“Sometimes I reach out into the sky wishing that maybe just this once the laws of reality suspend and I finally touch a star,” the woman with thick glasses lazily sighed to herself in the back alley. Her arms displayed stories sketched with scar tissue; her features blurred her age to be somewhere between twenty-five ...

The nefarious nighttime monster stepped out from the portal, and an evil smirk possessed his face. The vile red-eyed beast never knew where the gateway would end up, nor did he care. All that mattered was making a kill—and receiving a reward of a whole-body judder when the human’s heart ceased. The forceful vibration sent ...

Part 1     Part 2 Pyper rode in silence with Abigor on the shiny black horse. The massive animal trotted with grace through the ash-filled streets of the in-between—the after death realm. Sadness filled her heart. Why did I have to die? An aneurism? How is that possible? My family needs me! She averted her eyes ...

Part 1 Pyper stared at the massive silhouette moving through the dark, ash-filled street—heading her way. Goosebumps crawled on her skin, and she forced a gulp down her dry throat. Its slow approach was unusual—inhuman. What else could it be? It must be a person, she mused. An urge to duck onto her Jeep’s flooring ...

Read Parts 1-6 Chaos and cacophony. “Dee? Are you okay?” Eddie’s voice penetrates the solipsism. “Dee!” My eyes flicker open to Eddie holding the detached call bell in his left hand, his mouth gaping and face pale. His chest rises and falls through his scrubs. “I’m alive,” I fumble. “Who did this? The night nurse ...

Pyper despised cleaning the closet underneath the stairwell. Irrational fears of evil monsters donning sharp claws and lurking within the space haunted her. For years, she neglected the remarkably ample area and simply tossed items inside to store. Now she sat amidst the massive clutter: backpacks, duffle bags, suitcases, and totes. If Harry Potter could ...

Raindrops fell from the sky, blowing sideways from gusts of wind. Felix took cover under a large oak tree and glanced at his watch: 4:20 a.m. An evil smirk spread across his face. He slipped the black hood over his head and walked through the rainy darkness toward Mara’s car. She never locked her Land ...