Fiction

From the darkness it came, and in the darkness it hid. The beast that had been haunting their town, stealing the young women from their beds with no trace only to leave their bloodless bodies to be found three days later.

The sound of mournful wails had become the music of the village. So many daughters lost. So many families destroyed.

The fog that had rolled in to encompass everything made it seem as though the world itself was showing that the village was cursed. There had been no sun for the last seven months. Everyone’s skin had become pale and wan, the despair seeping into their very beings, stealing the joy from life.

Those that tried to leave the village would find their paths blocked. They would reach the woods surrounding the village and it was as though the trees would move and block the way. Shadows writhing amongst the limbs and branches, rattling the leaves, making ghostly hissing sounds that would build a sense of horror.

The few villagers that tried to force their way through the forest… disappeared. Their screams and wails of pain and fear would be in the night’s wind before trailing into horrifying silence. Telling their families and friends that they were gone forever, likely dead.

Hopefully dead.

Because there were things in the darkness. Frightening things that would come in the night. Rattling windows and doors. Scratching at the wood and bricks. Pulling at the roof thatch until pieces of straw and mud would be scattered on the ground below, warning that something had been on the roof, trying to work its way inside.

There were so many empty houses in the village. So many missing–dead–villagers. The fear of what was happening made the air thick and hard to breathe. The scarce food made them thin and weak. The not-knowingness of it all made everything so much worse.

There had been those that had insisted the village had become the food of vampires, but that had turned out to be wrong. And those foolish enough to put their faith into what was known about vampires had quickly discovered the error of their ways when they met whatever it was lurking in the darkness.

It did not require an invitation to come in.

=END=

~Harper Kingsley

https://paypal.me/harperkingsley.

https://patreon.com/harperkingsley.

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https://www.youtube.com/c/HarperKingsley.

https://amazon.com/shop/harperkingsley0.
https://www.harperkingsley.net/blog.
https://kimichee.com.

https://harperkingsley.bsky.social.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/HarperKingsley.

Sitting in an empty apartment on New Year’s Eve eating tacos dripping with hot sauce squeezed from branded sauce packets. Only a little inebriated, just enough that the fast food tacos seemed absolutely delicious.

He took a bite and thought of the meme he’d seen before: "Every time I go to Taco Bell I get diarrhea." — "Me personally, I get tacos."

It had made him laugh because he’d never had any trouble with Taco Bell food. The only thing better was when a Taco Bell was inside a KFC. A taco, a piece of chicken, and a cola were the trifecta of satisfaction. Mashed potatoes and gravy and a biscuit only made things that much better.

He was alone but didn’t feel lonely. Not with a box full of tacos to eat and his favorite live-streamer to keep him company.

The year had been a shitty one for nearly everyone he knew, but he had hope for the year ahead. Especially with his new favorite streamer promising to post more.

It was a little thing, but it was a spark of hope. That even if the rest of the world went to hell in a handbasket, there would at least be a bit of fun to look forward to. That human nature would let someone find even the tiniest bit of enthusiasm to hold onto.

The coming year might be horrible or it might be marvelous. Might be like a fast food taco or a gourmet taco. But the sauce would always be delicious.

And if he was lucky, there might be metaphorical fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and maybe a biscuit with honey butter. Because life was always better dripping in hot sauce and with tasty sides to enjoy.

"Happy New Year," he said, and took a big bite of another taco.

=END=

~Harper Kingsley

https://paypal.me/harperkingsley.

https://patreon.com/harperkingsley.

https://ko-fi.com/harperwck.

https://www.youtube.com/c/HarperKingsley.

https://amazon.com/shop/harperkingsley0.
https://www.harperkingsley.net/blog.
https://kimichee.com.

https://harperkingsley.bsky.social.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/HarperKingsley.

The freedom of the ocean. Drifting and soaring beneath the waves. Hair flowing behind as the mermaid hit top speed, tail flapping in smooth, powerful strokes. Gills drawing in deep even breaths, the oxygenated blood adding power to the humanlike arms that were dragging the mermaid forward through the water.

Escaping. Away.

The sound of the boat’s motor receding into the distance. The humans hopefully to be left far behind.

There was stinging pain where the corded strings of the fisherman’s net had dug into flesh and scales. Fingertips ached from the desperate struggle that had freed the mermaid to drop back into the water below, traumatized and panicked, fleeing with the desperation of someone that refused to be captured again.

The mermaid had been warned about the danger of humans, but it was this experience that hammered the point home.

Humans are dangerous.

The mermaid swam forward with amazing speed, then surfaced briefly to expel the last bit of oxygen from the largely vestigial humanlike lungs before plunging down into the deeps. Welcoming the pressure of the deeper depths that humans and their machines rarely visited. The safety of home. Where humans could not go.

=END=

~Harper Kingsley

https://paypal.me/harperkingsley.

https://patreon.com/harperkingsley.

https://ko-fi.com/harperwck.

https://www.youtube.com/c/HarperKingsley.

https://amazon.com/shop/harperkingsley0.
https://www.harperkingsley.net/blog.
https://kimichee.com.

https://harperkingsley.bsky.social.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/HarperKingsley.

The lock had no key. Not one that could be found anywhere in the house.

He knelt in front of the chest and tapped the lock with his finger, watching it swing back and forth. Taunting him.

He would have broken the chest open if it wasn’t built so sturdily. But it was solid metal with an enclosed hinge he couldn’t get at. There was no way to get it open without the key, not with the tools he had access to.

The letter that had accompanied the chest had said his heart’s desire was inside. Everything he wanted and needed was inside that chest. His life would be made complete and whole if he opened the chest.

The possibilities of what could be inside the chest taunted him. He had been living a fairly contented life until the chest had appeared, and after that he was tormented by his wonderings about what was inside.

Gold? Jewels? Straps of hundred dollar bills? The mystery was killing him.

The arrival of the chest had destroyed his contentment with his own life. He’d gone from waking up with a sense of enthusiasm for the day to come to a feeling of desperation as he remembered the chest and what might or might not be inside.

Ever since the chest had arrived two weeks before, he hadn’t had a complete night’s sleep. He would wake up and look at the chest, his mind unable to let it go. Wanting to know what was inside more than he wanted whatever was inside. The wondering was what tormented him.

What was his heart’s desire? He didn’t know. But somehow it was inside that chest. Waiting for him to open the chest and claim it as his own.

But there was no key, and even if he had the key, it would be of no use. The hole of the lock had been filled with a clear glue, something he had discovered when he had tried to pick the lock.

He hated whoever had sent him the chest. This mystery he could not solve because he lacked the necessary tools and didn’t trust to take it to anyone else that might decide to claim the contents for their own.

Before the chest arrived, he was happy.

He thought he had been happy.

But now he didn’t even know what happiness was. All he knew was that he wanted.

=END=

~Harper Kingsley

https://paypal.me/harperkingsley.

https://patreon.com/harperkingsley.

https://ko-fi.com/harperwck.

https://www.youtube.com/c/HarperKingsley.

https://amazon.com/shop/harperkingsley0.
https://www.harperkingsley.net/blog.
https://kimichee.com.

https://harperkingsley.bsky.social.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/HarperKingsley.