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...
I imagine that the folks in the city didn’t see anything at all. Out here we’ve got fewer lights. The sky’s a lot clearer at night. Gives a man something to think about, looking up at all that space. I know it’s no deep philosophy,...
Struggling to meet a delivery deadline during a brutal snowstorm, Jack Harper faces more than just treacherous roads. The ice beneath his truck isn't natural—it's alive, spreading and hunting with a will of its own. Joined by a terrified stranger, Jack must navigate a desolate...
My family has a bit of a rocky history. My grandmother had some troubling religious beliefs, which drove a wedge between her and my mother. We couldn’t celebrate any major holidays together, so the only time I saw my grandmother was on my birthday. However,...
It was August 9, 2010. I was thirty-eight years old. My oldest daughter, Avis, was twelve, and the younger pair, my twins Joanne and John, were nine. I’d been married for fifteen years. I worked at an insurance firm. And every Sunday, while my wife...
Amanda was standing in the darkness, beating her fists against the refrigerator door. The commotion had wrenched me out of a deep and dreamless sleep. When I’d crept down the hall to investigate, I’d had panicked thoughts of intruders, stealing into the house to gut my...
I hate interviews. I hate the DMV. I hate that they summoned me. And yet here I am, wasting an entire day sitting alone in an empty lobby, waiting. The Demonic Management of Villainy. I glare up at the counter. I shouldn’t be here. I...
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