The Egg

by William Becker

When it comes to having kids, there are no such things as mistakes, just “surprises” or even to quote the late Bob Ross, “Happy accidents.” May Dawes isn’t so sure about that when she gets pregnant, considering she isn’t attracted to men and has never had sex with a man. The beauty of childbirth becomes much less beautiful when her child is revealed not to be a child at all, but a strange, alien egg that seems to be driving her every action. THE EGG is a horrific and hopeless journey into maternal instinct, depression, obsession, and loneliness.

44 pages, ebook

Published September 8, 2020

About the author

Adopted from Saint Petersburg, Russia, William Becker was raised in the Appalachian Mountains. He’s been writing moody, uncomfortable fiction since he was twelve years old. First as a horror author obsessed with surrealism and allegories, he has developed into an avid proponent of unconventional narrative voices, ergodic storytelling, and experimental typography blended into an accessible package, as is the case with A MAN BORN BLIND and WHEN BAD DOGS DO GOOD THINGS.

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever, imaginative and thoroughly, thoroughly impressive.

This mystic, modern day, short horror story certainly pressed all the right buttons for me and proved itself to be an absolute delight. Probably could only be bettered if the egg was actually made of the dreaded ‘c’ word itself. Yes, you guessed it…chocolate!

Looking forward to reading the other two tales in this series as well as WB’s other longer top quality pieces of work.

Highly recommended: 4.8 blood red stars of pure radiating brilliance.

[Charlie Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Becker is an original writer that the literature world should take note of
and read his work. 'The Egg' is by far his best and he continues to push surrealism
within his language and captivating his readers to the fullest extent.

2 Thumbs way up!

[laramie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully tragic, "The Egg" has its readers full attention from the very first page. The storyline itself is dark and twisting, and the dialogue keeps the audience reeled in close enough to never see the next twist coming. A delightful mix of past and present, William does a perfect job of telling a story that will keep his audience thinking for a very long time to come. You've truly outdone yourself, William, I can't wait for the third installment of your 2020 trilogy of short stories.

[Ángel · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have the chance to read it, do it.
A fucking weird story, but in a good way. I like being able to see the character's mental process, and it also handles intrigue and suspense well.

[Aron Beauregard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, strange, engrossing, and surreal “The Egg” has hatched and it certainly delivers. I’ve read some of Becker’s work before and the bizarre nature of his stories is quite intriguing and hasn’t failed my expectations yet. In fact, he continues to exceed them. He brings you into a wormhole of abstract abomination and you’ll never quite know what the next tumor to take shape will mature into or represent. The main character in The Egg, May, is a young girl going through the growing pains of adolescence and working through her family's outdated societal stigmas. The character is highlighted nicely with some very real heartache that most any reader can relate to and then things take a turn toward the absurd. She wakes up one day with a creepy egg dangling from her vaginal area. This is a very nice original concept that plays well as those digesting the story will have their own suspicions during their journey. If you can make a reader think, I believe this is a great talent, one which Becker succeeds at. I aim to avoid spoilers so I want to generalize my feeling for the rest of the story. We get some very sinister and ominous sequences, the mind wandering into worst-case scenarios, and some unveiling of prior events that help the reader craft their own theories. I don’t thank many will see the ending coming which is always something I look for when I’m reading. The ending of the tale is a “scramble” of madness (forgive the pun) that I ate up quickly, burning through each sentence with eye-popping anticipation. In closing, the story is more than worthy of a read but I may have enjoyed it most because it’s thought-provoking. Good stories resonate, “The Egg” was tremendous, I can only hope this is just the first of a dozen.

[Brahm · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Egg” is Perfect for anyone looking for an eerie, attention grabbing story. William really draws the reader in with his sharp eye for exact detail giving you all the flavors you love to taste when reading a story such as this one. I can assure anyone on the fence about giving “The Egg” a read that you will not be disappointed in the slightest, let alone the fact of how it gives you the that certain feeling you get when you know you’ve read a good story but the respect you will gain for a young author taking time with every single nook and cranny he could possibly be detailed with makes you reassured that there really are bright young minds out there. I’m not a huge reader myself and I rate the egg 5 stars and would go beyond if I had the ability.

[Paco Calvache · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I read a couple of William's histories, I've to say "what a surprise". Isn't easy to find a different author today, William is right now my one and only in a place I have in my mind for 'incredible histories with meaning". Isn't easy to realize what is happening in the first pages till feel evolved in a tragic but common life of a young woman in our days, the end, no doubts, was a terrible surprise for me, and I can't do less that recommend the reading to reader with some novel of understanding. Fantastic Mr. William.

[Stephanie D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great piece from Becker! “The Egg” delivers an interesting and fascinating take on a type of story you’ve probably never seen before. The read was a whirlwind from start to finish as Becker dives deep into May’s mind to tell an exhilarating story. If you’re looking to step outside the box, read something new, and challenge your mind, I highly recommend!

[R. P. Oak · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Becker's, The Egg, is a dark and intense story. To say it's a horror is an understatement. If you're in want of a disturbing, over-creative, and original piece of work. I recommend giving it a read. Please understand this book is in the Horror genre for a reason. It does contain material not appropriate for everyone.

[Desiree Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, realistic, terrifying, and disgusting. I loved this story! What a great blend of body horror, psychological horror, and the intense feelings of teenagers. This would make a great full length novel. Best thing I've had on my lunch break in a while!