Dead of Winter: Enter Madness

By B.F. Vega, E. Gallagher, C.W. Stevenson and 10 more

Dead of Winter is a chilling anthology that brings together thirteen short stories weaving a tapestry of horror that explores the intersection of the frozen landscape and the nightmares that lie dormant within, delivering a spine-tingling journey into the heart of winter's darkest depths. Each tale of icy terror lingers in the reader's mind long after the story ends.

DESCRIBE THE COLD - B.F. VEGA
THE DEATH ZONE - E. GALLAGHER
THE LAST PATROL - C.W. STEVENSON
BLACK TRIDENT SESSIONS - C.C. PARKER
FROZEN IN TIME - PETER J LARRIVEE
THE SNOW-LIGHTS - TIM O'NEAL
SMASH, MARRY, KILL - BOB FREVILLE
BURIED, FROZEN - A.J. PAYLER
ROOM 306 - AUSTIN GILLEN
SNOW MONSTERS - SARAH CRABTREE
SHADOWS ON A CHRISTMAS MORNING - GARRETT BLISS
RUN THROUGH THE JUNGLE - JANE NIGHTSHADE
REINDEER GAMES - MICHAEL PAIGE

• Language: English
• Publisher: M Presents Publishing
• Release date: Jun 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227069597

Book preview

DEAD OF WINTER

13 TALES OF WINTER HORROR

DESCRIBE THE COLD - B.F. VEGA

THE DEATH ZONE - E. GALLAGHER

THE LAST PATROL - C.W. STEVENSON

BLACK TRIDENT SESSIONS - C.C. PARKER

FROZEN IN TIME - PETER J LARRIVEE

THE SNOW-LIGHTS - TIM O’NEAL

SMASH, MARRY, KILL - BOB FREVILLE

BURIED, FROZEN - A.J. PAYLER

ROOM 306 - AUSTIN GILLEN

SNOW MONSTERS - SARAH CRABTREE

SHADOWS ON A CHRISTMAS MORNING - GARRETT BLISS

RUN THROUGH THE JUNGLE - JANE NIGHTSHADE

REINDEER GAMES - MICHAEL PAIGE

Describe the Cold

B.F. VEGA

T here is no describing the cold. It hits you everywhere, all at once. Your muscles contract. Your lungs stop. In five minutes, your nerves freeze, and you can no longer tread water. The immersion suit gives you an additional thirty minutes tops. It’s your only hope. Roberta looked at the small group in front of her. They had bought the ‘trip of a lifetime’ to the Antarctic Peninsula, and it was her job to keep them safe.

The dozen upper-middle-class retirees stared at her with wide eyes and mouths agape. She was glad they were scared. It meant they were paying attention. The Snow Queen was no luxurious cruise ship but a small vessel built for scientific research.

Roberta doubted the tourists’ ability to keep their balance when the temperamental Drakes Passage started making trouble, let alone get to their muster stations in a true emergency. But the money was needed to fund their research.

What my colleague’s trying to say... Henry butted in, Is that your safety’s our top priority, but you needn’t worry. The Snow Queen is a state-of-the-art vessel. Roberta, why don’t you show them the lifeboat?

We will get to the lifeboat after practicing with the immersion suits, She replied, glaring at the Chief Mate.

The cruise director, Amber, cut in, Who wants to see the lifeboat?

Henry and the tourists agreed that they wanted to see the lifeboat.

Roberta sighed. The lifeboat would do these people no good if one of the crew weren’t there to launch it. With the immersion suits, they could save themselves, but she knew a lost cause when she saw it. We will return to immersion suits, she said, heading off toward the smaller vessel. She did her best to drown out the tourist's nonsensical twittering, Amber's not-so-veiled comments about her being a ‘downer,’ and Henry’s ridiculous statements about how the voyage was 100% safe. Not for the first time was she tempted to push Henry overboard.

Three hours later, she left the retirees in the make-shift lounge downing gin and tonics. She decided to go below to the galley for some tea, hoping the soothing beverage would keep the impulse to murder Henry and Amber in check. But, when she walked in, Amber was there pouring the captain ‘just one more’ drink.

Roberta gritted her teeth. The captain was supposed to be at the helm at the moment. Ever since Amber, Henry, and the tourists had come on board, the unprofessionalism had run rampant. 

Roberta was looking forward to returning to Ushuaia and taking another berth. The only reason she had stayed so long was Mark. But he had made his intentions clear in the last week. She would lose if she made him choose between his beloved Queen and her. It was time to move on.

However, since she was here, she grabbed some tea and filled another cup to take to the bridge. If the captain was here, then Mark had the helm. Mark was a better seaman than the Captain or the Mate and was often assigned extra shifts despite the legality of it.

Thanks, Mark said, accepting the cup of warm liquid a minute later. There’s a cold breeze blowing in.

Get Henry in here to lecture you on why safety isn’t important. There’s enough hot air in that to warm things up. She answered.

Again? He asked, rolling his eyes.

Yeah, again. And Amber is almost worse. They’d better pray we never encounter an emergency. None of those passengers will make it.

Yeah, Mark answered. They both knew the risks had been underplayed to attract more tourists.

There were so many ways for things to go wrong in the passage. They both had lost friends to the Southern Ocean.

Then Mark shot her a smile, Don’t worry I won’t damage my Queen. He kissed his hand, and then patted the helm with the kissed palm.

You can’t actually marry a ship. Roberta laughed, turning to go below.

But she already said yes! he called after her, his jovial response bringing a smile to her face. All she wanted now was her five-minute warm shower and her bed.

There is no describing the cold. It hits you everywhere, all at once. Your muscles contract. Your lungs stop. Roberta sat straight up. The water splashed onto her face again. She turned to flip on her lamp, but the switch did nothing and she couldn’t hear the ship's engines.

She pulled the flashlight from the top drawer of her bedside table. Aiming the beam around her tiny cabin she knew at once they weren’t going to make it. The water was already up to the rim of her bunk.

She plunged her bare feet into the water. Even that amount of exposure stole her breath. She lost control of her legs but grabbed the wall in time to recover. She took one step, and the ship started listing, throwing her down into the icy fluid. She fought the panic.

She had been a cold water rescue diver in the Navy. But this cold seemed sentient. It slipped beneath the top layers of her skin, and she could feel it seeping down into her marrow replacing her blood.

She found her footing. Getting to the door of her cabin she had to fight against the force of the water to open it. With one final heave, the door gave way, and the water from her cabin splashed into the corridor.

Get topside! She yelled to anyone she saw. Grab the warmest clothes you have and get to the deck. She ran as quickly as the listing ship would allow to the stairs.

Mark met her on the deck.

What’s going on? She yelled.

I don’t know. He answered, holding out an immersion suit.

The explosion came from nowhere. One moment, Roberta and Mark were on the stairs; the next, they were both lying dazed on the deck.

Roberta sat up. The entire aft of the ship was aflame, spreading fast.

The passengers! She yelled starting down toward the cabins.

She entered the second-deck hallway. Flames already engulfed the far end. She ignored the heat and knocked on doors, to get passengers up and out.

The fire spread too quickly for her to get back to crew quarters. She hoped they had awoken already and were at their muster stations.

It suddenly dawned on her that the captain hadn’t declared an emergency. She ran back up the stairs straight to the life raft to find it gone. Looking out onto the fire-lit waters she saw it already meters away from the ship.

She heard Mark cry out and ran in his direction. The immersion suit he had offered her was being pulled out of his hands by Henry.

Before Roberta could step in, Henry pulled a knife and stabbed Mark twice, causing Mark to let go of the suit. The momentum pushed Henry back away from Mark and over the railing into the icy sea below.

There is no describing the cold. It hits you, everywhere, all at once. Your muscles contract. Your lungs stop. Without an immersion suit, you have under a minute to get out of the water. He fought for breath. His lungs, shocked by the cold, were refusing to fill.  His fingers wouldn’t move. His legs seemed frozen in place. His head dropped below a wave filled with slushy ice. He screamed, but his mouth filled with saltwater. Up above in the darkness, a flash of light caught his attention. He knew it was the lifeboat's emergency light. He just had to get to it. But his nerves were already freezing. He wasn’t going to make it. Maybe it was better this way.  The cold would take him before the sea. He just had to close his eyes and forget.

His eyes snapped open, and he sat straight up, covered in a cold sweat that smelled of brine. Beside him, his wife snored gently.

Henry crawled from under the blankets. He knew it would take a while for him to calm down. He tried the grounding techniques his therapist had taught him. Feel the cool laminate floor under his bare feet. Listen to the sounds of the city outside his townhouse’s front windows. Make coffee. Smell the warmth of the beans becoming a magical brew that would warm him from the inside.

Warmth was the key. He went to the thermostat, and turned it from 68 to 70 then stood over the vent as warmth blew into his home.

By the time he’d gotten dressed, the night terror had dissipated and he was going to be late. In his haste he didn’t even look around as he pulled his car out of the garage. Had he looked as he got out to get his newspaper he might have seen her. But then again, Roberta was good at being invisible.

Outside his three-story townhouse deep in the Sunset district of San Francisco Roberta was surprised by the surge of anger she felt when he got out to pluck the newspaper from the mailbox. She had spent a long time controlling her rage. Seeing him in the flesh, she almost abandoned the plan.  But she had waited too long, and endured too much to get here. She could be patient.

She followed him at a discreet distance. Much to her surprise, he drove to the marina and pulled up to a gate where a security guard waved at him before opening it.

She needed to get closer without drawing attention. She spotted a large group of tourists coming down the sidewalk and crossed the road to slip in amongst them.

As she approached the gate she saw a sign that said Fog Cruises and Historical Tours.

A kiosk just beyond the security guard was selling tickets to these cruises. She pointed the group toward the kiosk. As a swarm, they descended. She picked up a brochure unseen.

According to the brochure, Henry had bought two large party ships.

His company took tourists under the bridge or around Alcatraz and Angel Island. They were advertising a brand new Foggy Night Ghost Tour that started the next night.

Roberta smiled. The ghost tours made her plan easier. But the smile dissipated when she saw the name of the vessel. The Ross Sea’s Mark

That asshole! she exclaimed, immediately regretting it. The group didn’t speak English. She slipped out before the questions could begin.

Henry had just started to enter the office building when there was a commotion at the kiosk. He watched as Jasper, the security guard, approached the group of tourists and was surprised when an ambulance pulled up. He decided to scoot inside before he had to see the victim. Seeing people on stretchers was still a trigger for him.

His therapist had suggested he start volunteering at the local hospital or hospice.

Immersion therapy worked so well for your Thalassophobia. The therapist had said.

Henry had just nodded. He was still terrified of the sea, but his brief foray into the world of cruises before the accident had shown how much money he could make. In the end, his love of money superseded his fear of the water.

He had just started berating his secretary when Jasper came in.

Jasper, is everything alright? He asked the man.

Yeah, uh, yes, sir. A girl fainted, I guess.

You guess?

Well, I don’t speak very good Japanese....

Ah. He waited for Jaspar to finish the thought as Henry didn’t like interrupting people bigger than him. Jaspar? He asked.

Sir. I don’t speak much Japanese; but, I know the word for possession.

Like something valuable?

No, sir. Not that type of possession.

A shiver ran up Henry’s back—the iciness of it stealing his breath, making his lungs forget how to fill. For a second, he saw silver water under the stormy sky. A flash of orange to his right, a body to his left.

Sir? his secretary asked, looking at him with concern.

Sorry, I...didn’t sleep well last night. Janice, please cancel my appointments for the morning.

Yes, sir. She replied, but the crease above her nose remained.

Henry entered his private office, locked the door, and pulled a bottle of Xanax from the filing cabinet. He took two pills before sinking to the floor until the shaking stopped.

San Francisco’s always gray in the summer, but tonight’s night's fog was deeper than normal. Henry hated living somewhere so cold. But his wife loved it, and after the accident, she had been very understanding about changing their names.

Still, after the events of the day before he found himself getting edgier as the evening cruise approached. All afternoon the fog had congealed onto the eaves outside his office.

Henry tried not to worry as he boarded the Ross. His chief mate saluted him as entered the wheelhouse.

Sir.

I have command, Henry said.

You have command. It’s going to be choppy tonight, sir.

Yes, I glanced at the forecast. We’ll need to make sure the steward doesn’t serve hot soup. Henry laughed.

Of course, sir. His chief mate replied, Shall I assist?

No, go find me some coffee, please.

Of course, sir, The mate said leaving the wheelhouse.

Henry looked out on the fog-shrouded bay and shivered. In the twilight; it glinted silver-black like Arctic ice under the moon.

When all the passengers had been boarded, he pulled the ship away from the dock leaving his second he went down to wine and dine the passengers.

After dinner, he accompanied passengers to the lounge. He had turned to request a whiskey and soda from the bar when he glanced out the windows overlooking the bow. The outdoor lights illuminated just enough for him to see Roberta glaring back at him. Her eyes were dark with hatred.

Henry ran out onto the deck to find nothing.

Some of the passengers joined him outside.

Is everything all right, Captain? a woman asked him.

Yes, sorry to startle you. I thought I saw a seal. In the water. He lied.

Ooooh. The cruisers started pointing to the invisible bay, claiming to have spotted the imagined seal.

The fog started seeping below Henry’s clothing, chilling him to the bone. I think it’s gone now. He said, Why don’t we all go back inside where it’s warm.

He was ushering them back into the lounge when he heard a faint laugh from the bow's far end. The laughter was followed by the sound of water dripping. It wasn’t the soft slipping of condensing fog, but, as if a towel was being wrung onto the wooden deck. He followed the sound and was surprised to find a small group of people.

Assuming they were passengers he called to them, Can I get you anything?

When they didn’t respond, he moved closer.

Excuse me. I don’t mean to interrupt, but it will be much warmer in—

We know. One of the people cut him off as all six of them turned.

Henry froze. He knew these people. He had watched as their frigid fingers slipped under the gray waves.

No, he whispered.

Henry... one of the women hissed at him as the six stepped toward him.

No! Get Away! he yelled.

Captain! One of the stewards was beside him now, shaking him. Captain!

Henry blinked. He saw his second moving through the curious passengers.

Captain? His second asked.

I’m all right. he lied. I just slipped and thought I was going to fall. That’s why I called out.

But sir... The steward started, but the second shook his head.

Let’s get the captain to the wheelhouse. The second said, Bring some hot coffee.

Yes, sir. The steward replied.

Henry was going to protest, but he looked at the passengers now gawking.

Thank you, second. He said and strode toward the wheelhouse.

When he reached the helm, he turned to his second, I have command.

But sir...

It will be alright. Go get some dinner. Jenkins is here standing watch.

Sir. The second answered, giving one more hesitant breath before leaving.

How’s it looking, Jenkins? Henry asked.

Can’t see a damned thing, Captain, just like all of these foolish excursions.

We have radar and global positioning. We’re fine. Henry replied.

Fine? Is that what you said when the hull failed? When the course you set brought us too close to the ice.

What?! Henry asked

I didn’t say anything, Captain, Jenkins replied, his eccentric eyebrows drawing together.

You did. About the hull.

No, sir. Is something wrong with the hull?

No, I...can you go grab me some coffee, please, Jenkins?

Sir? I’m not supposed to....

Don’t argue.

Sir, Jenkins said, putting down his binoculars.

Roberta watched as Henry poked around the wheelhouse, looking for someone playing a prank. She knew that he was starting to be very afraid. The thought made her smile.

Her plan was over a decade in the making. She had learned to walk again. Learned to focus. Learned how to manipulate those around her. It had taken a long time.

She had found the captain, but Henry had covered his tracks well. She had searched for eleven