STORY SHOWCASE #25

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BLOODEMIC

by Hokunani Sorci

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A little taster…

It’s Wednesday morning and the sky is bleeding again.

“Fuck.”

I stand at the entrance to my apartment complex, watching the blood gush from the sky and splatter across the ground, creating thick, soupy puddles. A frustrated groan rumbles in my chest as I tug down my mask and rub dry, cracked hands across my face. I push the hood of my poncho back and press my forehead against the glass door, my breath fogging the red painted world outside.

“Five minutes … not even five minutes to get down here and … fuck.”

No scavenging today. I yank the Superintendent’s ring of keys from the lock and turn to trudge back to my third-floor apartment. There aren’t any people around anymore and the monsters never try to get inside during the day, especially not when it’s bleeding outside, but if the Blood Rain doesn’t stop, I’ll lock it before nightfall. I tromp up the stairs, barely noticing the old reddish-brown stains and splatters I didn’t bother scrubbing out of the walls or floors, or the pale yellow ‘X’s that surround me. I’ve cleared every other apartment in this building, marking each door once I took everything worth taking and locking every window inside and the apartment doors. Can’t have the monsters creeping in at night and running amok.

About the author

Hokunani Sorci was born and raised in Hawai’i. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading scary stories, watching scary movies or dreaming of scary things. She currently lives far from home with her husband and rescue greyhound. Her published works include The Haven Horror (a horror/thriller novel); My Dreadful Dreams: 13 Tales of Terror (a collection of short horror stories); and “Spring Break Blues” (an open water horror short), featured in Fun in the Dark #2: Open Water, an anthology published by Kilter & Rammel that she was also guest reader on.

Follow her on Instagram @hoku.sorci for book reviews, writing updates and more.

We asked Hoku …

K&R: What was the spark or idea that led you to write this story?

HS: The line “The sky bled on a Wednesday” popped into my head years ago. I had no idea what that meant or where that story would go, so I saved it on my “Random Lines” list for the future.

Last year, when I was thinking of stories to write for my second collection, I was scrolling thru that list and thought I’d explore “the sky bled on a Wednesday.”

As for the title, I checked my “Random Titles” list and found Bloodemic; I can’t remember when I came up with that, but thought it fit the story perfectly. It gave a name to what was happening and helped shape the story. The story itself went through many rewrites; the first two versions had dead endings (I literally wrote the MC into the same corner both times), but with the help of my critique partner it evolved into the post-apocalyptic monster story it is now.

K&R: Do you have any other work do you have out there, for folks to dig into?

HS: My Dreadful Dreams: 13 Tales of Terror is my debut short story collection, published October 2024. Most of the stories are based on my own dreadful dreams or are nightmarish “What if?” scenarios my horror-soaked brain came up with. It’s available as an e-book, paperback, and audiobook.

In December 2025, I released The Haven Horror, a horror/thriller novel. This started out as a short story to be included in My Dreadful Dreams. My editor suggested I could do more with that story, so I pulled it from the collection and reworked it. It’s available an ebook and paperback here!

K&R: What’s next for you as a writer?

HS: I’m currently working on my next novel which I’ll submit to agents and indie publishers. As much fun as it is to self-publish, it’s a financial drain and takes a lot of time and energy as well. I’d like to take some time off from that while continuing to write. If querying doesn’t work out, I’ll self-publish again.

K&R: What does “trashy fiction” mean to you, and what do you love about it?

HS: Ooo, so “trashy fiction” to me means “fun”. It’s reading for the joy of reading; reading books that aren’t literary or aren’t meant to change the world or blow your mind. It’s the same vibe as a popcorn flick or a B-horror movie, fun for fun’s sake. I love trashy books because they’re pure entertainment.

K&R: Hit us with your own favourite “trashy” fiction recommendations!

HS: My favorite type of trashy fiction is romance. I’m a sucker for anything to do with cowboys or  ranches lol but any romance genre will do. Diana Palmer is a favorite, I’ll read anything by her. Basically, hand me a Harlequin and I’m hooked!

K&R: If you’ve read the rest of the stories in Trash Tales, what’s your favourite, and why?

HS: No, I can’t pick just one story! That’s not fair. I have my top 5 and I’m sticking to it:

“The Roma Project” by Vincent Saint Claire – I loved the Planet of the Apes vibes with the added bonus of surprise gore.

“Not His Name by Arthur Ursini” – the slow-burn mystery kept me on edge. I loved the heightened tension.

“The Covenant of the Furnace Keepers” by R. Dell Walker – this one had my favorite lore of all the stories. The details were so cool.

“Carnivorous Smiles” by Mariah L. Napier- okay, this one was just gorey fun. A splatter fest with one of my favorite monsters. Loved it.

“Catch of the Day” by Marek Z. Turner – this one was a perfect “animals gone wild” story, which is one of my favorite genres. It’s on par with movies like Skeeter or Bats or Arachnophobia, some of my favorite trashy watches.

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