The entire first chapter of Life Once Was

Here it is, the entire first chapter of my novel.

Dreams can be quite strange , they can be good, bad or both. They can be your most amazing fantasy or be your worst nightmare, reflect what happened during your day or bring out your worst fears from the past. The strangest things about dreams is that they can be deceptive by giving you a truthful glimpse of what is to come. Dreams are strange indeed.
As David walked down the street with his thick leather boots and olive drab jacket, he had no emotion of any kind on his face. He just moved with a purpose. All was dark and quiet except for the little bit of liquid sloshing around in the gas can he had with him. The moon was dim but gave off just enough light for him to see his surroundings. There were no people around that he could see, the streets were empty, lifeless and silence was cold. He wasn’t sure where he was or how he got there though the neighborhood felt eerily familiar. Still, he didn’t let it bother him, he just kept on walking with the wind seemingly following him. The houses around him were abandoned and falling apart but not enough to conceal their former charm and composition. He could still tell that this was once a beautiful neighborhood that was full of life. The once white picket fences were now in disrepair, charred and broken, plants that had been vibrant were shriveled and dried up and dead, lawns once neatly manicured were spotted with overgrown weeds with trash and debris blowing around them.
When he came to the middle of the block he stopped and thew the near empty gas can at a house. Reaching into his pockets he pulled out a lighter and some crudely fashioned sticks wrapped in and oil soaked rags. David spoke under his breath, “It’s time to start anew.” Then without thought and still emotionless, he lit the rags on fire then threw them at the nearest house. Almost instantly the house took to the flame and spread up and down the street jumping from house to house following the trail of gasoline he had laid out.
David kept walking down the empty street, houses now ablaze, like nothing was wrong. Just watching the houses burn as if the neighborhood was still in it’s prime and covered in Christmas lights. This brought David comfort and somehow made him feel safer. He gave himself false memories of children that once played there, laughing and chasing each other up and down the street. Of people pulling into their driveway and waving at their neighbors. He thought of an old woman that took pride and loved working in her flower garden. He just wanted to picture that neighborhood they way it might have been. Continuing on, the fire from the burning houses lit up the sky with it’s orange glow, lighting his way through the night. Then something in one of the houses caught his attention, pulling him out of his daydream. He noticed some kind of movement coming from behind the flames. When he got a better look, his eyes widened as he saw the burning silhouettes running around erratically inside the inferno. David began to panic. He started waving his arms and running toward the burning figures trying to get their attention. He began shouting, screaming, calling for anyone who could hear him but something was different, something wasn’t right. As he shouted his voice was not there, instead only silence was emitted. His mouth was open but the only sounds were that of wood crackling in the fires.

Finally got #2 up

Finally got #2 live, as soon as I uploaded, Amazon was having problems with the publishing. This issue has the complete versions of Bone Deep, Family Eternal and Cruel Young. It also has When Light is Gone, something take control of an island leaving everyone in the dark, and Chuck, he’s a paranormal investigator but he does things a little different from the rest.

Family Eternal

This will be last story in V1 #2. It’s based on something my daughter told me when she was only two years old and it disturbed the hell out of me. She said, “Daddy, when I was six, my mommy broke all my bones and threw me in a dumpster.” I was shocked because that’s not something you would normally hear from a two year old and what got me more was that she had never even heard the word dumpster before. So how could she know what that was or that bones could be broken, i mean she was just learning how to count to ten. I don’t know what to believe about that but even though my daughter is much older and doesn’t remember anymore, it still bothers me. As with dreams that bring out emotion and stay with me, I figured I would make that into a short story too. Here is a part of it.

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Chelsea began having strange dreams that started on her sixteenth birthday. They were of a little boy that looked about eight or nine years old. He had a little trickle of blood that came down the side of his face and it seemed to come from a small fissure above his temple. He told her his name was Brandon and in her dreams, the two would always play at a beautiful park surrounded by trees and flowers, and there, next to a swing set was a picnic basket sitting in the middle of a quilted blanket. For weeks she had lucid dreams of nothing else but being at the park with Brandon and sometimes they would just talk.
One night, she decided to ask him what had happened to him and why was his head bleeding. A sadness came over Brandon’s face when he looked down and said, “My mommy, she pushed me down the stairs and then she put me in the trash can.” She was instantly taken to the top of a staircase and felt a hand push her from behind. Chelsea felt the pain of hitting each stair on the way down, then she was taken back to the park where she now understood what had happened to him. Feeling his anguish, she wanted to make him feel better so she smiled and grabbed his hand then said, “Hey, how about I push you on the swing for a little while.” His sorrow seemed to disappear and his smile that she had grown to love was back. When the sun would set there, in reality the sun was rising and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she awoke. “I’ll be waking up soon,” she told him, “but you know I’ll see you again.” He jumped off the swing, held her hand and looked up at her. “You are so nice Chelsea,” he said, “I want you to meet Hallie and Heather soon.” Becoming curious about them, she asked, “Oh really, are they your friends?” He replied, “They are my sisters.” Then he smiled again and wrapped his arms around her before stepping back and disappearing.
Chelsea awoke to mixed feelings about her dream. She was looking forward to meeting Brandon’s sisters but she was also very disturbed by what had happened to him. “Who could do something like that to their own kid?” she mumbled to herself.

The Lingering Scent

Just a short one today but It explains a little more on one of the characters in Heart Broken
A very handsome man named Aaron, had just returned home from a late night meeting for the local magazine he writes for. Like most others like him, he just wanted to have a snack and relax on his couch. As he entered the kitchen he caught a whiff a strange odor. It was a rancid stench that made him gag a bit. “What is that?” he asked himself, “And where the hell is it coming from?” He tried to keep his apartment tidy because he never knew when guests would be coming over and was just a clean person in general. With this foul smell, this emanating stink coming from the kitchen, who know what they would think. His first reaction was to check the sink. There were no dishes in it so he put his nose close to the drain to see if that was the cause of the offending odor, but there was nothing. He then moved over to the refrigerator to see if maybe something had gone bad or somehow fell out. He opened the door and sniffed around, inspecting every empty shelf for some kind of smelly residue, but again there was nothing. He even went so far as to move the refrigerator to see if maybe something fell under or behind it without him knowing, nevertheless it was spotless. A thought occurred to him, maybe some smelly man broke in to the apartment and was waiting for his chance to strike. He checked every room, every nook and cranny, any place that could possibly conceal a body. He checked behind the shower curtain, under the bed and even his closet but the smell, that horrible smell was coming from the kitchen. He returned there to investigate further, looking under the counter and table, in the cupboards and cabinets but they were all immaculate. The only place left to check was the oven. “No it can’t be,” he said to himself, “I haven’t used the oven in weeks.” Aaron crept over to the oven wrapping his fingers around the handle, slowly pulling the door down. “Well,” he told himself, “It’s not coming from here.” Then he pulled the door all the way down and the rancid smell filled his nostrils. His mouth filled with bile as tiny roaches scattered off of a woman’s putrid head sitting atop one of the oven-racks. Aaron ran to the living room to collect himself and when he finally caught his breath, his phone rang. “Hello?” he answered. It was an old friend of his that seemed to notice he was breathing heavy, “What’s wrong? You sound out of breath.” Aaron replied, “Roaches, oven, head! I must have forgotten a head in the oven and now I have these filthy little disgusting roaches running around my apartment! ….Oh, you want me to meet this girl at The Written….Amy … Sure, I’m free. I’ll be there soon.”

Singing Thoughts

My name is Kevin Holt and hopefully I have found a way to die before this is read. I have no idea what I am but it must have something to do with my father, whoever he is or was. I can’t be around people, I can’t lead a normal life and I can’t die. My thoughts are dangerous and I just can’t seem to control them. The first incident that I can remember, happened when I was in high school. My writing teacher said I didn’t have an imagination and the first thought that came to mind was her breaking her leg. She tripped on the chair right in front of me and ended up with a compound fracture, she almost lost her leg. How’s that for imagination. She had it easy if you ask me, I never saw her again because she had to take medical leave and school would be out by the time she returned. I started to notice bad things happening to the people around me that just couldn’t be explained. I remember this one kid bumped into me then shoved me while we were walking down the stairs, like it was my fault. He was an asshole but still, I had never seen someone’s spine come out of their neck like that. And that was the problem, that’s what I was thinking when he fell down the stairs. The poor kid died instantly.
Things started getting weirder, like on the last day of school. I loved science, but not my teacher. Before the last bell rang he decided to do a little sendoff experiment that involved some kind of flammable soap bubbles. It might have turned out alright except he had to throw my name in there saying I could never be as bright as the flaming bubbles he had created. Well, needless to say, the students were sent off traumatized. The teacher caught on fire and his head inexplicably popped like one of the bubbles and showered the student in the front of the class with little burning chunks of Mr. Chambers. I know it’s bad but I still think that was kind of funny, well now that I’ve been desensitized to all this. Things got worse when two of my friends came over. We were talking about video games on minute and the next, a blue light passed through my room and splattered them against the wall. What was left of them was comparable to what you might find in a chum bucket. When the cops came, they had scoop them up into little Jake and Erick soup baggies. That’s when the real trouble for me began.
Of course I was taken in for questioning and they put me in this little white room without windows that had a camera up in the corner. They asked some pretty stupid questions like were we playing with explosives and planned on making a bomb or something. I got bored and imagined that the roof collapsed. The roof never came down but the officers that were in there were crushed by some kind of invisible force, it was terrifying to watch at the time. I can remember every snap, crackle and pop there bones made. I freaked out and ran home crying. My mom, she was great, she wasn’t worried that I just left a police station and had blood on me, no, she wanted to know why I was crying. When I tried to tell her, a random thought entered my mind, and my mother was cut in half. I panicked and tried to imagine her whole again but it wasn’t working, I even tried to push the pieces back together. The cops kicked down my door and they were pissed, they had their guns drawn and everything. The realization that I was the cause of all this got to me and I wanted to die. When I was ordered to lay on the ground, I instead lunged at them, figuring they were trigger happy thinking I somehow had the super strength it would take to crush the officers back at the station. I heard the loud bangs as they opened fire and welcome the rounds I took to the chest, but it wasn’t what I expected. They didn’t hurt as they entered my body, I felt the pressure but there was no burning, no stinging, no holy shit I have a big ass hole in my chest kind of pain. It was more like getting hit with a stream from a dollar store water gun. They looked at me like I was the devil, one of them screamed something and ran while the others kept barking orders at me. I don’t think they knew what the hell to do. They should have run off with the other guy because none of them made it. It started with a trickle of blood coming from their mouths, then led to coughing up gallons of blood. While they were coughing, a thought entered my mind, it was the saying, to cough up a lung. It was one of the grossest things I had ever witnessed. They started gagging then began to throw up random organs it seems. How the hell can you throw up your kidneys? I just wanted out of there before I started vomiting too. When I left the house I saw the officer that ran, hiding behind his car door with only his gun exposed. I had to start singing to keep my mind occupied long enough to get away from him, he survived by the way.
It became difficult to go shopping for food while I was on the run. One poor guy at a gas station sneezed and his head exploded, all I wanted was a microwave sandwich. I figured I deserved to starve to death and stopped eating for a while, again, nothing. I didn’t feel hunger anymore but missed the taste of food. I started thinking, this not being able to die thing just might have something to it. I made my way to the Grand Canyon and got to see sights that no one else has. When I was on the top of the canyon and wanted to see something at the bottom a little closer, I jumped. It felt great, for a while it felt like jumping out of a plane without a parachute, the rush, the thrill, without a doubt it was great. Then more and more tourists would show up and it became harder and harder to avoid them. Those around me took a vacation they never came back from. I remember I must have spent a whole month climbing then jumping, climbing then jumping, trying to punish myself for all that I have done.
The singing only helped so much but it was my thoughts that can’t be controlled. My only option was to go as far away from people as possible and I did just that. I moved to northern Canada where most couldn’t handle the cold and where I had no luck in freezing to death. On my way up there, I must have been hallucinating because I swear I saw zombies running around. I couldn’t be sure because as soon as they got close my thoughts ran wild and they were dog food. I don’t know how long I’ve been up here trying to isolate myself from the world, the sun rises and sets very differently way up here. I can’t tell from my reflection either because I stopped aging somewhere in my twenties. All I know is that I’ve been here for a very long time. It’s been getting warmer around here and I’ve been noticing houses being built in the woods where I stay. I do my best to avoid them but, they just keep popping up. Just the other day, I was exploring and there, at the edge of a cliff was an entire city. People are spreading out way too far for their own good so I decided to take a stroll through town and make sure my sanctuary stays preserved.

My Cursed World and it’s Doomed Characters

Just a few thoughts on finding out that I really do live in my own world.

I feel kind of bad for the people in the world I write about because eventually, they are all doomed. Their deaths and traumatizations could be adverted if they only knew what I knew or could look a few pages ahead, but they are just people I dreamed up so again, they’re doomed. A lot of the stories intertwine with each other, something I didn’t do on purpose, it just kind of came out that way. For example the man Harold, from Purrsia, came from the town of Staff. (Staff will be its own story soon) There Harold’s son was possessed by a watcher demon. He cut off his son’s head with the blue knife that left part of the demon behind and weak creating the demonic version of Darren in Without Eyes which took place in the town of Staff. The other part of the watcher demon stayed with the head of Harold’s son which he buried by a tree on what he thought was abandoned land with an empty farmhouse. That’s the farmhouse from The Moment Tree and it was the demon head that gave the tree it’s power. Staff is also mentioned in Chuck, a story that will only be in Darkened Beauty V1 #2 of my monthly short story collection. In Chuck, he and his dead friend Darrel are called out to the town of Staff but choose not to go once they see all the demonic activity going on from afar. Chuck also mentions Josh who is the lead in one of the books I’m working on. One of the more dangerous beings in my stories is TAH. He was created before there was light and in the world I write, the older, the stronger. He is VEE OU TAH’s husband in Viotta and MAK TAH’s creator in Cruel Young. The Dream Giver was introduced in Wish Four, he was one of the last created before light. He was also the one who gave Harlan the power he has in Bone Deep and will been seen more in the future. Another character worth mentioning is Karla ‘Kills’ Smith, she was in Without Eyes, constantly taking pictures but put the camera away to console her neighbor in Purrsia. Damon also has a very small part in Purrsia yelling “Fuck You” from across the street to Gabe for saying their music sucks. Now in Heart Broken, Aaron was offended when Amy asked if he was a vampire. This is because it my world, they are not handsome or beautiful. They are short and hairy, and sound like valley girls from the 80’s, I don’t know why, I just dreamed them like that. Well these valley girl vampires are revealed in Dark Dreams where they make a deal Larry in order to get fresh “unscrubbed” blood. The vampires will reappear again in a later story only they will be on Earth and not in the Void. I plan a return of the man with the bowler hat and his big ass demon dog creature thing that likes to eat people. Also in the works, Sean from Viotta will end up with ties to Harold and the town of Staff.

Purrsia

Angela was a very warmhearted person, so it was no surprise to how sympathetic she was when she saw an injured cat on her lawn. She took the cat inside, cleaned him up and made a bed for him. She even made a trip to the store to buy cat food, treats and a litter box. The long-haired gray cat purred loudly when she entered the door as if he knew he would be well taken care of. She put some canned food into a dish for him and watched him eat for a while, wondering what had happened to this poor cat. He was limping but his leg didn’t seem to be broken and before she cleaned him up, some of his fur was encrusted with dried blood although she never found any cuts or open wounds on him. When the cat finished eating, he jumped on her lap and began purring very loud as she stroked his fur. “You need a name little guy,” she said, “I think I’ll call you Purrsia because you purr so much.” As if to acknowledge the name, he looked at Angela and closed his eyes for a moment.
When her boyfriend, Nick and his friend Gabe, arrived home, they immediately took notice of the cat. “Um, what is that?” Nick asked her. She smile and replied, “It’s my new cat, his name is Purrsia! Please can I keep him, I found him outside hurt so I brought him in. He won’t be any trouble I promise.” Nick gave her an unsure look then said, “Well, I guess it’s alright as long as he doesn’t jump on the table or shelves or anything. And don’t expect me to clean up after it, me and Gabe do enough at work already.” She excitedly clapped her hands and shouted, “Yay! Did you hear that kitty? You get to stay!”
A few moments later, there was a knock at the door and Angela answered. It was an older man with wild looking gray hair who had papers in his hand. “Can I help you?” she asked him. His smile revealed stained, yellow teeth then he spoke, “Yes, you see I’m looking for my cat.” He then handed her a flyer and continued, “He has long gray fur and a very bad temper. He might have been hurt. Have you seen him?” She grew a little concerned feeling that he was talking about Purrsia but the cat didn’t seem to have a bad temper, though he was hurt when she found him. Before she was going to reveal she had found him she wanted to be sure so she asked him, “Well, do you know how he could have gotten hurt?” “Why yes of course,” he replied still smiling, “I tried to kill him.” She was shocked by his answer. “Wait, what!? Why would you? No, you know what. Your sick and if you don’t leave right now, I’m calling the police!” she said, then slammed the door and locked it. Nick and Gabe went to see what the commotion was all about. “What happened, who was that?” Nick asked. Flustered, she said, “It was no one, just some creepy old asshole that said he wants to kill Purrsia.” Gabe was confused but always looking for a fight so he ran outside to start an argument with the man but he was gone.

My Dear Friends

This is a little different from what I write but when it popped in my head, I just had to tell her story. Fictional of course.

I remember being 11 years old and we had just moved into an old manor out in the country. I had never seen such a big house on so much land before. I think it was left to us when my grandfather died, though I don’t remember being sad about it because the first time I ever saw him was at his funeral. My brother and I had a fight over who would get the room overlooking the pond in the back of the manor but there were so many rooms that I just let him have it and went to a new one. When I found one I liked, he came in and started moving his toys to my room claiming it was his. This happened for about three or four rooms until I finally had to tell mother about what he was doing and I ended up with the room with a view of the pond. I remember it being so beautiful. Before I could unpack there was a knock at my door, it was my brother. I thought he was there to start up again but instead he asked me if I wanted to play hide and seek. Of course in a place that big it was begging to be explored with a game. There were so many doors, passage ways and rooms that I didn’t know where to begin so I started with the basement. Even down there was a door leading to another room below another room. I was so excited thinking that he would never find me way down there but he did. The last words I heard were from his voice saying, “Now I can have whatever room I want and no one will ever find you down here!” Then I heard a door shut and lock followed by another door and another further in the distance. I must have been down there for days, hiding from the monsters that waited for me in the shadows. My mind did create some very inventive creatures for me to fear but I had my friends the rats and roaches to protect me. At least they were my friends until I became so weak from hunger.
Over time I was no longer afraid of the shadows. In the darkness, my mind began to see old friends and after a while, new and fantastic ones appeared. They were always there for me and we would play and play. I remember one day all of my friends were gone and I couldn’t understand why. Then my stomach began to cramp, I was alone for days until I began to bleed. I thought I was going to die and had no idea what was wrong with me. After a few days, the bleeding had stopped and all pain went away. I felt such relief, I felt even better when all of my wonderful friends came back to stay with me. They told me that when I’m scared so are they and if I have no fears, they will never leave me again. I was so happy and we all once again played and played until I began to hurt again. I was not afraid, I began to bleed again but I was still not afraid because if I did die, I would die happy with my friends. The pain and bleeding seemed to happen in a crude pattern that became my way of telling time in the darkness. We would prepare a feast in celebration of every time the pain stopped. We would have rats and roaches, and spiders on occasion but I just couldn’t bare to eat any of the beetles we found, they leave such a horrid taste in your mouth. Yes, we had such fun together, my fantastic friends and I. Before I was discovered down there, I believe we had over 300 celebrations and with each one we carved a line into the walls.
I learned that everyone thought I was dead but I was far from it. The police said that my brother told them I went off into the woods and never came back. Oh that retched brother of mine, they say he went mad and ended up in an asylum somewhere. And my mother, my poor mother had passed away. I would have ended up alone all those years had I not gone into the sub-basement. My friends told me that if I left, they could not come with me but would do their best to carry on the celebrations in my honor, such great friends they are.
I looked in the mirror today for the first time and did not recognize the woman in my reflection, perhaps there is just too much light up here for my eyes to handle. Now that I own everything, perhaps I shall return to live with my friends, after all, I was happy with them. And I don’t quite like it up here, there are too many people making too much noise and there is far too much light for me. No, I think I shall return to what I know and to the friends that I love and miss so much.

No Dead Zone

This is something I wrote about 20 years ago and It’s more humor than horror. I was only 15 and at that time this was as funny as I got.

The sound of a police car siren filled the air as the blue and red lights lit up the highway. The car the officer was chasing finally turned on his turn signal and pulled over. The police officer picked up his ticket book and headed over to the vehicle in front of him.

“Sir, I need to see your license and proof of insurance please.” The man just sat there and did nothing so the officer leaned him over and pulled out his wallet. “I’m going to run a check on your license so just sit tight.” The man again did nothing. A few minutes later the police officer came back. “Well, it seems everything came back ok. Do you know why I pulled you over?” The man fell over in his seat. “The reason I pulled you over is, it is illegal to drive dead through this part of the highway sir. This is a No Dead Zone, I’m going to have to write you a ticket.” The officer hands the man a pen and the citation. The man once again does nothing. The officer puts the pen in the dead mans hand, just then his hand falls off. Shaking his head the police man picked up the dead man’s hand and proceeded to make an X for his signature.

Placing the man’s hand back on his lap he says, “Alright sir you better get that hand looked at, it could get infected. Now you have a nice day sir.” The police man stood there for a few moments while the man again did nothing, then reached in through the window and put the man’s leg on the accelerator. As the car drove off the officer thought to himself “I’d like to see him try to get out of this one.”

Trusting Heart

I write horror but to me, the scariest thing to me is love.

MAN: To you my love I bring a gift.
WOMAN: Oh, what gift would that be?
He presented her with his heart balanced on the tip of a knife.
MAN: I bring you my heart and dagger. If you don’t care for it, it will slip and be pierced by the knife. If you mistreat it, it will lose balance, fall and break. If you neglect it, it will become weak, stop beating and fall apart. What happens to my heart happens to me so I give it only to you.
WOMAN: Why my love, would you gift this to me?
MAN: Because I trust you.

Without Eyes

A horror rock band by the name of Drowning Glory, set out on their first tour. They weren’t very well known yet but had already put out a few albums at their own cost and were gaining popularity. Darren ‘Hells’ and Matt Ryder were brothers that started the band in high school, they played lead and bass. Their close friend Damon, who at times went as ‘Demon’, took interest in the band and started singing for them. When they found a drummer, John ‘Murders’ Wheeler, they began to play shows and picked up a good following. It wasn’t until they brought in Jared Burns on rhythm and Karla ‘Kills’ Smith with keyboard and backing vocals that they really took off. The six of them maxed out credit cards and emptied their savings to buy an old school bus to go on tour with the determination of getting their music out to the world.
In the middle of their tour, their path led them through a mid-west town by the name of Staff. The town was small and the buildings seemed to have been very old. Something struck them as very odd; there were cars around but no people. Right away Damon exclaimed, “This town is so damn creepy, we’re staying here tonight.” Of course, as they were fans of all things creepy and morbid, they all agreed.
As they pulled up in front of an old inn and entered, Karla grabbed her camera and started snapping pictures. The inn looked like it was an old mansion at one point in time and had paintings of the original owners hanging up. It had many rooms and the wall panels and doors were all crafted out of a hardwood. “Look at this place!” Karla said with such enthusiasm as she continued taking photos, “I bet this place is haunted!” When they reached the front desk, they noticed it was covered in a fine layer of dust and had cobwebs hanging off the pen to sign the guest book with. Repeatedly ringing the bell, Damon called out, “Hello? Anybody here? Hey! We need a room! You bastards, there’s no one here guys.” “But there’s got to be someone around, I mean the place just can’t be empty, can it?” Jared said with a slight concern. Darren smiled and jumped over the counter. He then grabbed some room keys and handed them out saying in horrible spooky voice, “Here are your room keys. Please, enjoy your stay. Oh, and be very careful my friends, this place is known to be haunted.” He trailed it off with a creepy laugh then signed his name on the dusty guest book before jumping back over the front desk to join his band mates in getting settled in.

Wish Four

 

 

Brent Underwood was a college student like any other. He went to school, worked a crappy part time job, he lived off of noodles and whatever he could sneak out of work in his back pack. The two best parts of his day were getting off of work to live out his obsession with video games and the other was passing Carrie in the hall way at school. She filled his every thought but in the back of his mind he just felt he was never destined for love especially with her, she didn’t even know he existed. He was the awkward nerdy type that only talked to girls when they thought he was smart enough to help them with their assignments. Brent would always sit and eat outside the cafeteria hoping to catch another glimpse of her before going to his next class. He would fantasize about asking her out and sweeping her off her feet wishing he knew what to say to her. Sometimes he would wish so hard that he would sweat and one day something picked up the scent of his desperation.
On his way from school to work, he kept getting the feeling he was being watched but blamed it on his games and blew it off. After his shift at Burger Brigade he stuffed some of the leftover burgers in his backpack and started walking to his apartment. On his walk home, he was coming up with a plan for his next move on the game that he played online but he started getting that feeling again, like someone was watching him. He tried to ignore it until he heard footsteps behind him and turned around to see no one was there. He just shook his head thinking maybe he was just tired or something and kept on walking. Once he heard the footsteps again he just started running, he had watched too many movies and knew never to turn around and look for a second time. When he got to his door he unlocked it and dove inside locking it back up again before looking out the window.
When he was sure no one was there, he let his beating heart calm down and said out loud, “Yeah, I wasn’t scared anyway.” Then he turned around to see a tall figure in a hooded cloak.

Heart Broken

Amy was a young woman who seemed to have a normal life. She worked during the day and took classes at the local college in the evening. On the nights she didn’t have school she would have coffee at a nearby poetry lounge called The Written. Like a lot of the people there she was brokenhearted and began to write about what she was feeling. When she had found that place, she felt like a great weight had been lifted off her heart. Amy finally had a sanctuary where she could fit in, share her feeling, her thoughts and not have to worry about being judged as she let her bottled up emotions out, this became her way of coping with heartbreak.
After going there for a few weeks she made quite a few friends and began getting close to a young man named Aaron. His writings were so similar to hers that she instantly felt a connection with him and soon after, they began dating. She kept writing and reciting her poetry and stories at The Written only they began to change as did her feelings. Her words that were once dark and full of pain and anger began to show a cryptic form of hope.
Being with Aaron, she felt that she not only picked up the broken pieces of her life but built a castle out of them. When they began to perform pieces together she felt that it was time to let down the walls she built around her heart and let him in, she was falling in love. She decided to tell him on stage, the same stage that put her on the path to heal her heartbreak, the stage that brought them together.
That night she was very nervous during her performance because she brought Aaron up on stage to reveal to him and everyone else there that she has fallen in love with him. When Amy finished reciting her work, she put her arms around Aaron, kissed him and nervously said to him, “You make me feel a wonder I’ve never felt before. You helped me pick up the pieces of my shattered life and rebuild them into something incredible. I love you Aaron.” He closed his eyes and took in a very deep breath through his nose and held it for a few seconds. The feeling of terror began rising in her blood until, he let out his breath, opened his eyes and stared into hers saying, “I love you too Amy.” The crowd stood up and cheered for them. To her, life couldn’t be more marvelous, this was everything she had been dreaming about.
In Amy’s mind that night was absolutely perfect, it was magical in every way but the night was reaching it’s end and they made their way back to Aaron’s apartment. Inside she threw herself on his couch and affectionately said, “I can’t believe it. I even love saying I love you.” He sat down on the couch next to her gently placing his hand on her leg then stared into her eyes. At this point he knew she was genuinely in love with him so he decided it was time to let her in on his little secret.
He tapped her nose with his index finger and revealed his intentions. “I love you too! I can smell the love in your blood, now I have to spice it with fear before I consume it.” She became very confused by this and even a little frightened when she asked, “What do you mean by that?” He laughed and simply replied, “Oh I intend to drink your blood, all of it. It’s my life force, that’s how I survive.” “Are you like a vampire or something? Are you really going to kill me?” she asked with terror in her voice. The smug grin on his face was instantly replaced with angry eyes as he struck her cheek with the back of his hand and yelled out, “How dare you compare me to such a filthy creature, I am divine! I waited so long to fill your blood with love, the endorphins mixed with adrenaline is unlike anything else. And now that you are filled with fear, it’s time to dine.”
“Wait” she cried out as she wiped away her tears still holding her bruised cheek. “I have a secret too, I’m not really scared … at all. I really love you, I do and that’s why I get so heart broken, when I have to kill my loves. I feed off of the fear that gathers inside their heart.” While he was in complete shock she walked right up to him and as if to mock him said, “It tastes unlike anything else in the world.” She then pounced on him and proceeded to tear into his chest ripping off the flesh and pulling apart his rib cage. The sound of bones snapping filled the room along with his ungodly screams. He lived long enough to see her pull out his heart and bite into it. Looking as though she felt pure ecstasy she said, “Oh my god, I love you.” then smiled wiping the blood from her lips.
Moments after she devoured his heart, Amy was on her knees next to his mutilated body crying into her hands. She was heartbroken.

Haunted Ivories

Our story begins with a man who owns a piano shop. He had built and played pianos his whole life and every day in his spare time he would work on what he called his greatest creation for himself. He carved every detail of this piano from the scroll work on the frame to the names of great piano players scribed on to every key. This would be his masterpiece on which to play a masterpiece. He was hard at work on completing the last keys he had shaped, scribed and polished then placing it on the piano. There were still a few keys missing but he pressed his hands together and looked at his creation with such an overwhelming joy when he heard the bell at the front door ring. He quickly scrambled to put his tools away so he could greet the customer.
A young woman stood in the show room, her face had soft features and she had very long and slender fingers that she ran across the top of a soundboard. She looked around for a moment then noticed she could not find any one so she called out, “Hello? Is anyone there? I need some help please.” Then suddenly the double doors toward the back of the room sprang open and out comes a very well dressed middle aged man with white gloves. He seemed quite nervous and jittery but he was always like that even when he was by himself.
“Yes, yes. I’m here. I am Tavarius. Welcome to my shop and showroom.” he said then took a bow, “How may I be of service to you?” She saw how squirrelly he was then smiled saying, “It’s nice to meet you Tavarius. I’m Sharon. I am actually looking to buy a piano. Yeah, my keyboard just isn’t doing it for me anymore. I’m looking for something a little more real you know.” He clapped his gloved hands together with delight and said, “Oh yes yes, sometimes keyboards are so overrated and there’s nothing like the sound of a real piano. Let’s get started shall we. Now let me see your hands.” She looked a little confused but gave him her hands anyway. “Why would you need to look at my hands, they’re nothing special.” He tilted his head as he replied, “Nothing special? The hands are very important, you see I build all of these pianos myself and each one will fit certain people like a glove.”
He inspected her hands thoroughly looking at the muscle tone and structure, the bones in every finger occasionally saying “yes yes,” and “oh my!” until he put down her hands and said, “Yes I’ve got it. I know exactly the right model for you. Come this way please.” He led her over to nice looking upright with a dark finish and sits her down. “Now then let us see if this glove fits you comfortably. Well come on come on then, try it out.” he said anxiously.
She gently placed her fingers on the keys and when she began to play, Tavarius’ eyes lit up in wonder and amazement. “Oh my! Oh dear! Such marvelous talent, such grace and beauty. The way you play is so magically. The loveliest sound I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.” She was pleased by his complements but in her mind she never really thought she was that good. “Thanks,” she said with a smile, “but I don’t think I play that great. I just like to play.” “Oh nonsense, you were absolutely stunning,” he said as he placed his finger over his lips, “Curious, have you ever performed to an audience before?” Still smiling she shook her head and replied, “No, nothing like that. I’ve never really played in front of anyone before.” “Very interesting. Well then, if you practice for my concert coming up in a couple of months I just may have a part for you.” he said. With a sheepish grin she asked, “Yeah? You really think so?” He quickly clapped his gloved hands together and said, “Oh yes yes, I absolutely have the perfect part for you.”
She became very excited until he started to tap his finger on the price tag saying, “Now about the piano.” When Sharon saw the price she almost choked. “Oh wow. I guess I didn’t even think about the price. I’m so sorry, I could never afford that.” Tavarius threw his hands in the air and said, “Nonsense! We can come up with some sort of payment plan and for the meantime I can set your piano aside in its own room and you can come in and play it whenever you like.” Unsure she asked, “How much would that cost?” He threw his hand up in the air again and voiced out, “Oh! I’m offended. I would do this for no charge of course, it would be an absolute shame to waste such talent. Besides I would love to hear you play the part I have in mind for you. In fact that will be payment for the room rental. You shall practice your part and allow me to listen to you play your beautiful music.” Sharon was overwhelmed with joy and accepted the agreement.
Two months went by and every day Sharon would show up to play her piano and practice the music that Tavarius had given her and every day he was delighted to hear her play. Tavarius would also practice the piece he wrote on his personal grand with the missing keys. Two day before their performance he went into her practice room to see how she was doing and as always he was very pleased. She asked him, “So, how am I doing? You really think I’m ready for the performance?” He pressed his gloved hands together and said, “Oh absolutely. I’m sure the crowd will absolutely love your part, in fact I would love to hear you play the piece on my personal grand that I will be playing.” she stood up and bowed saying, “Thank you Tavarius, it would be my pleasure.” He began clapping, “Oh splendid, splendid. This way, come.”
He led her through the double doors where she was first introduced to him and stopped at a red door at the end of the hallway. “Well,” he said pulling a key from his pocket, “This is where all the magic of my piano crafting happens” Then he unlocked the door holding it open for her to reveal the most beautiful piano she had ever laid eyes on. He walked over to his piano and wrapped his arms around it, as if he were giving it a hug and said, “Magnificent isn’t it? This is my greatest creation.” “Yes,” she said in amazement, “It’s so gorgeous. I love it… but there are a few keys missing. Are you going to be able to play it at the performance?” His eyes widened when he said, “Oh my dear Sharon, let’s just say the missing keys are on their way and everything will be in place by show time, yes yes. Now then, have a seat. I’m so anxious to hear you play.”
She sat down and could barely contain her excitement. Sharon gently placed her fingers on the scribed keys and began to play the piece. Tavarius closed his eyes and said, “Exhilarating yes yes. It sounds as if angels were singing through your fingertips.” He listened for just a bit more saying, “Now I know your part will be an absolute perfect fit.” He then raised an axe behind her and delivered a single fatal blow to the back of her head.
On the night of the performance, he played the greatest music anyone had ever heard before and the audience was in tears. He play his piano with a full set of 88 keys and there on the keys that were once missing, Sharon’s name was scribed.