Crawlspace: A Story From Scary Stories: A Collection of Horror- Volume 4 Read online

  * * *

  The next morning, Mia awoke spread-eagled on a makeshift operating table in the kitchen. The curtains were pulled back, and the sun was blinding as it washed her naked body with dazzling clarity.

  “Please, Dr. Frankenstein or whatever your name is, I beg you. Let me go. Please. I’m a human being. Not one of your lab rats. We told the newspaper where Alex and I were going when we left. They'll be sending someone to check on us when we don’t return.”

  “Good, it’s not often I have visitors. But they are already too late to save your friend. The things in the crawlspace were ravenous. They have already devoured him. And after I inject you with my latest serum, you'll wish you had never been born.” He giggled uncontrollably, snot spurting in green clumps from his nostrils.

  “Why are you doing this? Is it for some military purpose? Or is this some philanthropic crusade to save humanity from the impending doom of Ebola? Are you giving your life and sacrificing the lives of others to find the cure for cancer?”

  “I could lie and say I did it all for truth, beauty, and the American dream, but to be frank, Miss, my motives are purely for my own selfish gratification. I simply get my rocks off making monsters. It’s that simple. Sorry your death and dismemberment couldn’t be for a more altruistic reason. I guess I’m just a lowlife asshole, who enjoys torturing people, particularly people with boobs as large as yours. That’s why I answered the door when you rang the bell.”

  Mia struggled desperately to free herself, and lifting her head, she saw three enclosures in front of the kitchen window. One had nests of praying mantises inside; the second, webs of enormous black spiders; and the third, a wooly dwarf with an oversized skull strapped to a table.

  Mia watched the doctor stick a syringe into a vial of liquid from the mantis enclosure, fill the test-tube with it, and then shoot the mixture into a vein in the cave dwarf’s right arm. Then, he extracted a syringe of liquid from the spider enclosure and shot a tubeful into the dwarf's left arm. The cave dwarf writhed in pain; his face contorted in agony.

  Mia swooned and lapsed into unconsciousness at the horror of the dwarf’s transformation taking place before her eyes.

  * * *

  The next morning, Mia awoke still strapped to the table. When she opened her eyes, the sun blinded her. She felt something furry pinch her nipple.

  Then, she screamed as the cave dwarf with spidery arms and mantis teeth crawled up on the table and mounted her.

  About Billy Wells

  Thanks for reading my book. I hope you enjoyed it.

  As a boy, I read a story entitled The October Game by Ray Bradbury in an Alfred Hitchcock anthology paperback. That story not only chilled me to the bone, but it inspired me to write horror stories of my own. I submitted one of my early attempts, Black As Night, to Ruth Tisinger, my high school English teacher. Knowing she hated scary stories and would be grading it for the next day’s class at night, I included the following note at the end of the story for additional effect, “Now, Mrs. Tisinger, as you sit streaking my paper with scarlet, someone could be watching you through the window. Are you alone?”

  From those humble beginnings, I have written 137 short stories, mostly horror, with surprise endings. I’ve just published my eighth collection, Dead Things. I’ve seen more movies than anyone I’ve ever known and enjoy most genres, but a good horror film has always been my favorite. My dream would be to see some of the stories in this book in a movie or a TV show.

  Reviews In Today’s World

  In the past, when everyone knew everyone else in their neighborhood, people used to share information about the good and bad things they discovered to help each other in their day-to-day living.

  Now, in this global village where we are in touch with everyone and everything in nanoseconds, Amazon monitors what readers say about what they read in order to distinguish the good from the bad.

  Since reviews are the life’s blood of today’s authors, and we depend on them more than ever before, I would sincerely appreciate it if you would place a review of this book on amazon.com. It does not have to be long; only a minimum of twenty words is required.

  If you place a review on amazon.com of any of my books or short stories, I will hold you in high regard for all eternity, and I may include you in my will.

  Other Books by Billy Wells

  Don’t Look Behind You: A Collection of Horror

  Billy Wells Horror Anthology I

  Black As Night

  Shivers & Other Nightmares

  In Your Face Horror

  Thrillers & Chillers

  Thrillers & Chillers 2

  Something In the Dark and Other Nightmares

  Scary Stories: A Collection of Horror –Vol. 1

  Scary Stories: A Collection of Horror –Vol. 2

  Scary Stories: A Collection of Horror –Vol. 3

  Scary Stories: A Collection of Horror –Vol. 4

  Scary Stories: A Collection of Horror-Vol.5

  Singles

  It Lurks On the Mountain

  The Tomb

  Cold Calls

  The Caller From Hell

  Forbidden Fruit

  The Reckoning (From Scary Stories- Vol. 2)

  Crawlspace (From Scary Stories 4)