Post by markgunnells on Oct 21, 2013 16:40:18 GMT -6
Today I've decided to post an excerpt from my Halloween-themed novella OCTOBER ROSES. It's a tale of possession and murder and possible madness. If you're intrigued, please purchase a copy in paperback or digital. And for those that don't know, all royalties from OCTOBER ROSES are going to Greer Relief & Resources Agency, Inc.
"That night, Caitlin was awoken by the feel of something gently stroking her thighs. At first she thought Kurt had somehow snuck into her room. He’d threatened to do it before, but she’d countered with a threat of castration if he ever tried it. She wasn’t a prude, but she wasn’t so adventurous as to do it with her Christian roommate sleeping a few feet away.
Giggling softly, Caitlin reached down to brush away Kurt’s caressing fingers…only what she felt was not a questing hand but instead something soft and silky. Her eyes still closed, she explored further down and felt something sharp prick her fingers.
Her eyes shooting open, she glanced down at her body, confused by what she was seeing. Two roses, slithering like snakes up her legs toward her pelvis, long thorny vines intertwining as they made their advance. Caitlin tried to sit up, but then she realized there were more roses, their vines entangling her arms and holding her down on the bed.
She opened her mouth to scream, but then a large rose shot forward, the blossom stuffing itself in her mouth, effectively muffling her cries. She tried to spit the flower out but it seemed to expand in her throat, choking her, cutting off her oxygen. Thrashing in the bed, she felt a thorny rope wind its way around her neck, the thorns piercing her flesh and drawing blood. Jesus had a crown of thorns; she had a necklace.
More vines wrapped around her ankles and began pulling her legs apart. Thorns scratched and ripped at her panties, tearing them away. She redoubled her efforts to get loose of her bonds, but the more she struggled, the deeper the thorns bit into her, bleeding away all of her energy and strength.
In horror, she watched as a large rose, the largest blossom yet, made its way up the bed between her legs on a stalk so thick it looked more like a small branch than a vine. Caitlin knew what was going to happen and she tried to squeeze her legs shut but to no avail. Tears coursed down the sides of her head in salty rivulets, and she gagged on the petals that continued to bloom in her throat. She found herself praying to Teresa’s God for salvation from this nightmare, but He must have been out and didn’t get her call.
She turned her head away, not wanting to see, as the rose forced its way inside of her, the thick stalk burrowing deep, the thorns shredding the delicate walls of her vagina as she was invaded. She bit down on the vine that trailed out of her mouth, and she thought she heard a faint scream…but it did not withdraw. Thorns pricked her tongue, her mouth filling with blood. Suffocation and drowning, all at once.
The pain in her pelvis was becoming unbearable, the stalk seeming to plump up to the size of a tree trunk. Caitlin felt herself slipping into unconsciousness and was grateful for it…
…and that was when she awoke for real, a scream caught in her throat like a piece of unchewed apple. For a moment she could still feel the vines, could taste the rose blossom in her mouth, but a quick survey of her body showed that she was untethered and bore no marks from the assault.
Only a dream. A bizarre, surreal, horrible dream. Where in the dark depths of her subconscious had such a nightmare been conjured? It was probably that damn leftover Thai food she’d eaten just before bed.
Laughing to herself, Caitlin felt her body flooded with the sweet relief that comes from awaking from a nightmare to realize none of it was real.
And yet when she stared across the dark room at where she knew the flowers sat in the coffee jar, she shivered."
www.amazon.com/October-Roses-ebook/dp/B00BODKWBY/ref=la_B005C18L7Q_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382395101&sr=1-14
"That night, Caitlin was awoken by the feel of something gently stroking her thighs. At first she thought Kurt had somehow snuck into her room. He’d threatened to do it before, but she’d countered with a threat of castration if he ever tried it. She wasn’t a prude, but she wasn’t so adventurous as to do it with her Christian roommate sleeping a few feet away.
Giggling softly, Caitlin reached down to brush away Kurt’s caressing fingers…only what she felt was not a questing hand but instead something soft and silky. Her eyes still closed, she explored further down and felt something sharp prick her fingers.
Her eyes shooting open, she glanced down at her body, confused by what she was seeing. Two roses, slithering like snakes up her legs toward her pelvis, long thorny vines intertwining as they made their advance. Caitlin tried to sit up, but then she realized there were more roses, their vines entangling her arms and holding her down on the bed.
She opened her mouth to scream, but then a large rose shot forward, the blossom stuffing itself in her mouth, effectively muffling her cries. She tried to spit the flower out but it seemed to expand in her throat, choking her, cutting off her oxygen. Thrashing in the bed, she felt a thorny rope wind its way around her neck, the thorns piercing her flesh and drawing blood. Jesus had a crown of thorns; she had a necklace.
More vines wrapped around her ankles and began pulling her legs apart. Thorns scratched and ripped at her panties, tearing them away. She redoubled her efforts to get loose of her bonds, but the more she struggled, the deeper the thorns bit into her, bleeding away all of her energy and strength.
In horror, she watched as a large rose, the largest blossom yet, made its way up the bed between her legs on a stalk so thick it looked more like a small branch than a vine. Caitlin knew what was going to happen and she tried to squeeze her legs shut but to no avail. Tears coursed down the sides of her head in salty rivulets, and she gagged on the petals that continued to bloom in her throat. She found herself praying to Teresa’s God for salvation from this nightmare, but He must have been out and didn’t get her call.
She turned her head away, not wanting to see, as the rose forced its way inside of her, the thick stalk burrowing deep, the thorns shredding the delicate walls of her vagina as she was invaded. She bit down on the vine that trailed out of her mouth, and she thought she heard a faint scream…but it did not withdraw. Thorns pricked her tongue, her mouth filling with blood. Suffocation and drowning, all at once.
The pain in her pelvis was becoming unbearable, the stalk seeming to plump up to the size of a tree trunk. Caitlin felt herself slipping into unconsciousness and was grateful for it…
…and that was when she awoke for real, a scream caught in her throat like a piece of unchewed apple. For a moment she could still feel the vines, could taste the rose blossom in her mouth, but a quick survey of her body showed that she was untethered and bore no marks from the assault.
Only a dream. A bizarre, surreal, horrible dream. Where in the dark depths of her subconscious had such a nightmare been conjured? It was probably that damn leftover Thai food she’d eaten just before bed.
Laughing to herself, Caitlin felt her body flooded with the sweet relief that comes from awaking from a nightmare to realize none of it was real.
And yet when she stared across the dark room at where she knew the flowers sat in the coffee jar, she shivered."
www.amazon.com/October-Roses-ebook/dp/B00BODKWBY/ref=la_B005C18L7Q_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382395101&sr=1-14