MY NEXT VICTIM THIS HALLOWEEN
IS JULIA PRESS SIMMONS!
Thanks, Julia, for agreeing to be part of
the fun.
Without further ado presenting Julia's
Halloween Interview & Flash Fiction
Challenge
1. You're born on Halloween
and have the ghostly evil super powers of one of the following: The Ghost from
Poltergeist, The Frankenstein Monster, The Mummy, The most Evil of Witches, The
Devil himself, Freddy Kruger, Pumpkin Head, Michael from Halloween, or Jason
from Friday the 13th. Alternatively, if you prefer, pick one of your
own. Otherwise, tell us which one you would choose and why? No friendly ghosts
allowed! You're to wreak havoc in this scenario!
“My name is Marana I am the vampire
regent of The First clan of The First Men. You may know me as Bloody Mary.
Marana smiled. You may have unknowingly had a drink in my honor.” She ran her
sharp black nails down the throat of the crying man kneeling before her. She
pricked the nape of his neck, and then bent over to lick the blood that
sprouted there. “I was turned on All
Hallows’ Eve two thousand years ago by a weak twaddle of a vamp named David. He
had designs on ruling The First Clan. He sought to turn as many people in to
succubus as he could in order to overthrow the former regent. He was my first
kill.”
The line of newly turned vampires
writhed with excitement from seeing the blood of the weeping man. Their fangs
descended and their eyes morphed into reptilian slits, but their fear of Marana
kept them in place.
Marana wrapped her hand around her
prey’s neck and lifted him off his feet. She turned to the newborn vampires.
“David's plan was sound, but his ambitions were paltry. Why seek to rule a clan
when you can rule the world?” She threw the man at the feet of her newborns,
and launched herself into the air. *Feed
now, my children, you will need all the strength you can muster in the days
ahead.*
***COMING
SOON***
2. The Zombie Apocalypse is going
to occur this Halloween and for 48 hours, the world is thrown into chaos. Live
through it and consider yourself lucky, you've been warned. What is your first
step, especially as no one else knows or believes you? Do you leave family
behind and seek shelter to ride it out, or do you try to save your family? How
and why?
I’ve actually played the Zombie
apocalypse scenario in my head many, many times. (I’m a huge Walking Dead fan)
If it actually goes down this Halloween I would definitely save my family, all
of my family. Some would be saved because I love them dearly and others will be
used as zombie fodder. I will accomplish this by using all of the techniques
I’ve learned from Rick and Darrel from the show.
3. Why is Halloween a
favorite holiday, or not a favorite, and if it isn't why did you participate in
this query? Come on; tell us your biggest most secret Halloween fantasy!
Sadly Halloween is not my favorite
holiday, but it is in the big three… Christmas, and Thanksgiving being the
first two… obviously. Even though All Hallows’ Eve doesn’t take the top spot,
it remains near and dear to me wee little heart. I love every stinking thing
about it. Costumes and Candy, man, what’s not to love??? And, if you think
about it, Halloween is the most generous of holidays. It is the only time that
you buy things for complete strangers, and that’s sweet ß
Do you see what I did there?
Now the fun part: Finish
the story. I've given you the first 100 words. Provide us with the rest, but
please hold the number to 750 words or less unless the restriction is just
impossible then no more than 1000 words. The winner will receive a $10 Amazon
gift card. The contest will be judged by another lover of the horror genre, the
person to be announced later. The winner will be posted no later than a week
after Halloween!
DESPERATION
HOLLER
Jerry
sauntered along Desperation Holler Road that earlier echoed with the excited
shouts of ghosts and ghouls as the children scrambled from house to house in
colorful and frightening costumes.
Dusk
dissolved into the blackest of nights as the little monsters disappeared into
the shelter of the brightly lit houses with their chocolate goodies.
Jerry
smiled, even suppressed laughter, because he knew there was no refuge, not in
Desperation Holler on this most evil of Halloweens.
Concealed
by the dark limbs of deformed trees and invasive ivy, the innocuous little
cabin looked abandoned, but Jerry knew better.
The
witches abode . . .
He stared at the house in disbelief,
pulled a pack of Newports out of his breast pocket, and fished out a smoke. Putting
the cigarette in his mouth, he patted all of his pockets for his lighter, and
then rolled his eyes when he remembered giving it away to a pretty lady who
needed a light.
That’s just great, Jerry, he thought
while spitting the cigarette onto the street. You get to face another evil
witch without nicotine, caffeine, or whiskey. You’re batting a thousand
tonight.
Crossing himself, he murmured a little
prayer and then walked towards the witch’s lair.
The front door swung open as he walked
up the porch steps. Jerry smirked slightly and pulled his crossbow from his
back pack. “Looks like someone is expecting me,” he said softly. He walked in
the house slowly raising his bow. “Honey, I’m home,” he shouted as he entered
the foyer.
The
lights flickered and died just as the front door slammed and locked behind him.
Jerry sighed. This is going to suck, he thought while straining to make out the
room he was in.
“This
is no way to treat a slayer,” he shouted into the darkness. “Why don’t you come
on out in the open, and take this bow to the heart like a good little witch?”
A
maniacal laugh sliced through the air.
Jerry
raised his bow and took the stairs two at a time, following the sound of the
witch’s voice.
“You
are no match for me, slayer.” The witch stepped into the hall, and Jerry
stopped dead in his tracks.
She was stunning.
Her skin was as smooth and as delicate
as porcelain. Her thick black hair fell in waves to her waist. She wore a blood
red gown that hung to the floor, hugged her curves, and showed an impressive
amount of cleavage.
Jerry smiled. “Did you get dressed up
for me, sweetheart?”
“Time to die, slayer,” She hissed. She
threw her hands up in the air and lightning bolts streaked from her fingertips.
Jerry frowned up at the streaks of
lightning as they hit the ceiling and ignited into flames. “Now, that is
impressive.” He shot an arrow straight at the witch’s heart.
The witch flicked her wrist and sent
the arrow sailing back. Jerry swatted it away with his bow. The witch screamed
and let the lightning shower down on him. It had no effect.
A slow smile spread across his lips as
he watched the realization of what he truly was wash over her. “Your spells
don’t work on me, dear,” he said as he took an arrow out of the bow, and rushed
her.
She turned away from him, hiked up her
skirt, and tried to make a run for it, but he caught her by her hair and yanked
her off her feet. She clawed at his hands, but could not break his hold. Her
eyes rolled to the back of her head as she began the ancient incantation to
summon a daemon to fight for her.
“Oh, no you don’t, sweetheart” Jerry
said. He smashed his fist into her mouth, breaking several of her teeth, and
then savagely plunged the arrow in her heart. She grunted once, gripped the
arrow sticking out of her chest, and then faded away into nothingness.
Jerry stood up, wiped the sweat off
his brow. One down, twelve more to go…
*****
Meet Julia
I
love the written word more than cooked food, and that's saying a lot. I write
because I have too (It's the only way to silence the voices). There is always a
story going on in my head, so if you see me in public I'll probably be
scribbling furiously in a notebook. Strawberry Mansion, my first novel, is
semi-autobiographical (I am Tabitha in the story). It was a very painful part
of my life that I felt an overwhelming need to give voice to. I've changed a
few things to protect the guilty, and to add a bit of distance from myself and
the story. I love that book. It's a sort of snapshot of my journey into
adulthood. Although the characters are young, it’s filled with adult content,
bad language, sex, drugs and rock and roll. You're gonna love it, or at least I
hope you will!
Begonia Brown, my sophomore novel, is street fiction at its
finest. I am very proud of this book. It is the hood as I recognize it, minus
the glitz and glam... I pushed the envelope with Begonia. I felt free to tell
ugly truths, because the book isn't about me, It's about where I come from.
Begonia Brown, although it was hard to write, is one helluva ride as is the
follow up, Violet Strawberry Mansion 3. My latest novel, Fornication Volume One
takes place in the heart of North Philadelphia on a small block in a run-down
house. It is the tale of five dangerous women. They are part of an elite
prostitution ring that has run its course. I aim to tell you how the ring was
broken. What else is there to say about me? I am a mom, a poet, a nurse, a
playwright, a scifi geek, a lover of all things fantasy, a junk food junkie,
and a facebook addict. until next time Julia
www.JPSimmons.ninja
*****
So awesome, Julia!
I can see Hugh Jackman right now, uh, I mean Van Helsing.
Leave a comment for Julia and you could win a copy of one of her books!
Thanks so much for providing us with some new frights!
Congratulations on
The Bloody Mary Coven!
Have you signed up for the WEP Flash Fiction Challenge
Sign-ups are open!
Youthful Frights vs. Adult Fears
What's your scary story?
*****
CONGRATULATIONS CHRISTINE!
