Here are my Horror & Crime extracts of writing…
Horror Extract – Something Bad is Coming
My knees were hard against my chest as I huddled on my bed. The night slowly darkened outside my window, but I didn’t, or couldn’t, move. For years, I had been kept in the dark about what I was or what I could do. They said it was to protect me, to keep me out of the public’s eye. But now, now I knew the truth, they confined me to my bedroom as the sun set and the night crept in. I turned my hands over; they were covered in thin, pink scars. My whole body trembled with suppressed energy. I tried to use the coping techniques they had taught me, but they didn’t work, they never worked.
I had lost control three times, all with fatal consequences. All with devastating repercussions.
Crime Extract – A Stab in the Back
The door had been forced; it was hanging loosely off its hinges. She pushed it hesitantly and it creaked. Nothing had been disturbed. The heating was on, the machine was whirring with the latest wash. The buzz from the TV filled the silent house. Her bags were by the front door, packed for her work conference, everything was where, and how it should be. But where was she?
A creak from the upstairs landing and I moved upstairs and cautiously trod around. One door slightly ajar and I peered through. There she sat, at her desk, as if writing minutes for work. She was sprawled out over the desk, her head on her arm, eyes closed. A giant knife protruding from her spine.
Who would do this?
I remembered the sound of raised voices coming from here over the last few days. Return of the ex-husband, the custody agreement. A co-worker who was riled up at her promotion. The wife of her three-year boyfriend, out for revenge. Motivations to kill.
My best friend lay there, murdered in cold blood. My hand shook, I dialled 999 and put the phone to my ear.
“Police, please.”
Sophie Creates 