Tenebrum: Ninguna

By Daniel Canals Flores

Tenebrum is a compilation of stories of fear, terror and suspense that collects, in its texts, the evolution of the author within this literary genre. Some of them have already been published, in various anthologies and literary collaborations, some of them international. The first story, The extraordinary case of Susan Malcolm, was created exprofeso for the anthology entitled "The Edge of ELA" in a joint collaboration of several writers, with the Miquel Valls Foundation of Barcelona, ​​which fights against this terrible disease. Also included, among others, are the texts: Hands up, published by Vaulderie Magazine in his anthology entitled "Resurrection Party". The basement and the beach, both texts published by the Ibídem Literary Magazine of Mexico. Forced models, selected by Fantastique Magazine in its anthology "Pagan Rites".
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: Apr 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781071532355

Daniel Canals Flores

Escritor aficionado, a mis 46 años inicio mi carrera sin ninguna experiencia previa. Me gusta escribir poemas, relatos cortos y micro cuentos inspirado por lecturas de Charles Bukowski o Kerouac.Texto: La bicicleta del milenio, publicado en la Revista Ekatombe. Junio 2018III Concurso de Microrrelatos La Radio en Colectivo/Valencia Escribe. Mayo/Junio 2018. 1er. Finalista con el micro cuento: Industria 4.0.III Concurso de cartas Ojos Verdes Ediciones, Cartas quemadas. Texto: Sanatorio La ChapellePoema La cucaracha. Publicado por la Revista La Cucaracha. Julio 2018La rata y Ante todo honestidad. Microrrelatos publicados online por la Revista La Sirena Varada, en México. Julio 2018.Revista Antología Microrrelatos No3 Onomatopeyas de Historias Pulp. Seleccionado por el texto: Peligro inminenteGanador del III Concurso de Microrrelatos Valencia Escribe-La Radio en Colectivo del mes de Junio/Julio. Por el texto:Beso Letal.

Book preview

Summary

Foreword

The extraordinary case of Susan Malcolm

Hands up

The basement

The limb

Forced models

The rope

The beach

Fidelitas

It is not bear everything that glitters

Unexpected return

Hooting night

Seven lives

Foreword

Tenebrum is a compilation of stories of fear, terror and suspense that collects, in its texts, the evolution of the author within this literary genre. Some of them have already been published, in various anthologies and literary collaborations, some of them international.

The first story The extraordinary case of Susan Malcolm, was created formerly for the anthology entitled   The Edge of ELA in a joint collaboration of several writers, with the Miquel Valls Foundation in Barcelona, ​​which fights against this terrible disease.

Also included, among others, are the texts:

Hands up, published by Vaulderie Magazine in his anthology entitled Resurrection Party.

The basement and the beach both texts published by the Ibídem Literary Magazine of Mexico.

Forced models, selected by the Fantastique Magazine in its anthology Pagan Rites.

As always, I cannot fail to express my eternal gratitude to Pulp Stories for their constant support and great covers.

Daniel Canals Flores

The extraordinary case of Susan Malcolm

Winter at Malcolm's house

A cold wind ran through the Georgetown neighborhood that morning. The timid autumn sunbeams entered, sifted through the curtains, at the Malcolm's house, creating a strange atmosphere in the dining room. The shadows of the various medical devices accumulated there created grotesque shapes that gave the room an abnormal appearance. The mood of those present, as well as the strong and heavy chemical aroma that floated in the air, had just completed the feeling of being in an unreal and surreal environment in everyone who entered that sad abode.

John Malcolm Weick, the young scientist awarded by the prestigious Queen Victoria Society because of his eminent career, was mired in utter despair. Susan, his tender and lovely wife, had been in a rocking chair for several weeks, barely able to move.

The disease that afflicted her was of unknown origin at that time and, even being treated by the best specialists... did not show any improvement. It had all started a few months ago, when she began to feel sporadic exhaustion that forced her to rest often. More and more frequently. In the end, they had to hire Mrs. Murton, a Haitian of undefined age, to help with the housework and attend to Susan.

Mrs. Murton, black as the blight, was recommended directly by one of John's fellow scientists at Oxford.

The maid had carefully taken care of an elderly lady of British high society who died a while ago.

John, deeply concerned about his wife, appealed to the best specialists in the country without paying attention to expenses. It is not that the situation of the young marriage was very buoyant, but her friends and acquaintances contributed her grain of sand... All but her family, which was headed by the tyrant, despot and irascible Sir Arthur Müller, her father. He had always expressed his opposition to the courtship and then to their wedding.

The doctors alternated the different treatments without success. They tested small doses of all known medications, including laudanum. None of this made a dent in his increasingly weakened organism. They did not even manage to stop an iota the unstoppable advance of muscle degeneration that affected her in almost half of her body. The patient's muscles did not respond or did so with a mild intensity to the electrical stimuli of the various devices that brought on purpose and that were piled up in the dining room as they were discarded. John Malcolm watched, dismayed and helpless, as all attempts ended up failing. The look of his beloved wife was dying, losing his usual shine.

That glow in those beautiful blue eyes was the trigger for her instant crush a couple of years ago... See her now in those pitiful conditions, hearing her continuous screams after electric shocks, assisting her in the fading caused by the infinite number of chemical substances that supplied her, coupled with their own personal carelessness and lack of sleep, caused the next fatal episode in that miserable family... John Malcolm Weick began to go crazy.

He stopped eating, did not shave and was only interested in knowing if there was any sign of improvement. He was violent and lost patience with doctors and treated them as useless as time went by. He wrote to France, specifically the neurologist Jean Martin Charcot, on the recommendation of one of them, describing the symptoms observed. But the response obtained by the eminent member of the Académie de Médecine reduced the little hope he had. The approximate estimate of life he could expect for his wife was one to five years, at the most, and all depending on how the disease evolved and the date of its appearance. Susan had contracted ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

As the degeneration progressed, John dispatched doctors in bad ways and, sunk in a deep depression, began to consume huge amounts of laudanum. In the end, he just tolerated Mrs. Murton's presence. This was limited to attending the work and to observe with her yellowish and hypnotic eyes how that young woman was going out. Susan had long since stopped talking and the maid was the only one who could understand her desires and needs only with her eyes.

In the end, that winter, Susan stopped eating and after... breathing. He died of respiratory failure in the last stage of the terrible disease. 

***

Two and a half years ago...

John Malcolm Weick entered the main hall, beaming, amid the applause of members of the London scientific society. His brilliant study on cosmology, developed from multiple observations with his telescope, had given him the entrance to that select circle. Once decorated, he went to attend the press and that same week his name appeared on all the front pages of the newspapers, creating a lot of admirers... and also admirers.

One spring morning, Susan appeared at the door of her humble home with the intention of meeting him. His audacity was capital, since at that time another type of protocol was stipulated regarding the relations between the different sexes; but she was an advanced woman for her time.

She wore a pamela to cover herself from the sun and a pretty green dress that matched the surrounding spring glow. The door was open and entered determined. He found him tucked into papers in a motley room full of books of all kinds. He waited standing, until after a few minutes, he seemed to notice his presence. He looked up, crossed his eyes with hers and they both smiled in unison.

He was instantly captivated by that beautiful lady, her immense and bright blue eyes, as well as her graceful presence. She smiled as she watched her troubled hair, which denoted many hours of biased work without resting.

Isn't it time for this distinguished scientist to take a short break? she asked.

To whom do I owe the honor of this visit?

"My name is Susan Müller and you are John Malcolm Weick, the