top of page
keep them away image.jpg

Keep Them Away

by
T. M. McLean

Many days—almost two weeks—have passed since I made the biggest mistake of my life. Too late now to make amends. They're already closing in on me.

 

I crouch, my eyes peering over the kitchen counter, watching my garden through the window as the dusk settles. The only thing worse than seeing them is not seeing them.

​​

A few slices of sunlight remain. I hope to catch a glint—a reflection of a carelessly exposed stethoscope or—

​​

I swallow.

​

—a scalpel.

​

I draw the curtains. I lock the door.

​

What else can I do?

​

Right now, I bet dozens of vicious, rabid general practitioners are scaling my wall, eager to dissect me...

​

It's been almost two weeks since my last apple. The biggest and last mistake of my life.

​

They're coming!

© Copyright 2025 T. M. McLean

A version of Keep Them Away was originally published as a Facebook post in 2015.

​​​

​​

T. M. McLean writes horror and dark fiction. His short story collection Stingers (co-authored with Noel Osualdini) was a finalist for the Shadows Award for Collected Works 2024. Follow T. M. McLean on Facebook

bottom of page