The Gag Reflex: A Short Story

A childless couple invoke an ancient fertility rite guaranteed to give them the baby they crave. But what will they have to pay in return? And will the would-be father prove to be as desperate to start a family as the child’s mother when that price is revealed?
This short story, runner up in the STORGY Halloween Short Story competition, is taken from DARK HEARTS, a collection of fourteen heart-stopping, thought-provoking short stories destined to linger in the mind’s sleepless corners. Other stories include:
Four friends meet every Halloween in their local pub. But who is it that knocks on the front door on the stroke of midnight? And why are they all so afraid when that door opens?
A young girl finds herself in the care of her grandparents on a ramshackle farm. But what do they know about her mother’s disappearance? And what other dark secrets have they hoarded that she might be better off not discovering?
An editor reads a short story about a girl imprisoned in a cellar whose only contact with the outside world is through competitions. But is it just the writer’s talent that convinces her the story might be true? And if she does nothing about it, what happens when the author’s words run dry?
A time-traveller has the opportunity to change history forever. But are the consequences of his actions as straightforward as he supposes? And if he fails, or even partially succeeds, will that make the future better or worse?
DARK HEARTS. COLD BLOOD.