Title: Vacancy at the Food Court & Other Short Stories
Author: Catina Noble
Genre: Fiction - Short Stories
Book Blurb:
A collection of 13 diverse short stories, some inspiring, some creepy and others will keep you guessing until the end.
Excerpt:
Pete inched closer to the crows. Surprisingly, they didn’t budge. The two arguing seemed to have quieted down now but were still separated from the rest of the group. Funny, as he lit another cigarette, it seemed to hime the two of them were staring at him. He shook his head. How pathetic. His life had come down to this. Half tanked, smoking a cig, alone in a parking lot analyzing the behaviour of crows. Good thing Tess couldn’t see him now, she would laugh. It would be embarrassing as hell.
THE CROWS were his friends now. Nice and quiet, they weren’t judging him. He lit another cigarette. The parking lot was nearly empty. All the stores along the strop were getting ready to lock up for the night.
Pete was a coward. He had left her crying on the kitchen floor and had run. Not sure what he should do, he had driven to a bar and downed a few more drinks and then passed out on a buddy’s couch.
Yep, the crows were staring at him. Not just the original two, either. Although, now he was’t sure which are the original two. All the crows had gathered into a circle. Strange for sure. Most likely this was an hallucination brought on by the alcohol. A couple more steps away from the truck and he was practically right beside the crow crew. The crow crew. Hey. Now that had a nice ring to it. Maybe once he got a few things sorted out and got back on his feet he would be able to get his own little business up and running. The name would be perfect. Perhaps he should write it down. Nah. He’d remember something cool like that for sure.
Being around the crows was relaxing. In fact, he felt quite content and decided to sit down on the cement. All the shows were now closed and not a single vehicle remained in the parking lot, sae for his. He sat beside the crows, crossed his legs and just watched them.
It sounded like they were talking to each other. What were they saying? Perhaps they were making fun of him, thinking he was a loser or something. He leaned in closer but that didn’t help either. He still din’t understand what the hell they were saying or even if they were talking about him. But honestly, they probably were. They were mumbling. Just like Tess used to mumble. Tess. It was all her fault he was in this mess.
PETE TOOK a couple deep breaths .In and out, in and out. He had to be imagining this. Everything would be okay. Surely this was a nightmare. Soon he would open his eyes and Tess would be naked and snuggling up to him with that cute little smile of hers.
But no. He was still alone in a parking lot. Now it seemed as though he was surrounded by crows. Yes. As he looked from side to side he noticed the crows were circling in around him. When the hell had that happened?
He was in the centre of the circle and the crows surrounded him. Kind of freaky. Perhaps it would be best if he got up, got back into the truck and drove off. He had no idea where he would go. But staying out didn’t seem like a good idea just now.
As he placed his right hand on the ground to give him support to get up, a couple of crows came over to peck at his hands. He lifted his hand off the ground quickly. Fudge! It hurt. Pesky buggers. A few more came around and started pecking at his knees. He tried kicking them away. Two of the crows were doing something with their wings. Some different kind of movement. Perhaps it was some sort of SOS call sign. Seriously, this was getting weird. Once he got back to the truck, he would have to double check to see what the hell he had been drinking.
Another crow flew by just above his head; it was so close he felt his hair move. But the crow did it again and again. Stupidly, he waved his arms around in the air to get them off. Not only did the crows refuse to leave him alone, but they made him lose his balance. He fell flat on his back on the concrete in the middle of the parking lot.
Again, he tried sitting up but couldn’t. He remained flat on his back on the concrete. They were many, many crows now. They kept moving, so they were hard to count. Probably at least three dozen. Slowly, they crept in, surrounding him. They were at his feet, his head his arms his legs. There was even one sitting on his stomach.
All of a sudden they started pecking at him. It hurt, he tried to fling them off but they wouldn’t budge. It hurt! He screamed and screamed. No one could hear him though, the parking lot was deserted. It was just him and the crows and they ere doing whatever they wanted. What the heck did they want with him? He was just a pathetic loser.
They kept pecking and pecking and pecking. His clothes started tearing. He could see patches of blood here and there. He kept hollering and hollering but they didn’t stop and no one came. Several times he tried getting up but he couldn’t. He was trapped. He was being pecked alive by crows!
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If you could dress up as anything or anyone this Halloween, what or who would it be and why?
I would like to dress up as Kathy Bates character, Annie Wilkes, from Stephen King’s book—Misery. Stephen King is one of my favourite authors.
Explain why your featured book is a treat to read:
For the month of October, this collection includes the short-story Counting Crows which is nice and creepy! The stories are universal and has something for everyone.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.
Open internationally.
Runs October 1 – 31, 2024
Drawing will be held on November 1, 2024.
Author Biography:
Catina Noble is a Canadian, multi-genre writer. Her work is eclectic and contains something for everyone. She has over two hundred publications including her books, short-stories, poetry and articles. Her work has appeared in several publications, including, but not limited to; Chicken Soup for the Soul: Your 10 Keys to Happiness, Woman’s World Magazine, Bywords Magazine, Y Travel Blog, Canadian Newcomer Magazine, The Prairie Journal, The Mindfulword, Perceptive Travel and many others. In 2013 her poem You Can’t See Me won first place in the Canadian Author’s Association (NCR) poetry contest. Four of her books Finding Evie, Vacancy at the Food Court & Other Short Stories, I’m Glad I Didn’t Kill Myself and Everest Base Camp: Close Call have won the Reader’s Favourite silver seal of approval. She has a B.A. in Psychology from Carleton University and a Social Services Worker Diploma from Algonquin College. She currently writes, works full-time as a Community Integration Worker and is enrolled in the Addictions & Mental Health Program and the Creative Writing Certificate program at Algonquin College. Her favourite place to write is at a local coffee shop. Sometimes her dog Aspen, and cat PJ, supervise the creative writing process.
Social Media Links:
1G: @Cncreate