They say the mind plays tricks in the dark. It shows you things that aren’t really there, makes you hear sounds that don’t exist, makes shadows shift in ways that are impossible. I used to believe that. I used to think that what I saw during those nights of terror were just figments of myContinue reading “Shadow in the Corner”
Author Archives: Hayden Coombs
Unraveling
I don’t know when it all began. Perhaps it was the creaking floors or the shadows that seemed to move when I wasn’t looking. Maybe it was the quiet, insidious dread that gnawed at the edges of my mind, like a rat gnawing at a rope. But whatever the cause, by the time I realizedContinue reading “Unraveling”
Stranger
Every night, I hear pacing in the hallway, but I live alone. When I finally worked up the courage to check, I found worn footprints on the carpet—an exact match to my own.
My First Book: Communication & Administration of Intercollegiate Athletics
Why I Wrote Communication & Administration of Intercollegiate Athletics For years, I have watched students struggle with the cost of textbooks. In the field of sports management and athletic administration, the problem is particularly glaring. Traditional textbooks are often priced outrageously, sometimes costing students hundreds of dollars for a single course. As an educator, IContinue reading “My First Book: Communication & Administration of Intercollegiate Athletics”
The Threshold
I can’t recall the precise moment when I stopped trusting my own mind. It might have been weeks ago, or perhaps months; time has become a blurry, indistinct concept. My days bleed into nights, my nights into days, with only the vaguest of transitions between. Lately, I’ve been finding it difficult to tell where myContinue reading “The Threshold”
Outpost Epsilon
I never believed in ghosts. Not really. Even as a kid, when my friends would spin tales of haunted houses or cursed woods, I’d just laugh it off. Maybe it’s because I’ve always been more practical, more grounded. I mean, what good is believing in something you can’t see, can’t touch? The military only reinforcedContinue reading “Outpost Epsilon”
Watcher in the Woods
Jacob’s Lake had always been our sanctuary—a place where the world seemed to pause, where we could leave the noise and stress of our lives behind. Nestled deep within the Kaibab National Forest in Northern Arizona, the cabin we rented each year was surrounded by towering pines, thick underbrush, and a stillness that was bothContinue reading “Watcher in the Woods”
The Cold Beyond
I’ve been lying here for days now, son, waiting for the end. I know it’s coming; I can feel it in my bones, in the way the air has grown colder. I don’t have much time left, and there’s something I need to tell you. Something I’ve kept buried for fifty years. It’s about Korea,Continue reading “The Cold Beyond”
Angel of Pain
I used to believe that loyalty and duty were virtues. They were words I clung to, ideals that guided me in my early days as a guard at the facility. I told myself I was just doing my job, keeping order in a world that seemed to be slipping into chaos. But it wasn’t untilContinue reading “Angel of Pain”
The Endless Road
It was supposed to be an adventure, a chance to see the world and break free from the monotony of everyday life. That’s what I told myself when I decided to hitchhike across the country. The open road, the thrill of the unknown, the people I’d meet along the way—it all seemed so romantic, soContinue reading “The Endless Road”
Hayden Coombs 