{"id":256015,"date":"2026-07-13T14:28:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/chlorophobia-ar-ward\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T14:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:28:14","slug":"chlorophobia-ar-ward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/chlorophobia-ar-ward\/","title":{"rendered":"Chlorophobia – AR Ward"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It was the usual over-watered equatorial clay, though rich in organic material and iron content. He had heard of iron correlating with bone middens where hominids would butcher animals, but the samples were supposed to be from all across the cave. He rubbed at his throbbing temples. Where had the blood come from? He had just managed to isolate some hominid DNA amidst the prey animals and curious abundance of bacterial DNA when his phone buzzed: Kid.<\/p>\n

Get over here. Crew found another room. Complete skeletons. Curiosity overcame Rechierre\u2019s queasiness and he ran for the bus station, the cave\u2019s chill forgotten. Skeletons, plural. Most sites would be lucky to produce a complete fingerbone! This time he arrived completely out of breath, sprinting across the no man\u2019s land outside. Dr. Chambeau\u2019s arm stuck out of the dark crack in the hillside, waving him in again. He led Rechierre along the handprint-infested wall to where the ceiling sloped to meet the cave floor. A thin crack spiderwebbed through the rock, widening just enough for a human at the base.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter you.\u201d The doctor coughed. \u201cCrew says they\u2019re not feeling well today, milking those paid sick days. Just the two of us.\u201d By now the cave\u2019s chill had seeped back into Rechierre\u2019s sweat-damp clothes, and when tried to squeeze through, the layers of dust stuck to him. The stuff went up his throat, making him cough too as the rock dug into him. It made his headache worse. Rechierre gave one last heave and pulled himself into the open.<\/p>\n

Unsure how high the ceiling was in the gloom, he switched his flashlight on before standing up. A skull\u2019s grin greeted him, sitting neatly amongst a scatter of ribs. Rechierre jumped back involuntarily, scraping his head on rock. He managed a deep breath and swept the beam around the cave.<\/p>\n

Thirteen skeletons lay in a semicircle around him, each huddled up against the wall of the round chamber. On his knees, he shuffled into the center to get a better look and make room for Dr. Chambeau, still coughing behind him. The dust swirled thick around him, stinging his squinting eyes.<\/p>\n

Each skeleton was in remarkable condition, bones a deep chocolate brown, slightly stouter than a Homo sapiens. \u201cThese really\u2014ahem\u2014do look like separate species,\u201d he called out into the dark. Dr. Chambeau started to agree but was overcome by a particularly violent coughing fit. Remarkably, each individual seemed to be young, no signs of arthritis or pre-mortem injuries. Yet they were all dead in the back of this cave.<\/p>\n

Why? He swept his flashlight about and found a splash of red behind him. The handprints continued along the cave wall. But in here, each print was almost obscured by a spray of red ochre, still vibrant after all these millennia. \u201cDoctor? What do you make of this?\u201d The silence was broken only by his own cough. \u201cDoctor?\u201d he asked again, his voice rising in pitch.<\/p>\n

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A Ghost Orchid Press Anthology Copyright \u00a9 2021 Ghost Orchid Press First published in Great Britain 2021 by Ghost Orchid Press The authors of the individual stories retain the copyright of the works featured in this anthology. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author\u2019s imagination or are used fictitiously.<\/p>\n

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this production may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, recording, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher and copyright owner.<\/p>\n

ISBN (paperback): 978-1-9196387-8-2 ISBN (e-book): 978-1-9196387-9-9 Cover design and book formatting by Claire Saag Cover image \u00a9 Cranach via Shutterstock 1kitap1.com\/en O Rose thou art sick. The invisible worm, That flies in the night In the howling storm: Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy: And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy.<\/p>\n

\u2014William Blake, \u201cThe Sick Rose\u201d 1kitap1.com\/en CONTENTS CONTENTS FOREWORD Grounding Exercise by Cormack Baldwin On the Altar of the Anthropocene by Lindsay King-Miller Farm-to-Table by Sonora Taylor The Last Breath of Summer by Jameson Grey Turning the Earth by Samuel Best Locust by Allison Floyd Immortality Expired by Micah Castle The Uytoroi by Z\u00e9 Burns You Can\u2019t Have an Orchard Without Fruit by Corey Farrenkopf Aequinoctium by Marisca Pichette Sixty Percent by Jennifer Lee Rossman From the Pollinators, the New World Order by Clint White Fertilizer by Philine Schiller a dryad arises by Jasmine Arch Treefingers by Hannah Hulbert Incident in Kayapo by Isaac Menuza Pandora Moth by Freyd\u00eds Moon Thorns are Meant to Prick the Heart of Sinners by Keely O\u2019Shaughnessy The Devil\u2019s Gills by Maggie D.<\/p>\n

Brace The Balete Trees Were the First to Rise by Lerah Mae Barcenilla Kudzu by Danielle Davis Brittle is the Bark that Cries by Nikki R. Leigh Handprints by Lucas Carroll-Garrett Night Ginkgoes by Jennifer Shneiderman The Red Sea by G.B. Lindsey Chrysanthemum by Victoria Audley Imitation of Life by J.R. Handfield the interloper by Corey Niles Tooth by Elecia Page The Hunger by Sanaya Deas For the Place Where My Bones Will Lie by Sam Lesek The Devour of the Saddle Flower by Sara Crocoll Smith Care Instructions by Ian A.<\/p>\n

Bain Reap and Sow by Ashley Van Elswyk Corner Lot by Armand Rosamilia The Heartwood by Sally Hughes Neon Fly by S.J. Townend Highland Holiday by Birgit K. Gaiser Hummingbird Whispers by Michael Bettendorf The Forest\u2019s Handmaiden by Stephanie M. Wytovich Glasswork Tornado by Katherine Silva Moonlight Over the Garden Doves by Steven Lombardi Gifts by Charlotte Reynolds And the Calcium Chimes Will Sway by Hazel Ragaire Transplant by Tonya Walter Plants Can\u2019t Scream by D.R.<\/p>\n

Roberts The Queen of the Night by Clay F.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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