Eli Carver was the quiet one, and everyone knew it. Even the younger kids, who shrieked over cartoons and scraped their sneakers across the kitchen tile as if it were a game, gave him space. Perhaps it was the way he held that worn Polaroid...
Part I The air in Miami didn’t sit right on Raul Mercado’s skin. It wasn’t just the heat—he’d dealt with that during those strange, sweaty Pittsburgh summers when the air hung like wet laundry—but something else felt off. But despite his best efforts, he couldn’t quite...
You don’t forget the sound of a girl being swept downriver. You don’t forget the moment her scream cuts off, as if something grabbed her by the throat and pulled her into a place where sound doesn’t carry. But I’m getting ahead of myself. My name is...
“We all have days where we have to face the very worst—whether it’s work we don’t want to be at or some task we don’t want to accomplish. But life is short. Take all those little difficulties in stride, and ensure each one is the...
I am Gideon St. James, and I have seen the face of the Divine. You do not believe me? It is not a surprise. I am a nobody, a footnote in the historical record, a mere scraping of dirt from a brush compared to the great...
Jamie stood awkwardly in the nightclub under the flashing lights and sweaty bodies moving to the thumping bass beat of the music blaring from the surround-sound speakers. Some things you just couldn’t talk to family about—not friends either—so he figured maybe it would be best...
As I walked into his office, the first thing I noticed was how tidy everything was; psychology books neatly placed on the bookshelf, his couch pillows perfectly coifed and placed in the exact correct spots, and his circular area rug, vacuumed to perfection. His desk...
Edward Branner is given a second chance at life through an experimental drug trial that promises to treat his diabetes. At first, the results are miraculous—he feels rejuvenated, revitalized, reborn. But the transformation doesn't stop. As his body grows younger with each passing day, Edward...
Part I Raina Alvarez woke in a cold sweat, feeling something awful blooming in her belly. It wasn’t pain exactly—not sharp or stabbing—but a thick, bloated discomfort rolling just beneath her ribs, as if something had taken root there. Her sheets were damp beneath her back,...
Part I I wasn’t even supposed to be there. The whole trip was for Lucas. He’s one of those guys who seeks out the weirdest corners of the internet just to find a new place to scare himself—abandoned hospitals, haunted bridges, bootleg escape rooms run out of...
Part I Adam Weller hadn’t meant to check his spam folder. It was just a habit, the kind you pick up when you live alone and you’re two drinks into a sleepless Wednesday. He hadn’t touched a brush in months, and the manuscript edits had dried...
Part I They said the factory smoke used to smell like bread, long before Lena Voss was old enough to remember. Now, Ashvale smelled mostly of rust, swamp water, and whatever chemical runoff trickled from the old rail yard into the river. The town hadn’t made...
The funeral was more sparsely attended than Martin had expected. He had a vague feeling that he should be offended on Hannah’s behalf. She’d always been one of the popular kids in college. Less than five years had passed since graduation, and barely any of...
I don’t know how long the weaver was at its work before I discovered it. It’s possible that I could have changed things if I had found it sooner, if I had paid more attention, if I had done things differently. It’s impossible to say,...
“EMERGENCY BROADCAST 101: DO NOT LEAVE YOUR AREA.” That’s all the TV would play, the same message on repeat. “EMERGENCY BROADCAST 101” was titled at the top, and “DO NOT LEAVE YOUR AREA” was printed small but clearly visible at the bottom. There was no explanation. No prior...
When Marcus Fulweather volunteers for a revolutionary new vaccine, he believes he’s securing his future against disease forever. But as disturbing symptoms emerge and terrifying mutations sweep across the globe, Marcus discovers his body may hold the key to stopping a catastrophe unlike anything the...
When his best friend Matthew is recruited to work on a secretive government project, a young mechanic soon finds himself pulled into a world of shadowy experiments and vanishing test pilots. As Matthew's flights grow increasingly disturbing and his behavior shifts, an ominous truth emerges:...
Calvin finds refuge in the dim haze of The Drunken Lantern. But when a pale, mysterious woman begins appearing after his third drink, he’s forced to confront not only his failing health but an unsettling proposition that challenges his understanding of guilt, consequence, and mercy....
Part I Jacob Ellery moved with the quiet efficiency of habit, his worn sneakers whispering across the linoleum floor as he made his final rounds through the aisles of Ellery’s Pet Supplies. The air smelled faintly of wood shavings, dry kibble, and reptile substrate, a scent...
When Richard Pell takes a night shift at a strange warehouse, he expects long hours and low pay—not creeping dread and unmarked crates that seem to breathe. As the nights pass and the inventory begins to look more and more human, Richard finds himself caught...
