From the mind of Ryan Atkinson — horror fan and horror writer — comes When the Chain Breaks, a short story that will leave the hair on the back of your neck standing at attention in the moonlight. After a quick move out to the country, city-dwelling couple Evan and Joel are becoming more like distant roommates than lovers. Evan is fed up with Joel’s monthly escapades in the barn out back, and he starts to worry if Joel is hiding a secret. One stormy night, Evan decides to follow Joel out to the barn to see for himself…
Compared to longer-form stories, shorts often have the issue of giving enough backstory in a non-pointless-expositional way. When the Chain Breaks gives us that backstory effortlessly. As Evan is sniveling over the meal Joel had passed on for the millionth time, he wonders how they got this point in the first place. Visions of game nights and trips to the bodega are taken over by anxiousness and secrecy, something the move to the country was supposed to fix. Evan thinks back to the night that changed everything — something with the voraciousness of an animal left Joel with a long, deep scar.
And with those words — scar, animal, monthly — I knew this was a werewolf story. When the Chain Breaks made perfect sense; before Evan could make it to the closed barn doors, I knew what would lie behind them. I was simultaneously wishing Evan would turn away while there was still time while impatiently wanting to throw those doors open and see for myself what horrors lied in wait. The anticipation was killing me!
And alas, we see the cause of Joel’s distance. I won’t spoil anything; When the Chain Breaks is best read yourself. What I will say, though, is that Atkinson shows true expertise in tension and world-building. I could see the evolution of Evan and Joel’s relationship as clear as day. I felt Evan’s anger and Joel’s shame. I felt the fear as they both came to a head at the end of the story. When the Chain Breaks is a bite-sized werewolf wonder that has a million possibilities and makes me want to read more.
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