Creatures

The Fifth Monday: Hard-On’s Curse – Complete

/ Ben Van Dongen / 1 Comment

Part One

Ben Van Dongen

Chad sat at a scarred counter, behind bulletproof glass. The pawn shop was empty and he was on the verge of beating his Joust high score, on his phone. His boss, Mr. T, was in the back office doing the day’s banking, and probably, he thought, some blow.

“Hard-on!” Mr. T’s yell was accompanied by a bang, crash, and swearing.

“I pity the fool who calls me Hard-on.” Chad ignored the continuing swearing that grew louder.

“Cut that shit out.”

Chad put one hand up, the other was furiously tapping his phone screen. “Don’t call me Hard-on and I won’t point out that you go by the name of an 80s icon.”

The owner of the pawn shop was perpetually sweaty. Thick black, sweaty, body hair poked through his t-shirt. Even his voice was greasy.

“Put that damn thing down. You responsible for that coin on my desk?” Mr. T swatted at Chad’s phone, but missed. Spit flew from his mouth and he pointed to his office.

Sad digital music played from the phone as the last ostrich-rider died.

“Come on T, I was going for the high score.”

“This is serious, little shit. The coin, on my desk.” Mr. T wiped his brow with a dirty handkerchief.

Chad pocketed his phone and swiveled to face his boss. “Yeah. Some super old, jacked-up, dude brought it in this morning.” Continue reading →

Maternal Blinders

/ Ben Van Dongen / 2 Comments

By Patrick Firth

On the night she saw the goblin, Valerie had decided she could no longer put up with her mother. She had been strangling an old doll, tears streaming down her face, mouthing slow down, slow down over and over again in a silent scream. That was until she noticed a small, wizened face, staring at her: needle teeth and thin lips, sunken eyes surrounded by deep, shadowy creases, warty nodules like tree knots on its hairless skull. Her fingers relaxed and the doll’s head flopped to the side. The pinched little face moved closer to hers, yellowy eyes not meeting hers, but rather following the path of her tears to where they collected on her chin. One rough finger reached out to catch one of the drops on a cracked nail. She shuddered at the contact. The goblin placed the drop on its tongue and its smile deepened, splitting its face. Eyes rolled back into its head, and then back down to her face again.

It tried to collect another, but this time she slapped away its hand. Continue reading →

Shooting Stars

/ Ben Van Dongen / 1 Comment

By Patrick Firth

Gus struck a match and dipped it into the end of his pipe. He sent the first puff through the tattered screen door. The same wind that ruffled Deb’s salt and pepper hair carried the sweet smelling smoke beyond the forested hill and into the purple sky. She sat at the crown of their hill, on her Adirondack throne, the soft hum of her chant only audible between the rhythmic hiss of leaves sliding against one another. The chant was familiar to Gus though, and he mouthed the words around the pipe stem. He only opened the door with its inevitable creak when the chant was done.

“Hear anything tonight?” Gus placed her pipe on the arm of her chair. Continue reading →

Spider-man vs. Dracula

/ Ben Van Dongen / 5 Comments

Spider-man and Dracula stepped off the porch.

“What did she give us? I can’t see.” Dave pulled his Spider-man mask to adjust the eye holes.

“Take your stupid mask off, we’re not even at the door anymore.” Twin lines of spit dribbled down Rob’s chin from where his plastic fangs poked out past his lips.

Dave shook his head emphatically. “Sorry dude, with great power comes great responsibility.”

Rob raised his arms and looked around with exaggerated movements. “There aren’t even anymore house on this street.”

Behind them, two Batmans, a Transformer and Princess Bubblegum ran up to the steps.

—

The pair walked to the edge of the sidewalk and stopped.

“Where to now?” Rob glanced to where the street ended at a large woods, then back up the newly built road. Only one house was finished on their path back out, the owners opting to move in after Halloween. There were three muddy pits dug for future houses, but no other prospects for candy.

“This area’s tapped out. We can check out the action on the other side of the bush.” Dave slung his pillowcase over his shoulder.

“I don’t want to go all the way around. It’s already getting dark; by the time we get there all the candy’ll be gone.” Rob wiped his chin, taking off some of the white makeup. “We’ve got a lot already man.”

“Blasphemy!” Dave made his best Spidy pose, almost knocking over Princess Bubblegum, who was trying to get to the sidewalk. He adjusted his mask again. “Sorry kid.” He shifted the sack and moved out of the way of the other kids. “This is the last year we’re gonna get to go trick-or-treating. I’m not going home until we’ve knocked on every door in town.”Peering out of the one hole he managed to align with his eyes, he pointed at the mass of bare trees separating the neighbourhood from the older ones on the other side. “Let’s just cut through the woods.” Continue reading →

Fifth Monday – Part Three

/ Ben Van Dongen / 6 Comments

Andy opened his eyes, but wherever he was, it was too dark to see. He shivered, feeling the cold concrete beneath him. His stomach rumbled, then gurgled. A mouthful of vomit climbed his throat and he coughed, clearing the liquid away. It tasted like bile and it burned.

He struggled up, afraid of the spreading pool. The dark room was disorienting. Andy’s legs shook under him, his teeth chattered, and he had to throw up again. Continue reading →

Designated Drivers 

/ Ben Van Dongen / 4 Comments

Ben V.

Calvin didn’t hear the bartender. Based on the expression she made, and the fact that he wasn’t holding another beer, he assumed it had something to do with her cutting him off. He hoped he looked angry, but he decided to choose his words carefully.

“Hey, my beer.” He slapped the bar, leaned back, and had to hang on to the slick wood to keep steady. His focus on the task caused him to miss her reply again. “Wha?”  Continue reading →

Don’t Pick Things up from Other Dimensions – Conclusion

/ Ben Van Dongen / 4 Comments

Davis followed protocol as he walked the streets.  The flashlight told him he didn’t have to be so uptight.  It claimed that it could sense any disturbance, dimensional or not, but Davis felt more relaxed when he was doing his job.

They made another turn down a street lined with long low buildings.  Some of them had bars and Asian restaurants and others housed book stores and pawnshops.  They had all been deserted since the shift.  With the first attack, people left behind everything they couldn’t carry.  The zone was closed off as quickly as the military and corporations could manage.  Dust, time, and the first creatures had their way with everything in the zones, but that didn’t stop people from trying to get in and scavenge.  Davis pointed the flashlight at the broken windows and occasional holes in the walls of the stores, happy it still served its purpose.  The crunch of Davis’ boots on the scattered debris was the only sound. Continue reading →

Don’t Pick Things up from Other Dimensions – Part One

/ Ben Van Dongen / 6 Comments

By Ben V

A red light mounted on the wall flashed as an announcement warned the guards that the door would be opening in fifteen minutes.  It reminded them to double check their gear before the nightly orientation.

The room was simple.  A large door took up an entire wall and separated the bureau, and the outside world, from zone five.  Two rows of benches lined up facing the door where the guards sat and waited for their shift to start.  A single door led off to the locker rooms.  It was the only way into the staging area and the huge blast door was the only way into the fifth zone.  The afternoon shift was ending and the night guards were preparing to take over, some of them for the first time.  Six guards sat quietly waiting for the trainer to give the final announcement.  Continue reading →

Beyond Termination – Part Six (Conclusion)

/ Alanna / 4 Comments

Alice bolted down the corridors towards the Hangar.  She whipped around a corner, almost knocking over a receptionist and a military guard.  With no time to stop, she didn’t even shout an apology.  She was too focused with getting back to her operative.

“Map?”  Alice huffed, speaking into the com-link after jacking in to the rig and taking back control from Tripp.

“Yeah.”

The interference was still distorting the connection, “Just checking in.  Ready?”

The reply was static. Continue reading →