Nestled beneath her favorite quilt, embroidered with flowers and hummingbirds, Madeline was stirred awake by something she couldn’t quite yet place. It was 2:37 am, and she should still be asleep, but yet here she was, staring up at the dozens of plastic translucent stars...
“This thing is malfunctioning again!” shouted Eric, pounding the controls of the neurostimulator. Little by little, the youth’s limbic system lumbered into action, and the physiological markers of anger started to manifest themselves: increases in heart rate, arterial tension, and testosterone production. However, the silicone...
It was tough coming of age in West Belfast during the early 70s, that’s for sure. I’m not making excuses for myself, but – like many in my generation – I was caught between a rock and a hard place. I grew up in a...
They say the victors write history, but that’s just the outcome of one possible timeline. Sometimes in war, as in peace, some things are better remembered, lest history repeat itself. Then again, in the far reaches of believability, some things are better left forgotten –...
Chapter 1 Ethan Hull’s eyes scanned the crowded emergency room of Forestview Medical Center, his mind already in overdrive despite the shift having only just begun. The ER was packed, as usual, with the unmistakable chaos of a Monday morning. Nurses and doctors darted between curtained-off...
Part I The final echoes of children’s laughter faded down the street, blending with the rustling of dry autumn leaves as Simon stood on his porch, surveying the quiet neighborhood. The air was crisp, the scent of dying leaves and faint smoke from distant bonfires carried...
“Think they’re gonna hear us c-c-c-coming?” “You’re the loudest of us all, Joe, dragging that bum leg of yours.” Joe tried to keep the volume down — it seemed deafening in the quiet night air -– but he continued to kick up gravel as he hobbled down...
Part I The storm arrived faster than anyone expected. Six-year-old Evelina McIntyre sat cross-legged on the carpet in her bedroom, a small, cozy space nestled on the lower level of her family’s home in Georgia. The room, with its pastel green walls and neatly arranged shelves...
May 3rd It’s been months since I’ve written in this journal. I’ve been preoccupied with applying to medical schools, and now I’ve been accepted to the program of my first choice. I’ve gone on at length about this university and its merits, so I’ll restrain myself...
Troy Davis, a stalwart of the mines for over three decades, lived a life shaped by the grit and grind of the subterranean world. However, one ominous morning, the very mines that defined his existence became a perilous trap. A reckless explosion had reverberated through...
Part I James Walker pulled up to the curb of their new duplex, letting out a slow exhale. The move to the town of Ridgewood had taken longer than expected, and the sun was already starting to dip below the horizon. This was supposed to feel...
Part I I remember everything about that day at Lake Newell. The way the sun gleamed off the water, the shouts of laughter echoing through the park, and the bright colors of picnic blankets sprawled across the grass. It was supposed to be a perfect day—the...
Part I The soft glow of the bedside lamp bathed Terrance’s room in a warm, comforting light. The familiar scent of fresh laundry clung to the blankets as Abby tucked them around her son, smoothing the edges and making sure he was snug. It was part...
It was the sort of bizarre incident that would forever haunt a small town such as ours. The Catsup Massacre, we called it, though it wasn’t exactly a massacre in the traditional sense. No one could quite agree on how or when it had happened,...
I can’t explain it, but he’s been here the whole time. No one believed me; my wife thought I was insane, but he’s been here the whole time. My son, Dale, was five when he went missing. We were at the park by our flat when it happened....
The winter winds howled through the trees surrounding Whispering Pines, a small, isolated town known more for its exceptional cold than for anything that would draw outsiders. The town was built on the edge of a large, deep body of water that locals called Blackwater...
The night was heavy with silence as Amy pulled into the driveway of her small, single-story ranch home. The glow of the streetlights barely reached the edges of her property, leaving the surrounding trees shrouded in darkness. After another grueling twelve-hour shift at the hospital,...
The sun was setting, casting long shadows through the trees on Harold’s rural property. It was an evening like any other, the kind Harold had grown accustomed to since his wife, Henrietta, passed away twelve years ago. These walks had become a routine, a way...
