Night to Dawn 39
A dark fantasy by Barbara Custer
The apocalypse of the movie screen and the printed page has become a reality. A microbe threatens humanity, making Corona seem like the common cold. Innocents die to appease young and hungry gods. A doctor feeds the souls of his patients to a demon. Featuring Marge Simon, Lee Clark Zumpe, Margaret L. Carter, Rod Marsden, Matthew Wilson, and other authors.
This post contains affiliate links. Click here for the full disclosure statement.
Excerpt from Christopher Dabrowski’s “Simon Wallow”
After that, they all went to the airlock. Vapor puffed, something hissed and cracked, just like it used to do in ancient times in science fiction films – and the airlock opened. They saw something that amazed them.
Hundreds, thousands, or maybe even several thousands of eggs. Swallow eggs. These were much larger as if the swallow that laid the eggs was larger than an ostrich! Apart from this anomaly, these were typical swallow eggs. The shells were off-white, with dark reddish or brownish spots.
“This is crazy!” Knorr growled.
“Uh-oh!” Res’s voice cracked.
They were in an enormous modern hall, with high temperatures, so the holozones automatically switched to cooling. After a few steps, they were standing on the floor, and then they appeared—no one knew where from. From all directions, giant swallows dressed in military uniforms were running towards them.
Their wings had attachments looking like blasters of something. Simon was not interested in checking exactly was blasting out of them.
“Retreat,” he ordered quietly but firmly. “To the airlock, we’ll be safe there.”
And despite the giant, mutated swallows running towards them, step by step, cold-blooded, Simon and his crew retreated to the airlock. The swallows were running on muscular limbs that would be better suited for dinosaurs, squawking louder and louder.
However, the tactic was effective. Simon and his crew retreated slowly, without making any of the aggressors use his or her gun. Yet, they didn’t know the firing range of these guns. When they reached the force field of the time drome, the swallows aimed their weapons at the team, squawking more and more impatiently.
Well, it looks like we are the aggressors here, Simon thought. This sure doesn’t look like Earth.
~Buy Night to Dawn 39:
–Amazon
–B&N
–Doyleston Bookshop
~Follow the rest of the tour
About Barbara Custer
Barbara lives near Phila., PA, retired from her job as a respiratory therapist. Nowadays, she chases Mylar balloons at the supermarket, enjoys a fright flick, or works on horror and science fiction tales. Many of her short stories have appeared in numerous small press magazines. She’s been editor of Night to Dawn Magazine since 2004.
Books by Barbara include When Blood Reigns, Twilight Healer, The Forgotten People, Steel Rose, City of Brotherly Death, Close Liaisons, and Life Raft: Earth. She enjoys bringing her medical background to the printed page and then blending it with supernatural horror. She maintains a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and The Writers Coffeehouse forum. Look for the photos with the Mylar balloons, and you’ll find Barbara.
Find her online:
–website
–Facebook
–Twitter
Giveaway
Barbara Custer will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Thanks for hosting!
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block and, if so, how do you overcome it?
Thank you for having me as a guest and for showcasing my work. Sometimes I do struggle with writer's block. I find it help to go for a walk or work on a different project. 🙂
HAPPY HUMP DAY!
TGIF!