Cross on the Concrete by Austin Malcome

You try to see no Evil… by Abz-J-Harding on DeviantArt.com

Emma gripped her cardboard sign. Her stomach groaned. She needed a new begging spot.

She found the perfect place—a concrete median at a busy stoplight. A cross and wreath rested there; Emma kicked them into the road and took their place.

Cars passed, all day, while she begged—alone, sixteen, and pregnant.

The sun sank. A shadow stretched across the asphalt. Emma gasped. The earth surged and split. Hot air rose from the chasm. Emma screamed. Terrible hands dragged her into the pit.

The ground closed. The Caretaker returned, with a cross and wreath to mark her grave.

What Plagues You by Austin Malcome

Seppuku by Rlkahwe4kl on DeviantArt.com

“You fade, Lord. Allow me to do what I must.”

“I cannot!”

“You would die in bed? It is not fitting!”

The daimyo clasped Yamatso’s hand. “I will die. It is enough.”

“Leave my husband be,” the Lady hissed.

Yamatso grimaced. “Out of respect, I have stayed my blade, oni. No more!”

His wakizashi flashed and found her stomach. The Lady screamed. Her face twisted; a snake’s tongue whipped between her fangs. Yamatso twisted the blade. She collapsed, spewing yellow blood.

The daimyo stirred. “What have you done!?”

“Now you shall recover.”

“Commit seppuku!”

Bogie by Austin Malcome

Golden Interdimensional Serpent Redux by GuthrieArtwork on DeviantArt.com

“Bogie on your six, Slick!”

“I see him.”

Slick dropped his speed and rolled into a dive. He maneuvered the enemy into his crosshairs and fired.
The enemy ship exploded.

“Not bad, Slick!”

“Thanks, Jules.”

Alarms blared; the cockpit blazed with warning lights. Jules’ voice crackled through the intercom:
“… unidentified …”

“Come back, Jules. I do not copy. Jules?” Something slammed into the side of the fightership. It spun in frantic circles. The engines bled plasma.

Slick saw the thing now, and his mind broke. It was too big, too hideous—and its tentacles reached for him.