The Dark Issue 1, page 6
part #1 of The Dark Series
When her throat clears, Maura begins humming between swallows. A soft, soothing song—one of Barrel’s favourites—with sleepy, familiar lilts. Soon, Michael’s weeping subsides, but the clawing at her guts persists. Pausing to drink down the soup’s dregs, Maura steadies herself. Then, humming louder and stronger, she peeks at the barnacle suckling her middle. Buried up to the elbows, it’s now shrivelled blue-white. Compact as a roast ham. Fat cheeks clotted as though smeared with soft cheese. Slopping liquid into its purple maw, it gazes up at her and sighs.
Together, it purrs. Alone together.
“How’s that, love?” Maura says. “Is that good? Mmmm, you’re hungry today, aren’t you?”
And as it nods, Maura brings the pot cracking down, then rams the stunned head face-first inside her. Grabbing the thing’s pudgy rump, she shoves. Her innards writhe and compress, but she won’t stop—no, she won’t be alone. Bladder leaking through her cotton skirt, she jams tiny arms up under her ribcage and legs down into her pelvis. She pushes and grunts, pushes and grunts, until all that remains are the creature’s clawed toes, wriggling from a black gap in her navel.
“There now,” she says, mashing its feet out of sight, leaving no mark on her apron, no gash. Full of promise, the squirmer spins inside her. Full of raw luck, Maura reaches for Michael’s hand. Presses it against the full moon of her belly.
“Look what I’ve got for you,” she says to her man. “Extra hands, love. Another mouth.”
Lacing her fingers through his, she rubs the taut fabric curved between breasts and lap. Together, their palms shush back and forth like the tide. Together, Michael’s eyes focus as little heels kick and little elbows jab. Together, their chests swell.
Lisa L. Hannett hails from Ottawa, Canada but now lives in Adelaide, South Australia—city of churches, bizarre murders and pie floaters. Since 2008, she has sold or published over fifty short stories in venues such as Clarkesworld Magazine, Fantasy, Weird Tales, ChiZine, Shimmer, The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror (2010 & 2011), and Imaginarium: Best Canadian Speculative Writing (2012 & 2013). Lisa has won three Aurealis Awards, including Best Collection 2011 for her first book, Bluegrass Symphony, which was also nominated for a World Fantasy Award. Midnight and Moonshine, co-authored with Angela Slatter, was published in 2012. You can find her online at lisahannett.com and on Twitter @LisaLHannett.
COVER ART
“Serpent’s Eye”
Dariusz Zawadzki
Dariusz Zawadzki was born in Szczecin in the NW part of Poland. Since his early childhood he was regarded for having unusual sensitivity to the surrounding world. His artworks are widely admired for being able to deeply move the spectators, with both the feelings and emotions as well as high attention to artwork details.
Jack Fisher, The Dark Issue 1
