Tenebris: A Short Story

by Aiden Merchant

On the eve of her twenty-first birthday, Amy Gardner is told she will be celebrating with a party. The problem is, she was kidnapped a year ago, and the party will consist of clients looking to drunkenly pass her around. However, there's now hope for Amy to escape, for she has recently befriended her captor's dog. A bath is needed before the party, giving them the opportunity to fight back outside the confines of her locked room...

TENEBRIS is a short story, in which the dog survives.

14 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 4, 2020

About the author

Aiden Merchant is the author of more than a hundred stories spanning numerous collections, including Sickness is in Season, Documenting Dreadful Existences, Dead as Soon as Born, Kill for Them, and his extreme horror debut Horrific Holidays. He is also the author of several novellas and screenplays. In late 2021, he published and edited Milk Teeth by Andrew Post, as well as a dark fiction anthology Blackberry Blood, which he worked on with author Julia C. Lewis. His short fiction has appeared in Wild Violence, Pulp Harvest, and Slice of Paradise.

Reviews

[Hayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yesss! Girl and dog taking down evil together is a story I can totally get on board with! 🙌🏼
Loved it!

[Erica Robyn Metcalf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tenebris by Aiden Merchant is a brutal short story that will make you want to reach through the pages to give a very good boy a pat!

Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

Trigger Warning: Rape

Tenebris by Aiden Merchant Book Cover
When we dive into this story, we meet a girl named Amy Gardner that has been kidnapped by someone and held in a room where she is “visited” by various men for sexual favors.

Determined to one day escape, Amy tries to reach out to the dog of her kidnapper. By feeding it bits of food and letting it lick her hands under the door, they start to bond. But how will she escape her captor?

Phew. This read is absolutely heartbreaking and terrifying!

While you learn that the main character has been raped repeatedly, the main rape scene that occurs in this tale isn’t too descriptive. In my opinion, it was written very well and with obvious care, while also not shying away from the brutality of it all.

There’s also a bit that is quite gory! That’s all I will say there to avoid spoiling it.

Through the darkness, there is also a strong element of hope! Right from the first page, you will be rooting for the girl to escape. I love how Amy was able to stay so positive, even faced with everything she was going through.

[Kim Napolitano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa, another amazing short from Mr. Merchant. This one is darker, sinister. First person narration from a young woman, kidnapped to be a sex slave. She doesn’t know where she is but after a year she needs a plan to escape and her captor’s dog becomes her salvation. Not a faint of heart story with the abuse she endures but when there is a will? There is a way with a little help. Highly recommended, 8/2020 release date pending. Look up Aiden Merchant and read everything he’s ever written, I promise you you’ll be happy you did!

[Cassandra Vella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't read any snippets or anything before diving into this short and it sucked me right in! What a riveting kidnap/escape story that ranks high in my book. Absolutely love the captor dog aspect, it definitely relates behaviorally to any dog lovers and keeps hope in the dark story from start to finish. Leaves you wanting to know more behind each character, yet leaves off with just enough for a satisfying ending.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked how this short story worked with being told from the protagonists point of view, limiting the reader to only what she knew and saw, giving you the same sense of isolation and restraint. A lot was told in few few pages, and there were bits of information given towards the end that opened more questions than answered. I thought it was a well told story, disturbing because it is so believable. I wonder what happened to her, and I think that was intentional,not all stories give you everything wrapped up nicely. We have a window into her life, just enough to know we are engaged and invested in her welfare, and then we get left to wonder.

[D.K. Hundt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Horror - Short Story
Source: From Author/Ebook

[Chris Mccormick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story. Aiden painted a wonderful scene of despair and hate. But in that we find hope. Tenebris is Latin for darkness. Darkness is where our main character lives. Abducted and abused, we feel her pain, her fears, and hope. This was a super quick read that packed a punch. I give it 4 stars. I’d love to see Aiden develop this out to maybe a least a novella. I feel like there’s more there. There was some stuff hiding in the shadows that I would like to see come to life. Aiden definitely has a gift for short story telling. Reminds me of the older King collections and little bit of Hill’s shorts. If you’re not already following or reading Aiden I highly recommend you fix that.

[Karen (kmo.reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic short story by Aiden Merchant! I was engaged, engrossed and invested in what happened to Amy and her new friend Tenebris. I was also pleasantly surprised by the ending. I loved it! Keep them coming!