Death Watch - A Horror Short Story

By Lisa Shea

Verne's Momma had one rule which could never be broken. He could not reveal to any outsider what went on within their house. Verne knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that to violate that rule was to bring unholy tortures down onto his head.

And so not a word passed his lips. Not during the twenty-five years he lived in the dank basement, curled up on the thin mattress.

Not during the ten long years of his prison sentence.

Until he made the mistake ...

* * *

Death Watch is a psychological horror suspense short story. My horror stories explore the frailty of the human psyche - how tenuous our grasp on reality can be. The delve into how alone each of us really is, as we navigate the short, brief flicker of life we are granted. My stories focus on the psychological aspects of fear and do not contain overt gore. They are suitable for teens and up.

This short story is part of my series: Lisa's Dark Gripping Short Tales. You can read the short stories one at a time if you wish - each is available as a standalone ebook. If you prefer, you can get the first nine short stories compiled together in ebook or paperback format. The title of that compilation is, naturally enough, Lisa's Dark Gripping Short Tales. I am currently working on the second set of nine stories. I'd love to hear feedback on them as I work on them.

I support battered women's shelters.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lisa Shea
• Release date: Oct 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386845966

Lisa Shea

I love writing in a variety of genres. I currently have over 300 books published in all lengths from full 500+ page novels down to short stories. I love writing series. Some are with unconnected characters, like the 14 full-length medieval novels with a sword being passed from heroine to heroine. Some have connected characters, like the 31 mini-mysteries featuring a detective in Salem, Massachusetts. All of my books are written "clean" with no explicit intimacy, no harsh language, and no explicit violence. All are suitable for teens and up. For a full listing of my books please visit: http://www.lisashea.com/lisabase/writing/gettingyourbookpublished/lisalibrary.html

Book preview

Death Watch

Lisa Shea

Copyright © 2016 by Lisa Shea / Minerva Webworks LLC

All rights reserved.

Cover design by Lisa Shea. / Book design by Lisa Shea

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

~v5~

* * *

The dark, frigid cell stank of urine and bleach. Verne kept his eyes closed and tuned in his other senses as he came awake.

Verne had long since gotten used to the thinness of the musty mattress beneath his heavy body. The ten long years in Unit III had made the previous twenty-five years of his life fade into a hazy dream. His childhood and young adult years outside sometimes seemed no more real than those black and white movies they played in the day room. But six days ago he had been moved to Death Watch. He had been taken from the other prisoners on the row