Part I If I’m being honest, I ignored the warning signs. I mean, wouldn’t you? Sharon was perfect—or at least, she seemed perfect at the time. She’s beautiful in that classic way that makes people stop and stare. Smart, too. She’s got a dry sense of...
My sister Brianna went missing on April 10th, 2008. On October 9th, 2013, Brianna came back. Six weeks later, on November 23rd, 2013, Brianna vanished again–and our house burned down. I was safe, sleeping over at my best friend’s house. My mother perished in the blaze. Since that day...
Part I My name is Elias Grayson, and until five years ago, I believed in God. Not the vague, modernist platitude of some benevolent creator, nor the cynical skepticism of a philosopher hedging his bets; I believed in a God with capital letters, the Almighty, the...
Part I I stand alone, my breath forming frosty clouds as I gaze out into the desolate Alaskan winter through the windowpane. The world beyond is a study in monochrome, a frozen wasteland that stretches to the ends of my vision. It’s a sight both haunting...
If you ever hear about a game called Corpse Hold, don’t play it. I mean it. There are some things in this world you don’t mess with, and this is one of them. It doesn’t matter what you’re promised or how much you want to...
There weren’t ever any stories about the forest. It wasn’t haunted. It wasn’t sacred ground. It wasn’t anything except a bunch of pine trees, and whatever grows under pine trees. Mostly smaller pine trees, as I recall. Pine trees tend to kill off anything else...
Act I: The Conflict Theater 201 — School of the Art Institute of Chicago —Professor Robert Wellers “Class—listen up, please. Who would be the first to show me you’ve actually done your reading assignment and tell me what the ‘4th wall’ means in stage terminology?” I tapped my...
My wife Abby and I have a nightly routine at our house that begins around 8:30 or so, starting with putting our son Hunter to bed. We take turns lying him down and reading him a story. He’s just turned seven, but it’s still difficult for...
Part I Michael adjusted the rearview mirror for the third time in two minutes, watching his 8-year-old son, Aidan, fiddling with a worn strap on his tattered blue tote bag. The bag, stitched by his ex-wife Hannah years ago, was barely holding together. The seams were...
I woke on sand, the sound of crashing waves in my ears and the powerful sun shining down upon me, its rays burning my skin. My whole body ached, and it was a struggle to even open my eyes, let alone lift my head to...
Have you ever wanted to relive the thrill of a roller coaster without leaving your seat? Well, I found a way–but it came with a catch I never saw coming. And if you ever stumble across RideShare on the dark web, don’t click it. Trust...
Working security at the Twin Valley Behavioral Center for Children has exposed me to more strange events than I can count. For all its fancy wording, it’s a long-term mental-health facility, not maximum security–but we still get our fair share of crazy moments around here....
My aunt was a con artist, and she learned from the best – her father. Grandpa never made it big, but he lived for the game. Staying under the radar was probably what made sure he never did get caught. Not once. He was so...
Have you seen them? The construction workers? Have you seen them? Working on the roads at night...
Raised on tales of the Michigan Dogman, a lifelong hunter dismisses the stories as mere folklore—until one fateful winter night in the remote woods. What begins as a peaceful morning hunt turns into a terrifying confrontation with a creature beyond understanding. As the familiar forest...
It is truly amazing just how much pain the human body is able to endure with the proper motivation. For weightlifters and athletes, it’s the goal of looking better and becoming stronger that helps them push through the pain of exercise. For those trapped in the...
Dr. Timothy Cole, a dedicated astronomer, believes the universe holds the answers to humanity’s greatest mysteries. When an unusual signal from a distant star catches his attention, Timothy is drawn into a discovery that could redefine everything humanity knows about life in the cosmos. But...
Across the cosmos, a lone survivor of a lost civilization mourns the destruction of her home galaxy, devoured by an insatiable celestial force known as the Gluttonous Star. Now bound to a new galaxy forged from remnants of the old, she watches as humanity thrives,...
Trapped aboard a starship under siege by relentless alien invaders, Pvt. Edmund and Commander Rathburne must rely on their wits, willpower, and each other to survive. With time running out and danger closing in, the two soldiers face an impossible challenge: breach an impenetrable door...
They told me to bomb a hospital or an orphanage. My choice. I had a ZAG-05 personal rocket launcher and five rockets, each of which yielded five megatons and provided expedited half-life radioactive decay, allowing for comparatively prompt occupation. In other words, our troops could move...
