Nick Harris |
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The October Selected Story is by Nick Harris Please feel free to email Nick at nicolettehh@hotmail.co.uk |
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THE SNAKE “Hi! I’m here about the snake.” Jack tried to keep his voice light as he looked at the young couple that had just answered the door to his knock. He didn’t want to judge them. He wanted to keep his mind free of possible prejudice, of thinking ‘innocent until proven guilty’ but he couldn’t help himself. The couple standing at the door looked wasted through and through. The man had a skinhead and his neck and arms were covered in horrific satanic-looking tattoos and the young woman had her greasy mop scraped back into a harsh ponytail over a pale, waxy face full of piercings. He hoped his own face looked naturally inquisitive and enquiring and not his usual sardonic self. Jack took in the surroundings. The hallway was dark and dank and the place smelled of liver and damp and bad plumbing. Jack saw all the crap lying everywhere and wondered if the couple had ever heard of fresh air or a vacuum cleaner. His thoughts were interrupted when the man said, “The snake’s in here.” He pushed past a stack of newspapers blocking the hall, leading Jack through to the living room. Behind them all, next to the faux leather couches, was an empty crib. Deliberately ignoring it, acting as if he didn’t know, Jack went over to the vivarium and peered in at the snake. His own stomach churned at the thought of the possible contents and he had to concentrate hard on controlling his need to turn around and pin them both up against the wall, demanding answers. The man pulled a home-rolled cigarette from out of nowhere and popped it into his mouth, scraping a match on a small box and lighting it. He blew out a plume of smoke before answering. “Rats, mostly.” She smiled nervously. “Yeah. Ash, your dinner’ll be ready in a minute. Don’t be too long.” She hurried away back into the kitchen and Jack’s suspicions were aroused by her behavior. She was definitely hiding something and if that something was in the snake’s belly, slowly being consumed by acidic stomach juices... Jack turned his attention back to the snake. “Looks in good health.” Baby gone missing? Yeah, right! Stolen from the house in the middle of the day, the couple had told the police. Nobody saw or heard a thing, apparently. They’d got papers and magazines offering them money for their story left, right and center—which they’d accepted—and suddenly they’re selling a snake with a massive meal in its belly. The last prospective purchaser had told them he needed to think it over and had gone home and called the police instead with his suspicions. Sick idea, it might have been, but what if it were true? Some people would do anything for money these days, wouldn’t they? Money and fame, it’s what the young people wanted nowadays and most didn’t care how they got it. The police had to check it out. It might be a sick idea, but people might try anything these days. If he had a pound for every parent that had sat and cried their eyes out at a press conference, begging the public to give them information on their missing child, only to later discover that the dad or the mum had done it… Again he roused himself from his musings. “Two hundred quid, wasn’t it?” he clarified, pulling a wad of notes from his pocket, knowing the sight of the money would spur on the sale so he could get the hell out of there. Jack hoped he sounded business-like. “Really?” Maybe the tank could have something that forensics could work with. “All right, you’re on.” As they slid it in, Jaden’s father saw the police radio. He stood up quickly and peered at Jack over the roof of the car, his brow furrowed and anger in his ugly face “What’s that? You the old bill? You a cop?” Driving away, Jack felt a little squirm in his stomach as he thought of what they’d find when they opened up the snake. ***** She looked at him quietly as she served dinner. “They’ve got to check everything.” He stared at her. There he was getting all angry again when he had to remember, she was the one who was suffering the most. Jaden might have been their child, but she was the one that had carried him for nine months. She was the one that had gone through over forty hours of labour to bring him into the world. “Sorry, love.” He reined his temper in and softened his voice. He glanced at the meat on his plate. “How’d we afford this? What is it?” Ash stared at his wife. Seconds later, he vomited his son up into the sink. |
Nick Harris is the horrific side of author Nicolette Heaton-Harris. She has had many of her horror short stories published by Gypsy Shadow Publishing, Welcome to Wherever, as well as the wonderful The Horror Zine! Nick is also a non-fiction author of six books on health issues, including mental health. Nick is currently working on a horror novel, but occasionally she has other dark thoughts that make it into more short stories. She has a blog at www.horroronhayling.blogspot.co.uk Learn more about Nick HERE
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