you can hear it
the cracking, the slurping
(the screams cut short)
you know what it means
but you mustn’t look back
you can feel it
a whisper of fabric
light as thought
whooshing behind you
but you mustn’t look back
the fragrance follows you
cloying floral notes mixed with
the stench of iron
memories almost make you smile
but you mustn’t look back
you recognize the hummed lullaby
unheard for a decade
you don’t know how Mom
returned, how she found you
but you mustn’t look back
These 23 works of dark speculative fiction demand readers consider the following:
Who do we become when we only have ourselves for company? What remains when we've sacrificed too much? Where do the babies really come from?
A woman and her illegal child attempt to make it past Border Enforcement.
Ciphers flicker and spin like firemoths in the lambent glow // Bending and twisting in cyclone contortions // Trembling at the touch of my haptic caress
An alluring insect seduces an unhappily married man on a second honeymoon with his equally unhappy wife.
