Dead Cats of Civilization by Douglas Ford

 

From the author of The Beasts of Vissaria County and The Infection Party comes a novelette about natural disasters and the unspeakable things they awaken from the ocean’s depths. When a hurricane strikes his hometown, a young man rushes away from his new life so he can help with the recovery effort. He finds his old neighborhood dealing with the storm’s aftermath in some macabre ways, including the construction of a strange totem. Even worse, nothing can prepare him for the twisted horror that awaits him inside the walls of what he once called home.

This was a wild and weird short story about the aftermath of a hurricane. 

A young man drives for hours to get to his parents' home after a storm ravages their neighborhood.

The damage is still being assessed when he arrives so he is happy to see that his parents are among the living. However, they are not as happy to see him as he expected and they don't seem to want his help with repairs. In fact, they are reluctant to even let him in the house at all. I wondered what they were hiding in there but even my wildest guess could not have come close to what's been going on in there. 

This is not my usual type of read. I go for the scary over the stomach-churning, but it's a well written story if you can handle it. Be warned, it's pretty gross in their bathroom and it's not just from the flood waters or the stench of fish.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Douglas Ford for the Kindle copy.

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