The Other Stories: Volume 1

By Luke Kondor, Daniel Willcocks and Ben Errington

The BEST tales from the multi-million downloaded horror podcast!

The Other Stories Best-Of Collection features 30 of the show's best stories, featuring gristly horror, mind-bending sci-fi, and thrilling gut-rippers with a foreword by modern horror extra-author-naire, Michael David Wilson.

With honest intentions, on April 4th 2016, a humble gathering of writers decided to put out a weekly short story podcast featuring the best horror, sci-fi, and thriller stories this side of the apocalypse. 

Within the space of five short years, the show went on to amass 8-Million downloads, build up a multinational creative team, and recently sold the Film/TV option, and continues to feast on the ears of many thousands of listeners each and every week.

The writers didn't plan on the show growing into the beast that it is today, but like all good beasts it was born by accident and is now hell-bent on consuming the world. 

Not content with just the ears, now the beast wants your eyes. Please, if you're reading this. The writers are very sorry. Try not to let your eyeballs get sucked into the pages. That's what it wants.

FEATURING STORIES BY

• Joanne Askew
• Richard Beauchamp
• Matthew C. Butcher
• Andy Conduit-Turner
• John Crinan
• Jon Cronshaw
• Josh Curran
• Ben Errington
• Elana Gomel
• Ali Habashi
• Kev Harrison
• Dan Howarth
• A.L. King
• Luke Kondor
• Grant Longstaff
• Ellis Marsh
• J.T. Shields
• Matthew Stott
• Daniel Willcocks
• Michael David Wilson 

AND ARTWORK BY

Pye Parr & Luke Spooner

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hawk and Cleaver
• Release date: Aug 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781914021145

Book preview

The Other Stories: Volume 1

The Other Stories: Volume 1

Collecting the best stories from the first five years of the hit podcast

Hawk & Cleaver

Hawk & Cleaver

Other titles by Hawk & Cleaver

Novels

Lazarus: Enter the Deadspace

They Rot (Book 1)

They Remain (Book 2)

Deeper than the Grave

The Hipster from Outer Space (Book 1)

The Hipster Who Leapt Through Time (Book 2)

Ten Tales of the Human Condition

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Short Stories & Novellas

The Mark of the Damned

Twisted: A Collection of Dark Tales

Take the Corvus: Short Stories & Essays

Dye Pack / Oil Slick / Gut Spill

Death Throes & Other Short Stories

The Jump Series

Sins of Smoke

Breeder

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Keep up-to-date at

www.hawkandcleaver.com

Copyright © 2021 by Hawk and Cleaver

First published in Great Britain in 2021

All rights reserved.

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https://www.hawkandcleaver.com

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ISBN-13: 978-1-914021-15-2

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Front cover illustration: http://www.pyeparr.com

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All work remains the property of the respective authors and may be used by themselves or with their express permissions in any way that they deem appropriate with no limitations.

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No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, not be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover or print other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

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All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental

To all those podcast-addicts out there who feel that tiny explosion of bliss when they see a new episode land in their podcast feed.

A special thanks to our patrons

Our Patreon supporters are the lifeblood of Hawk & Cleaver. Without their constant support, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. Thanks a million for your constant support, no matter what level you fall into.

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Raptors

DeadlyBlonde, Scott Burgher, Mike Edward Evans, Amanda Griffen, Ken, B. Lisa Kyser, Samantha Romero

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Hawks

Michael Aldous, Joshua Beneze, Bruce Bush, John C, Logan Cheshire, Walter Clarkson, Paul Collins, Josh Curran, Larna Dennis, Rob Eiben, OhNoItsEmma, Deborah Fagg, Paul M. Feeney, Jacqui Ferguson, Nancy Folsom, Sunny Giron, Sarah Graves, Hailey, Christina Hargis, Steve Hauptmann, Angela Linville, Kev Mann, Kris Murray, Micah RagingRiver, Shannon F Scott, Danielle Steer,

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Hatchlings

AtheK, Ashley Argile, Owen Bailey-Burne, Leanne bailie, Oliver K Beverly, Joshua Boucher, Sara L Burns, Brandon Chinn, Andy Coffey, Andy Conduit-Turner, Courtney, James Curtis, Sara Czartołomna, Dave, Willit Dark, Alex Ebenstein, Alexandra Elroy, Robert Finch, Barri Fisher, Jessica Flindell, Jackson Foster, KGhost, Richard Gillard, Andy Goss, Cyndi Gradel, Melissa Gradel, Cortez Gray, F. Harangozo, Rene'e Harmon, Kev Harrison, grabbytheheel, Sarah Hill, Dan Howarth, Mathew howell, Brad Jacobs, Georgie Kempthorrne, Michael Kopischke, Jesse Krenzel, Katrina Kuehn, Chris Lilienthal, Grant Longstaff, Jennifer McPherson, Jacqueline Moran Meyer, Alecia Morgan, Duncan Muggleton, JAMES ORTIZ, Jay Outhier, Paul Alex Reaney, Samshine, Beige S, Daryl Schumann, Kelly Shaw, Abhishek Shanthkumar, John Shields, Trisha Slay, Mat Spalding, Danni the spoonLord, SPYDOR, Brittany Sthram, Shanna Stichler, David Thirteen, Angela Tipper, Vaharala, Roger Venable, Vanessa Watson, Molly Westfield, Tami Westin, Diann Wingert, Laura Wren

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Want your name featured in all future Hawk & Cleaver books? Visit www.patreon.com/hawkandcleaver to find out how.

Contents

Foreword

Daniel Johnson

Bulletproof

Collaboration

Should I Kill Myself or Have a Cup of Coffee?

The Mould on the Wall

Lord Sidebottom and the Awesome Airship Mystery

Dissolution

Toast

Cardboard

Old Knobbly

Wanted: Tour Guide

The Paperweight

The Crusted Depths

For the Greater Good

When the World Fled East

Tesselate

Bio

Tentacle

Stranger in the Night

Mr Glass Eyes

Bleed

The Blood Marrow

Fold

Not my Silence

Psychomanteum

Savant

Black Shuck

Golden Shephard

Erl-King

A Christmas Eve Visitor

Afterword

The Other Stories podcast

About the Authors

Other titles by Hawk & Cleaver

Foreword

It’s been over five years since Hawk & Cleaver first launched their quirky brand of Sci-Fi, Horror, and What-The-Fuckerism into the world courtesy of The Other Stories Podcast, and in that time we’ve seen a rise in the grotesque, horrific, and downright strange both on and off the page. Right now, we are living in a golden age of horror, for fiction, films, and indeed all artistic endeavours. Just look at the success of Josh Malerman’s Bird Box, a book later adapted into a film with such commercial success that it smashed Netflix records to become the most streamed Netflix movie in the first seven days of release to the tune of 45 million viewers. Now more than ever, those genre stories we love are being adapted for the screen. We’ve recently been treated to cinematic versions of Adam Nevill’s The Ritual, Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation, and Nathan Ballingrud’s The Visible Filth (filmed as Wounds) and there are more goodies on their way in the future from the likes of Sarah Pinborough, Max Booth III, and perhaps even some writers you’re reading in this very book. Speaking of which, this book—which you hold in your hands or someone holds in their hands for you, or perhaps its balanced someplace, or you may have even tattooed the words on your skin, but the point is—it’s the culmination of hard work, perseverance, and the very definition of a success story. I’ve been aware of The Other Stories since its first year and have watched it grow from a little-known niche podcast to a horror fiction audio production I’d put in my personal top three.

So, what are you getting in this book, dear reader? Only the very best of stories the podcast has to offer with diverse styles, authors, and thematic concerns. Some of these stories have transformed into legends within The Other Stories community and just like your favourite films and songs you’ll find yourself quoting lines to others in the know. When I first read collection opener, ‘Daniel Johnson’ by Josh Curran I spent the better part of the next week asking everyone I met if they were in fact Daniel Johnson. It provided for some difficult situations, particularly as most were unfamiliar with the story (sacrilege!) and given I live in Japan there was a bit of a language barrier, but nonetheless I persisted until I was taken to the local police station and strongly advised against this course of action. Luckily, there were other stories to quote and I moved onto diffusing difficult situations with the helpful line, ‘It’s not real … it’s vir-chu-all’ courtesy of Luke Kondor’s ‘Cardboard’, a story that’s laugh-out-loud hilarious until … well, you’ll see. Pair it with Dan Howarth’s ‘Collaboration’ and file it under the ‘comedy-turned-nihilistic despair’ section. If you’re looking for something beautifully haunting that wouldn’t be out of place in Black Static then Grant Longstaff has you covered with ‘Dissolution’ and if you’re looking for a more traditional urban legend then turn your attention to ‘Old Knobbly’ and try not to go around your local town singing ‘Old Knobbly-knee, daddy-dee, what gifts I bring for thee.’ Alas, it’s impossible and the warning I received for the whole ‘Daniel Johnson’ fiasco turned into an actual criminal record once I’d moved onto the hard drug that is ‘Old Knobbly’, but I digress.

After devouring this fine book you’ll likely be inspired to seek out other dark and delicious offerings the genre has to offer. I’m sure the 320+ episodes of The Other Stories Podcast will keep you busy, as will their sister podcast Miscreation—a full cast audio show that’s amongst the best produced in the business. But when it comes to the genre as a whole you really are spoilt for choice. This is a choose-your-own-adventure and everyone wins. That said, I’d like to offer a few starting points. Consider beginning with an anthology or author interview podcast, when you find a story or author that resonates with you delve into their back catalogue. If anthologies are your thing then consider picking up some of horror’s ‘best of’ anthologies. There’s Ellen Datlow’s The Best Horror of the Year, Stephen Jones’s ‘Mammoth Books’, and Paula Guran’s The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror to name but three. If podcasts are more your thing then there are a range of excellent author interviews on shows such as This Is Horror Podcast, Great Writers Share, Ink Heist, Books in the Freezer, Ladies of the Fright, and Booked. Podcast. Indeed, the quality of author interview podcasts is at such an all-time high I could keep listing them but that might make for somewhat tedious reading and I suspect you’re eager to get to the meat of the matter—the stories themselves.

So, with that said, it’s time to grab a drink, settle yourself in a comfy chair, and remember: these aren’t the stories your mother told you—no—these are The Other Stories.

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Michael David Wilson

Founder and Editor-in-Chief, This Is Horror

August 2020

Full Page Image

Daniel Johnson

by Josh Curran

The alarm goes off. There’s light coming from behind the curtains. I see my beautiful wife lying beside me. She wakes up. Her sharp brown eyes look back at me. She smiles. I smile back and kiss her.

Good morning Daniel Johnson, I say.

Good morning honey, she yawns back.

I hear movement in the room next door. No need to wake the kids up I guess. Why’s that photo frame on its front, you can’t see the picture. I’d better use the bathroom while I can, I’ll fix it later.

Shower and family breakfast are done. Daniel Johnson is going to take the kids to school, so I can head straight for the office.

Daddy! Daniel Johnson, my youngest shouts. Oh wow, he’s going to be six next month.

Yes Daniel Johnson?

Who do you love more? Me, or Daniel Johnson?

His sharp brown eyes look up at me. He’s genuinely worried that I don’t love him as much as his sister.

Oh Daniel Johnson, I love you both very much and exactly the same.

He smiles. Ok Daddy.

Now come on, don’t want to be late for school do you?

Excitedly, he scrambles to get his little backpack. The kids are all ready now, and they’re hurrying into Daniel Johnson’s car. I kiss my wife goodbye, get into my own car, and head out on my way.

Uh, traffic. Let’s see if there’s anything good on the radio.

This is the news at 9, with me, Daniel Johnson. A ground-breaking new peace treaty between the US and Iran was signed by President Daniel Johnson and Iranian President Daniel Johnson. President Daniel Johnson went on to say that they had more in common than they had originally thought. Our Middle East correspondent, Daniel Johnson, has more…

President Daniel Johnson. Huh, he’s been busy. Only been president a week and he’s almost achieved world peace.

As I park the car in the usual spot, I see two men watching me. Smartly dressed, but not the sort of thing the guys at the office wear. One of them, I see he has a pistol holstered inside his jacket. They continue to watch. Cautiously, I get out of the car. The one with the gun, he’s getting something from his jacket.

Sir, I’m Daniel Johnson, FBI, he says, flashing his badge. Could we have a moment of your time?

Um, sure, I say.

Can you confirm your name please sir? the other one says.

Yeah, it’s James Finchley.

They give a look to each other.

And… you’re sure?

…I’m sure. I say, puzzled. Why wouldn’t I be sure?

Sir, would you be ok to come down to our office to answer a few questions?

The look in his sharp brown eyes tells me that this isn’t a request.

I… don’t know what I’ve done…

You haven’t done anything wrong, we just need to ask you a few questions about an open investigation is all.

Oh, alright then.

I’m in an interrogation room. They don’t call it that, but I know what it is. The ride over here was awkward. The agents barely said a word. I didn’t even catch the other one’s name. Agent Daniel Johnson walks through the door, clutching a large file.

Am I going to be here long? I ask. It’s just, there’s a big deadline at work, so…

"We won’t keep you too long, Mr. James Finchley."

The way he says my name is strange. Like he’s not used to the words.

The bureau is very keen to locate someone. Someone we believe you have had contact with in the past. A former fiancée of yours by the name of Daniel Johnson?

Daniel Johnson. That’s a name I haven’t heard in a very long time.

I used to know her. I haven’t spoken to her in about… eight years.

Tell me about her?

She was my girlfriend for about six years. We were engaged for the last six months of it too. But I dunno, things just ended. After we broke up I never spoke to her again… Why are you looking for her?

We just need to ask her a few questions is all.

He continues to probe me on the subject for about half an hour. Her hobbies, places she’s lived, people she might be staying with. What has she done? The Daniel Johnson I knew wouldn’t hurt anyone. She dedicated her life to helping people. Even if it meant shutting people out. I’d sometimes go a whole week without seeing her, so caught up in her research. No time for me. No time for kids either. I couldn’t live a life that lonely.

"We’re going to let you go back to your work Mr. Finchley."

That odd pronunciation again.

But if you do hear from her, he continues, or you remember something else, please call me.

He hands me a card with his number on. I put it in my wallet.

Thank you for your time, he says, closing his file.

I walk to the bus stop. My office is three miles away. They couldn’t give me a lift back could they, no, that would be far too convenient. I can see the bus stop down the street, and my bus driving past it. Great, I’m going to have to wait another half hour. Or call a taxi. No, I might as well wait.

I wonder if they’ll find her. In some ways, I hope not. But what if she really has done something horrific? A person can change a lot in eight years. But I shouldn’t dwell on the past. I’ve got a wife and kids now, and they need me there for them.

A car has just stopped beside me. Black tinted windows. Gangsters? Or a celebrity looking for directions? The window opens just a little bit.

Jamie? A voice from the car calls.

But something’s… wrong, with the voice. I don’t know what, it’s like it’s too high pitched maybe? It feels wrong, but, I know I’ve heard it before. But where?

Do I know you? I call back.

You did, a long time ago. Get in the car Jamie, before they find me here.

It can’t be.

Daniel… Johnson?

Hurry Jamie! She snaps.

Why has she come here? So close to the FBI. Has she risked that, for me? I have to know. So I get in the car. She’s turned the other way, probably seeing if she’s being followed. We speed away, along the narrow road.

She looks at me.

I see her face.

It’s wrong.

I don’t understand how, but it’s wrong. Faces are supposed to look a certain way, but hers doesn’t. Her soft blue eyes, they just… shouldn’t be that way. I freeze.

I wasn’t sure how you’d react when you saw me, she says.

Who…who are you? I say, trying not to show my fear.

You know who I am, you’ve just forgotten my name and my face.

What are you talking about?

I met you around fourteen years ago at the beach. You’d just graduated, so you went on vacation with a friend. While sunbathing, your parasol collapsed leaving you trapped, but luckily, I was on hand to free you.

No! That wasn’t you, that was…

Daniel Johnson? Or was it Daniel Johnson? Or maybe it was Daniel Johnson?

I don’t understand any of this. It couldn’t have been her, it wasn’t. And when she says Daniel Johnson, it feels empty. Like I don’t know who she means.

Jamie, she says softly, your memories have been tampered with. The years we had together, they weren’t with Daniel Johnson, they were with Amber Colling.

Amber… Colling… the name makes me feel warm. And safe. But regretful. And agitated.

Doctor Amber Colling if we’re getting into specifics, she says, shifting a gear. Look in the glovebox.

I open it. There’s a photo; it’s of me in Paris near the Eiffel Tower, me and… No. That’s not right. It’s me and the woman in the car, this woman with the wrong face and voice. But I remember this, it was me and Daniel Johnson when we went round Europe. Not this… I turn to her.

It’s not real, it can’t…

Look on the back.

I flip it over. It reads: ‘I will love you Amber, till the stars stop shining. Jamie’. It’s my handwriting.

I wasn’t really interested in that touristy crap, she says. But it made you happy. I remember when you wrote that, I said, ‘You know a lot of the stars have already stopped shining right? It’s just going to take a few million years before we can observe that,’ and you said, ‘We’re in the city of romance Amber, let it take you.’

This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.

I know you’re scared and confused but let me explain, she continues, you might remember once, I let you have a look around the research lab. Even though technically, I wasn’t supposed to let you. I gave you an inoculation to protect against our project, just as a precaution. I think that’s what’s prevented you from transforming like the others.

This isn’t real. But I remember the lab. Was that real?

For the past decade, my team I were working on a synthetic enzyme, carried by harmless bacteria, that could alter genetics. The idea was to be able to cure conditions such as Huntington disease, or cystic fibrosis. We were even able to tune it to repair brain damage and restore lost memories. It was almost perfected. But it turns out that a junior lab assistant, Daniel Johnson, was creating his own batch. A batch that only understood one particular DNA sequence, and would ‘correct’ any other human DNA it came into contact with. He released it in three strategic locations, and the world changed overnight. Do you understand what I’m telling you Jamie?

I take a moment, turn to her and say:

If something like that happened, then… I have a wife now. And children. What if this gets to them? Changes them?

For god’s sake, it already has! Think Jamie! They all have the same face! The same name even! Not just your family, but everyone! Everyone you know!

No, my wife, Daniel Johnson was…

Carol. Her name is Carol. A week ago, you were calling her Carol Finchley.

The name hurts, but I don’t know why.

And your daughter, Sarah, she says. And your son, Adam.

These names, they burn. Like something’s been taken from me.

But now everyone is Daniel Johnson, she says. The only way you’ve been able to tell them apart is by context.

The car stops. This is my house. My wife’s car is there.

Jamie, the woman says. "There are a few of us