightmare? Your mind doesn’t want to accept the inevitable, a single thought consumes you: what are they thinking?

With your chance of escape dwindling, you snap out of it and run like hell knowing there is little to no hope; fate is coming for you. Soon…

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Free Kindle Book! — What Dwells Below

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What Dwells Below — free download available for 5 days!

The 12 tales in this anthology explore urban horrors waiting just below our feet…

Visit Amazon to grab a copy before the giveaway ends!

Get it here, on Amazon!

Sleep Tight

New horror fiction from author, Charles Gramlich on Pen of the Damned!

Charles Gramlich's avatarPen of the Damned

You wake beneath the glow of a urine-yellow nightlight shaped like a crescent moon. From the hall outside your bedroom comes a susurration of sound, a crippled shuffle, like rotted feet dragging themselves to bone on a sandpaper carpet.

Your heartbeat speeds. Sticky mouth dries. You sit up in vomit-clotted sheets. You’ve been sick, but you’re better now. Much, much better. Thanks to Momma.

But that sound. It’s almost midnight, the dregs of the day. Who is coming? Who is coming to your room in the hollow of the dark?

Something wet slaps against the old porcelain doorknob. It turns, scritches open on hinges that are more rust than iron. A bulk leans its head within, dressed in a pale wrapper of cloth under which odd shapes pulse and squirm. You’re reminded of a grubworm you once dug up in the garden—when there was still a garden. It’s just Momma.

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New Release: Safe Harbor

My latest in horror fiction, Safe Harbor is now available on Amazon!

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A group of strangers are trapped together in a hotel room. Outside, roam creatures risen from the sea…

RELEASE: The Sirens Call eZine Spring 2020 Edition – Issue 49 | FREE Online #Horror & #DarkFic #eZine #magazine @Sirens_Call

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The 49th issue of The Sirens Call eZine is out! Packed full of horror fiction, poetry, and art! Free to download and read!

Click to access SirensCallEZine_March2020.pdf

 

via RELEASE: The Sirens Call eZine Spring 2020 Edition – Issue 49 | FREE Online #Horror & #DarkFic #eZine #magazine @Sirens_Call