Cain's Apples

by Bryan L. Lee

Ever bought an apple at a roadside stand? Joe Johnson wishes he hadn't in this suspenseful and spooky short story.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Ebooks, Supernatural

11 pages, Nook

First published November 23, 2009

Reviews

[Badseedgirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dang, It's always the guys who seem so nice.

[Sonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a stronger read than After Dark. The writing still wasn't terribly complex, but the story line a thousand times more captivating. However, I think that had Lee taken more care with the writing, this could have been a solid work. There is just something very awkward about his writing style that interfered with my overall enjoyment of the piece.

[Naomi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a really unintentionally silly short story. Like other reviewers have stated, it was predictable and just downright goofy. Lucky for me it was really short, B&N says 27 pages, but there is no way it was that long and it was free.

[Mark Rybka-Wachhaus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I re-read this story every time I think I want to get revenge on someone, just to remind myself that it probably isn't a great idea. Well written with a good moral in the guise of a horror short story.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

At 11 pages, this was the shortest short story I've ever read. Entertaining, for five minutes.

[Cherry · Rating 1 out of 5]

A Twilight zones type of book. Gives me the idea of a folk story. It was a nice story to read perhaps when you are waiting in the lobby for your doctors appointment.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story is a Barnes and Noble nook freebie. How can you not enjoy a free short story when you are short on time and cash? Joe Johnson is having a bad time of it, but a quick stop at a road side stand for some apples... well, it doesn't necessarily make it better... I would say more but I'm pretty sure any sort of plot synopsis would ruin the story for you guys. While the plot is rather predictable, the story is worth reading.

[Erth · Rating 4 out of 5]

now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.

The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.

i would highly recommend this author and this book.

[BookNerdette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story reminded me of one of the late night tv shows The Twilight Zone

I could just see Rod Serling narrating this book…

* * *
This story is about a man that has lost his way lets watch as Joe Johnson’s life unravels.
Joe Johnson was warned at work if his sales didn’t pick up he would be replaced.
On his way home he pulls into a road-side fruit stand and picks up items on a list his wife gave him that morning.

One of the items is apples and the owner/operator of the road-side stand is Cain.
Cain sells apples to Joe and when he gets in the car he tells him the name of the Apples is ‘Larry Miller’. This is his bosses name and when he returns to work the next day to find out his boss had a stroke and died he thinks of the fruit stand.

So that evening he returns to the stand and asks Cain for more apples. Of course Cain sells him more and again when Joe begins to leave Cain tells him the name of the apples are Fred Kimballs. This is the name of his neighbor that is harrassing them about the fence being on the land line. When he arrives home the ambulance is leaving his neighbors.

Joe is so nervous now he is snappy at his wife and kids and she is upset and begins fussing with him about it. He accuses her of being with the handyman and they fuss and then storm off.

So Joe drives to the road-side stand to buy some Mark Fisher apples. Cain doesn’t have any apples by that name and then explains to him he hasn’t gotten anymore apples as he just sold the last he had to a nice man. He goes on to tell him they were Joe Johnson apples… and they were rotten to the core.

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story a lot better than After Dark, because it was interesting enough to make me want to keep on reading. It was also a fun thriller. I will start thinking of this story every time I see a fruit stand on the side of the road. At times, I ask myself, “Would I do the same as Joe Johnson if I was in his situation?” In reality I would probably be too scared to go back and do what he did; drunk or sober.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was better than Lee's previous short story. Still, I don't care for his writing much. The short story read more like a tall tale, a story that either can be short and to the point, or long and sweet.

This was just really long, bitter, and the space wasn't really filled with anything worth the time to read it.

[TheReadingKnitter/ Kasey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ever bought an apple at a roadside stand? Joe Johnson wishes he hadn't in this suspenseful and spooky short story.

My Review - this was a book that was only 11 pages so does it count as a book. It was definitely weird and predictable. While reading it I was thinking this can't be going anywhere good. It was just an okay book and I'm glad it was free.

[Megan Noel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am pretty sure this story as written by a fourth grader.
It was completely predictable and grammatically incorrect. I spent thirty minutes of my life reading this and I will never get those minutes back. All I can say is that I am glad this was a free nook book; it would have been a HUGE wast of any mount of money. I advise against reading this short story. Vehemently.

[Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story caught my interest as soon as I learned about apples. The strange part is that the apples shouldn't have caught me by surprised since we all know about apples (whoever else reads this story will understand my meaning). I give this story a five star rating and recommend it to anyone who wants to read a good story that's very short :)

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a predictable short story. The main character purchases apples from a farm stand and the apple he chooses mysteriously is named for a nemisis of his. Upon purchasing the apples that individual dies. In the beging I am rooting for him, he seems like an underdog but by the end I realize he is "The Dog"

[Angelia Sparrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good little short story, very Twilight Zone-esque.
Predictable in the same way a Zone ep is predictable, I remained unsure as to the nature of the twist until the end. It could have gone two or three ways.

It could have been stronger in some ways, but it swept me right along, which is all I ask of a free read.

[Shaina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was a decent little in between read. Nice to see an author trying to come up in the world AND it was free so who can complain. I could see where it was going from the beginning but I wish there were more details, more to hold onto. I felt like it could have been a solid read, even for a short story.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cleaning out the Nook books on my Nook that have been lingering forever, I ran across this one. After seeing that it was a short story, I decided to read it.

Lee is basically doing a "Twilight Zone" episode in a short story. Which is fine to do, but highly predictable. There were weak spots in the writing, and it seemed to suffer because of those. It was just ok. Glad it was free.

[Michelle Kampmeier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting twist in the end, even if it was a bit predictable. It's the 'bad things happen to bad people' kind of story. Not a bad short story as they go, but the writing was quite forced. That's generally why I don't like short stories.

[Noelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. It was a cute short story that kept you interested. My husband thought it was very predictable but I actually guessed the ending wrong so maybe not so much?. Worth the 10 mins it takes to read it. I will probably look into this author's work to see what else he has to offer.

[Tabitha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a weird little fable I picked up out of the free e-book bin in cyberspace. It was maybe a tad predictable, but it was plenty fun for the 10 minutes I dedicated to reading it.
Not a waste of time, and I'd be interested to see what Bryan Lee produces when he's trying.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm glad this one was free because I would've been pissed if I paid money for it. I liked the idea behind the book, but it was highly predictable. I don't feel life changed for having spent the 20 minutes to read it.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good short story with an eding that I didn't see coming until like the paragraph before the writer dropped the bomb. Told in the style of come of the classic horror stories and very Tales of the Crypt like.

[Marnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good short read about an applestand that sells apples to a man. Each have the name of someone. Who after he buys them, they die. Ends up that the apple guy is some kind of grim reaper type. Would have been better if been longer and a bit more suspense.

[Tiffany Neal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sloppy, predictable, poorly written, and in my opinion, done by an author who tried WAY too hard to make a spooky tale out of this story. Definitely a disappointment, and I would not reccomend this one to anyone.

[Chris The Story Reading Ape · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, if predictable, short story.
Sometimes you really must be careful of what you wish for, out loud, or inside your head.

See my review also at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

[Larry Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

i only got it cuz the name cains apple. not that ot was free.

i liked it. the main character joe was something else. he seamed like he had no self esteem and was just there. then he turns angry.

karma comes in different forms.

[Melissa Nicole Burnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a couple of years ago and just realized I didn't review it. I thought it was an ok short story, it kept my attention but didn't leave a lasting effect on me. It's a short read and it was free so I think it was worth the read.

[Angelique · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't fond of the writing style, but absolutely loved the story, particularly the ending. It made me think of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits with its twist so I will definitely be looking into more.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a cute read. At first I wasn't sure whether it was supposed to be spooky or not but as the story progressed its plot became clear. It was predictable at parts but still enjoyable like every horror story out there. I loved the way it had ended and I didn't suspect it to be that way.