Tag Archives: Short story

It was supposed to be a peaceful getaway, a break from the demands of daily life. My husband and I had decided to spend a few days camping around the Great Lakes, seeking solace in nature. Our trip had gone smoothly until that night, when a sudden bout of illness struck me, threatening to ruinContinue reading “Dark Reflection”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

I never thought my life would unravel on such an ordinary night. The plan was simple: drive from Kansas to Colorado, crash with my buddy for the weekend, and decompress from the grind. I’d packed a cooler, loaded my favorite playlist, and hit the road under the ink-black sky. The world was quiet, except forContinue reading “The Silent Hitchhiker”