Fear of the Light
By
B. A. Sans ©
Drenched in the darkness, Sara sat clutching a music box her grandmother had given to her when she was seven years old. Her fingers felt around the object searching for slight elevations, thinking about the wondrous designs etched into it. With delight, she opened the lid and took in the glorious notes. Outside the air lurked with hunger. Hunger for those like Sara; the living. So she spent her time hidden. Hidden in darkness.
It had almost been a month since the shadows attacked. There in the light of the day, murderous silhouettes danced with devastation in their darkened hearts. No one knew how the shadows had come to life. No one lived to learn. Those still alive kept themselves hidden in the blackness where the shadows could not prowl.
Sara lived in the salvation only the dark could provide wondering if it was safe to go outside again. She wondered if her own shaded figure would strangle the life from her. Sitting and thinking about her fear of the light. Her only comfort being the darkness and the light sounds of the clinking melody in the air.
Four stories for your enjoyment....
We heard them coming over the CB radio by way of reports. Speed trap to speed trap, hick to hick, truck driver to truck driver. The transmissions were garbled, all crackle and fuzz and excitement as people tried to talk over one another and were squelched out by the setting sun. Put it together, and it didn't take much to guess that whatever was headed in our direction was moving fast, triple digit fast. Too fast for a chase. Setting up a road block would be their death sentence.
Satellite by J.D. McDonnell
Once she realised that the box was stronger than she could break, Malu lay quietly in the pitch black, waiting for the inevitable noises. She had woken a hundred times like this. It was always the same. Always she fought against the box and always they came.
The Story of Malu by Barry Pomeroy
Omar picked up the photograph and scanned it into his computer. He sent the digital file to his source at the newspaper; within minutes it would be posted on-line. God willing, it would be plastered on tomorrow’s cover of the Times. He looked at the people pictured in the photo and smiled. It had been a long struggle, but the end was in sight.
The Photographs by Lee Gimenez
That was all he was without her—a lone forty-watt bulb straining to produce light in a hopelessly dark room.
The Longing by Michael Yowell
_____________
An interview with Ray Gunn
Ray Gunn writes science fiction, horror, and fantasy. His first novel, Brutal, will debut Spring of 2009. Ray is the product of the liberal "Woodstock" era. His highest priority isn't to create literature, but to have fun, or as he puts it: "I'm here to entertain and if I do that and readers enjoy it, I've done my job."
_____________
Ten Things Authors Do
An article by Justin Ryan Schwan
If you have any suggestions, or find any mistakes in this issue of Writing Shift, please email webmaster@writingshift.com