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Terrifying Love: A Halloween Anthology
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Contents
TERRIFYING LOVE
About Helle Gade
BRINGING HOME
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
About Serena Nova
HIS DANCER
Chapter One - Binx
Chapter Two - Him
Chapter Three - Binx
Chapter Four - Him
Chapter Five - Binx
Chapter Six - Binx
Chapter Seven - Him
Chapter Eight - Binx
Chapter Nine - Binx
Chapter Ten - Him
Chapter Eleven - Binx
Epilogue
About Isobella Dunn
LA SIGUANABA
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
About Everly Taylor
REFLECTIONS OF THE PAST
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
About Melody Calder
RUNES AND FANGS
Chapter One - Kayla
Chapter Two - Minette
Chapter Three - Kayla
Chapter Four - Minette
Chapter Five - Kayla
Chapter Six - Minette
Chapter Seven - Kayla
Chapter Eight - Minette
Chapter Nine - Kayla
Chapter Ten - Minette
Chapter Eleven - Kayla
Chapter Twelve - Minette
Chapter Thirteen - Kayla
Chapter Fourteen - Minette
Chapter Fifteen - Kayla
Chapter Sixteen - Minette
Chapter Seventeen - Kayla
Chapter Eighteen - Minette
About Victoria Larque
BLOODY MONEY
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Epilogue
About Annelie Janssen
THE SPADE AND THE PATIO
Chapter One - The Interviewer
Chapter Two - Rebecca
Chapter Three - The Interviewer
Chapter Four - Rebecca
Chapter Five - Rebecca
Chapter Six - The Interviewer
About Ada Rossi
Coming soon from Butterdragons Publishing
TERRIFYING LOVE
A Halloween Anthology
FEATURING STORIES BY:
Serena Nova, Isobella Dunn, Everly Taylor, Melody Calder, Victoria Larque, Annelie Janssen, Ada Rossi,
and poems by Helle Gade
Title: Terrifying Love: A Halloween Anthology
Series: BDP Anthologies
Authors: Serena Nova, Isobella Dunn, Everly Taylor, Melody Calder, Victoria Larque, Annelie Janssen, Ada Rossi, and Helle Gade
Copyright © 2020 Butterdragons Publishing
All Rights Reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This includes, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise.
Published by Butterdragons Publishing
https://butterdragons.com
ISBN: 9789493229006 (ebook)
ISBN: 9789493229013 (paperback)
ISBN: 9789493229020 (audio book)
Cover Design by: Dazed Designs
Audio book narrated by MJ Webb featuring Michael Stevenson
Terrifying Love: A Halloween Anthology
Bringing Home by Serena Nova
His Dancer by Isobella Dunn
La Siguanaba by Everly Taylor
Reflections of the Past by Melody Calder
Runes and Fangs by Victoria Larque
Bloody Money by Annelie Janssen
The Spade and The Patio by Ada Rossi
Poems by Helle Gade
About Helle Gade
Helle Gade lives in Denmark with her little diva dog. She is a book blogger, poet, photographer, nocturnal creature, avid reader and chocolate addict. She has been writing poetry since 2011 and published four poetry collections since then. She has been fortunate to work with a bunch of brilliant authors and photographers on The Mind's Eye series. Her book Nocturnal Embers won the Best Poetry Collection with eFestival of Words.
BRINGING HOME
By Serena Nova
Fall Storm
The winds are howling
A lonesome cry to the sky
Always on the move
Never at peace in one place
Summer Breeze
The gentle caress
Of a sun heated breeze
Laughter in the wind
And love in the touch
Winter Ice
Icy winds tearing
At my frail skin
Feel like thousands of pins
Piercing my face
Spring Scent
Scents flowing on
Lukewarm currents
Awakening my soul
From frozen winter slumber
By Helle Gade
Chapter One
“Next time better, Willow,” James says as he lets me out of the bank building. The sun blinds me for a moment as I step out.
“I know, James,” I say while I step onto the sidewalk. “Wow,” I yell as someone runs into me. I manage to stay upright as I turn to my right. Finding a young girl on the ground, her eyes wide and her gaze bouncing from one point to the other. Her breathing fast, as she hurries to move upright, which makes me notice her disheveled look, her long brown hair hanging partially loose from the bun on her head, her summer dress dirty and wrinkled in some places. I even notice the bruises on her knees. “Are you alright?” I ask her as she stands in front of me, looking around fast. I place my hand on her shoulder and she jumps up. “Are you alright?” I ask her again as she finally looks at me, her brown eyes wide, like those of a deer that’s about to run into a car.
“I need to go.” She shakes herself loose. I watch her run past me and it takes me a second longer to react. Quickly, I run after her. I catch a glimpse of her turning to the left, disappearing into a side street. I quickly dash into it, but I realize I’ve lost her as there’s nobody in the small street. Then a yell sounds through the air
and I rush forward, my heart beating in my chest as I reach the back of the bank.
“Let me go,” the girl screams as a man grabs hold of her arm, dragging her to a black van at the end of the street.
“Hey!” I yell at the man as I rush forward, trying to get to them before he manages to get her in the van. “Let her go!” I yell as I get closer.
“Fuck off!” the man yells at me and starts grabbing for something behind his back. I don’t think twice as I run even faster, reaching them before he could grab whatever it is behind his back. I take hold of his hand on her arm, trying to pry it loose from her, setting my nails into his skin. He curses and I squeeze as hard as I can, trying to hurt him, to make him let her go.
“Let her go,” I say again, and I feel the girl pulling on her arm harder, trying to get away from him. The man suddenly turns and smashes his other hand against my chest and I’m on the ground even before I can make a sound. It takes me a moment to get my bearings as my back hits the ground hard. A shadow rushes past me and I quickly sit upright when I hear another terrifying yell coming from the girl.
I’m right in time to see a man punching the guy. He then manages to pull the girl free and she rushes toward me. I get up quickly — luckily, steady on my feet. I pull the girl behind me and we step away from the two men fighting. I almost trip over a bag on the ground, seeing it’s military I’m slightly relieved and focus back on the two. The military man hits the other guy again and he grunts as he stumbles back. “We’ll get you!” he yells as he turns around and runs away toward his van. He gets in and drives off. I let out a relieved breath as I watch the van go. I can feel a shaking body behind me, as the girl's hands grab my t-shirt tightly.
Turning around, I look at her. “Are you alright?” I ask her again. She glances at me and then behind me. I look behind me and see the military man walking toward us. “Thank you,” I say to him.
He only nods as he asks, “Are you both alright?”
I nod, and then look back at the girl. “I... think so,” she finally says, her voice small and timid, and I place my hand on her shoulder. She jumps slightly at my touch. I glance back at the man and realize that I’m not the only one who noticed it.
“Who was that?” the man asks us, and I look at the girl. When it doesn’t look like she’ll be answering, I turn to the man.
I shrug at him as I say, “I have no idea,” answering the question for her.
“What did he want from her?” he then asks me as I see him studying me.
I shake my head. “I have no idea. She ran into me when I came out of the bank—“ I turn back to look at the girl again. “And she than ran away. I followed her and saw her being taken by that man.”
He steps closer to us and the girl shrinks in on herself. “I won’t harm you,” he says softly, lowering his voice from the one he was using to talk to me. The girl looks at him, her eyes huge, reflecting the emotions that warred through her.
“It’s alright, he’s from the army,” I say to her, trying to sooth her just as he’s doing. She glances at me and I try something else. ”I’m Willow, what’s your name?” I look her over again and I think she’s about fourteen years old. I wait for her answer, keeping a smile on my lips and try to appear relaxed. Even if I want to get out of this place and get to a more open area where I know for sure that man can’t get her.
“Paula,” she finally answers.
“Hello, Paula, this is,” I turn to the man as I have no clue who he is.
“Evan,” he says, his voice back to the low one.
“What happened?’ I ask her and she, again, looks at me before her eyes start darting around. “Shall we go to the police, and call your parents?” I ask her, because something terrible has happened to her and I can only imagine what her parents are going through. The words haven’t left my mouth before she starts looking around more.
“No,” she says. “No. no,” repeating the words.
I place my other hand on her shoulder and make her stop looking around, not wanting her to run off again. “Why not, Paula? They can help you,” I say to her. I notice that Evan steps closer as well.
“No. They said… No police, please,” she says to us, her voice pitching high.
Evan steps next to me, and she stares up at him. “Paula,” he starts softly and calmly. How is he this relaxed, I have no idea, as my heart is still racing inside my chest. “We can’t help you. We really need to go to the police. They can help you.”
“NO!” she yells, startling me and I let go of her. She starts to run off again, but instead Evan takes hold of her. “Let me go!” she yells at him.
“Paula,” he says, his voice still calm. “Calm down, we won’t do anything to you. But you have to tell me why we can’t go to the police.” He relaxes his hold on her.
Paula looks from me to him, before she focuses her gaze on the ground. “I can’t,” she starts and looks up, her eyes still wide, now filled with the beginnings of tears. All I want to do is pull her in for a hug and tell her everything will be alright.
Instead, I lower myself a little toward her as she reaches just to my chest. “Why not?” I ask her.
She looks at me and bites her lip, her eyes watering even more. “They will kill them,” she finally says.
This makes me rear back and I look at Evan, his face blank. “Who will kill who?” he asks matter-of-factly.
Paula looks at me again and I see her shivering, even though it's the middle of the summer. “Maybe we should go somewhere else, to sit down and talk?” I offer, trying to get us off this street and to get Paula to a safer place.
Instead, she ignores me, which is fine, as she tells us something else. “My parents,” she says.
“Who wants to kill your parents?” Evan asks.
Paula’s bottom lip starts to tremble, and I can’t help but to shoot an angry look at Evan. He doesn’t even notice as he’s looking down at the girl.
“I can’t... I need… I just... help,” she stammers out.
“Help you with what?” I ask her as she starts looking around again. She doesn’t say anything, and I add, “Get you home, is that what you want?”
Her gaze stops on me, freezes almost. “Yes,” she finally says, and I look to Evan.
I make up my mind within seconds as I say, “My car is on the parking lot next to this building. I could drive her home,” I say mostly to Evan. I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do, but I’ve never been in a situation like this, and at the moment, it seems smarter than having her freak out and run away again if we try to bring her to the police. I still hope Evan has a better answer.
“I’ll walk with you,” he says, and I let out a deep breath. I wished he had another solution, but apparently, this is the smartest thing to do. I hope. Evan bends down and picks up his bag. I give him a quick smile, thankful that he’s walking with us. I’m still nervous, scared that whoever is behind Paula's kidnapping attempt will come back, without Evan here.
I place my hand on Paula’s shoulder and the three of us walk out of the street, go left and stop at the parking lot of the next building. My dark blue Chevrolet pick-up truck stands in the second row and I walk toward it. “Come,” I say to Paula as she hesitates. Evan stays behind her, and that’s how they walk toward my car. I unlock it and get behind the wheel as Paula slides into the middle and Evan stays at the door.
“Where do you live?” Evan asks Paula.
“Zheamouth,” she answers. I feel my eyes widen as I glance from her to Evan. I hear the low grumble as he throws his bag on the floor of the car and slides in.
“That’s a four days drive, you need all the help,” he says to me as I keep staring at him.
“We can stop in between, we’ll be fine,” I say to him. Not sure what to think about him coming with us. He might’ve saved us, but I don’t really know him.
He glances to Paula and back up to me. “I’m coming.” He stares at me as my mouth opens and closes to protest, but instead, nothing comes
out as it’s perfectly clear that this is a done deal. I sigh as I start my car and drive out of the parking lot.
We reach the highway in a few minutes and I take a turn toward Zheamouth. I glance in my rearview mirror as a dark van turns to the highway, too. I feel my hands tighten on the steering wheel, only to see the car pass us and drive away from us. “Paula,” Evan starts, and I keep my eyes on the road as I listen to them. “What did that man want from you?” he asks her.
Paula sits in the middle, her downward gaze following her hands, twisting the fabric of her dress around her fingers. “I uhh... I…” she starts, her words hesitant. I’m not sure if it’s from fear or whatever had happened to her.
“I need to know, Paula, we need to know what happened,” Evan pushes.
I look at Paula as she glances at Evan, focusing back on the road as she says, “I don’t, I can’t tell you.” Her voice reminds me of a wire that’s strung to tight and ready to snap. I hope that Evan hears it, too.
“You have to, Paula, we can’t help you otherwise,” Evan says, his voice still the clear and relaxed one he had been using with her. Only, there is more force behind it now.
I hear the girl suck in a breath, and I look sharply at Evan. “Don’t be like that,’ I say to him through clenched teeth. I don’t understand how he can say something like that to a girl that obviously went through something terrible.
He folds his arms, his t-shirt straining over his muscles. “We need to know what’s happening. Who says we aren’t driving into bigger problems when we get her to her parents? Who says they are her parents?” he asks, and I turn my gaze back to the road. Hiding the anger on my face and my annoyance for knowing that he’s right.
“They are my parents!” Paula exclaims at Evan’s words. A little fire back in her voice, which makes me smile.
“Then, please tell us,” Evan says, and I could hear him trying to sound nicer. He might have been right, but he also listened to me and I can’t help the widening smile on my lips.
I glance at Paula before I look at the road again, wondering what she’ll be telling. “I was…” I hear her taking in a deep breath. “I was kidnapped,” she says, and I try to keep my eyes on the road and not look at her. Trying to keep my own emotions under control, to not upset her.