Title: Eau De Parfum Author: Lisa Acerbo Series: Hell in a Handbasket Genre: Young Adult Horror
The smell of Streaker lingers in the air.
I must be dead!
I woke up naked and covered in blood. Teeth marks littered my arms, creating holes and revealing muscle. Someone or something attempted to gnaw off my elbow.
I’m alone! So, maybe, I’m worse than dead.
If friends and family abandoned me, I must have turned into a Streaker. On second thought, it’s an easy “no” to eating body parts.
The idea of brains for dinner disgusts me.
I only see one option ahead, and that’s to find my family and ask why they left me as dinner for the undead.
His glance was quick and furtive. Nostrils flaring, Eric recoiled from the gore around him and the smell of death saturating the air. He held back a scream.
Where am I?
The irregular beat of his heart pounded in his ears like a truck accelerating under a bridge. Although the room was murky, the red ochre stains decorating the floor and walls like abstract paintings remained vivid.
What had happened here?
Eric sat naked, covered in blood, but alive. He lifted himself onto his knees. Everything hurt. He stared at the carnage that was his body and gagged.
Teeth marks littered his arms, creating holes and 1 revealing muscle. Someone or something had attempted to gnaw off an elbow. The tears in his thigh reached bone. Eric yanked his hand to cover the wound then tore it away. Half-healed scabs and open sores covered from fingers to wrist.
Is this what it’s like to be dead? How long have I been here? Like this?
Memories surged back to him. A few days ago, he and the rest of the survivors had taken refuge in this old movie theater, but Streakers found them.
The maggoty swarm had assembled along the large glass windows and doors. Agitated, held back from their sustenance, the zombies writhed and swayed against the barrier.
Dead eyes had stared from outside. Decayed, naked bodies, twisted limbs, peeling skin, and pustules, the Streakers blurred into a mirage of rot and decay. Many lacked clothes, leaving everything that hadn’t decomposed dangling in the open air.
His friends, Jenna and Caleb, had tried to herd Eric and his twin brother, Billy, to safety, but he’d pushed them away. Nearly sixteen, he had wanted to prove himself.
The shattering window had left him frozen in fear. One of the zombies focused its lifeless eyes on him.
A sound? Eric’s thoughts rushed into the present.
Quiet.
What happened to his friends? Had they all perished? Worse, had they abandoned him?
The crunch and crackle of broken glass had Eric jumping to his feet and heart thumping against his ribs. Adrenaline flooded aching limbs into action. Frantic, he searched the ground for a weapon but found nothing. He sprinted, pain in each step, to the corner and waited. There was little else to do.
Lisa Acerbo is a high school teacher and adjunct faculty at a local community college. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, daughters, two dogs, and horse. When not writing, she mountain bikes, hikes, and fosters dogs.
Title: The Thief’s Relic Author: Angela Knotts Morse Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Eamonn never wanted to be a thief.
So when a risky mission goes awry and he receives the chance of a lifetime, he leaves behind everything, even his newfound family in the Thieves’ Guild, to pursue an apprenticeship as an honest merchant.
Traveling the country means he sees and hears everything. Civil unrest, rebellions against the monarchies, and rumors of a usurper bent on uniting the provinces under himself with a mythical form of magic. Few suspect he’s not chasing a dead end, including village girl Leyna, a believer in the magic of ancient histories. Eamonn’s skeptical heart is also swayed once he finds himself the tyrant’s target, unknowingly possessing the key to harness the dangerous power.
To protect it, Eamonn’s only choice is to flee. But now that it’s the mission of his former brothers in the Guild to hunt him down, keeping magic out of their hands might be harder than either Leyna or Eamonn thought possible. If they fall, though, their world does too.
His pendant, usually hidden under his clothes, fell from behind his tunic. Eamonn felt all eyes turn to him as the pendant caught the firelight, and he stiffened. Only the crackling of the fire could be heard. The atmosphere in the cave changed in an instant.
Hadli’s dark eyes widened, blazing with the reflection of the fire. He leaned in closer to Eamonn, studying the intricate swirls of silver and translucent light green stone. “Where did you get that?” he breathed, enraptured, as his demeanor transformed. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Did you find it in Idyrria? Rare jewelry is nearly impossible to steal, always tightly guarded.”
Eamonn released a nervous breath, a little amused that Hadli—and all the other lads, probably—assumed he had stolen it. He knew that living with a group of thieves would require absolute trust, and at some point, one or more of them would see his pendant. The awe in Hadli’s eyes, though, caused a pit to form in Eamonn’s stomach, and he swallowed hard. Something about it gave an impression of more than just wonder. His eyes shone of desire, of avarice.
“I didn’t steal it,” Eamonn responded, his voice deeper than usual. He touched the pendant in a delicate motion, an old habit. He swallowed again, his throat dry. “It belonged to my mother. She died when I was young, and my father gave it to me. I’ve never known a day without it. It’s like…” He paused, thoughtful, his gaze passing through the walls of the cave. “It’s like having my mother with me all the time. It’s all I know of her.”
Angela Morse has been writing since the fourth grade when a teacher wrote an encouraging note on one of her assignments. The note read, “I would not be surprised if I go to the library one day and pick up a book by Angela Knotts!” That simple note lit a fire within Angela and she developed a passion for writing stories. Though she has dabbled in a few genres, Angela’s favorite to write is Fantasy. Her audience is typically New Adult (NA) or sometimes Young Adult (YA), depending on the age and maturity of her characters and intended readers. Angela currently resides in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and cat.
Title: Spindrifts Author: A-M Mawhiney Genre: Young Adult Dystopia
Racism, climate change, and violence are in the past. The new world values respect and collaboration with others. But are there secrets lurking in the shadows of the Land of Hope? What truth about the past is being covered up?
When fifteen-year-old Fania returns from Immersion, she is shattered to learn that the next phase of her education is at home with Alicia, her granny. She had hoped for something far grander that would prepare her for an important role with the Earth Project. Their two strong personalities clash as Fania begins to learn more about the past and her family’s role in it.
As Fania grows in confidence and power, she starts to wonder exactly what secrets Alicia is keeping in her underground lab. After Fania discovers the truth, she finds her calling: one that has the power to change everything.
I’m supposed to write in my journal every day. Sure. Like that’s the best use of my time. They said it’d be a private place to think, but I’ve wondered about that. I can think in my head without writing my thoughts. Just in case, I always use my disconnected tablet for the real journal, encrypted with three protective codes and in a language I developed myself. I know this might be over the top, but I’ve felt better knowing no one can read my actual journal. So, people can read how excited I am about my apprenticeship, but privately I’m totally dissed. I really want to learn about people From Away, and instead I’m apprenticing with Granny, my great-grandmother, who’s spent most of her life close to home in her research laboratory, two miles down an ancient mine shaft. It used to be where they studied mysteries of the universe! How the heck did that work?
I’ve always loved Granny. I’ve felt as though we’ve had a special relationship, and I’ve missed spending time with her. I just never thought they’d give me a responsibility so far removed from what I really want to be doing.
Ezma told me I’ve many skills and a strong aptitude for analytical thinking. I know what that means. It means sitting in an underground lab every day for the rest of my life. I guess I wasn’t very good at hiding my feelings because Ezma felt she had to remind me what Granny does is very important. Then she asked me a curious question.
“Do you know what she does?”
Well, of course I do! I explained, “Granny is the researcher who found the serum. She said it was a fluke.”
That comment made Ezma laugh, hysterically almost. “Well, Fania, you’ll find there’s a lot you can learn from Alicia. I hope you’ll keep an open mind.”
When I boarded the transport to head home after two years at Immersion, my patch reminded me to change my timer back to the village’s schedule. The health patch is a misnomer; it’s actually an up-to-date example of bio-merged nanotechnology. This latest gen’s so far advanced compared to the primitive models my grandparents used when they were young—those things they wore on their wrists. Now the healer implants the technology at birth where it merges with our brainwaves. It has reciprocal transformational capabilities, but I’ve been told there are limitations so it can’t change the basic personality or natural abilities of anyone. The patch transmits and receives communications, monitors personal health data, and provides all my reading materials. Everyone in our territory has them, so far as I know.
A-M Mawhiney was deeply moved by the events of 2020 and the cries from advocates fighting for equity and justice for people living precarious lives because of structural barriers and discrimination. As a former social worker and academic she has spent her career seeking ways to improve lives of marginalized learners through inclusive education for all students. Mawhiney has hope for a better future for us all. Her vision of what this might look like inspired her to write Spindrifts.
Anne-Marie lives in Sudbury, Ontario, in the territory of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek in the Robinson-Huron Treaty Area, with Dave McGill and their canine companion, Charlie.
