just a bad dream

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A SIX-PACK OF HORROR BY PEGGY MCFARLAND Just a Bad Dream Knock Knock Who’s There?

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A six-pack of horror b Peggy McFarland

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Page 1: Just a Bad Dream

A SIX-PACK OF HORROR BY PEGGY MCFARLAND

Just a Bad Dream

Knock Knock Who’s There?

Page 2: Just a Bad Dream

Just a Bad DreamDEADLY ASSUMPTIONS

The skinny guy with the bed-head hair and bloodshot eyes was introduced to me as Roach, so I figured he'd accept

my invitation to step outside. I watched a vein pulse beneath his pale

temple as he inhaled deeply, then smiled and indicated for me to lead the way. In the alley, I smiled my most

coquettish smile and asked how much he smoked to earn his nickname. His

cool hands clasped my warm cheeks; I felt vulnerable, desired. "They call me Roach because I'll survive no matter

what," he said and then grinned. His fangs gleamed in the moonlight.

FOLLOWING ORDERS

Al drove Spike to the abandoned cabin to shoot him; one less loose end. Following orders, Al dragged the body

to the cellar. Blood seeped into the dirt floor, fed the forgotten. Rotting

parts slithered, merged. Al fell as the ground shook, fell into the gaping chasm, felt something yank his legs,

claw his stomach, rip out his intestines, feed on him. As his world

blackened and his body went numb, the quiet part of his brain realized, this had nothing to do with loose ends.

A NEW COOKBOOK

Preheat oven to 375°. Sauté chopped onions, carrots and celery. Add balsamic reduction, a splash of

Bordeaux , eggs and cracker crumbs and work into the ground meat. Form

into a loaf and bake for one hour. What kind of ground meat? Where's my Joy of Cooking? she thought as

she slammed shut Having Guests for Dinner by Jeffrey Dahmer.

Page 3: Just a Bad Dream

A Six-Pack of HorrorTHE INNER ANIMAL

For the second month in a row, hundreds of dead bodies were discovered the morning after the full

moon. Witnesses reported deadly attacks by snakes, lizards, leopards,

eagles, scorpions and one bizarre nutcase implied a ravenous hula girl murdered his best friend. Rafe shut

off the news, knew he was responsible because he accepted that stack of

crisp Ben Franklins, opened shop for the biker gang and tattooed each one with their 'animal spirit' instead of

escaping to his hide-away. Sure, he arrived at his cabin before dark, but he

knew better. On the day of the full moon, even during daylight, his senses magnified and he couldn't concentrate

with the allure of hearts beating and the heady smell of their blood. He

should have controlled his impulse and stuck to needles, not his sharp, claw-like fingernails to carve those

tattoos.

YARD WORK

She scraped the dirt from under her nails, scrubbed her hands at her kitchen sink. She stared at her yard,

admiring her handiwork. The row of new bushes was just the finishing

touch her landscaped yard needed. Glad she had the foresight to start planting a week ago, she retrieved her

phone to complete the last task. In a broken voice, she stammered, "He

said he'd be ri-right back. He left for cigarettes yesterday."

HEED THE WARNING

Ray pounded against the splintered walls, his knuckles bloody. He screamed, not sure if it had been

minutes or hours, but his voice only croaked out his pleas of, "I'M NOT

HERE, PLEASE, NO -- RAY'S NOT HERE -- LET ME OUT!" He sobbed;

wishing he'd never stumbled upon the urban legends website, or read the story about a quirky stone marker

supposedly located about an hour north of his home. He had laughed at

the warning: never recite the children's riddle with your own name or else you could disappear. Not believing it really

existed, he made the pilgrimage, found the gravestone with the "Knock

Knock Who's There" inscription and with reckless audacity, declared "Ray Michaels." The ground shook before

fracturing, sucking him inside a coffin crowded with decomposing corpses.

Page 4: Just a Bad Dream

About Peggy McFarlandHER STORIES

appear or will appear soon at Absent Willow Review, FlashShot, Everyday Weirdness, Long Story Short, Sonar 4

E-Zine, hoi polloi III, Harbinger*33, WordSlaw, 6SV1 and 6SV2. Follow

twitter.com/peggywriter for a daily dose of nanofiction.