toes crack,
splash hooves
vines to veins,
algae to arteries.
lay your mane down in pond scum
let shadows displace thoughts—
hair grows over
where bones break
and rot your body lovely,
devour nights and days,
lie under tepid ripples
eyes shining golden
lips dripping eons,
teeth bared moonward.
let me take your hoof your hand
and swim once
and sink last.
The Dread Machine is run by passionate volunteers and funded by donations. We don’t have sponsors, and we don’t sell ads. Our community makes our work here possible. If you enjoy our stories, please consider joining our Patreon. Every penny we receive pays a writer and expands our library of content.
You run an illegal school for illegal children in an illegal township. You fight for a future your own child will never know.
Young ballerinas grapple with personal demons and their relentlessly ambitious ballet instructor.
A mother and her young daughter fight to survive in a world ravaged by an ongoing world war between megacorporations.
The gift of life after death takes an eerie turn when a beloved grandmother’s roots dig a bit too deep.
A hoarder acquires a unique jar from a new junk store. What’s inside? Nothing. There is nothing inside the jar. Nothing at all.
