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A while back I wrote a short story for the Scare-Us event over on LitReactor that I’ve been meaning to do something with for a while. The premise behind the event was to write a story that involved a unique creature involving at least three deaths set in your hometown. Here’s a cover idea that I whipped up to go along with the story.

Cover for “A Thousand Cuts”

It should be ready to push out to Amazon here in the next couple of days, Until then, here’s a little taste from the beginning:

A Thousand Cuts – Excerpt

We were a happy couple, Catharine and I, moving from an apartment of little more than two rooms, into our very first real home. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was ours and that was all that really mattered. Catharine’s parents had known the old widower who lived next door for years and were good friends with his two daughters. When he passed, Mr. Gallinulae willed the property to his children. Neither of the women could use the place, and Catharine’s parents knew we were looking for something larger now that we had Julia. They helped us negotiate with the Gallinulae women, now Mrs. Nosopsyllus and Mrs. Pulex, to buy the place.

In the new house, Julia would get a room all to herself. Her crib had occupied the corner of our bedroom for just over year and a half. Now she was going to be sleeping in a “big girl bed” in her own room. She was so happy with her newfound independence, and Catharine and I were looking forward to a little more privacy.

Samson, our big orange cat, was as ornery as ever. His royal highness could not stand the indignity of being stuffed into a carrier. He scratched me good across the bridge of my nose, along my right arm, and just about anywhere else he could bring a claw to bear when I forced him into the cage. I’m sure that obstinate feline damaged the hearing in my right ear with his yowls. If the trip to the new house had been any longer than the five minutes it took to cross town that wild beast would have clawed his way through the carrier’s thin plastic.

I wonder if that was what started it? Did they smell the fresh blood from my injuries? Did the prospect of fresh food wake them from their slumber?

UPDATE:

A Thousand Cuts is in the process of being published on Amazon and should be live in the next 12~24 hours or so. I’ve already got the link setup to the right. Yay!

~ by Chris on .

Tags: A Thousand Cuts, Short Stories