The Black Maybe by  Attila Veres

The Black Maybe

Attila Veres

These short stories are really weird. To give you a clue, the first story is about the boyfriend of a woman who is addicted to biting dogs, and what happens in their relationship. There are ten stories in this collection and each is more bizarre than the last one. Reading this book feels like meeting the Ancient Mariner who, pinning you to the wall, tells you stories that will leave you a wiser yet sadder person.

Extract

Nicolett signaled to Zoltan to get closer. He did so on shaking legs. Now he felt more of a kinship with the animal than his girlfriend. The girl was already opening her mouth for the bite; they had agreed to bite simultaneously, that's why this dog was special. It would be the first with a double bite. Zoltan knelt down by the Labrador and prepared himself for what was to come.

He felt someone's eye on him. He looked up. The owner of the dog, a man in his early twenties, stood a few metres from them, holding a leash in one hand, a cleaver in the other. He was looking at Nicolett, the trembling dog lying at her feet, and Zoltan, whose face was nothing but a black hole because he never took off his mask.

Parallels
  • Ghost by Louise Welsh (ed)
  • Shoreline of Infinity 18 by Tendai Huchu and Raman Mundair (eds)
  • Dracula by Bram Stoker
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Explicit sexual content