I do not do horror. But inspired by writer Ruth Long's example, I wanted to join the party. So here's my effort. The prompt? "A Bag of heads."
A Bag of Heads
“It’s the smell that gets me, Bill.”
“The smell?”
“Bloody disgusting the smell. Plague rats. Dunno why we wait
around. Should set fire to the houses and be done. Not like there’s like to be
any survivors and if there was? Bound to be the devil what dunnit. Helped them
I mean.”
“Can’t burn folk alive, Frank.”
“Not alive are they? Who survives the plague?”
“Not ours to question, mate. Just got to deliver the food
and run, stink or no stink.”
Frank reined in the horses and peered down the street.
Shuttered houses stared blankly back, scored with the crosses that made any
sane person turn and run like their arses were on fire. He wasn’t sane, as it
turned out. And the money was good. It was just the stink. He didn’t like the
stink.
“Righty oh.” He clambered down from the seat of the cart and
grabbed a sack from the back. Guilt gifts these were, chunks of bread from the
merciful who didn’t like to think of the miserable buggers they’d locked up
starving before they’d erupted in boils and carked it. He kicked a scurrying
rat out of the way.
Long after Frank had disappeared round the corner Bill
noticed the silence. No weeping. No begging. Were the poor bastards dead
already? A cold finger traced his
spine. “Frank?”
Nothing, not except for a faint smell of roasting meat
growing stronger by the second. Looping the reins over a gatepost, he hurried
after Frank.
It was the bag he tripped over, Frank’s bag of loaves. It
looked odd, lumpier somehow, the shape somehow familiar. And that smell… He
caught a flicker of movement in the shadows and then a voice whispered, “Gramercy,
sir. ‘Tis long since we had fresh meat. Have at the leftovers.”
6 comments:
You may not to horror but you should, well creepy loved it!!
Whoa!!! This is deliciously horrific!!! You really MUST come to the dark side!!! LOVE IT!!
At least on the dark side there's all those fires to toast marshmallows on. I'm in!
Totally gross, but brilliant! His last comment sent shivers down my spine!
Yikes—creepy! It's gonna be awhile before I can get that scent out of my nose. Where's my Febreze? ; )
Excellent piece!
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