Short Story

Back For Blood

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for Today’s Writing Practice #6
where we’re given today’s prompt.
Also for Esther’s Writing Prompts
where the word is “window”.
Here’s where the prompts took me.

The Prompt: Late one evening, a man is sitting alone in his living room when his phone begins to ring. It’s his own number on the caller ID. The voice on the other end is his and it’s warning him NOT to look outside.

© iStock

It was late … far too late to be thinking about calling Faye but that never stopped Frankie before. That dame had a way of crawling under his skin and making herself right at home. Now he sat in his two bit apartment in the dark, sinking deeper into his worn-out armchair, nursing his bourbon neat and thinking about calling Faye when his goddamn phone rang, scaring the crap out of him.

“Ah, Faye. I knew ya couldn’t stay away” Frankie thought but when he glanced over at the phone, it wasn’t Faye’s number he saw on the caller box … it was his own! “What the fuck kinda craziness is this?” he muttered. His heart pounded  in confusion and, yes … fear. He picked up the receiver.

“Frankie!” The voice on the other end was unmistakably his, drenched in urgency and alarm. “Frankie, listen to me. Whatever ya do, don’t look out the window.”

Confusion spiraled in Frankie’s brain as he tightened his grip on the phone. “Whaddya mean? Who is this anyways?” he asked with false bravado.

“Shut up and listen for once, Frankie! There’s somebody outside and he ain’t here to deliver a pizza. Don’t look out the window or else he’s gonna know you’re home. He’s got eyes on the joint.”

A chill swept through Frankie, the air thick with unease. Still, he hesitated, glancing at the window. He growled into the phone, “How do I know this ain’t some trick? If you’re really me, I’m gonna need proof. Tell me something that only I could know.”

“Oh, so ya want proof, eh? How’s this: November 27, three years ago, the Pine Barrens.”  

A chill swept through Frankie, his mind reeling with disbelief. He hesitated, glancing at the window.

“Don’t do it, Frankie! Ya look out the window and you’re a dead man.”

Frankie sat frozen, the glass shaking in his hand and the memories came back. Three years ago, after Thanksgiving dinner on November 27, he and Carmine Fusco drove out to the Pine Barrens … but only Frankie came back. It wasn’t personal … he liked Carmine but orders were orders. Carmine was a rat and rats had to be exterminated.

Frankie’s tongue felt thick and dry but he found his voice. “Carmine’s dead. Four bullets in the back.”

“Yeah, but ya didn’t shoot him in the head like ya was told. He lived, Frankie, and he’s back for blood.”

The call cut off abruptly. Frankie sat frozen, the glass shaking in his hand. Adrenaline started surging as he rose, heart racing. His voice had warned him, but curiosity gnawed at him. He reached the wall in two giant steps and pushed his back hard against it. A couple of side steps and he was at the edge of the window. Frankie strained his neck slightly, squinting through an opening in the blinds. Nothing; the street was empty.

Frankie sat back in his chair and took a big gulp of his drink. Then he started to laugh. “Goddamn imagination” he said, and laughed even harder at the ridiculous events of the night. When he got up to get a refill, the door to his apartment crashed open and Frankie whirled around.

“Long time no see, Frankie boy” rasped Carmine.

NAR©2025

This is “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” by Frank Sinatra

Today’s Writing Practice
Writing Prompts


All text and graphics are copyright for Nancy Richy and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

25 thoughts on “Back For Blood”

  3. The New Jersey Pine Barrens have a strong reputation for being a scary place due to their dense woodlands, abandoned towns, unsolved mysteries, and abundant folklore, most famously the legend of the Jersey Devil. While the area itself is not inherently dangerous, the folklore, ghost stories, and potential to get lost in the wilderness contribute to its unsettling reputation and make it a popular site for dark tourism. Cool story, Nancy.

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    1. Thank you for all that info, Jim. If you watched the Sopranos, you’ll know lots of bad things happened in the NJ Pine Barrens. That part of my story was based on the show, which I watched from beginning to end. I thought it was fantastic. There are also Pine Barrens on the east end of NY which we drove by every summer on our way to Montauk. One year we had to take a detour because the barrens were on fire. That was quite something to see and it took a very long time for anything to start growing there. Thanks for reading my story and leaving such a great comment. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

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      1. Pine trees were planted in New Jersey as part of the New Deal to employ thousands of young, unmarried men during the Great Depression for conservation projects in state and national parks and forests.  The pine trees were planted all in a row evenly spaced and it is a lot of fun walking through them.

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