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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
Seeking refuge from a world that no longer feels like his own, Samuel Reid takes on the lonely post of lighthouse keeper at St. Eris, perched above a desolate sea. But the lighthouse’s glow is more than a beacon for ships—it’s a barrier against the...
