The Awakening & Other Stories
by Emma Meade
ebook, 69 pages
Published November 15th 2012
Put on the kettle, close the curtains and curl up by the fire. Dive into 8 short tales, each with a slice of the paranormal.
Ghost Story - Who is the shadow in the window of the abandoned house, and what or who is he waiting for?
The Awakening - It's time for Sabrina to wake up and face the light.
End of the Line - Cassie wants to die. When midnight rolls around, she stands on the tracks waiting for the train to come.
Milsa Loris - The once magnificent kingdom of Milsa Loris comes alive one night each winter. The King's witch is brewing up a little magic, sure to make the soup all the tastier.
The Old Vampire - Hailey spent her life dreaming of a dark prince falling in love with her. He never showed up, until now.
The Knocking - Alison's grandfather has one eye on the next life. After all, he's heard a lot of rapping at his door lately.
The Boy on the Beach - Kate's grandmother warns her about the boy with the green eyes. Will she pay heed?
Snowglobes- It's busy at Calvin's Cabins this Christmas. Eddie and Maggie are a young couple in trouble. Not to fear, Calvin is always ready to lend a hand.
End of the Line
In the distance, the familiar, white light appeared, cutting through the dark of midnight. She'd watched it come before, but always from the sidelines, imagining what it would be like to face such a beast. Cassie drew in a shaky breath and steeled herself. Legs splayed, arms by her sides, fists tightly clenched, she waited on the tracks as the train approached. Her legs shook, and strands of hair licked her cheeks in the gentle night's breeze.
She swallowed the fear threatening to override her. Hang in there, she told herself. Another sixty seconds, and it will all be over. No more drowning, murky thoughts, heavy dreams or stilted breathing. She lifted her head and stared straight ahead, willing her body to freeze. Closer now, but not coming fast enough. She was scared. As much as she desired to have it all over with, the fear gained ground. Could the driver see her yet? No, still too far away. Why had time slowed down? An ache began in her ankles, spreading up her legs and winding its way around her thighs and into her clenched hands.
The feel of her fingernails scraping the soft flesh of her palms roused her, just as she became aware of the vibrations on the tracks.
Cassie stumbled into the grass growing beside the tracks and ran, tears running down her cheeks. She stopped as she reached the first line of trees and leaned over, resting her hands on her thighs, trying to get her breath back.
Damn it! She wanted to die. Why couldn't she have stuck it out?
The train thundered by, unaware of the woman hunched over in the darkness, sobbing. She raised her head to watch the carriages pass, slithering alongside Wilkins Woods like a dark snake. In thirty seconds, the night was once again silent.
She'd try tomorrow night. Maybe pick up a bottle of Jack Daniel's after work. Might help with the nerves.
Slowly, her breathing returned to normal, and she wiped the tears away. Cassie followed the edge of the woods the mile back to her squalid flat. She let herself in and headed straight to bed. One more day. She could make it that far.
A little about Emma...
Author of Nights Sighs, Under the Desert Moon & The Awakening and Other Stories.
Emma Meade writes paranormal fiction.
She lives in rainy Ireland and loves all things supernatural. Stephen King's The Stand is one of her most loved books. Books, DVDS & TV show boxsets take up lots of space in her home and she collects all the Point Horror books she can get her hands on.
She is not ashamed to admit that Dirty Dancing and Twilight make her top ten movie list but wishes to point out that The Last of the Mohicans, Reality Bites, Dead Poets Society, Stand by Me and The Goonies are in there too.
Writing supernatural stories & watching marathon re-runs of Buffy are some of her favourite ways of escaping reality.
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1 comments:
Thanks a mill, Michelle.
By the way your blog design is wicked cool.
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