OCEANS
A DARK DRABBLES ANTHOLOGY
Compiled & Edited by D Kershaw
Also available from Black Hare Press
DARK DRABBLE ANTHOLOGIES
WORLDS
ANGELS
MONSTERS
BEYOND
UNRAVEL
APOCALYPSE
LOVE
HATE
OCEANS
ANCIENTS
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Oceans, A Dark Drabbles Anthology title is
Copyright © 2020 Black Hare Press
First published in Australia in April 2020 by Black Hare Press
The authors of the individual stories retain the copyright of the works featured in this anthology.
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this production may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner.
Paperback: ISBN 978-1-925809-62-6
Hard Cover: ISBN 978-1-925809-63-3
Cover Design by Dawn Burdett
Book Formatting by Ben Thomas
WADE
through black jade.
Of the crow-blue mussel-shells, one keeps
adjusting the ash-heaps;
opening and shutting itself like
an
injured fan.
The barnacles which encrust the side
of the wave, cannot hide
there for the submerged shafts of the
sun,
split like spun
glass, move themselves with spotlight swiftness
into the crevices—
in and out, illuminating
the
turquoise sea
of bodies. The water drives a wedge
of iron through the iron edge
of the cliff; whereupon the stars,
pink
rice-grains, ink-
bespattered jelly fish, crabs like green
lilies, and submarine
toadstools, slide each on the other.
All
external
marks of abuse are present on this
defiant edifice—
all the physical features of
ac-
cident—lack
of cornice, dynamite grooves, burns, and
hatchet strokes, these things stand
out on it; the chasm-side is
dead.
Repeated
evidence has proved that it can live
on what can not revive
its youth. The sea grows old in it.
Marianne Moore - 1918, The Fish
Table of Contents
Foreword
Dead Man’s Chest by Nicola Currie
The Full Moon and the Sea by P.C. Darkcliff
Unexpected Laughter by K.B. Elijah
Reef Head by Jasmine Jarvis
Planet Killer by Steven Lord
Gen Z vs Monsters from the Deep by Wondra Vanian
Seoltóir by J.M. Meyer
Flotsam by Raven Corinn Carluk
When Confronted by the Big Bull Seal by Hannah Retallick
The End of a Hard Day by Michael D. Davis
No More Stars by Caroline S. Kent
Cleon’s Stone Figurehead by McKenzie Richardson
Stranded by R.J. Meldrum
The Edge by Nicola Currie
New World by Sara A. Mosier
Family Bonding by N.M. Brown
With the Morning Dawn by J.W. Garrett
Destiny by Jennifer Hatfield
Beckon me to Waters Sweet by Shelly Jarvis
Expedition of One by F.J. Bergmann
A Beautiful Place for a Bad End by G. Allen Wilbanks
Everlasting Life Theory 1520 by D.J. Elton
More Plastic for the Ocean by Andrew Anderson
The Shallows by Anika Claire
Finite by Sara A. Mosier
Encircled by Radar DeBoard
Bound for the Sea by Crystal L. Kirkham
Then and Now by Brian Rosenberger
Unsuitable Home by Paula R.C. Readman
D’eye by Catherine Kenwell
The Best Bait by Glenn R. Wilson
Mayday by Galina Trefil
Peace by Chris Bannor
Maritime Mayhem by John H. Dromey
A Queen is Born by Ximena Escobar
His Last Day at Sea by Stuart Conover
Yo Ho Ho by Joachim Heijndermans
The Last Resort by Stuart Conover
We Didn’t Listen by Matthew A. Clarke
Creatures of the Deep by Kaitlyn Arnett
Glitters in the Shallows by Matthew Wilson
Blue Ringed Octopus by J.M. Meyer
Plastic Texas by Owen Morgan
The Lost Isles by Stuart Conover
The Wrong Type of Angel by Lyndsey Ellis-Holloway
On the Hunt by Susanne Thomas
Ghostly Galleon by Zoey Xolton
Blood on the Sea Ice by Carole de Monclin
Wreckage by Maxine Churchman
Fog Between Worlds by Matthew M. Montelione
The Seasteaders by Daniel Purcell
Nix in Line by Peter J. Foote
Deep by Lynne Lumsden Green
Flotsam by Evan Baughfman
Myst by T.E. Dziadura
Sea Glass Souls by Jasmine Jarvis
Eternal by Kaitlyn Arnett
Rebirth by Kimberly Rei
Bubbling Up by Dawn Knox
Silence is the Sound of Freedom by Terri A. Arnold
The isle of carcasses by E.L. Giles
Lover Astray by Ximena Escobar
There is Such a Thing as Fate by M.J. Christie
Amazed by Cassandra Angler
The Survivor by Patrick J. Gallagher
The Endless Song by Paula R.C. Readman
Sanity is Blue by Joshua Gessner
The Indianapolis by Stephen Herczeg
There Below by Radar DeBoard
Bad Luck by Ali House
Bait by Jodi Jensen
Necessity by Carole de Monclin
Deep Revenge by Olivia Arieti
They Float Too by Nicola Currie
Songs to Sing by A.R. Johnston
Drowning not Waving by Paula R.C. Readman
Ocean Piranhas by C.L. Williams
Baptism by Jeff Slade
That Sinking Feeling by Steven Lord
Scuba by J.M. Meyer
Sally Stole Seashells by J.B. Wocoski
Nemo, God of the Seas by Joshua E. Borgmann
Join the Crew by Umair Mirxa
The Consequences of Climate Change for the Merpeople by Heather Ewings
The Right Bait by Andrew Kurtz
Unbroken Wave by Peter J. Foote
The Dinner Call by Patricia Elliott
Red Calling by Shelly Jarvis
Maybe Not Such a Bargain? by Nikki DeKeuster
Ancient Desires by K.R. Nox
Lost City by A.R. Johnston
The Pinata by J.B. Wocoski
Trapped by Carole de Monclin
Where the Light Cannot Go by Crystal L. Kirkham
Where Once Whales Wandered by Clint Foster
Sea Waste by Derek Dunn
Selkie by Stacey Jaine McIntosh
It’s So Quiet by Stephen Herczeg
Falling into Deep Blue by Cindar Harrell
Night Dive by J.M. Meyer
&
nbsp; Inside My World by Umair Mirxa
Almanack by Anika Claire
Siren by Susanne Thomas
Beneath the Triangle by Raven Corinn Carluk
From the Fog by Radar DeBoard
False Memory by Sara A. Mosier
No Escape by Cindar Harrell
Keep off the Beach by Maxine Churchman
In Utero by Rich Rurshell
Beachfront Days by Robin Braid
Cold by Ximena Escobar
The Blood Red Sea by Lyndsey Ellis-Holloway
The Dead Can’t Warn You by Susanne Thomas
Even sharks can be prey by Stephen Herczeg
Bad Luck by Jade Wilburn
Sink or Float by Radar DeBoard
It Began in the Oceans by Crystal L. Kirkham
Man O’ War by Antonia Rachel Ward
To Die or Not to (Not) Die by K.B. Elijah
The Longest Voyage by Kimberly Rei
Qalupalik Part 2 by V.A. Vazquez
The Artist by Bec Lewis
The Lady and the Whale by Nicola Currie
Caged by Jodi Jensen
Easy Kill by Wendy Roberts
Fish Judgement by Will Christian
Into the Depths by Megan Willette
The Sea Witch by Zoey Xolton
Funnel of Death by Nerisha Kemraj
The Coral Garden by Paula R.C. Readman
Tsunami by Paul Eric Carberry
Frozen by Terri A. Arnold
Fateful Expansion by C.L. Williams
The Mermaid by Timothy Friesenhahn
Meal for a Mermaid by Elizabeth Tackett
Human Leg Soup, Anyone? by Wondra Vanian
Atlantis the Hidden by Peter J. Foote
To Find Peace by T.A. Ulven
Safe in the Dark by Lynne Phillips
H.M.S. Tempest by E.L. Giles
You darkened my Soul by Chris de Monclin
Shark Fin Soup by McKenzie Richardson
Song of the Sirens by Rowanne S. Carberry
The Stowaway by Crmetheus Christopher
Hunting in the Shallows by G. Allen Wilbanks
Surf & Turf by Jacob Baugher
Evolution by Catherine Kenwell
Hammer - God - Serpent by Umair Mirxa
Fun Cruise by Nicole Henning
Fashionably Late by John H. Dromey
Twilight on the Sea by Timothy Friesenhahn
The Shark and The Sea Cloud by Lyndsey Ellis-Holloway
Addicted by Theresa Halvorsen
Fluorescent Hell by Paul Eric Carberry
Surf’s Up, Surfer’s Down by Brandi Hicks
Siren Song by Musaab Sultan
The Ghost of Bosun Gregory by Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer
Siren Song by Sara Burke
Storm Sent by Katie Conrad
Fortunate Soul by G. Allen Wilbanks
Tale of the Hydrodragon by C.L. Williams
Don’t Scream by C.L. Steele
A Final Wave Goodbye by Shawn M. Klimek
Cosa Negra by Andrew Anderson
The Sea of Grief by Nerisha Kemraj
The Flood by Charles Welch
Tall Tales by David Bowmore
The Cave by Brian Rosenberger
Splash Down by Peter J. Foote
A Deadly Dive by Nerisha Kemraj
Skull Island by Zoey Xolton
I Know by Gabriella Balcom
Her Return by Deanna Bollinger-Hill
Unmoored, Evermore by Catherine Kenwell
Shipwrecked by D.J. Elton
Killer Waves, Wretched Hearts by Russell Hemmell
The Return by Chris Bannor
Swallowed by C.L. Williams
Behemoth by Maxine Churchman
Dr. Ventham’s Log by Sara L. Uckelman
Soldier of Fortune by David A.F. Brown
Monster from the Deep by Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer
Awakened by Gabriella Balcom
Someone’s Daughter by Hari Navarro
Suicidal Sea by Nerisha Kemraj
Blue Escape by Carole de Monclin
Selkie Soft Skin by N.M. Brown
When the Balen Strikes by D.J. Elton
The Last Resort by Sara A. Mosier
Qalupalik by V.A. Vazquez
The Fins by Alanna Robertson-Webb
For Treasure by Clint Foster
Photogenic by Dawn DeBraal
Angels of the Deep by Stephen Herczeg
Still Waters by D.B. McKenzie
The Lure by E.L. Giles
Peaceful Beast by Matthew A. Clarke
Mama Qucha Calls by A.R. Dean
The Frozen Sea by Lyndsey Ellis-Holloway
It’s Your Turn by Eddie D. Moore
Survivors by Tracy Davidson
The Gift by Anika Claire
Sinking Ship by A.R. Dean
The Self-Sustaining Outpost by Stuart Conover
Sunken Treasure by Jasmine Jarvis
Blue Runner Bait by Rich Rurshell
The Shelled Menace by P.C. Darkcliff
The Shark Fin by Jim Bates
Suckers by Rich Rurshell
Charybdis Smiles by Kim Jackways
First Time at the Beach by Derek Dunn
Fin by Paul Eric Carberry
Now We Know by Eddie D. Moore
Afloat by L.P. Hernandez
Together-time by Gabriella Balcom
Fiona Raven by Luis Manuel Torres
Monster Lunch by Shelly Jarvis
Lullaby by Lydia F. Black
Smile by Paul Eric Carberry
Quetzalcoatl’s Revenge by Joshua E. Borgmann
Neptune’s Bounty by Laurence Sullivan
Uprising by Emma K. Leadley
Eternal Lover by K.B. Elijah
Food for Thought by Kaitlyn Arnett
Beneath by J. Dorden
She Loves Me by Cassandra Angler
At a Reasonable Price by Hannah Retallick
The Octopus’ Garden by McKenzie Richardson
The Leviathan by Zoey Xolton
The Cold Heart of the Ocean by R.J. Meldrum
Lost City by G. Allen Wilbanks
Cold North Sea by Will Christian
Drifting Off by Steven Lord
Water Damage by Jasmine Jarvis
Men and the Sea by E.L. Giles
Lay Down to Perish by Crystal L. Kirkham
The Statue of Atlantis by D.J. Elton
The Breathing Hole by V.A. Vazquez
The Watching Waves by S.N. Graves
The Ocean by Musaab Sultan
That Sinking Feeling by Henry Snider
Unlikely Compassion by Eddie D. Moore
Sea of Revenge by Harry J. Canis
Melisande by Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer
The Rescue by Maxine Churchman
Beach Trip by V. Mylynne Smith
Floating by Regina Kenney
PSI by Drew Starling
Rising Up by Mikko Rauhala
Creature as Red as Blood by Matthew M. Montelione
Strawkling by Kelly Matsuura
One Missed Catch by Nerisha Kemraj
Deep Sea Dying by N.M. Brown
My Ancestor’s Tears by J.M. Meyer
Maritime Nightmare by K.C. Clarke
The Siren’s Call by A.R. Dean
Ophelia by Stacey Jaine McIntosh
The Sea Witch by Paula R.C. Readman
The Ocean’s Thief by Patricia Elliott
Murky Waters by Destiny Eve Pifer
Shortcut by A.S. Charly
Beneath the Surface by Paul Eric Carberry
Wolves of the Sea by Evan Baughfman
The Fury Within by J.W. Garrett
Escape by Maxine Churchman
Leave No Wake by Jesse Highsmith
Superstition by Renée K. Reeves
Scotland by Kevin J. Kennedy
Medusa Rising by Freddy Iryss
Going Down by A.R. Johnston
Captain’s Knowledge by Radar DeBoard
Satisfy the Hunger by B
randi Hicks
Beyond the Reef by Monica Schultz
A Sailor’s Sacrifice by A.R. Dean
Swims with the Fishes by Sean P. Chatterton
The Thing Underwater by E.L. Giles
Siren Song by Jo Mularczyk
Cousin Joe by Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer
Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park by Vonnie Winslow Crist
O Captain by Henry Herz
The Leviathan by Jim Bates
A Mother’s Rage by Kaitlyn Arnett
Toes in the Water by Raymond Johnson
Piss on It by Dawn DeBraal
Beneath the Surface by Carys Crossen
Best Laid Plans by J.W. Garrett
Late Night Swim by Mark Mackey
Barry drowns his feelings by D.J. Elton
Wave Goodbye by D.M. Burdett
Live Raft by Dawn DeBraal
The Harrow’s Last Sail by Ali House
Into the Arctic by C.L. Williams
Prey by Dawn DeBraal
Resting Place by N.M. Brown
Never Fall in Love with a Mermaid by Wondra Vanian
The Sea Maiden by McKenzie Richardson
Call of the Siren by Emma K. Leadley
His Very own Mermaid by Carole de Monclin
Webbed by Cassandra Angler
The Cecaelias of Kepler 62f by Vonnie Winslow Crist
The Call by Eddie D. Moore
Deep Blue Fear by Thomas Sturgeon Jr.
Deep Dive by Shelly Jarvis
A Quizzers’ Guide to Geography by Hannah Retallick
The Prize by Lynne Phillips
Way Downtown, NY by Shawn M. Klimek
The living island by Stephen Herczeg
Fishing by Gabriella Balcom
New Treasures by Liam Hogan
The Show Must Go On by Lyndsey Ellis-Holloway
The Dark Dive by Rickey Rivers Jr.
When Oceanus Comes Calling by Susanne Thomas
Sinking Ship by Liz Feldman
The Dare by Jim Bates
Float by Beth W. Patterson
Rising Tide by Raven Corinn Carluk
An Ocean of Despair by Sabetha Danes
Nightfall by J. Scott Hill
Jelly Head by Nicola Currie
Slipping Away by Thomas Baker
Lost Beneath the Waves by Stuart Conover
Group(er) Think by Sara L. Uckelman
Slime of the Ancient Mariner by Beth W. Patterson
Mother of Pearl by Kelly Matsuura
Lady of the Deep by Holley Cornetto
The Box Beside the Bed by Sara L. Uckelman
Solitude & Fate by Sabetha Danes
Sunk by Dawn DeBraal
A Discovery at Sea by Ronnie Scissom
The Sinking of Port Royal by Paul Benkendorfer
A Watery Collision Course by John H. Dromey
The Hamptons Are Nice by Nikki DeKeuster
Christ of the Abyss by Vonnie Winslow Crist
The Custom of the Sea by R.A. Goli
Grendel’s Grottoes by John A. McColley