The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear is a collection of ten horror/urban fantasy stories available on Amazon. Below is an extract from the title story.
The Innocent Have Nothing to
Fear
On the way to Debenhams Department store Lorraine saw the billboard. The Innocent Have
Nothing To Fear it screamed all in bold black and white as the bus rounded the
corner into the terminal. Lorraine shivered and tried not to notice the
scrabbling sounds coming from her handbag as Manicure made herself comfortable.
You are entering a Zero Tolerance Zone, public notices warned her as she walked
through the shopping centre. Shoplifters will be prosecuted to the full extent
of the law, another sign in a shop window proclaimed proudly. Underneath the
warning the image of a hand, palm front and fingers slightly spread in the
universal halt sign blazed a haunting red. In the depths of her handbag
Manicure curled into a tight fist.
Tammy noticed that Lorraine had stopped dead in front of the sign.
‘You alright love?’ She asked reaching out to give her friend a quick
shoulder squeeze and trying not to notice that Lorraine felt like granite under
her hand. ‘Not to worry, eh?’ She persevered. ‘It’s just criminals, yeah? It’s
like the sign says. We’re innocent so we got nothing to worry about.’
On the way to Bianca’s Café for tea and cake both women tried to ignore the
handless beggar in the doorway of an abandoned shopfront.
Lorraine had never cared much for politics or current events so it was a bit
odd when she started religiously watching the news and following several online
commentaries about Zero Tolerance, the new initiative to improve British Values
(deliberate capitalisation. These were the sort of values that demanded
respect, not like your common garden variety decency).
‘We need to cut crime dead in the early stages,’ a spokeswoman said. ‘Crime
is an addiction. A sickness that takes the mind one small misdemeanour at a
time. It’s just a stone throw from shoplifting to rape.’
‘We’ve gone back to the Dark Ages,’ an anti-Zeroer on Newsnight shouted to
be heard over the audience booing. ‘What the government is doing is a Human
Rights violation. They are the real criminals we need to root out and expose.’
‘Turn that off would yer?’ Mark muttered. ‘I get enough of them bleeding heart
liberals at work. You know them protesters are using drones to drop red paint
on us now? Don’t know why the police don’t arrest ‘em. I’d sure like to see ‘em
in the chop room that’s for sure.’
Mark smirked but the smirk swiftly
died on his face when Lorraine swivelled
her head around to stare at him with dark ringed eyes. That was all she did.
Just bloody stared.
Read more in…. The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear Amazon
ALDLIS CHRONICLES 