It toils below the surface. Powerful claws tear through the earth, mile after mile festooned with its larders. In summer it builds, waiting for harvest. It is ravenous, the last of its reserves have run out weeks ago. The first cool breeze draws it towards the surface. It is only a matter of time as […]
Thin Ice
The ice calls to her. Each winter as it creeps across the lake the deeply resonant song aches through her bones. It bids her to come, to commune with it, at least for a moment of intimacy. Even when Asta was a child she was unable to resist it’s gut deep hook. Tonight is no […]
Kissing Frogs
It was an auspicious day in Camelot, though perhaps all days were auspicious. Yes, it was especially auspicious, the bard even announced it. “Today is the day!” Or perhaps it was just dawn, the bard seemed especially efficient at announcing all things relating to King Arthur. It seemed the bard was especially effusive first thing […]
Sinners
“May God have mercy on your souls.” Several ‘souls’ slouched in the ramshackle pews. Summer, sweaty and halcyon by opposing measures eked on, throwing long shadows across the tiled floor. The very air was heavy, incense cloying as it wound its way along the nave. Once bright tapestries donated by “christians for youth” now hung […]
The Slug
If I hadn’t offered to park the car, I’d never have turned into a slug. Picture the scene, four women, one white BMW – that ridiculous NCR car park in Manchester. The one with the car trap walls, looming with the promise of lost no claims bonuses. Presentation, t-minus 30 minutes. Not a single space […]
Panic! At the social event
Right! Right. Right, right, right. Right? I’m here. Being here is the main thing. Being here with three cannibals, four axe murderers and one woman, so beautiful that she intimidates me. Right. I’m sure they’re all nice people. Well, maybe not the axe murderers. If you axe murder, you’re probably not a nice person. Cannibals […]
Circle
Inside no. 9 – Circle Mmmbop, duba, du bop, du. Hanson is on repeat, it’s the fourth time Elaine has heard the perky refrain. It clashes with the otherworldly aesthetic of Nine Below, all aurora and transparency. Roughly arranged blocks of ice form the furniture, draped with midnight blue blankets that reflect the star spangled […]
The Meeting
“You need to be here.” It’s an accusation, as bitter as their relationship has become. Hugh can hear it trickling through clipped tones, given colour by the angular set of Arthur’s frame. Arms are folded, anger the tight line of his brother’s jaw. Now their eyes won’t meet. Now their words are dagger-sharp, whet to […]
The Hand You’re Dealt
A sculpted eyebrow arched, challenge in her eyes. Do it. Ask the question no one else has been able to. I couldn’t help but be intrigued, hooked by the suggestion that I might get an answer to the mystery that had consumed us all. “Are you Emily or Amelie?” “Diamonds, definitely.” A vacuum appeared in […]
Paradise Lost
For our final week we were given a group task. We all had to create a character, and then write a story about that character in a setting chosen by the class. The setting was a convention run in the Paradise Hotel. Our character had to bump into at least two characters created by the […]