Under the Hallow Veil (Editingle Halloween Anthology)

Mum wiped the stringy blood from around Granddad’s mouth.“Emma, grab the tissues from the desk,” she ordered.Granddad lay on his battered mattress in the corner and stared at the damp ceiling. He looked like he was sick of fighting whatever tortured his insides, and skin hung like it wanted to leave him. I grabbed the tissue box and wheeled over to him.When we discovered his lung cancer was terminal mum moved him from the cabin by the pond to the farmhouse so he could spend his dying days closer to us. The stench of cigarettes clung to him, even though he hadn’t smoked for the last month.He coughed more blood.Fear twinkled behind the dry sickness in his eyes. They locked on mine and he moved his finger over the duvet in a circular motion while mum wiped the blood. I had no idea what he wanted, and I wished we could’ve bonded more, but in truth, he scared me. He always stared and looked anguished. Eighteen years we

“Let’s keep going, guys.” Beatrice Cunningham put a hand up to shield her eyes. The scorching heat from the sun not only blinded her but was making her a little queasy. Still, she couldn’t give up the find, a brilliant discovery. The bills weren’t paying themselves. Beatrice needed something, anything to get her out of debt. Her crew was in the same boat. They had to make a breakthrough or it was over. Her father, Eli, clarified it. He wasn’t funding her little ‘expeditions’ anymore. “I think we should give up now, Tish.” Henry, one of Beatrice’s oldest friends gazed at her. He took off his hat and fanned himself. He wiped the sweat from his brow. His face was coated with dirt from the digs along with his blond hair. Beatrice sighed. The others looked worn out. They leaned against the dusty door of their latest dig. Beatrice grabbed two canteens out of the back. “I guess you’re right, Hank,” she tossed him a canteen. “We’re dying of thirst out here. Maybe we

“Did you not hear me calling you?” Her syllables are erratic and hard. “I need your help, Mary!” I sit up in bed and rub my eyes. It’s ten o’clock. I squint at the missed calls. Five of them tonight, all from Victoria. “Hmmm, I have the sniffles.” I clear my throat. “What’s going on?” “Paul broke up with me!” He broke up with her at least once a month, for several months now. I don’t know how to say this to her face, but she’s an annoying, clingy, drama queen. “I need you. What should I do?” “Hold on.” I put the phone on speaker so I can tie my curly hair in a knot. My golden skin looks almond-toned in the faint lamplight. Mary is the opposite of me, a blue-eyed blonde. At our university, we’re called caramel and cream. We’re also different in other ways. She’s all roar, while I’m the calm one. She cries ugly. I imagine her pale face all scrunched up, her button nose all red, and her bangs falling onto her forehead. “He told me… he tol

Seated at the rooftop of her house Cassandra stared at the skyline of New Orleans for the millionth time and, again the same thought plagued her mind, ‘Darkness bounds within her; Andrea says it’s destructive, yet she’s a human, not a ghost. If it consumed her in its cage, why doesn’t it kill her? … so, she can transform into a blood-sucking monster crawling people’s heart out and devour it until the last shred of it disappears.’ The noxious craving of death isn’t new nor old, it’s deceptive as the month of Halloween. October is a wicked time of the year for her and she contemplated, ‘Why?’ but couldn’t follow a conclusion. Cassy abhorred the young evening and the civilians on the street who’re busy preparing for the parade to celebrate the supernatural forces which existed thousand years ago. It included even her new wife, Andrea. They got married last week, after having a relationship of over five years but instead of going on a honeymoon, Andrea preferred

There was a little boy named Andy, who thought he was pretty dandy His favorite festival was Halloween, would count the days and hours between Mischievous had this boy been, so this is where the story begins Andy was in love with candy, the ways he would get it quite handy He would dress up a fright, to the neighbor's delight He had his scheme, a candy lover’s dream Many costumes he'd wear, of his devilish plan they're unaware Firecrackers in his keep, kept for the ones who did not treat For now the neighbors discovered his ruse, the trick or treating now abused Coming up with a master plan, to sneak in like the boogeyman Sliding down the chimney quick, looking nothing like Saint Nick Bad little Andy in his mischief got stuck, his calls being unheard with no luck Two weeks went by with posters spread about, for little Andy to keep an eye out Then it came a cold winter's night, whe