The first time Alice saw that inkwell, she was in the old attic of her grandparents’ house, a dusty, forgotten room where time seemed to have stood still. It was tucked away in a dark corner, half-hidden under a messy pile of old books, whose yellowed pages smelled of mold […]
A degree in wildlife management. It sounds so exciting, and the $70,000 piece of paper has certainly ensnared many bright, nature-loving youths with the allure of grand vistas and endless adventures, and I am one who heard the sirens call. From a young age, I knew people weren’t for me.
The Thing behind me wants me to turn around Read More »
I was pedaling as hard as I could, the tires thumping on each new slab of wood on the railway track. The railway was a clear cut through the woods, separating a once thriving forest into two distinct parts. Though summer break had only started a week ago, we already
Music in the Branches Read More »
My name is Holly West, and for a decade I’ve been sent on various operations to investigate the strange, the unexplainable, and the downright horrifying. Cryptids, sinister cults, sentient buildings. You name it. My organization deals with the things the cops can’t hope to. While my job isn’t as particularly
Tales From The Agency – Part 1 Read More »
Prologue – Past I’ve always felt like I was playing a part. Since my earliest years, I was just a mediocre actor in a family drama, playing the role of the son or the brother. I never felt close to them or cared about their feelings, but I pretended otherwise,
I Lost My Heart To the Sea Read More »
It started with a photo; it was dark, the moon was golden against the sky, the stars were out, and I thought that my iphone and filters were all that I needed to be a master photographer. So I pulled over on the side of the highway last Monday night
A Wrinkle in the Eye Read More »
The night smells wrong. Not merely damp, not merely cold—spoiled, as though the air itself has been left too long inside something dead and forgotten. Each breath coats your tongue with the taste of old coins dissolved in rot, metallic and sour, thick enough to cling. The fog doesn’t drift;
Isabella walked to the front of her grandmother’s casket. Her grandmother looked peaceful in her repose, wearing her favorite dress. Isabella guessed that she just didn’t understand what had happened. It felt as if she had just visited her grandma for afternoon tea not long ago, and then days later
The Brooks Brother’s Hardware store stood alone on its main street block. Chipped layers of white-washed paint contrasted the darkness inside the tall narrow windows. Faded posters advertising Case knives and hand tools hung in the ground level windows, but the only thing in the second story windows, was a
Brooks Brother’s Hardware Store Read More »
I didn’t choose the dead minute. It chose me.The first time it happened, I was twelve, hiding in my bedroom while my parents screamed downstairs. Plates shattered. Something heavy hit the wall hard enough to shake dust from the ceiling. I remember staring at the clock, begging time to move
The month I had to spend every summer at a children’s camp was the most loathed period of the year for me. A place where children were supposed to rest, laugh, and socialize with their peers was, for me and the other wards of Clover Camp, hard labor. A tour
About one shift at Clover Camp Read More »
On March 1st, 1992, a co‑worker at a health insurance office in Sydney brought something into work that none of us had ever seen before. He came in early, before most of the staff arrived, and sat down in the break room with his personal photo book in his hands.
The fishing boat groaned under Raj’s boots as he tossed another net overboard. His hands were cracked from salt and years of hauling lines, but he didn’t complain. Out here, complaints sank faster than the bait. “Check this,” his friend Arjun muttered, nudging him with an elbow. He held up
Stacy and I switched the power on and sent ourselves to an early grave. I say an early grave, but I don’t expect there will be anyone left to bury us. It was an honest mistake, one we couldn’t have foreseen. To any who may read these words after the
A Thing of Flesh and Copper Read More »
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin The road narrowed until it was no road at all, just mud and ruts that might have been paths once. The GPS had given up hours ago, but I kept
Where Trespassers Fade Read More »
The first time I dreamed of Rose, I didn’t think it mattered. I’m not the kind of person who reads into dreams. I’m practical, tired, the sort of man who forgets to eat and forgets to water plants until they die quietly. I don’t believe in signs. I believe in
Heather found herself in bed, unable to move a muscle—trying her hardest to shift her arm and wake her husband sleeping next to her, but to no avail. She was in sleep paralysis—a phenomenon she’d read about but never experienced until then. It frightened her to lie there helpless, but
It was the sound of sobs, soft…muffled, miserable and tinged with a sort of echoing hollowness, that woke me. It was furitive, almost guilty misery..but with the strange quality of the sound, and the location, suggested it was coming from my shower. I growned, trying to roll over in bed..not
My Wife is the Only One who can See Something is wrong Read More »
I was born into this world made from the Earth from soil and bones, from that which is dead and that which is living. My creator formed me in the crude shape known as man, but I am not like them. My form is coarse, jagged, with no warmth to
That Which Is Molded Read More »
I hesitate to even post this. I’ve never been a big “believer” – not in religion, higher powers, karma, or fate. I considered myself a cynic (and that’s coming from a high school junior, which is saying something). I certainly never believed in the supernatural.I say that because you need
I still remember the night it happened. I was nine. We were driving home from my grandma’s house late, rain pounding the windshield so hard the wipers couldn’t keep up. Dad was humming along to the radio, Mom was half-asleep in the passenger seat. Then the truck came out of
1 This was a long-time coming writing this. Not even completely sure what you would call it, but for me it’s an explanation to what had occurred so many years ago, a record so that the events and people who were hurt won’t be forgotten. Finally, an apology. As you
We moved in right after Thanksgiving. It was right after my recently divorced Mom finally got her job promotion at work. It had been a long time coming but finally it was here. I was so deeply proud of her! It’s not easy for a single mom out there to
The Bells On Christmas Eve Read More »
The air was foggy, so much so I was barely able to see my hand before my eyes. The mist surrounding me was dense and the heat added to my pleasurable experience. I took the highest seat, my favorite and I was alone. The solitude was thoroughly enjoyable, something I
