Bottom Feeder

by Deborah Leblanc

Nina thinks she's escaping a nightmare the night she runs away from home and her mother's latest boy-toy, who preferred seventeen-year-old girls to forty-year-old drunks. But the nightmare has only begun. She hitches a ride with a trucker, who eventually dumps her in the middle of Nowhere, Louisiana when Nina refuses to repay his act of kindness with sexual favors.

Genres: Horror

Nook

First published June 14, 2010

About the author

Deborah LeBlanc is an award-winning, best-selling author and business owner from Lafayette, Louisiana. She is also a licensed death scene investigator, a licensed private investigator and has been a paranormal investigator for over twenty years. Deborah is currently the house ‘clairsendium’ for the upcoming paranormal investigation television show, Through the Veil.

She served four years as president of the Horror Writers Association, eight years as president of the Writers' Guild of Acadiana, and two years as president of Mystery Writers of America's Southwest Chapter. In 2007, Deborah founded Literacy Inc. a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting illiteracy in America’s teens.
For more information, visit www.deborahleblanc.com and www.literacyinc.com
To support Deborah please visit https://www.patreon.com/deborahleblanc

Reviews

[Di · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short but effective.

[Elusive · Rating 2 out of 5]

In ‘Bottom Feeder’, Nina decides to run away from home after her mother’s latest boyfriend forced himself on her. However, once she runs out of cash, she ends up accepting a job at a small town but unbeknownst to her, unimaginable horror awaits her.

Despite its length, this story delivered a few creepy scenes and divulged just enough information to make you understand what’s really happening while leaving the rest to your imagination. I’m glad that Nina wasn’t one of those typical stupid main characters. Instead, she immediately figured out that something was wrong and truly fought to save her own life. Although I didn’t find the revelation to be shocking or unexpected, this short story was alright and wouldn’t be forgotten so quickly.

Overall, ‘Bottom Feeder’ is worth the few minutes it’d take to complete it.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly predictable story about a runaway who takes a job at a pig farm. It's honestly more nasty than anything else - quite a mean-spirited horror, and I include the protagonist in that. Yes, Nina's new employer is absolutely evil, but when she's huddled in a laundromat without any food or any money, and said employer offers said job, the first thing Nina does is make nasty comments to herself about the other woman's appearance, and the narrative itself hammers pretty hard on the "fat is evil" trope. There are a few genuinely disturbing scenes, but it's not what I'd call an enjoyable horror.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was TOTALLY different than what I thought it was going to be. I enjoyed it and didn't even begin to see where this novelette was heading! Think creepy Bayou with a twist and you have Bottom Feeder. I was also shocked that this was a novelette (17 pages), when I threw it on my TBR, I thought it was a full length novel.

[Honistie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was not bad for a short story. It was a little predictable, pretty nasty, and a little spooky! The descriptions were great, making it easy to see what Leblanc visioned. I will look for more of her books after reading this.

[Marianne Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not into short stories and did not realize this was a short story until it said, "The End". I liked it - but wished it was a whole book.

[Sarah Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good short story.