New Anthology Details!

New anthology details:

 

Theme: Post Apocalyptic/ End of the world

Word count: Anything up to 12,000

Deadline: 1st June 2018

Submissions/any questions: lockdown@writeme.com

 

(Previous anthologies can be seen at http://samiesands.com/books)

 

The Amulet Thief by Luanne Bennett

Fitheach blood doesn’t just run through the veins––it’s a binding contract that can never be broken.

Alex Kelley vanished twenty-one years ago––the night her mother was murdered. When she comes home to New York City, she wants just two things: a little peace, and answers about the unsolved murder and why she was abandoned in the middle of America at the age of eight.

Greer Sinclair, an enigmatic stranger who knows a little bit more than he should, just might give her both––and more if she’ll let him.

What is she?

What is he?

Who is this beguiling satyr who keeps coming between them?

She attracts the otherworldly like moths to a flame. And why does every stranger on the streets of Manhattan want a piece of her and that pendant hanging around her pretty little neck?

Maybe the answers are in a peculiar shop in the heart of Greenwich Village where ghosts, memories, and secrets are bursting from the walls and the books and the one person who knows her best.

The line between the mundane and supernatural worlds is starting to blur. Which side will she choose? Which would you? 

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Surviving the Aftermath by Liz Roberts

She's 1800 miles from home. Under normal circumstances that wouldn't be such bad news, but a year after the world has collapsed and zombies have over run the world, 1800 miles might as well be a million. She was on a work trip when zombies took over, now all she wants to do is get home. And she is finally in the same state. She has seen all manner of horrors on her travels, and she just wants this to be over. When she comes across other survivors it's a challenge to determine who's good and who's bad. Read as Jill must fight her way home, and meet possible new friend and enemies.

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I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll

An Amazon Charts bestseller.
What would it take to make you intervene?
When Ella Longfield overhears two attractive young men flirting with teenage girls on a train, she thinks nothing of it—until she realises they are fresh out of prison and her maternal instinct is put on high alert. But just as she’s decided to call for help, something stops her. The next day, she wakes up to the news that one of the girls—beautiful, green-eyed Anna Ballard—has disappeared.
A year later, Anna is still missing. Ella is wracked with guilt over what she failed to do, and she’s not the only one who can’t forget. Someone is sending her threatening letters—letters that make her fear for her life.
Then an anniversary appeal reveals that Anna’s friends and family might have something to hide. Anna’s best friend, Sarah, hasn’t been telling the whole truth about what really happened that night—and her parents have been keeping secrets of their own.
Someone knows where Anna is—and they’re not telling. But they are watching Ella.

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Unleash the Undead @SamieSands

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UK Link

Delve into the horrifying world of the zombie apocalypse, as bought to you by the following authors and artists:

J.L.Drake, Marina Hume, Matías Andrés Bravo Jara,Ana Prundaru, J.H., Dale Herring, Jonny Graham, Klarissa Del Rossario, Saadia Ammad, Akash Sagar, Rob Shepherd, Rhys Curtis-Thompson, Kayleigh Edwards, Diego Tonini, Lachelle Redd, Victoria Pagac, Noel Osualdini, Glen Holman, Mathias Jansson, Kyle Flak, Ceri Matthias, Gia Berryman, Max Ferreira, Diana Alexandru, Kevin S. Hall, Art Pic, Zoja Vladisavljevic, B.S. Purwanda and Samie Sands.

Unleash the Undead Sample

Michelle by Samie Sands

Where am I? What’s going on? My vision keeps blurring and I don’t know how to stop it. If I could just see straight for one second, I might be able to work out where I am.
Why does everything hurt? I keep grabbing hold of my leg, certain that there’s blood pouring from a wound somewhere, but I can’t remember enough to be sure.
What’s that noise? That groaning...the growling? I glance around wildly trying to locate the source of the hideous sound, but I’m dizzy...too dizzy...
I wake up collapsed in a heap on the ground. What happened to me? A face pops into my peripheral vision, is it someone I know? “Help,” I call out weakly, but my voice is too hoarse for it to be heard.
Then a flicker of memory returns. Zombies. Of course, everywhere is slowly becoming infested with zombies. Wasn’t I with people? Where are my group? I must have somehow gotten separated.
Panic sets in as I realize the person heading towards me is no longer alive. I try and force myself upright but the stress on my body is too much. I’m hurt, really injured. How did that happen? It’s damn annoying that I have no idea what led me to being here.
I shuffle backward, trying not to let that undead bastard get to me. This is seriously fucked up, who knew that I’d end up living smack bang in the middle of a horror movie? I want to laugh at the absurdity of the situation, but it’s far too tragic.
As the thing draws near enough for me to smell him, some sort of life-preserving adrenaline kicks in and I’m able to haul myself into an upright position, although I can’t muster up enough energy to run. I hobble along, grateful that zombies are so slow. If they weren’t I have to accept that I’d already be dead by now.
What I need to do is find myself somewhere to hide out until I recover enough to move at a reasonable pace, or at the very least until I have my memory back.
Think, think, think!
I finally find myself a large abandoned field, full of the remains of dead, eaten pigs so I know there must be some sort of sty around. Luckily, I’m right. Of course, it’s full of shit, but I’d rather suffer that than what’s out there.
As I sit, nestling myself in among the hay bales, I try and recall again. I have tiny flashes of memories, but every single one of them is about the infected. I know about them, what I need is something substantial, something that leads me somewhere or gives me something to do. I don’t want to be alone; I want to return to my group.
I know for a fact that I was with people, but who were they? Where are they now? I don’t know, maybe none of this matters. Maybe it’s better to assume they’re dead and concentrate on my own survival. It sure as hell doesn’t seem like they’re out looking for me.
I gasp in air, wishing I had something to eat or drink. This is a nightmare. My entire insides are starting to feel like sandpaper and it’s getting unbearable. Shouldn’t there be some sort of liquid here? This must be a farm; won’t there be a tap or something?
I sigh deeply as I realize that to survive I’m going to have to undo all my hard work and go back outside. Much as I’d love to just lay back and wait for what happens, I can’t. I’m not ready to die. If I’ve somehow managed to survive this far, there must be a reason for that. I don’t want to waste it.
As I stand this time, pain shoots up my leg and I can’t stop myself from calling out in agony. I tentatively look down at it, desperately hoping that I’m not going to see a bite. For all I haven’t remembered, I do know a zombie bite means certain death.
Images of me shuffling along, as undead as that man I saw before makes me feel physically sick. I don’t want to end up like that! I mean, I’m sure no one does but the thought actually repulses me. I clamp my teeth shut, trying to prevent the vomit from spilling out as I allow my gaze to drift down.
Unfortunately, as I finally witness what’s causing me pain, puke splatters on the ground regardless of my poor attempt. It isn’t a bite, but it’s most definitely an infected cut. The wound is almost black and the blood dripping from it has an unwelcome purple tinge.
I feel weaker the longer I look at it, but I can’t seem to drag my eyes away.  I try and force my brain to think of the water that I so desperately need, but still, my focus can’t be shifted. I try to move, internally screaming at myself to ignore it, but my heart has sunk so low I know it’ll never be far from my mind.
I’m going to die.
That thought hits me so powerfully I almost keel over with shock. Much as I think deep down I didn’t expect to survive forever, since the moment I set eyes on that zombie, to see my demise so clearly spelled out in front of me in unnerving, to say the least.
I halfheartedly wonder if any of the hospitals are open, but I know that idea is ridiculous. Any medical facility that doesn’t have its doors tightly locked with be infested with this undead virus. There’s no one to save me now.
I continue on my hunt for water, even though I no longer see the point. I just feel like sitting back and waiting for the painful death that awaits me is much less productive. As I spot a farmhouse I know my solution has been found. Now it’s just a case of approaching the place cautiously. What if there are zombies in there? Is it worth the risk?
Quickly deciding that there is no alternative, I step, wincing with every movement. Sometimes the pain shoots through me so violently a small part of me wants to give up. The walls of this building are very grubby, the windows covered in dirt. Maybe no one has been here for a long time. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that.
How long has this...zombie apocalypse been going on for?!
I wander up to the window, each movement increasingly difficult and I glance through with my heart pounding violently in my throat. I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so terrified in my entire life, I’m physically shaking. For a second, I think I hear something, but I quickly convince myself that it’s in my imagination. After all, fear manifests itself in many ways.
I reach the door and tentatively lift my hand before knocking quietly on the oversized wooden door. Nothing. I give it an experimental push and am filled with an overwhelming sense of relief when it swings open with ease.
I step inside the doorway, slamming the door behind me as I do. It makes a loud banging sound, which makes me cringe, but at least I can be certain that it’ll pull all the danger out to me here, where I can escape it. I don’t think I’m strong enough to go room to room, scanning the area for any potential threats.
It isn’t long until I hear a noise. My heart rate kicks up a notch, but it’s coming from upstairs so I know that I’ll have plenty of time to make my escape if it comes to it. So, for now, I’ll just wait.
Come on, come on, come on!
The shuffling is getting louder. I nearly break my stance and leave on more than one occasion, but fear and the knowledge that my leg isn’t going to get me far, keeps me locked in one place. If it turns out to be safe here, then I need this.
The person starts to appear in my peripheral vision, and my heart starts pounding harder, painfully so. I suck in a breath and hold it there for what feels like a few moments.
Then “Hello?” A small voice calls out. I’m so shocked by how human it sounds...I wasn’t expecting that at all.
“Hello?” I say back, with just as much tension.
“Are you...?” She says again, making it clear that it’s a young girl. I squint my eyes trying to gauge her age. Eight? Nine? “Are you one of them?”
I don’t respond for a second, confused, but of course, it all comes rushing back to me. She’s wondering if I’m a zombie, she probably doesn’t know too much about them to understand that they don’t talk. I take a moment to try and picture all of this through the eyes of a child but it’s too awful to comprehend.
“No, no I’m not one of them.” Silence fills the room. “Are you by yourself?” She continues to stay quiet. “Can I come up and see you?”
“Yes.” She whispers while glancing anxiously to her right. Something feels suspicious about this, there is something wrong. I should turn and make my escape, but something about this child tugs at my heartstrings.
I walk up the stairs one by one, all the while trying to figure out what’s going on here. A million possible scenarios spin through my mind, but none of them make much sense. Has this been going on for long enough for humanity to take a nosedive? For someone to kidnap a child or something equally as awful?
 I smile warmly as I reach the top, desperate for her to see that I’m not a threat, but her face stays stony. There is a lot of fear behind her eyes, but that could be linked to the nightmare that’s going on outside, there’s no real telling.
“Is this your house?” I ask, trying to break down her barrier, just a little bit.
Her lips purse into a thin line. She seems to think for a second before shaking her head violently. “No, but I do have a room here. Do you want to see it?”
“Yes please!” I say with a fake excited tone. Anything to give me some more information on this strange situation would be useful.
She takes me through a door into a princess-style little girls’ bedroom. I follow behind her as she shows me a few of the toys on offer. She seems very familiar with everything, which causes me to wonder how long she has been locked away in here.
“What have you been eating?” I ask her. If she has been surviving on her own, she must be doing something right. Much as my instinct is to protect her, maybe she doesn’t really need it!
“Look!” She announces proudly, showing me a large toy box filled with all sorts of goodies. Nothing particularly healthy, but a girl this young isn’t going to be focused on getting her 5-a-day. Especially not while she’s alone. I eye it, suddenly feeling ravenous. The girl must be able to sense my growing hunger because she quickly offers me three bags of crisps and a large chocolate bar, with a can of coke to wash it down.
I don’t know if I was a healthy eater before––my memory doesn’t extend to that, but this food is divine! I scoff it down so quickly that it isn’t long before my stomach starts to ache, making all my other injuries feel worse.
“You don’t look very well. Would you like to have a sleep?” This question feels like heaven to my ears and I quickly nod as I lie down.
“Thank you. Hey, before I nap, what’s your name?”
“Lizzie.” She replies with a smile. “What’s yours?”
My mind kicks into overdrive, trying to remember. A name calls out to me. I don’t know if it’s mine or not, but I say it anyway having nothing else to go on. “Michelle.”
“Michelle?” Michelle?!” I can hear a male and a female voice calling out for me. They are just within shouting distance, but my voice is hoarse, I can’t reply, however much I try. It’s my group, I know it is. I just can’t see them, I’m trapped somewhere, and I desperately need to alert them to my presence...
I jump up, sweat pouring down my face. That dream, it felt so real! Did that really happen? Did my group look for me but I couldn’t get their attention? I just don’t know what’s real or not anymore. I bang my head with my fist, desperate for my memories to return, but they won’t.
I look down to see an angelic looking Lizzie lay next to me in a deep slumber. I smile for a moment, taking in her youthful appearance. She has brunette shoulder-length hair which matches her hazel eyes. Her tattered dress has seen better days, but apart from that, she seems to be doing well. How has she coped by herself? Mind you...she never said there was no one else here...but I’m sure she would have done, wouldn’t she?
Suddenly I’m stunned into action as I spot blood all over my blanket––my blood.
“Shit, shit, shit...” I push the covers away to see the wound in my leg looking much, much worse. The gash seems deeper and larger. I glance wildly around the room before spotting a first aid pack.
Damn this girl is good! I can’t help but think. A little too good. Too prepared. My suspicions rise again, but I quash them while I focus on what needs to be done.
I yank out a bandage and wrap it around my leg, stopping the blood from splattering everywhere...for now at least. Then my eyes flick around the room trying to find...something. Anything to prove that my deep-rooted doubts might be right.
I don’t spot anything immediately am forced to tell myself to stop being stupid. There is no way a nine-year-old girl poses a threat to me, even in the state I’m in. It’s just the wound, the lack of memory and the strange situation making me paranoid. No, what I should be feeling is gratitude towards this young stranger who fed me, allowed me to rest and stay in her safe place. Having the liquid inside of me has made me feel a whole lot better. Maybe now is the time to consider moving.
But even the thought of leaving this cozy little room and going back out there into that nightmare fills me with an overpowering sense of dread. I’m much safer in here, indoors. Maybe it would be best for me to remain while I heal and regain my memories. Plus, I need to repay the favor and look after Lizzie in the way she has me.
“Are you ok?” Lizzie’s sweet, concerned voice interrupts my thoughts.
I turn to her and smile and nod. She looks relieved as she rushes over to her food box and gets us out some food. The thought of more junk food is already unappealing, but it isn’t like I have many options to me so I force it down, trying to be grateful.
“What do you do all day?” I ask her, wondering how on earth a young child doesn’t succumb to boredom, even with all these toys available.
A strange expression crosses her face. “Umm, well I just...I just, err, play mostly.” She stutters over her words and my senses heighten once more.
“It must be hard...being alone.” I keep my voice sounding casual.
“Well, now I have you!” She beams up at me, but I can’t turn the inkling off.
“How long have you been here?”
She goes quiet for a while. I keep my breathing steady and my expression neutral. She is only a child, I can outwit a kid if needs be. “I don’t...know.” She finally admits, a tear starting to slide down her cheek.
Despite everything, I sense that everything is still a little raw for her at the moment, so I chose not to push the issue further with her. I wouldn’t know how to cope with a child in the midst of a meltdown––I’m barely capable of caring for myself at the moment.
Instead, I chose a different tactic. “Is there a bathroom in here?”
Again, that odd look on her face. “Yeah, I’ll show you.”
“No, no.” I jump up as quickly as my injured body will let me. “I can find it. You stay here and play.”
Sensing there is no point in arguing with me, she nods but visibly recoils as if climbing back into her shell. This reconfirms that something is being hidden. I want to be proven wrong, but now I’m utterly convinced that there is a secret in this house. If I can get rid of whatever that is, maybe I can stay here. Maybe I can protect Lizzie from it too.
I creep across the landing, wincing every time a floorboard squeaks. I think back to the day before. When I had been speaking to Lizzie, she’d been looking off to one side. I consider the angle until I figure out which door she must have been looking into.
My head starts to thump as I stand in front of the room that I’m now positive contains all that’s bad about this house. I grip tightly onto the handle, willing myself to open it. But something is stopping me.
Did I always used to react in such a weedy way to danger?
I try not to get frustrated by my lack of knowledge but it’s such a hindrance. I gulp in a few deep breaths of air before doing what I need to and turning the knob.
Black.
I’m confronted with a room so dark, that it’s pitch black. I flick the light switch a few times before being forced to accept that it’s not working. My breathing quickly becomes labored as I hear a noise bursting from Lizzie’s room. This is going to be the best chance I get. I need to act now. If anyone else is here, and they become suspicious that I’m onto them, me and Lizzie will never be able to get out of here.
I think about her sweet innocent eyes. I know she wants to tell me what’s going on here––I could sense it––but she can’t. Whatever is here is scaring her and I need to put a stop to it.
I take one step. Nothing. Deep breath. Another. Creak, the floorboards reveal my location and the change in atmosphere is almost instant. I can almost hear everything inside my body working. But still nothing happens, so I step again.
Suddenly something grabs me and my breath catches in my throat. There are arms tight around me, pulling me. I’m terrified, a scream tries to rip from my chest, but before it gets the opportunity, something makes its way across my mouth, blocking my breathing completely. I struggle, but I’m weak, I stand no chance. Suddenly, I’m dizzy...too dizzy...
What’s going on?
My eyes flick open now and again over the next few days. The pain in my body seems to spread and worsen. I’m never aware enough to think or move. I have no idea where I am and no time to work it out before I black out all over again.
Everything has become nothing more than a blur. Until one day, a familiar voice works its way into my brain, giving me that much-needed reason to grasp onto it and hold on. “...but I don’t know...” Lizzie.
Her deep brown eyes work their way into my mind and that instinctive need to protect her reigns again. I beg and plead with myself to keep awake this time. I blink my eyes a few times but they hurt too much to keep them prized open. I try and move my limbs but quickly realize that they’re pinned down. Whoever has me here, doesn’t want to let me go.
Do they have Lizzie like this?
My body physically recoils as this prospect and my eyes snap open to scan the room. Despite the fact that they are aching and watering, they don’t close, not even to blink. I’m too afraid. I’m frightened of what might happen to little Lizzie. She only has me to defend her.
The room is dark, but I must have been here for a while because my vision has adjusted and I can start to make out shapes. Things are hanging from the wall...sharp things. Torture instruments? I can’t be sure. In this environment, in the zombie apocalypse, it may just be all the person has to defend themselves.
So why am I tied up? Am I being perceived as some type of threat? Why? I try to rack my brains but nothing of use is coming up. Just little flashes of a life before; of going out with my friends, of my office job, of my ex-boyfriend who I hadn’t ever gotten over...
Nothing that will help me now.
I try to turn my head around to each side, to see Lizzie, but I can’t. I start to pant with fear as I try to decide what to do next.
“Lizzie?” I finally whisper, realizing I have nothing to lose. I’m met with a horrifying silence. At least if she was here, I would be able to make sense of what is going on. While she is out of my sight, I have no idea what’s happening to her!
The door squeaks as it swings open. My pulse runs into overdrive. Fear consumes me, engulfs me and a stray tear rolls down my cheek.
Footsteps, too heavy to belong to a child. I start to breathe through my nose, to attempt to come across as calmer. It clearly doesn’t work as a masculine laugh booms out.
“No point Michelle,” He sneers my name. “I already know how afraid you are. Can’t you feel the wet patch between your legs?”
As soon as the unknown voice says this, I can and more tears follow. Soon I can’t deny that I’m crying.
“Lizzie speaks highly of you.” He says, with a teasing tone.
This instantly works and I’m riled up. “Don’t hurt Lizzie. She’s only a child!” I try to sound determined, menacing even, but I sound even more frightened than before.
He laughs again, then moves towards me. A shooting pain rapidly makes its way up my leg and I yell out in agony.
“I know how old Lizzie is.” He sounds more bemused than ever. “She’s my daughter.”
I can’t help but gasp. “No!”
“Oh yes. She lured you up here, to become my latest lab rat.” Another shooting pain, this time I clamp my lips together tightly. “You see, I can use your flesh to keep her happy, fed, while testing on your body and trying to find a cure.”
“Huh?” I can’t help but speak out in confusion; this is more messed up than ever. “But Lizzie isn’t infected?” This comes out as a question as it suddenly hits me how confused I’ve been. Maybe I have misread everything; after all, I’ve been pretty out of it.
“Not Lizzie,” He quickly dismisses me. “Erin, my eldest daughter. She got the virus pretty quickly and I’ve been working on a cure ever since. I don’t know how far off I am.”
He says this so conversationally, that he must be mental. A horrid thought hits me. “How many?” I ask warily. “How many test subjects have there been?”
“That’s neither here nor there.” He laughs. “They have been useful and that’s the main thing.” More pain. More yelling.
“Where is she?” I finally whisper.
“I’ll go and get her for you!” He says proudly, leaving the room.
“No!” I call out. I didn’t mean that.
But it’s too late. She’s already on her way; I can hear the snarling from here. The overwhelming rotten scent is trailing along the corridor with her. I wonder what Lizzie thinks about all of this? Who am I kidding, her dad is a psycho and she’s just going to do as she’s told.
A distinctly dead girl shuffles through the door. Chunks of flesh fall off her body as she moves. One thing is for sure, she has been this way for a very long time.
Her dad follows. “Come on baby, we have a new guest. Just because you’ve tasted her, doesn’t mean you know her yet!” He laughs and vomit pools around in my stomach. This is the most fucked up situation I think I could have ever found myself in! It’s worse than any nightmare.
As Erin gets closer to me, the worse she starts to look. Her skin is thick and grey, blood is coagulating right under the surface, drool is dripping from her mouth and entrails are flowing behind her. She’s revolting.
“Say hello to Michelle.” He says as if coaxing a toddler. She just turns to him and snarls. It’s then I notice the metal plate fixing her jaw in place. Who is this guy to have done that? It doesn’t bear thinking about.
He laughs loudly then turns to me. “Come on then Michelle, say hello to Erin.” I stare at him blankly. Is he serious? He moves closer, grabbing a blade as he does. He pricks the skin in my arm, causing me to bleed and riling up his undead daughter. “I said,” he spits at me. “Say hello to Erin.”
“Hello, Erin,” I mutter, now more pissed off than afraid. “What’s your name anyway?” I ask, pushing my luck more than I should for an obvious slab of meat.
“Michael.” He smiles at me, showing me his face clearly for the very first time. The most noticeable thing about him is his dark, psychotic-looking eyes. He isn’t right in the head, clearly. “Michael Denton.”
As he removes the zombie from the room, I shudder, but quickly realize my mistake. I know I had little chance of survival anyway, but now that I have seen his face and know his name, he will never let me leave. Not unless I kill him first. But how can I do that? I’m trapped, injured; he keeps slicing me up making me weaker and easier to control.
I need to act quickly.
Suddenly a shuffling grabs my attention. My eyes flick around the room, just to land on the shadow of a small girl.
“Lizzie?” I whisper desperately.
“Michelle?” The familiar voice comes back.
“Help me?” I plead. I need her to do it now before he comes back.
“I...I can’t I’m sorry.”
“Lizzie, you need to understand that what your father is doing is wrong. I know he’s your dad and you want to help him and your sister, but killing others isn’t the way. Whatever he has told you is a lie.” I need her to understand me, but I can’t go too far. I don’t want her to suspect that I’m going to kill him. She’ll never help me then, family bonds run too strongly.
She moves closer, glancing around as she does, before untying my arms. Relief floods through me as she comes to my aid. I honestly thought she’d be harder than that to convince. She must have been unhappy for a while.
I rub my aching wrists while trying to stand on my slashed legs. I turn to Lizzie, ready to plan, but as she stares back at me, her eyes have gone cold. I notice...something else.
“Mike isn’t my father.” She starts, holding her hands up so I don’t interrupt. “He has been helping me save my sister Erin. He’s been working for me.” She looks at me meaningfully as she says this last part as if she wants me to grasp something. My mind is too busy spinning in circles to work out what this is yet. “Although we aren’t there with a cure yet, Erin is being well fed which controls her to a degree, just to give us enough time to get this done.”
As she turns away, I catch a glimpse of the sweet nine-year-old girl I have come to know, but the cold, hardness quickly replaces this. “I like you, Michelle. I didn’t plan on you being an annoying one...you’re too chatty you’re going to be trouble.” When she turns back to me, she has a large knife in her hand. I shake my head, but she carries on. Shock keeps me rooted to the spot.
Slash.
Blood starts to pour from my neck. Memory flashes flicker before my eyes as the wooziness hits. I see the faces of my old group. Why did we get separated? If I was still with them, I wouldn’t be about to die at the hand of a sick, twisted little girl.
Slice.
My arm starts to ache with the tension of the deep cut Lizzie has just given me.
“You’re pathetic.” She sneers at me. “You could have been the cadaver to save the human race, to cure this and end the nightmare. Now you’re just another meal.”
As the blade cuts my skin again, my stomach this time, the door swings open. It’s Michael, the fake dad.
“What have you done?” He cries out. “For Christ’s sake Lizzie if you keep killing them we’ll never come up with a cure. I’m so close, I swear. It might be ages before we get another one!”
“Then go out and get one!” She screams in a menacing, but bratty, childish voice.
They continue to argue and plan between them as I drift in and out of consciousness. I want to move my body to the door, but I know I’ll never make it. I don’t want to accept defeat, but this is a war I can’t win.
The inevitable growling starts up and I mentally prepare myself for the searing pain of becoming food. I imagine having my flesh torn from my bones won’t be pleasurable...

 

Mutate @SamieSands

Amazon Link

UK Link

"Mutation is my favorite word these days. There is no other word to describe what I have become..."

They aren't human anymore, something has happened to them. Their DNA has changed leaving them something much more sinister. Do you dare find out what in Mutate? The anthology featuring the following stories and authors:

Empath by Matias Andres Bravo Jara
Squirm by Kevin S. Hall
Driven by Jonny Graham
Under the Bed by Alex Winck
Blood Pool by Katie Jaarsveld
Sticks and Stones by Mckenzie Richardson
Formula 831 Dave J. Suscheck
Nostradamus by Kally Jo Surbeck
Mutation by Rae Desmond Jones
Mutatis Mutandis by Rick Eddy
Outback Attack by Noel Osualdini
A Christmas Miracle by Andy Lockwood
The Stoat by Anthony V. Pugliese
Gruesome Green Ghost etc by Debbie Johnson
Black Roses by Max E. Stone
Claire’s House Excerpt by Linda Heavner Gerald
The Darkness of Light Places by Andrew Darlington
The Regular by Rob Shepherd
Zoey Meets A Cresent Witch by Linda Jenkinson
The Path Of The Warrior by Cecilia H. Doldan
Gluttony by Samie Sands

Mutate Sample

Gluttony by Samie Sands

Veronica Best stared at the chocolate cake sat in front of her, licking her lips hungrily. Much as she wanted to allow the melted sweet goodness to burst into her mouth, she forced herself to resist. It had been such a huge challenge for her to lose all of that weight, she didn’t want to blow it quite so quickly. She’d only been out of boot camp for a day, and much as this celebratory party was a bit inappropriate (the amount of sweet puddings available was just ridiculous!), she couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the support from her family.
She’d always been a fat little girl, and her childhood had been rife with teasing and taunts. This had escalated much further when she’d hit her teens, puberty was so cruel and the mild bullying became beatings, abuse and a huge online torrent of her classmates begging her to kill herself. Quite predictably she’d spiraled into a depression which hung over her like a black cloud way into her twenties.
In fact, it wasn’t until her 28^th birthday last year that she’d finally decided to take action. Still single, still stuck in a dead-end job and with her health rapidly deteriorating, Veronica decided to stop letting her past, others expectations, and food define her. She was young enough to turn it all around and if she didn’t, she’d surely regret it.
The boot camp therapist had advised her that the weight loss should only be the beginning of her transformation and that she should seriously consider other areas of her life that could be improved, which is why she started to form the plan for her worldwide trip. Sure, she wanted to fall in love, get married, have children, but she also wanted to escape the small town she’d spent her whole life in and take a look at what the rest of the world had to offer her, and she needed to do it now, before responsibilities tied her to one spot.
She had some savings, due to the fact that she went straight to work after school. Where everyone else progressed to college and university, Veronica wanted out so took the first job she could find in a greasy fish and chips takeaway. With no friends to socialize with and no desire for fancy clothes, all of Veronica’s earnings went into her bank account and sat there for years. Sure some of it had gone into her tiny, one bedroom flat (her pride and joy) but she had enough to at least go around Europe. After that, she could either decide that she’d had enough of traveling and return to real life, or she could get a working visa and continue her journey. For the first time in her life, Veronica didn’t know exactly what the future held and she was so excited about it.
Brian had worked with Veronica for years in the takeaway, and he’d always admired her from afar. Her weight had never been an issue for him, he was somewhat of an outsider himself, he liked her for her sarcastic put downs, her witty banter and the rare occasions she actually forgot herself and smiled. It became a personal mission of his to get this to happen as much as possible, and somewhere along the way he found himself thinking of her more than anyone or anything else.
Of course, she never noticed him, not really. He knew that she didn’t see him in the same way, but her indifference just seemed to intensify his feelings and their time apart when she went off to this boot camp had been more than unbearable for Brian. He’d been invited to her coming home party by her mother Marjorie because she didn’t want it to be only family members attending and she couldn’t think of a single friend that Veronica had. Marjorie was sure Veronica wouldn’t be grateful for the inclusion of her workmates but didn’t see any other option. Brian was over the moon for the opportunity to see her so quickly; he readily accepted the invitation fully armed with the knowledge that he would spend most of the night awkwardly stood by himself. After all, Veronica would be in demand and there wouldn’t be anyone else there that he knew. Still, he couldn’t miss it for the world.
As Brian watched Veronica salivating over the chocolate cake from the other side of the room, he felt a little sad. Sure she did look happier, healthier and a little less like the weight of the world was resting on her shoulders, but to deny herself something that she so clearly wanted was bound to bring about resentment in the end. He couldn’t help but feel that if she was going to struggle with her new diet that much, then she would never be able to come back to work at the takeaway. The smell of beef cooking on the fryer and salty chips was enough to get anyone’s mouths watering. Before he’d watched Veronica stuff food into her mouth whenever she felt like it, would she be able to resist just to keep her new shape?
The upset within him was already simmering away, even before he started to hear whispers around the room about a long European excursion Veronica was planning. Could that be true? His heart rate picked up and his hands started to drip with sweat at the thought. If she went again, who knows if she would ever return? If he wanted his shot with her, he was going to have to act quickly, but...he just wasn’t ready for that yet. After pining for her for so many years, to make her finally his he would have to do something spectacular, mind blowing. He began to tremble at the thought. Sure, he’d imagined kissing her, holding her, touching her many, many times, but only hypothetically. The possibility that this could become real was almost too much for him. The three beers he’d consumed already started to swirl violently in his stomach and he pushed his way to the front door, gasping for fresh air. If he could be certain of one thing, it’s that vomit certainly wouldn’t help his chances.
After everyone had left Veronica’s home that night, she immediately set about tossing out all the remaining food. The old version of herself would have polished off every scrap, and she wasn’t sure how far her self-control would last left to her own devices with all this temptation sat out in front of her. As her flat was finally clean, she got to thinking. Much as it was nice to be back, her little taste of another life (even if it had only been in a small confined boot camp) had got her desperate for more. She didn’t want to allow herself to settle back into her old, lazy ways, she wanted to act on her new found looks, confidence and attitude before it had the opportunity to wane. So with excitement still buzzing around in her system, she switched on her computer, ready to book her first ticket, confirming the trip she desired so badly.
As the sunlight started to stream through the curtains, Veronica was packed and ready to go. Sure, she knew her actions were drastic and nothing like the way she normally acted, but that just made them so damn thrilling. As soon as she had logged on, she started searching through travel websites and was shocked to see how good the last minute discounts were. Then, at some point around 3 am, she found herself mesmerized by photographs of Paris and her ticket was booked before she could think it through properly. In the grips of exhaustion and mania it had seemed like a good idea to go right away, and despite the nagging feeling that she was doing something a little naughty, she was still feeling good about her decision in the morning.
After booking her taxi to the airport, she fired off a quick text message to everyone that needed to know, before updating her Facebook status and switching off her phone. She didn’t need anyone telling her she was acting rashly, she didn’t want anyone putting doubts in her mind, she simply wanted to get on that plane and to escape to somewhere new and exciting. Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she locked her front door knowing she wouldn’t be back for quite some time.
“Gone to Paris. Be back soon…au revoir.” Brian kept running over the status over and over in his mind. Was this some sort of practical joke? He’d been up all night planning how he was finally going to woo Veronica and just like that, she was gone?! Last night it was all just a hushed whisper, now it was somehow really happening? And so quickly. Brian couldn’t believe his bad luck. His heart shattered into a million pieces as he realized that he might just have lost her forever.
Italy, Holland, Germany...Veronica saw them all and each one filled her with fire and vigor. They all had so much to offer, so much culture, art, history and the food...mmmm the food. She was careful of course, she didn’t want to return home fat again, but she was certain to taste all of the delicacies each new place had to offer.
The trip did so much for her; it made her feel happy again, as if she was finally an interesting person, with something to offer the world. Armed with all the new knowledge, and the new bodily shape that she’d acquired, she began to feel a new sensation within her. She began to feel sexy, lusting; she finally began to notice the opposite sex. She threw off her self-conscious shell that she’d worn her entire life, and began to engage in some light handed flirting. It never led to anything, of course, she wasn’t quite ready for that, but it was nice to feel attractive, wanted.  It was something that she hoped to get used to.
Most of the men she met were travelers like herself. Some alone, others in groups, but it seemed they were all trying to escape something or someone back home. A lot of people were heartbroken; some were running from their responsibilities. It seemed everyone had a story to tell, and that’s how Veronica’s light bulb moment came about, she was going to spend the rest of her life as a writer, and her story would begin now.
She began to travel to places she wouldn’t have considered before, just searching for that blast of inspiration, that unusual person, that risk she wouldn’t have even thought about taking before, all so that she could write it down in her journal that was slowly taking form as a story. It was for this reason alone, that the strange night in Albania occurred.
It had been recommended to her, by an odd fellow she’d met in a dive bar somewhere in Belgium and she’d finally decided to go and see what the fuss was all about. He’d ranted and raved about how unique it was, how she simply had to go there to see just what he meant. It was a beautiful place, much lovelier than she’d been expecting, full of historical building and white sandy beaches, but it just wasn’t as unusual as she would have liked. She wanted to stumble across somewhere quirky, somewhere like nowhere else she’d ever been...but it seemed like this wouldn’t be it.
As she checked into the B and B, she tried not to be disappointed, after all she was living the dream, finally doing something that others would be jealous of, and on top of that she had realized her lifelong desire at last, and she had the wonderful opportunity of time to follow it up. No, what she needed to do was make the best of her situation, so much had changed for her in the past year, she had so much to be grateful for, and finally so much to look forward to...and with that she resolved to make the best of her situation.
As she wandered the streets later that night, looking for somewhere to get the nightly glass of wine she had become accustomed to, things began to take the turn she had been asking for. As most unusual events do, it started with a man. A gorgeous, tanned, 6”2’ man with black hair and green eyes. It was the sort of man you simply couldn’t ignore, however much you wanted to. That wasn’t so much the unexpected part, Veronica noticed a lot of men these days, no, what was strange was despite the fact that the bar they were both in was filled with stunning, supermodel type women, he only appeared to have eyes for her.
Veronica had only just purchased her drink and he was already by her side, introducing himself (although she didn’t quite catch his name, the music was far too loud) and when she refused to dance on the basis that she couldn’t allow herself to embarrass them both, he dragged her over to meet his friends.
The night passed in a whirlwind of drinks, laughter, stupidity and googly eyes. The whole time Veronica was in a haze, blown away by the attention, not just from the guy she was now certain that she was falling in love with, but the whole group. They seemed almost fascinated by her, and for someone who had spent her entire life boring and hiding away, this was more intoxicating than the booze.
When they moved on to another bar, it was just assumed that she was going with them, and as the night became dawn and they descended into the forest for a campfire and more drinks, she automatically tagged along. The knowledge that she was probably completely and utterly lost in this foreign country no longer meant anything to her, she was following her heart. She finally had friends and a beautiful man who she couldn’t wait to kiss. If she did the sensible thing and left now, she just knew that she would be missing out on one of her life’s biggest adventures.
As the fire raged on, Veronica was slowly losing all of her senses. Having never been a big drinker, especially since losing weight, she thought the fact that she could no longer feel her legs and arms was normal, she thought everyone experienced a mad, never ending head rush when they’d had too many, she didn’t know that what she was drinking, wasn’t exactly normal...
And when her mystery guy leaned in, and his stubble tickled her chin as their lips finally met, the fireworks that exploded in her stomach consumed her and she knew she would never be the same again, she knew she’d changed irrevocably. What she didn’t realize was to the extent that this was true.
The next afternoon she finally awoke, surrounded by trees, covered in dirt and completely and utterly alone. Humiliated and with a throbbing head she forced herself into a sitting position and surveyed the scene. The remnants of the party were there; the burned-out fire, litter, cigarette ends, but not another soul. Grabbing onto the remaining clothes she had on, Veronica desperately tried to remember what had happened. The kiss that had felt so magical the night before was now tainted with humiliation, what she had thought was love (or at least lust) was just a simple ruse. Thank God she hadn’t had sex with him, as much as she did recall him trying; she refused to lose her virginity with other people watching. Being almost 30-years-old and still a virgin had made her a bit protective over her first time. How glad she was now in light of the fact that she was abandoned.
She stood up, trying to straighten herself out a bit. Much as she wanted to cry, she refused to let herself until she was safely back in the B and B with her belongings. How naive and stupid she’d acted in a strange country, in unknown territories, where she knew no one. Rubbing her face roughly, and becoming increasingly angry with herself, she started to walk. Trying to keep herself distracted so the fear that was bubbling away in her stomach wouldn’t consume her completely, she tried to analyze the flashbacks to piece together the events of the night; kissing, dancing, drug taking (she’d refused to take part in that having already been struggling to keep herself upright), vomit, more booze, singing, chanting....she shivered at the memory of the chanting. Although she could barely see by that point, she clearly remembered feeling eerie by the strange, demonic sounding words.
Someone had been spinning her, whispering in her ear...
And then nothing.
Although she was moving, seeming to function as normal, she felt very odd. Her limbs still felt stiff, frozen in position and her body felt tight, as if it had been through some weird changes. And she was hungry...hungrier than she’d ever been before. During the time that she’d allowed food to control her when she gave into every urge, and even during the first few days of boot camp when they were basically starving her, she’d never felt so hungry. She decided to focus on all the food she was going to order when she got back, choosing to ignore her diet for a day. After all she’d been through; she deserved a treat or two! But, for some strange reason, she didn’t feel like eating the things she usually loved so much; a fried breakfast, buttery toast, even thoughts of chocolate made her feel sick.
Deciding it must be the hangover, she continued making her way through the bushes and trees, growing gradually more distressed, wanting to make her way back. Animals scurried past her, and an odd sensation kept building up inside her, which she forced herself to ignore and push down. She didn’t want to...she couldn’t possibly...no, she mustn’t. All she needed to do was get back, everything else was just madness. This is why she’d never drunk before, it didn’t suit her. It made her act out of character, and this illness was just not worth it! If only she’d thought to update her mobile phone to work abroad before her hasty departure. If only she hadn’t acted so insanely...
Time passed, and Veronica still couldn’t find her way out. She was well and truly lost and it was starting to get dark. By this point, she was starting to get utterly terrified at the prospect of having to spend another night in the forest. She started to create unusual noises in her frightened mind, her imagination ran wild with terrifying possibilities and on top of this, she was starting to feel faint with exhaustion and hunger.
Collapsing to the ground, she allowed the tears to finally flow down her face. This rapidly developed from weeping to full blown body racking sobs. How had she allowed this to happen? She’d always been so careful, so sensible, and now she was stuck here, lost forever and she had no idea how to get herself out of the situation. She’d never been so out of control and it wasn’t something she enjoyed. A small furry rabbit crept up beside her and she felt oddly comforted by its presence. Much as she knew it wouldn’t defend her against any beast that wanted to eat her, at least she was no longer by herself.
The crying subsided as her eyes began to close, her brain and body finally giving in. It had been a long couple of days and she could only take so damn much...
The first thing Veronica noticed when her eyes finally opened was a bloody covered hand lay in front of her. She bolted upright, terrified, just to realize that it was her own. Then she noticed something else weird. She was no longer in the forest; she was back in her bedroom at the B and B. She pulled the duvet up to cover her, her heart pounding noisily in her throat. What had happened? How had she made it back here without even realizing it? That just wasn’t possible.
She ran her fingers through her matted hair whilst frantically trying to get her brain to remember. Surely the alcohol couldn’t have affected her that much, could it? She had an odd metallic taste in her mouth and it was making her uncomfortable. She grasped at the bedside cabinet, trying to locate the glass of water she always put there before bed, but instead found herself grabbing onto something hairy and squishy...
Veronica was still panting heavily as the boiling water rushed over her skin. She couldn’t believe what was happening, she had no idea how that dead rabbits’ head had made it into her room, and the more she tried to work it out, the more she realized that maybe ignorance was better. As the sensation in her hand had connected to her brain, the vomit had risen within her uncontrollably. She’d never been so sick in her life, and this time she was certain booze had nothing to do with it. The smell of the dead animal made her think its death had occurred long ago. Of course, she knew nothing about the death of animals. She bought all her meat pre-packaged from the supermarket. She never wanted to think about where it had come from, the idea of eating anything that used to live filled her with dread, but the taste of beef, pork, chicken...was just too nice to resist.
So many possibilities raged through her brain, each one more horrifying and less likely than the last. Veronica was certain that she was starting to go crazy and being alone was just allowing her imagination to wander freely. She needed to be out again, among people, in reality, so barely thinking she hurriedly shoved all of her belongings into her bag. She didn’t make a conscious decision to leave, but she had absolutely no reason to stay. She started to reason with herself that her location was the issue, that all she needed to do was get on the next plane and everything else would sort itself out.
She rushed out of the B and B, not daring to make eye contact with the lady on reception. She knew that the cleaning team was going to get one hell of a shock and she didn’t want to be there when it happened. She was so grateful that she’d paid for this room with cash so there would be no real way to trace her, who knows what would happen when the rabbit corpse and all the blood but she certainly didn’t want to be around to find out.
It wasn’t long before Veronica found herself standing in the airport looking blankly at the departure boards. She was feeling a little calmer now that she was in a more anonymous place, but all the oddities of the situation she had found herself in were still nagging away in her brain. How had she gotten back to the B and B? Why was that dead rabbit in her room? What had really happened to her in that forest? She knew she should stay to find out the truth, running away wouldn’t provide her with any answers, but she felt dirty, violated and all she wanted to do was escape.
Squeezing herself into the tiny seat on the short haul flight to Poland, Veronica noticed that she didn’t fit into it with quite the same ease as before. She looked down at herself, horrified. In all that had been going on, had she somehow forgotten to stick to her diet? There was certainly large blanks in her memory. Her nose started to sting as she held back the tears. She’d worked so damn hard, denied herself so much, how could she have just thrown it all away? But as she examined her body, she noticed that if anything, she actually looked slimmer than before. Deciding she was being paranoid, she settled down to shut her eyes. Getting a bit more sleep was the only way to put her Albanian experiences out of her mind for a little while.
Slugging back her fourth beer of the night, Veronica shook her head sadly. However much she tried to come up with any sort of rational explanation for her behavior, she just couldn’t. She wanted to put it all to the back of her mind, to forget about it and continue on with her journey (hence the quantity of alcohol she was putting away), but it was all far too overwhelming to forget about.
It wasn’t until beer number eight, when the bar was well and truly spinning, that Doug came up and spoke to Veronica. Just as she was standing up to leave, he swooped in a bought her another drink. Much as the humiliation from her previous sexual encounter still burned, the booze buzz was taking the edge off of it, and as the night wore on Doug’s wit and effortless charm started to bring down her walls. No one had ever made her feel so sexy, so funny, so exciting, not even the group in Albania, so as last calls were announced, she didn’t even hesitate when he offered her another drink in his hotel room.
As their clothes began to shed, Veronica was surprised to find that she wasn’t even nervous. She hadn’t told Doug that this would be her first time, not wanting to put him off and the way she expertly moving her hands up and down his body and kissing his neck, he would never have guessed. With each and every moment that passed, she felt bolder, more empowered so when he finally thrust into her she was more than ready.
Doug didn’t notice the pain, not right away. He felt Veronica bite him, but in a playful, sexual way. He was so glad to have found this girl, he hadn’t gotten laid for a couple of weeks and he was starting to get really desperate. It always gave him great joy to find a stumbling drunk girl, however hot she might be, because they were guaranteed to be an easy lay, and Veronica was no different.  In fact, if the red spots hadn’t splashed on her eyebrows, he might not have noticed for a lot longer. Slowing down, confused, he tried to find where the blood was coming from.
When he finally noticed the large chunk missing from his shoulder, he let out a blood-curdling scream. What the fuck had happened?! Did this crazy bitch actually eat some of him? As he stared, panic-stricken into her yellowing pupils, he finally saw the piece of his skin sticking out from the corner of her mouth, the blood stained teeth, and what appeared to be fangs. Gasping for air he tried to make sense of what he was seeing, but it was impossible. Things like this just don’t happen in real life. Was he dreaming? Could that be possible? But the agonizing pain was so intense; he could never have just imagined it.
Sensing that Doug was going to die anyway, Veronica did the only thing she could and continued to eat the meal she’d started. She didn’t feel good about doing it...she didn’t feel much of anything really, she wasn’t even sure that she was acting of her own will. But never one to leave food unnecessarily (until more recently of course) she sucked all the flesh off of Doug’s bones with great vigor. It was a shame, he seemed like a nice enough guy, but resisting temptation had never been Veronica’s strongest trait, especially when it was so close to her. The scent of Doug’s blood had just been too overpowering. It had completely consumed her; she didn’t stand a chance against it. It wasn’t her fault...
Veronica woke up in the graying sheets of the hotel room she’d picked during her shell-shocked arrival to Poland. She wished she had spent more time over her decision, especially when she noticed pet hair all over the floor. She’d stayed in some grubby places during her travels, but this had to be the worst. She was also incredibly annoyed at herself for drinking again. When she moved she discovered that she had the same headache as last time. Why did people ever do this to themselves? It was madness. If only Veronica hadn’t been so desperate to forget...
Doug.
Flashes of the night came back to her, all involving a handsome young man called Doug. She smiled at the memory of him; it was so nice after all this time to have men chatting her up. He couldn’t have been older than 22, and boy was he gorgeous, and interested in her...she still couldn’t get her head around it. It was only when she moved into a sitting position, and felt a painful sensation in a sensitive area, that the rest of the night came flooding back. The sex, her very first time had been a drunken one night stand?! She was all set to be disappointed with herself, when other, horrifying images entered her brain.
No, it wasn’t possible, she couldn’t have...she smacked her forehead hard, trying to get rid of everything she could see. She knew she’d been greedy, gluttonous in her life, but she would never ever eat someone. That would be insane! Not only that, it would make her a killer. Her breath got stuck in her throat as she considered the implications of this, a crime; she’d committed a very serious crime. She’d ended someone’s life! She tugged on the ends of her hair while she decided what her next move should be. What if she was found, arrested, locked away? She’d never survive in jail; she’d never done anything wrong before in her life, how on earth would someone like her be able to cope living around hardened criminals?
Pacing the room, trying to calm herself down and figure out an action plan, she tried to think carefully. No sign of Doug was here, they’d been in his hotel room. No one had seen her go there, unless they had CCTV. Maybe, just maybe if she went right away, she wouldn’t get caught. Of course, now she would absolutely have to go home, she couldn’t carry on like this, not knowing what was going on from one moment to the next. No, she needed to be in her familiar settings. Maybe some routine would bring her back down to normality. Maybe all this freedom was sending her insane.
Shoving on the first items of clothing she put her hand on she rushed out the hotel and crashed into a taxi. Her heart was thumping so loudly she was certain the taxi driver could hear it. Every noise, every bleep, every siren had her spinning around panicking. She couldn’t have looked more guilty if she’d tried. Because of her wild fears, it wasn’t until they pulled up at the airport that realized the clothes she had thrown on were blood stained.
Sliding the key into the lock she was utterly familiar with, fatigue finally hit Veronica. She was unbelievably happy to be back home. Whatever madness had consumed her in Europe, would no longer bother her now she was back. She never wanted to leave this town again; the travel bug had well and truly gone. All she wanted to do now was settle down into a steady routine, a life where she knew exactly what would be happening from one moment to the next. She’d experienced much more than she thought she would, and that was more than enough. Tomorrow she would go back to the takeaway and get her old job back.
Brian had scoured the Internet daily for signs of Veronica’s return. He would have even been happy with knowing anything about her whereabouts, but it seemed she’d been having far too much fun to update her Facebook status. So it was more than shocking when she stumbled into the takeaway on a cold, wet Thursday afternoon asking to come back to work.
Their boss was over the moon, Veronica had always been available to cover shifts last minute and she was a hard worker. He’d been so disappointed when she’d left so was more than eager to take her back on, especially when she said she could start work as soon as the weekend, but Brian was more dubious about her intentions. He’d seen how she’d struggled around food at her party and he thought after her travels she would be after more in her life. Why would she come back to this dead end job when she had the world at her feet? He would never leave, he had no confidence in himself that he could do anything else, but Veronica could. Sure she might not have the grades, but she didn’t lack the intelligence, the brain power. The fact that she had come back here with her tail between her legs wasn’t a good sign. Sure he was happy to have his shot with her, but he didn’t want her to be miserable.
However Veronica wasn’t miserable, she was numb, she felt nothing, she was like an empty vessel acting on autopilot. The more she thought about her travels, the less it seemed real. She started to become certain that she’d dreamt or made up most of it. Everyone was eager to know how she’d gotten on, especially since she hadn’t updated anyone since she’d been away. Her family were expecting to be bombarded with photographs and mementos, but nothing. It wasn’t even that she hadn’t bought them gifts; it seemed she didn’t have anything to remember her time by. It was weird, strange. For someone to go through such a life changing experience, just to change the subject every time it was brought up was more than unusual. Marjorie, Veronica’s mother, started to worry. The possibilities that she considered were terrifying. What if she’d been mugged, attacked, raped? What if someone had offered her drugs or something? The not knowing was worse, her imagination concocted terrible ideas, but much as she tried to reassure herself, to coax the truth out of Veronica, she simply wouldn’t say anything.
Then the first boy went missing. No one connected the two of course; no one assumed Veronica’s return could be linked to this boy’s disappearance, but she herself knew different. She’d thought returning to normal life would stop these strange occurrences, she’d tried so hard to keep to a routine so that she would be able to pick up on any changes in her behavior before they got out of control. But she hadn’t noticed, and now it was too late. Some stranger, a boy whose family had only moved to the town months before, was dead. And she had killed him. His severed head lay buried in the back of her wardrobe as evidence.
The moment Veronica had woken up she’d known. The familiar pounding headache had been there, merrily thumping away. As soon as she’d noticed this, her stomach had started to swirl with terror. She had walked slowly into the bathroom, unsure of what she would see, and when she looked in the mirror; it was worse than she could have ever imagined. Blood had been dripping down her chin, her pupils had a yellowish tint to then and pieces of skin were sticking out from under her nails.
She washed quickly, the headache making it a real struggle for her to think, to decide what to do. All the possible victims rushed through her brain. As she couldn’t remember, she had no idea who she’d killed and that was the most frightening thing of all. What if she had killed her own family? Her mother? Surely now she was in her hometown, she couldn’t hide from her crimes. She wasn’t anonymous here, and her victim wouldn’t be either. In her state of shock, she had rushed down the stairs, dripping wet and fully naked, just trying to make some sort of rational decision. She couldn’t work out whether she should run, turn herself in or just do nothing and wait to be caught. Much as the last option filled her with dread, the idea of constantly looking over her shoulder was very unappealing, but it took no bravery, and she certainly didn’t feel brave anymore.
Then she tripped over the head. The scream that ripped from her chest was piercing, loud enough to break windows, but luckily if anyone heard her, they didn’t come to her rescue. Wanting to buy herself some time, she’d hidden the unrecognizable head, and it was still there three days later.
A massive manhunt had started and everyone in the town had joined in the search. No one knew the family well so no one knew if this behavior was out of character. Whispers started to arise that maybe he’d simply run away and if they just left him to it, he would return in no time. Veronica refused to join in with the gossip that accompanied these theories, having a hard enough time keeping her secrets locked away inside as it was.
After a week or so, interest began to wane. The family were still upset of course, but everyone else felt that they’d done all they could—they still had their own lives to contend with after all—and normal life resumed. Well, for everyone except Veronica. She was now petrified, barely sleeping and constantly on edge and the change didn’t go unnoticed to Brian. This was made even worse when Marjorie phoned him up to ask him what he thought of her new behavior. The only time she had spoken to him, was to invite him to the party, so the fact that she was calling him now, meant that she truly was serious. He was frightened, but relieved to know he wasn’t the only one to have spotted it. The conspired together to figure out what was going on once and for all.
Veronica was more relieved than she ever thought she would be about being back to work. Being in a familiar environment, completing tasks that she knew very well was comforting. The monotony of the job brought her an inner peace she didn’t think she would ever be able to experience again and with no new events occurring, she started to allow herself to relax. Brian’s incessant questioning about her travels started off as highly annoying. Couldn’t he see that she just wanted to forget all about it? But soon she realized that she needed to give him some information, just to get him off her back. She knew her silence on the subject was suspicious, and she didn’t want any ambiguity surrounding her at all.
As she slowly opened up, the information began to flow. Soon she lost control of her tongue and even started to speak of her experience in Albania. She just about caught herself before she said too much, but Brian's ears were still pricked by the knowledge. The way she’d stopped her sentence in the middle told him that this was the clue he needed. Albania was the key. Whatever happened to
Veronica started there, he was certain of it.
He arrived home that evening, determined to research Albania. He wasn’t sure what he would find; cults, drug scenes, sex trafficking...he knew he would have to put his feelings aside for the time being to discover the truth. Whatever it might be could hurt his feelings, but this wasn’t about him. It was about saving the girl he was now certain that he was in love with.
Weeks passed and Brian’s research led him nowhere. Albania was a big place, full of all sorts of weird and wonderful things. With that as the only clue, he was struggling. He needed something else, anything, and he decided to turn to Marjorie for further help. She suggested that Brain follow Veronica. Her behavior hadn’t improved at all, if anything it was worse, and she was starting to get really desperate. She secretly thought about putting up cameras inside her daughter’s home, but knew that would be an unforgivable invasion of her privacy. Sending Brian after her was a step too far, but she couldn’t do nothing.
Brains sweat glands went into overdrive at the prospect of stalking Veronica. He was far more excited by the idea than he should have been. He knew that if she caught him, he would ruin his chances forever, but he simply couldn’t stand to see her the way she currently was. He wanted the old Veronica back, the one he loved so dearly. He decided to start as early as the next day after their shift together at work. The sooner things went back to normal the better. If only she had been happy with the way she was and hadn’t gone to that stupid boot camp, then the rest of it would never have happened.
As the work day came to a close, Veronica was relieved. She was finally starting to recognize the symptoms growing within her and they were coming. A small part of her was also convinced that she could trace the days back until when it was going to happen again, but of that, she wasn’t positive. She knew it was possible that she could be so desperate for an answer that she was finding things that weren’t there. She could have just been looking at the whole thing like a menstrual cycle; trying to link it all to something she knew for a fact was real.
She sighed heavily as she threw on her oversized coat. It was much too warm for this attire, but she’d taken to trying to hide herself under her clothes. She was so consumed by her own paranoia, her own thoughts that she didn’t notice Brian acting shifty. She was so concerned with her own behavior that he didn’t even register, which meant it was pretty easy for him to follow her all the way home. She moved a lot quicker these days, but of course, Brian was undercover, in his car.
He parked a little way down the street, but the urge to watch her inside her own home was far too tempting, so he edged his car closer, praying she wouldn’t see him. For the first time in his life, he was in luck. Maybe he was designed to do this. If he’d known how easy it would be to follow Veronica, he might have done it sooner to find out what he could do to make her notice him at last, to make her fall in love with him.
He watched her through the slats in her blinds, pacing the room wildly. She was rapidly biting down her nails and Brian wondered what had her so worried. This continued for hours. She didn’t stop to eat, drink or relax. It didn’t even look as if she was going to sleep; she just kept pacing up and down, up and down. Brian became weary. He considered going home to bed himself, after all, he was back at work at 8.30am, but something kept him there. He was troubled by what he was seeing, so he stayed.
The hours ticked on and Brian struggled to keep his eyes open, but he was so frightened of missing anything that he forced himself to stay awake. This was more important than his job, Veronica was worth it. He was rewarded for his persistence. At approximately 5am, Veronica stopped dead in the middle of the room. Brian sat up in his seat, surprised by this new development. He couldn’t see fully, but he could tell that she was shaking, changing. He gripped tighter onto his mobile phone, wondering if it was time to ring the emergency services if she was having a fit or something, but an instinct within him told him to just wait...
Soon she exited her house, looking for prey. Brian was frozen to his seat, unable to believe what he was seeing. His fingers trembled as he hit the buttons on his mobile, but he didn’t look away to see what he was doing. She was moving closer. She hadn’t seen him yet, but she had sensed him. Fear struck his heart, he felt encased in ice as she reached the car door. He gasped air, unable to keep quiet as she leaned down to make eye contact with him.
“Brian,” she smiled warmly. “What are you doing out here? Come in for a drink.”
He nodded meekly without replying and followed her indoors, his legs trembling the entire time. He knew he had to follow her inside, otherwise, he would be forced to explain his behavior, but he desperately didn’t want to. For some unknown reason, he no longer wanted to know the truth, he didn’t want to help Veronica anymore, he just wanted to get as far away from her as possible.
“I like you, Brian,” Veronica’s silky voice continued as she poured him a glass of red wine. “I’ve always felt that we’ve had a...connection. Don’t you think so?” She sat close to him as she handed him his drink. He nodded again, still unable to form a coherent sentence and before he could get his head straight, her lips had found their way onto his.
He didn’t kiss her back at first, but she persisted until another part of Brian’s anatomy started to make his decisions for him. His logical thought process simply disappeared as he realized that he was finally about to get what he’d been desiring for a very long time, and with no real effort on his part.
She stripped him sensually and he got completely and utterly lost in his lust for her. He had imagined seeing her naked for such a long time, but having her in front of him for real, was a whole new level. Her body was firm, tight and curvaceous in all the right places, not like he had imagined it to be at all. Her fingers traced up and down his body and he almost lost himself there and then. He closed his eyes, trying to pace himself, trying to calm himself down.
He kept that way until a searing pain tore from the top of his thigh. He snapped his eyes open staring down to where she was sat, panicked. He didn’t expect her to be into anything kinky and he didn’t know how he felt about it at all. But of course, what he saw was much more terrifying.
Seeing Veronica as something other than herself was confusing, hard to take in and process and dealing with that on top of the muscle and flesh that had been stripped from his body, made Brian became woozy. His vision blurred and he tried to focus on the yellow eyes of the hairy beast in front of him, trying to spot any sign of the girl he knew so well, the one he loved so deeply, but he couldn’t recognize her at all. Was it possible that this wasn’t Veronica? That this monster had eaten her? No, he was certain that this was her, he already knew something odd had happened to her while she was traveling, he just hadn’t expected to find her so very different, so badly changed. No longer human.
His mind swirled with all the new information, but he couldn’t make anything sink in. He knew he might die; the pain was reminding him that the possibility of death was a very real one, and if he didn’t make it, he needed the world to know what had become of him. He tried texting Marjorie again, but couldn’t see the screen or press the buttons. Before the panic made the thought process impossible, he decided to escape.
He could hear Veronica chewing on the section of him she had eaten, so he knew that meant he had a limited time to escape. He could feel the pool of blood collecting underneath him, but he had no idea what had become of his clothes so he chose to make a break for it and rush away naked. When people saw his injuries, they wouldn’t blame him for his indecent exposure, and if he got out quickly, he might make it to a hospital just in time to give himself a small shot at survival.
He pushed himself upright, trying to do it quietly, but Veronica was on top of him before he could get too far. She licked his neck, but Brian felt nothing but revulsion, he knew it wouldn’t be long until her teeth pierced his skin again, and he wasn’t sure that he could survive a bite so close to his brain.
“Veronica?” he coughed loudly, desperate to get her to stop. If he could just make her realize who she really was, and who he was, he might stand a chance. “Baby? Um...” He tried to act normal; he didn’t want to startle her. “Maybe we should...get another drink...and...” She stopped to listen and he maneuvered from beneath her. “Take this to the bedroom?” She allowed Brian to move, and he did so as quickly as his ailing body would let him, all the while trying to keep the natural expression on his face.
They stood staring at each other for a while, in a strange standoff. Neither moving, neither speaking, Brian too afraid to even blink. His heart was racing, almost bursting from his chest with the pressure. The sweat was pouring down his back, making him feel uncomfortable and stinging the large wound in his leg. He tried shuffling backward slightly, and when Veronica didn’t react he couldn’t stop the audible sigh of relief that passed his lips. He moved quicker, acting as if he was going up the stairs, before bolting as fast as his ailing body would let him towards the doorway.
Of course, he didn’t make it, he hadn’t really expected to. It had been more of a hope than anything. He wept as Veronica ate him, he didn’t fight back or take the pain like a man. He simply lay on the floor crying pathetically. He had never achieved anything great with his life; he had been a sad shell of a man since the moment he was born. His death was met with the same attitude he took to his life. Brian finally died as his heart was torn from his chest, leaving the world unfulfilled and having achieved nothing.
Marjorie watched the news panicked. Brian’s disappearance had caused more of a stir in the local community, not only was he well known, but he was also the second male to go missing in a few short days. This time she watched the report with a heavy heart. She knew Veronica had killed Brian (and probably the other victim) and she knew she had sent him to his death. But how could she report Veronica, her own daughter, for this crime? She couldn’t, she knew it wasn’t within her nature, she knew for a fact that there was far more to it than met the eye and she couldn’t bear to see her baby locked up over something she was certain wasn’t her fault.
She read the texts again, trying to decipher them. Brian was obviously terrified when he’d written them as they barely made any sense. “Veronica leaving the house. Albania happened.” Was the first baffling message she’d received. She had been asleep when it came through or she might have been able to do something. “Hairy. Blood, bitten leg. V#@+.” Was the second and last message. Could Brian have been onto something? If only he had survived to tell her what he knew.
Marjorie decided to do a little bit of online research before finally facing Veronica. She knew her daughter must be scared, confused, like a little girl at the moment, having killed one of her friends, but she wanted to be armed with some knowledge first. Who knows how far she would go, maybe she wouldn’t even recognize her own mother. She certainly didn’t want to end up dead too. The news continued in the background, spitting out stories of a burned woman seeking revenge on men as a possible theory. Marjorie tuned it out and tried to discover what she could from the little information she had.
Veronica sat by the bloody remains of Brian, shellshocked. The last thing she remembered was returning home and locking the door after work. She couldn’t remember Brian coming round or anything. How had this happened? She had been so desperate to contain herself, to stop herself from killing again, but she hadn’t. She no longer had any control over herself and that was an utterly terrifying prospect.
She liked Brian, not in that way, but he was a good friend. Sure he’d never dropped by before unannounced, but he could have been worried about her. She had certainly been acting strangely. If it wasn’t for the takeaway ID badge lay taunting her on her blood stained carpet, she wouldn’t have even known the identity of her victim.
Veronica didn’t move. She just waited. She didn’t turn on the television; she knew this would be dominating the local news. She didn’t hide the body. She didn’t contact anyone. She just waited for the inevitable knock at the door, the police arrest. Much as she hadn’t been in control during her crimes, she knew the punishment would be justified. People can’t just murder without consequences.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
It was almost a relief when it eventually came; Veronica rushed to the door, eager to get it over with. At least behind bars, she couldn’t cause any more damage. But to her great surprise, her mother forced her way inside quickly, slamming the door behind her. Veronica didn’t even have time to hide the evidence from her, but it didn’t seem necessary. It appeared that she already knew everything.
“Albania.” She only needed to say the one word, and Veronica crumbled to the ground. She’d changed in Albania, she knew that, and somehow her mother now did too. “We have to go back.” She shook her head violently. “I know you don’t want to, but they did something to you. A gang...did you meet some sort of gang?” The man with black hair, green eyes and the large group of friends. She nodded. “They’ve cursed you, worked upon your biggest weakness. In your case gluttony—I’m sorry to say that, I know that will upset you. But they have turned you into a beast obsessed with eating. You’re some sort of werewolf.”
Veronica tried to process the information, but she couldn’t make it sink in. She’d spent the entire plane ride going over and over what her mother had told her, but it still didn’t make any sense. Sure, it did explain her behavior, the feeding, the blood, the cannibalism, but there was just one teeny tiny fatal flaw in the theory. Werewolves weren’t real; they were simply a mythological creature. Much as she wanted to believe it, she couldn’t. And now she was back on the turf she’d internally vowed to never set foot on again. Not only that, she was with her mother.
Marjorie hadn’t mentioned the murders, now was not the time. That was something that they could deal with together once this whole mess was over. She had mental blinkers on, just concentrating on the task at hand. She was hoping once that was dealt with, everything else would fall into place. Her online research had given her the name and address of someone that could help her, and she was desperately hoping that it was accurate.
Veronica stepped into the taxi, still not saying a word. Since they’d landed, her mother had talked non-stop about what they had to do next. She didn’t seem to mind the silence, though; it was almost as if she was just saying it all to herself as a coping mechanism of some sort. She watched the streets whiz past the window as the car moved, not recognizing any of it. If something so significant hadn’t happened here, she would be starting to question whether or not she had actually been here. Finally, the emotion started to catch up with her and her breath caught in her throat. She tried to keep the tears silent but found it impossible to do so. Too much had happened, too much had changed, it was all too overwhelming. All Veronica wanted to do was go back to before she’d even gone to boot camp. Even fat and miserable was better than this.
Her heart pounded ferociously as her mother knocked tenderly on the conspicuous black wooden door. She had no idea what to expect and all of this was making it more real to her than anything else had. Even waking up with a corpse at her feet had felt like nothing more than a terrible nightmare. This was something else. Her panic levels began to rapidly shoot up; her neck and back felt sweaty, her mouth ran dry and her body began to tremble. The door started to swing, but before she could see anything, everything went black.
Veronica lifted her head gingerly, expecting a pounding headache which never made an appearance. She sat upright, taking in the strange, witch-like decor of the unfamiliar room. It took a few minutes for her to remember everything and work out where she was. Luckily, for the time being, she was alone, so she could take the time to figure out what her next move should be. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, allowing a weird tangy scent to infect her nostrils, which made her feel slightly dizzy. As she snapped her eyes open, she became convinced that she was dreaming, because there was no way the sight before her could be real.
Him. The mystery man, the one responsible for bringing her into the dangerous situation, for changing her, for leaving her. She wanted to be angry, she was certain that she was furious, but he was gliding towards her, his lips puckering and a warm, calming, loving sensation overcame her. Knowing she should hate herself, she let him in again, she was intoxicated by him, she let him kiss her.
Time passed, Veronica had no idea how long. After all, she’d been kissing the love of her life for what felt like forever, and to be perfectly honest, she didn’t want it to end. Anything before this meeting had vanished from her mind, she couldn’t remember his rejection, her misdemeanors, all that mattered was him and her in this moment. As he pulled away, she felt him take a part of her heart with him, but her head also cleared in the process. Her mother. She’d came here with her, looking for a cure. What the hell was she playing at wasting time?!
She hurried into the next room, pushing past her mystery man, not even taking the time to consider what his being there could possibly mean. Did she really expect to find a cure in the home containing the man that did this to her? She moved from room to room, each one as empty as the last. The house that had looked so small from the outside, was huge, never ending. And she was about to find out why.
Swinging the door open to the biggest room in the house, she found it filled with five beings. At first, she thought they were human, but as she moved towards them, it quickly became clear that they were not. It was as if the closer she got, the more they changed into their real forms. As she looked down at her hands and spotted the light layer of hair starting to cover her skin, she realized that she was too.
“Welcome,” a pretty wood nymph type girl stepped towards her, offering a comforting handshake. “Gluttony, it’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Greed.”
Veronica looked around the group in shock as they all introduced themselves. Wrath was a human-dragon cross, Sloth was an ugly troll, Pride had snakes cascading from her head, and Envy looked very similar to a Minotaur. But there was one missing, there were seven deadly sins, everyone knew that.
“Lust.” She span around, her heart constricting at the familiar voice. It was him, the love of her life. An incubus it would seem. From the reaction of the other girls in the room, Veronica certainly wasn’t the love of his life. Despite all the bizarre activities occurring around her, she still felt the sting of humiliation. “In case you haven’t already guessed, we’re the Devil's minions, forced to do his bidding because of the dreadful ways we lived our lives.” Veronica couldn’t help but be shocked by this. She was being punished for eating too much?! Her thoughts were quickly interrupted. “We all have our own methods of killing, obviously yours is via eating during the period of the full moon. Each soul you murder is destined to an eternity in Hell.”
She gasped at this. Brian, he’d cared about her and not only had she murdered him; she’d sent him to Hell. That was worse than anything she could ever imagine. “The previous Gluttony is dead—you aren’t the first. He wanted out, he tried to kill himself but of course, we can’t, so he told someone of our existence and now he and everyone he discussed us with is also in Hell, but I imagine his fate is much worse than anyone else’s. I’m just warning you, you can’t escape this...ever.” 
But Veronica was no longer listening. “Mum?” she whispered sadly, already knowing the answer.
“Already dealt with,” Wrath snapped at her. “Now enough of this, we all have a job to do.”
With that they all scattered, leaving the room empty, leaving her to deal with her grief. So this was to be her new life now? She was a killing machine and there was nothing she could do about it? She didn’t want to end up in the pits of Hell, but she didn’t want to condemn anyone else to that fate either. She tried to debate her options, but something about this building, this place, made her feel empowered by her new power. She had never been anyone important before, and now she was one of the seven most deadly people on the planet. She looked down at the thick hair now completely covering her, knowing it was making her think irrationally, but no longer caring.
Instead, she started to follow her instincts. Something inside of her took over and she went where her heart took her. The next time she was aware she was feasting on the remains of what she knew was her mother, and she didn’t even care. She’d become cold, desensitized. Absolutely perfect for the Devil's work.