The boy was drowning and though Billy Somerset was still learning to swim, he jumped into the pool to save him.

As he reached for the boy, the body rolled, revealing empty sockets and a piranha grin. Then the dead boy was reaching back with gnarled, black claws.

Billy tried to surface, but a slender hand caught his ankle. Thrash as he might, he couldn’t break free.

Then new hands seized Billy, pulling him from the water.

“Don’t be scared, Billy, you’ll get it,” his Dad said as Billy fought for air. “Just take a breather and hop back in.”

Author’s Note: Inspired by that startling moment in the original Friday the 13th when little Jason erupts out of Crystal Lake and bear-hugs the lone survivor of his mother’s rampage.

Categories: Fiction, Franklin Charles Murdock | No Comments »

Maddie knew the demon liked her blood, thought it sweet. She began the trail at her bed with a pin prick to her finger, letting it pool at her feet to entice the monster.

When she’d seen the glint of its yellow eyes, she’d backed out of the room, watching each drop hit the floor as she wrung them out. It was following her now, down the hall, to the kitchen, until her father ambushed the abomination with a knife.

An hour later, they feasted on its husk, father and child, their craving for demon’s flesh sated in the moonlight.

Author’s Note: This story features a classic bait-and-switch ending. Gives new meaning to the term “demon hunter.”

Categories: Fiction, Franklin Charles Murdock | 1 Comment »