Havok Publishing

Tag - mythical creatures

Terra Australis Incognita

Williams followed Haley, making sure to keep several paces behind his bright orange snowsuit. Aside from her lab partner’s reasoning that it would help if they needed rescuing, she didn’t fancy walking next to a target. Even if Antarctica’s predators were primarily colorblind and oceanic. Besides, any minute now, that Staypuff Creamsicle was going

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Hinewai

There’s no harm in a quick swim before morning chores. No one ever notices. I’m always back by sunrise.
Something tugs my feet. In an instant, the current drags me under and out to sea.
No!
Spinning, I cannot think. My arms flail, fighting hard against the undertow.
Which way is up?

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Drop Bears Down Under

“You’re telling me that in the future, Australia is overrun by cannibalistic koalas called drop bears?”
I blinked at my large companion—Squatch, our resident bigfoot—as I tried to make sense of the vision that had guided me and my cryptid companions Down Under.
He adjusted his Outback hat. “Yup.

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The Queen of Oz

Agabus the gnome rushed into the hallway and leaned against the wall. “That was close,” she panted, glancing over her shoulder. Another one of the queen’s booby traps Agabus just narrowly avoided. I must be getting close to her lair. To Tump.
Her eyes adjusted to the light provided by the torches.

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The Worst Kind of Betrayal

“Remind me again why we’re not calling the police.”
“We will. I just want to confirm whatever killed Jeff isn’t also on a koala massacre.” I flicked my torch beam into a nearby eucalyptus tree. The beady-eyed silver face that peered back looked innocent enough. I kept walking.
Carol followed suit…

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Yara-Ma-Yha-Who

There’s nothing like finding yourself in the middle of nowhere, in a strange country, sitting like bait in a trap under a giant fig tree, to make you stop and think about your life-choices.
I always considered myself to be a reasonably intelligent, cautious person, but would a reasonably intelligent, cautious person be…

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Rebirth

“The giant python—she’s gone walkabout,” Steve stammered as I strode into the expansive Reptile Exhibit Hall.
I couldn’t run back into the drizzly night. Wildlife professionals don’t run, especially not the bloody founder and director of Australia’s Threatened and Extinct Animal Sanctuary.
And this big girl—my escaped snake—measured longer than five meters.

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The Tree of Souls

There once stood a tree at the Edge of the Earth where oceans cascaded into the void of the Beyond. The magnificent tree’s cloud-white branches spiraled miles into the sky, glowing with ethereal light.
Though beauty generally fostered happiness, his effervescent limbs swayed with melancholy rather than joy over the Garden at the

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Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright

“What’s the main difference between Bigfoot, the Yeti, and the Tasmanian Tiger?” challenged Boof Turnbull, the bulldog-faced mayor of Dunnayewie.
The small gathering shuffled their feet and made asides to each other, fearing a trick question.
Finally, Shady Oaks ventured, “There’s no Bigfoot or Yeti here in Tassie?”
“Jesus, clowns to the left

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Vacation Troubles

An ordinary person only has to worry about a delayed plane, lost luggage, and the like interrupting their vacation. Me? I had to deal with a cryptid making headlines.
While I love the hubbub of NYC, I was ready to shut my mind off of work for a while. After several years, I’d finally…

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One Arabian Night

It happened one day toward evening, in the southern deserts of Arabia, that two males of the human race approached a certain oasis where I sat keeping watch.
The sun had just kissed the desert sands in the west when the two humans led their pack mule up to the spring and knelt to drink…

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The Samurai and the Tanuki

Netsu wiggled deeper into the ferns surrounding a momiji tree and tugged at the orange and red fabric of his haori. Maybe if he burned the fabric with his bearing gift, he wouldn’t have to go in this—What was the right word for this garish garb?
“Shiny.”
Netsu spun around, coming face-to-face with…

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