Liar, Liar

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by S. Jade Path

 

Frantically pulling against her bonds, Halle pleaded, “Please. Please, no.” Her voice jumped an octave, “Why are you doing this?”

“Why?” I crooned, grinning beneath the Purge mask.

I splashed petrol around her, watched it soaked into the scattered books—kindling for her pyre. I stepped close, and Halle’s panic-filled struggles intensified.

I grabbed her head, pushed torn pages and rags into her mouth, held them in place with phone cords.

Then I whispered, “Liar, liar.”

Her eyes, filling with recognition and guilt, turned to horror as my match fell.

Liar, liar pants on fire. Hanging by a telephone wire!

 

S. Jade Path

S. Jade Path is a fledgling author of short fiction, and a prolific creator of dark poetry. She has had a life-long obsession with crawling into the depths of the psyche and forging shadows into words. Her work parallels this penchant for delving into the fantastical and strolling amongst demons.

 

 

Clean Sheet

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by Pauline Yates

 

The Westridge football team walks the streets, searching for victims. The pre-season tradition—players can purge their sexual desires in a one-night fucking frenzy—has resulted in four consecutive premiership wins. No one reports the pack rapes, the deaths. All this town sees is the trophy.

Not me. I have a different purge in mind. From my bedroom window, I aim a rifle at the team. Tommy leads the pack. We’ve shared a kiss, talked about a future. He promised he wouldn’t partake. He lied. They all lied; town expectation their excuse.

My excuse? I hate football. Why complicate things?

Pauline Yates

Australian writer, Pauline Yates, has short stories published with Metaphorosis, Abyss & Apex, Aurealis, Redwood Press plus others. She is the winner of the short story category in the 2020 AHWA Flash Fiction and Short Story Competition. Discover more at paulineyates.com or on Twitter@midnightmuser1.

 

 

Whose Purge is it Anyway?

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by Tracy Davidson

 

He had waited months for this night. Months of patient planning, honing weaponry skills, studying his primary target. During the purge, he would happily kill anyone crossing his path. He wanted one person in particular. Not just to kill, but torture—punishment for deserting him.

He knew her well. Knew where she would run and hide. Becoming an instant widower would be quicker and cheaper than divorce.

The alarm sounded. Heavily armed, he stepped out of his front door. Barely saw the machete gleam in moonlight, before it buried itself in his chest.

 His wife… widow… knew him too well.

Tracy Davidson

Tracy Davidson lives in Warwickshire, England, and writes poetry and flash fiction. Her work has appeared in various publications and anthologies, including: Poet’s Market, Mslexia, Atlas Poetica, Modern Haiku, The Binnacle, Versification, Poetry Pea, Shooter, Journey to Crone, The Great Gatsby Anthology, WAR, In Protest: 150 Poems for Human Rights.

 

 

This Hideous Joy by Jonathan Inbody – Launches 21st August 2021

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Filmmaking has always been my first love. But I love to write in any format, and short stories are just easier to bring into the world than films are (not to mention cheaper), so I end up putting out a lot more prose than I do short films. 

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Heavy Lifting

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by Marion Lougheed

 

Damien huffed as he worked his shovel. The night was cold against his flushed cheeks.

He laid a diamond necklace on his growing pile of goods. Though dusty from the grave, the diamonds glittered like teeth.

One grave left to pillage. Nothing valuable here, only a broken pipe beside a grinning skull. A rat poked its snout through an eye socket.

“Hey,” the groundskeeper shouted. “Grave robbing’s illegal!”

“Not on purge night.”

“Ah, that’s right.” A shot rang out and blood bloomed across Damien’s chest. As he fell, a hand scooped up his collection. “Thanks for doing the heavy lifting.”

Marion Lougheed

Marion Lougheed is a writer, editor, and cultural anthropologist whose words have been published in print and online by Gypsum Sound Tales, The League of Canadian Poets, and The Capra Review, among others.  She grew up in four countries and currently lives in Canada. Twitter: @MarionLougheed

 

 

Rule Three

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by N.E. Rule

 

“We’ve now covered the two rules to survive The Purge.” Stanley announces. Taking his eyes away from the road, he smiles at Judy.

“One, find shelter as far from the city as possible.” He pulls up to the log cabin.

“Two, partner up with someone you trust.” He leans over to kiss her. Judy turns so his kiss lands on her cheek.

A woman sits up from from the blanketed backseat holding a gun to his temple. “What about rule three?” Stanley stills. “Make sure your girlfriend doesn’t find out you’re married.” She winks at Judy, then pulls the trigger.

N.E. Rule

N.E. Rule attended Toronto’s Ryerson University for both creative writing and business communications. Her writing portfolio includes software specs, marketing copy, and training materials, however, her passion is fiction. The characters in her head are getting louder and refuse to wait for her spare time to come out and play.

 

 

Submissions – DARK MOMENTS

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Beyond Human by Matthew Clarke – Launches 23rd July 2021

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What does literary success look like to you? Holding a book with your name on it. Everyone’s definition of success is different, but if you’re only writing with the aim of getting rich and famous, you’re likely to be disappointed.

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The Blood Purge

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by J.M. Faulkner

 

Pale-skinned girl runs. Pale-skinned girl trips. Pale-skinned girl shields her eyes from the streetlamp that throws a shadow on my shoulders.

“Please, d-don’t hurt me.”

Sigh… If we elders didn’t cull the young, vampires would spill onto the streets like mice. There wouldn’t be an ounce of blood to share.

I tell her, “We purge annually. Your sire should have kept you safe.”

She winces. Tiny fangs protrude over her trembling bottom lip. “Sire didn’t warn me.”

“Then he wants you dead as much as—”

Thump.

A stake in my chest.

She says, “Now the young purges the old.”

J.M. Faulkner

J.M. Faulkner is a British English teacher living in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the perfect place for him to steep himself in the architecture and tumultuous history that fuels his curiosity. Outside of work, you can find him hiking in splendid, Bohemian forests with his beagle.

My work has been published by Black Hare Press, Liquid Imagination, Havok Publishing, Trembling with Fear, and The Drabble.

Website: jmfaulkner.com

 

 

The Salamandrion by Mike Adamson – Launches 24th July 2021

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Literary success, to me, would mean scoring serious novel contracts with major publishers—mainstream circulation in the higher five figures and upward, with international reach, including foreign language editions and screen rights sales. This definitely calls for agency representation, and I’m hoping my track record, built up since 2016 in the short story market, will open that particular door. I’ve dabbled in screenwriting for the last twenty years, too, and a cross-pollination of success between fields is always possible.

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