Hook

New Years Eve, 2009.

The music is loud, the girls are pretty, the guys are hot and the booze is flowing freely. The party is in full swing; no one expects anything to go horribly, terribly, apocalyptically wrong.

Not tonight.

Not ten years after the original 'Y2K'* scare.

Who knew the calendars were wrong?

When the bells have struck midnight and the party is over, it all ends.

Premise

Every story in the Dead Bells anthology will have one protagonist who wakes up the morning of January 1st, 2010 to find everyone dead. Just – dead. Animals and plant life survive. The bodies don't rot, but just dry up, mummify, if you will.

No explanation will be given, although each writer is free to speculate as to how this may have happened.

Within days, there will be no running water, no electricity, no phones, no internet. The protag will be completely, utterly alone.

Or is s/he?

Stephen Rogers - One Hand Clapping
Christopher Jacobsmeyer - No One Can Hear Me Scream
Caroline Totten - Life Among the Ruins
Natalie Sin - 108
Abra Staffin-Wiebe - Missing You in Pieces
AJ Brown - The Snowing Show
Martin Turton - Whispers in the Wind
Derek J. Goodman - McGee
Michael C. Pennington - Dead Friday
Bryan Hall - When it Rains it Pours
Richard Marsden - Afterthoughts
Jeff Parish - Perfect Class
GE Fox - Burdened by the Break of Day
WD Prescott - January
Terence Kuch - The Man Without
Adam Blomquist - Rigorous
Lance Schonberg - Goodbye Valerie
   with poetry by Rich Ristow, and novellas by Brandon Layng and Gina Ranalli!

We are closed to submissions. All selections have been made, letters have gone out and announcement of ToC will be posted here within the coming weeks.

We are listed at Duotrope.com, and ask that you consider reporting your submission and response. Thank you!

We seek to have this one ready to go to the printer by November 30th.

*Due to continued pecking, I've buckled and changed it to 'Y2K' scare, from 'Millenium' scare.