An Abandoned Amusement Park Contains Multitudes in This Sci-Fi Short Story

io9 is arrogant to contiguous fabrication from LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE. Once a month, we diagnostic a communicative from LIGHTSPEED’s existent issue. This month’s enactment is “The Darkness Between the Stars” by Richard Thomas; you tin perceive to an audio mentation here. Enjoy!

The Darkness Between the Stars
by Richard Thomas

Buddy and I abandoned our hydrogen nomad astatine the borderline of the wastelands earlier trudging astir the rusted chain-link perimeter of the abandoned fairgrounds, waiting for the blast of steam and guttural earthly moan to flight from the fractured soil, signifying that it was wide to participate the area. Remnants of aged exertion laic scattered arsenic acold arsenic the oculus could see: tubes of corroded brass, mangled springs, and cracked gearwheels mingled with discarded h2o bottles and decomposing garbage bags—half-covered successful particulate and ash among the weeds.

For a half-century, the unrelenting elements and merciless salvage crews had ravaged and plundered what was erstwhile a magnificent show to behold. Every operation of the taxable parkland had been agelong since flattened, erased, torn down, oregon stolen, to the constituent that lone the legends and tales remained—mindblowing exhibits and taxable parkland amusements with a supernatural twist. We knew what these barren acres utilized to hold, but if you didn’t cognize the history, it would beryllium casual to miss the patches of grey factual hidden beneath the silt, the faded numbers and directional arrows stenciled connected the cracked pavement successful a yellowish truthful washed-out that it was astir white, and the item of our visits: a singular factual obelisk with a reddish metallic door.

To us, it was a spot to escape—away from our chopper mothers, short-tempered fathers, and dead-eyed siblings each jacked into the similitude, excessively glued to their screens to ever task retired into this analog world.

Buddy and I were the lone kin either of america had left, really, the lone ones we could trust. The summertime days were dwindling and the last twelvemonth laic earlier us. Beyond that, commercialized schools, and sorted employment, mundane tasks, and a vague committedness of marital bliss—an evident warrant of brushed soma that we hardly understood. So we stood there, children really, this 1 nail caput bursting up done the world waiting to beryllium hammered down, a spot to conscionable successful the wee hours, the endless nights, and the rainy afternoons that ne'er seemed excessively warm.

Buddy stood a bully ft taller than me, and thicker successful each way. It was arsenic if you had taken 1 of me, had maine swallow different maine whole, and past had that wide grow successful each direction. With agelong brownish hairsbreadth and a elemental face, we sometimes called him Conan, oregon Tarzan. We, being the jerks successful his statistic class, oregon the jocks connected the scatterball team. He was arsenic loyal arsenic a German shepherd, a bully friend, not an alarm doorbell oregon reddish emblem connected him. He suspected nothing, and saw nary information successful this moment.

It didn’t substance what we did together—urban spelunking, passageway hacking, shooting wharf rats down by the contaminated river, oregon slingshotting rocks astatine the drones that crisscrossed the fields of rotting maize husks that surrounded this forsaken crippled of land. We ever had amusive together—as it was the company, the honorable conversation, the elemental dreams we shared—that made it worthy the trip.

We stopped adjacent to the reddish door, its titanium framework dinged and tarnished, past chrome hinges straining to clasp up its evident weight. The factual astir it was chipped, but highly thick, and determination was nary disposable grip to beryllium seen. Despite our determination to get inside, 3 summers of our primitive efforts—hammers, crowbars, shovels, and sledges nicked from our fathers’ sheds—had yielded nary advancement and simply added to the already worn-out overgarment occupation of this mysterious entryway.

“Derek, look astatine that,” Buddy said.

“I spot it, I spot it. That’s new.”

Next to the doorway and brutalist outcropping was a metallic box, similar immoderate aged beverage cooler, the lid open, and filled with padlocks. There were keys scattered successful determination arsenic well, covered successful dust, lying determination for hours oregon days, who knew.

“When were we present last?” I asked Buddy.

He scratched his head, “Weeks? More?”

I turned backmost to the door, and saw that it was amazingly ajar—seven latches, unlocked and bent. The spread successful the doorway appeared to turn wider with each measurement closer, arsenic if welcoming america into its waiting embrace, oregon possibly similar the rima of a large beast preparing to devour us. Up close, the blackness wrong the doorframe seemed to beryllium undulating, viscous and impossibly dark, and someway I knew, it was astir sentient. I had been truthful focused connected the interior that I hardly noticed that Buddy, who stopped walking astatine immoderate point, was nary longer beside me. A primal impulse heavy successful my gut screamed for my assemblage to halt moving too, but I was floating away, untethered from the information of my beingness into this acheronian from betwixt the stars, drawn successful by the irresistible telephone of the void.

“I’m going in,” I said, glancing implicit my enarthrosis with a sly grin.

“Derek, no,” helium yelled, taking 1 measurement toward me.

I wouldn’t spot him again for respective years.

• • •

I don’t retrieve being pulled in, lone the doorway snicking unopen down me, arsenic if pulled choky successful the aftermath of my movement. Inside, it was an eternity successful a closet, some cavernous and claustrophobic, oppressively silent, similar an anechoic enclosure wherever your ain heartbeat tin thrust you mad. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, a console with assorted levers and buttons revealed itself successful the sourceless dim light. The pungent odor of ozone pushed a metallic sensation heavy into my throat.

When I opened the doorway to stock my discoveries with Buddy, a information defender successful a acheronian bluish azygous with a heavy mustache and agelong brownish hairsbreadth spilling retired from nether his headdress sat with his arms crossed, dependable asleep, successful a metallic folding chair. My person was obscurity to beryllium found, and each astir america laic thing but an endless oversea of jet-black pavement. The fields of rotting maize were gone, the concatenation nexus obstruction had vanished, on with each hint of the ruined park. It was arsenic if a elephantine steamroller had trundled crossed this crippled of land—a monolithic machine, respective stories high, a 100 feet across. At the distant edges of the asphalt stood towering walls, topped with sweeping searchlights and barbed wire, easy 20 oregon 30 feet high. Up supra a rocket vessel headed to the abstraction presumption connected the moon—they’d yet done it, the shuttles were moving now.

I indispensable person made a noise—a whimper perhaps, oregon a moan, the doorway squealing arsenic it opened backmost up, my breathing louder than I thought.

The defender woke up and jumped to his feet.

“I tin explain, officer—” I started.

“Get implicit here,” helium yelled.

I did the lone happening I could deliberation of successful that moment. I ran backmost inside. But earlier the doorway closed, I heard his voice, panicked and familiar.

“Derek, hold . . .” helium screamed, lunging for the door, his eyes wide open.

And past I was gone.

This time, for overmuch longer.

• • •

As the doorway slammed unopen down me, I stumbled forward, banging into the power panel, my caput careening disconnected of thing solid, and I started to spell under.

The acheronian pushed successful connected me, wrapping astir maine similar a festering broad arsenic panic crushed me, clip slipping forward. I tried to propulsion upward, retired of the depths, similar a drowning diver struggling to find the surface.

But I failed.

Lying connected the acold metallic floor, sweat coating my assemblage successful a hopeless sheen, a sour movie of regret and despair, knowing the clip I was losing, my friendship, my life.

How agelong I was unconscious, I bash not know.

• • •

When I opened my eyes, it was quiet, a dim airy throbbing successful the dark. A crisp symptom erupted from my near temple, a crust of humor flaking distant nether my delicately probing fingers. Groaning, I stood up, turned the latch, pushed connected the door, and stumbled retired into the chaos.

The vigor was the archetypal happening I noticed. That and the fog. It was similar stepping retired of the frying cookware and into the fire—the odor of sulfur, upwind gusting blistery and foul, arsenic the onshore astir maine hid successful the hazy mist. It was cloudy, smoky, hard to see, bedewed and thick, the satellite astir maine retired of focus. Panic danced crossed my goose-pebbled soma successful a question of discomfort, my lungs resisting each breath. Sweat ran down my look successful aggravated rivulets, my gut clenched successful knots.

I stood there, trying to see, looking for a landmark, immoderate motion of the parkland I utilized to know. On the crushed successful beforehand of maine a metallic seat laic successful ruin—bent, rusty, and broken—pieces lying present and there, indentations successful the dirt. Hoofprints, toed prints, a smattering of smaller feet moving this mode and that, and past a fewer that were overmuch larger, bigger than my head.

Beyond the dusky heavy curtain of this world determination were unnerving sounds—great dense thuds that shook the earth, followed by a high-pitched screech from determination supra maine successful the fog, and past angry, crisp barks successful the distance. The aerial supra my caput swirled and a acheronian beingness flew implicit me, swooping near and past right, lone a faint proposition of movement, a swimming achromatic connected muted grey connected soiled white.

A shiny entity connected the crushed by the seat got my attention, arsenic I wondered however agelong I should basal retired here, however risky this truly was—predator oregon prey, devour oregon beryllium eaten. As acold arsenic the nutrient chain, I felt smack successful the middle.

I took a fewer hesitant steps earlier a file of occurrence erupted with a toxic belch successful the distance, a maelstrom of vigor shooting precocious into the atmosphere, pushing meager, russet airy done the grey fog.

I picked up the tarnished badge and turned it implicit successful my hands.

It said Buddy.

A chittering from down maine snapped my caput successful that direction. Above the unfastened doorway of the factual closet that was my lone refuge came a hiss followed by a watercourse of white, sticky substance, encasing maine successful fibers that, wrong moments, numbed my tegument and deadened my limbs. I fell to ground, incapable to move, my soma spasming with pain.

From retired of the gloom, 8 disjointed legs appeared implicit the doorway, jet-black and blanketed successful coarse hairsbreadth and fibers, supporting a bulbous caput covered successful glossy achromatic eyes. Its jagged, metallic mandibles clicked unneurotic arsenic it danced with rapturous glee—bobbing up and down, its pulsing underbelly glowing red, arsenic it came person to my prone body.

Its shadiness engulfed me, a musky odor of sour soma and rotting nutrient filling my nostrils, overpowering my lungs and burning my throat, causing maine to gnaw the wrong of my cheeks successful a jabbering panic.

And past arsenic rapidly arsenic it arrived, the hideous carnal disappeared, successful 1 whooshing movement, a harsh upwind sweeping implicit me, respective feathered legs reaching out, hooks pulling astatine me, tearing the web, and pulling it disconnected of maine successful great, sticky strands. It disappeared into the looming entity with hardly a sound, a large bellowing caw making my skull ache. Oily achromatic feathers filled the aerial arsenic metallic gears and pins rained down astir me, a melodic cacophony arsenic they struck the hard aboveground beneath me.

As I passed out, the toxins from the webbing yet accomplishing their job, the world reverberated, shifting my assemblage successful achy lurches toward the doorway, arsenic a cardinal shiny beetles conveyed maine to the opening, the doorway closing with a gentle click.

• • •

When I woke up, a acold certainty encased me. How agelong had I been retired this time? I stood successful the darkness, the console achromatic and quiet, and past I shoved the doorway unfastened and was greeted by a large nothingness.

As if lasting astatine the borderline of an bare elevator shaft, oregon the rim of the Grand Canyon connected a moonless night, what laic beneath maine was eternity. My caput reeled and I lurched forward, grasping astatine the doorway framework successful desperation, 1 ft suspended implicit the chasm, my eyes straining for thing recognizable successful the acheronian beneath it. Swimming successful the transportation were achromatic currents, oily slicks that shifted their shapes, arsenic present and determination a spark of sickly yellowish airy exploded with a brilliance that dazzled me. I moaned gently, exhausted and bewildered, my eyes closing against my will, leaving the afterimage of the flash burned into my retinas.

I tried to spot again.

Twitching successful and retired of the acheronian were coils of phosphorescence, a muted sienna lined successful a glossy reddish with pinpricks of squirming achromatic tadpoles dotted crossed its surface—none of it making sense. In a flash, I felt the full of the void surge towards maine with a convulsive urgency, a hunger rippling crossed its murky substance, a hopeless shriek piercing my ears. I pulled astatine the doorway to unopen it out, but it resisted my efforts, the encroaching abyss relentless successful its endlessness, tugging astatine the door, my flesh, my mind. With each ounce of my remaining energy, muscles burning, tendons straining, I ripped it escaped from the acheronian and pulled it closed, tears streaming down my face, humor pooling successful my eardrums.

And past a antithetic benignant of acheronian wrapped astir me, pulling maine under.

• • •

When I regained consciousness, the doorway hung unfastened a crack, a sliver of ethereal airy leaking inward. In the faint glow from the power panel, and successful a rage of insanity, I turned each knob I could spot to the left, each the mode down to zero. When my fumbling hands recovered the elephantine lever connected the acold close broadside of the console, I yanked it downward and past slammed the doorway shut.

“Do what you will!” I yelled into the darkness.

And past I collapsed connected the floor, and violently wept.

• • •

When it felt similar the close magnitude of clip had passed, I barreled into the door, flinging it unfastened wide, banging it against an alley wall. Standing earlier maine was the OmniPark, successful each its glory and prime. A Victorian mansion constructed of dense masonry successful unusual geometrical shapes and a glassy conservatory loomed nearby, ceramic walls rising up astir it, and successful the region a botanical garden, similar nary I’d ever seen. Statues of guiltless cherubs mingled with respective planting beds filled with vivid flowers, and thick, greenish ornamental bushes trimmed into the signifier of hourglasses. A changeless ticking filled the air, arsenic a large galore clocks were displayed beyond the solid windows, brass and metalwork everywhere. Above and into the region a monorail ran connected a track, gliding silently successful a circuit astir the park.

Beyond the fences of the plot and past the walls of the mansion I could perceive revelry, the odor of grilled nutrient and fried food, the laughter of children mixed with the shouts of parental guidance, and the clanking of metallic rides. There was fractional a solid dome to 1 side, and beyond it a bid of caves, with tremendous mammoth tusks implicit the main entrance. At the farthest constituent was a abstraction station, with its chrome-topped rocket ships gleaming successful the sunlight. And to the different side, 2 antithetic paths extended into their exhibits—one made retired of stone, and the different dirt. The erstwhile seemed to beryllium built retired of cells and membranes, microscopic creatures arsenic ample arsenic people, and cars. The second immoderate benignant of primordial forest, with prehistoric trees and ferns, a monolithic dragonfly mounted implicit immoderate eating hall, its translucent wings refracting light.

I took this each successful arsenic if my caput was a camera acceptable connected long-exposure, absorbing an overwhelming magnitude of colors, sounds, smells, and sensations.

The maelstrom of stimulation made my caput swim.

All I wanted to bash was spell home.

I struggled to drawback my breath, arsenic 2 individuals engaged successful an animated speech astatine the different extremity of the alley—a lanky antheral successful an impeccable suit, hairsbreadth slicked over, glasses perched connected his nose, and a pistillate with acheronian hair, successful a stylish dress, a multitude of brass pendants and charms encircling her neck. From this region it was hard to archer if they were warring oregon conscionable excited, a clipboard successful her near hand, the antheral glancing astatine his watch. And past they embraced successful a kiss, speedy and passionate, earlier parting, glancing toward a doorway astatine the backmost of the mansion, and past successful my direction.

Their regard held, some of them frozen for a moment, and past they walked my way.

If I’d had the energy, I mightiness person climbed backmost inside, but the exhaustion of my travels lone made maine weep silently, arsenic they approached me, grins sliding crossed their faces.

“Son, are you okay? You look disheveled and lost. I’m Dalton, and this is my wife, Evelyn. This is our park. And from the looks of the unfastened doorway here, you look to person stumbled crossed thing that I thought was locked and secured.”

I could lone nod, his look benignant and beaming, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“How did you get backmost here? Can we instrumentality you home? You from astir here?”

They continued to look astatine me, and past his woman elbowed him, and whispered successful his ear. They looked maine up and down, taking successful my vintage denim jeans, my mycelium leather high-tops, and my t-shirt with the connection SUPREME connected it, cycling done its preset loop of colors and patterns.

“On 2nd thought,” Dalton said, “I don’t cognize if where you are from is the close question.”

“Too true. More similar when are you from, my dear?” Evelyn asked earlier smiling, clutching her clipboard to her chest, reddish lipstick framing her achromatic teeth.

I told them astir the demolition of the park, the mode I’d gone forward, and past back, the things I’d seen on the way, and what I’d near behind. They nodded astatine each improbable item without a hint of skepticism. Evelyn retrieved her purse and withdrew a container of Animal Crackers, the lions and elephants wrong their cages a invited snack. This was followed by a ample integrative vessel filled with an oversweet orangish liquid that could lone person been Tang.

When Dalton stepped wrong the metallic doorway with a tiny flashlight successful his teeth, I didn’t person the vigor to pass him, fto unsocial halt him. I could perceive him clicking buttons, cranking dials, and the unmistakable dependable of the ample lever being pushed backmost up again, pointing up toward the stars.

“I’m atrocious for what you’ve been through,” Evelyn said, her manus connected my enarthrosis a comforting beingness portion we waited for Dalton to emerge. The gardens loomed beyond her shoulder, but it was arsenic if I were lying down successful those kaleidoscopic angiosperm beds arsenic her perfume drifted implicit me—hypnotic jasmine and gardenia with subtle violet and sandalwood underneath. I knew that scent, arsenic my grandma utilized to deterioration it.

They telephone it . . . Chaaaaarlieeeeee!

And I smiled for the archetypal clip successful hours, days, eons.

“When you get back, Derek, you indispensable destruct it. It’s a unsafe invention that we haven’t figured retired however to wrangle yet,” Dalton said arsenic helium stepped retired of the machine.

“I don’t cognize if I can.”

“Do your best,” Evelyn chimed in.

I looked backmost down the alleyway, and determination stood 2 strangely acquainted people—a buzzcut antheral successful slacks and a striped garment talking to a pistillate with a spot of bob successful a peach pantsuit. I couldn’t instrumentality my eyes disconnected of them, and yet, I wasn’t definite why. He offered her an crystal pick cone and she leaned successful to lick the apical scoop. He smirked beneath his aviator glasses, and they some laughed. They were astir unrecognizable and past it each slammed into focus.

“My parents . . .” I began.

“This infinitesimal successful clip was chosen,” Dalton said, arsenic I pulled my regard from the alien mentation of my parents I’d conscionable seen. “Time beats america each down, son. Your parents were erstwhile young and vital. But you should get going, I’m afraid. Ripples tin beryllium made.”

He was right—I had to leave. Before things came undone.

Evelyn gave maine a gentle hug earlier Dalton shook my manus with authorization and ushered maine backmost done that reddish metallic door. It took each of my courageousness to seal it again down me, fearful of wherever the infernal instrumentality mightiness instrumentality me, but the past happening I saw gave maine a infinitesimal of peace. Dalton and Evelyn smiled limb successful arm, their eyes twinkling with tears, beaming with pridefulness for what they’d built, burdened by sadness for what had failed. They present had confirmation of thing beyond their park, thing bigger than america all. Their life’s enactment had led to thing extraordinary, and that seemed to capable them with hope.

I’d instrumentality it.

• • •

When I stepped extracurricular again, Buddy was smoking a cigaret and tapping his foot, looking frustrated and impatient.

“Dude, what the hell,” helium said, dropping the butt, and stamping it out. “You were successful determination an hour! I tried tugging and banging connected the door, but it wouldn’t open. I astir called the . . .”

I rushed guardant and threw my arms astir him arsenic if to forestall myself from being pulled backmost into the machine. He didn’t hug maine back, remaining stiff arsenic a board, successful shock, but I wouldn’t fto him go. He indispensable person seen the desperation successful my eyes the infinitesimal I had stepped extracurricular due to the fact that helium didn’t accidental a connection until I released him.

“Hey . . .” helium started with a premix of disorder and choler successful his features.

I gripped him by the shoulders, holding him astatine arm’s length, tears welling successful my eyes. He softened astatine the show of my pained expression, recognizing successful maine a heavy terror, having been shaken to my core, and successful a feverish panic I recounted each the things I’d seen, each visceral item oozing retired of maine into the contiguous moment—sour, and glossy, astir sticky to the touch.

“I request to spot it,” helium said, stepping past maine toward the gaping maw that had astir swallowed maine forever.

“No! Buddy, no!” I yelled, and helium stopped dormant successful his tracks. The funny grin connected his look rapidly washed away, humor draining from his look arsenic helium recognized the barely-contained insanity successful my eyes.

“We request to fastener this up, close away,” I said. “Now.”

I grabbed the doorway and slammed it shut, a whimper that begged to crook into a crying jag, sliding the latches implicit the hooks, 1 astatine a time. Whoever had opened this doorway earlier us, wherever they were now, this portal had to beryllium closed.

“Hand maine the locks,” I said. And helium did.

One by one, I locked it shut, spinning the dials connected some, clicking the others unopen arsenic we gathered the keys retired of the bin.

At the spread successful the chain-link fence, we bent the ligament mesh backmost into place, securing it to the station arsenic champion we could truthful it looked intact from a distance. There wasn’t overmuch much we could do, but archer everyone that determination was thing here, thing worthy exploring, discouraging them from going inside, hoping that the dried-up, drifting topsoil mightiness soon screen the spot completely.

Two keys were successful his pockets, and 2 successful mine. And arsenic we walked location successful silence, the nomad’s artillery dead, I dropped 1 successful a sewer grate, a plink down below, followed by a whining of gears arsenic an automated sewer bot investigated the noise. Later, he’d flip 1 successful a dumpster down the integrative country mall, the sickly saccharine odor of liposuction discarded filling the air. I told him to suffer the different one, and to ne'er archer maine what helium did with it. I’d flush excavation down the toilet, aboriginal that night, wrapped successful a spot of toilet paper, arsenic I watched the h2o swirl hypnotically into oblivion.

Before we parted, astatine the intersection connected the apical of the hill, wherever northbound was his house, and southbound was mine, I tried to explain.

“Buddy, I . . .”

“It’s okay, man. I get it. And honestly? I don’t really privation to know. Some things, erstwhile they’ve been seen? They can’t beryllium unseen.”

“Once they’re known,” I continued, “they can’t beryllium unknown.”

We stood with our hands stuffed successful the pockets of our jeans.

“Like my grandfather’s funeral,” Buddy said without taking his eyes disconnected the horizon. “He looked truthful grey successful the casket, similar a inexpensive wax dummy of the antheral I loved. Then, afterward, successful the alley down the ceremonial home, I saw my aunt kissing immoderate unit member, fractional her age. On the thrust home, my begetter pulled implicit and vomited connected the broadside of the highway. Just near the car doorway open, bent implicit successful the weeds similar immoderate kid astatine a frat party. His look was similar he’d seen a shade and helium couldn’t halt trembling truthful I had to thrust the remainder of the way.” He slipped a cigaret retired of the crumpled battalion and lit it, letting that archetypal exhale drift up into the nighttime entity earlier helium spoke again. “I could person done without that time entirely.”

I took the cigaret from him, inhaled deeply, and handed it back. As I exhaled it up into the nighttime sky, my ordeal seemed truthful acold distant now. Fading already.

“Tomorrow we find a caller hobby,” I said, and we managed to stock a half-hearted laugh.

That fall, and into the spring, we’d hack our encephalobots for much credits, rig the evaluations for our aboriginal employment, instrumentality a slug bid to the westbound coast, and buss immoderate synthetic girls. We’d yet instrumentality a shuttle to the moon, the Earth and our problems present diminishing successful size with each mile of question into the large beyond. We’d outcry astatine each other, bushed each different senseless, past extremity our relationship implicit slights and betrayals, some existent and imagined, earlier picking it up the adjacent day, oregon the time after, arsenic if thing ever happened.

• • •

When I got location that night, I crept done the broadside door, waiting to perceive the scolding dependable of my father, oregon face the disquieted look of my mother. But neither happened. They hadn’t adjacent noticed I’d been gone.

I passed my aged antheral successful the surviving country filled with cigaret fume and canine hair, slumped successful his faded brownish leather recliner, wearing his perpetual scowl portion engrossed successful a documentary connected past Egypt. He didn’t adjacent admit my beingness lasting retired beyond the airy of the television.

“Dad, I conscionable wanted to accidental convey you for each of your hard work, for everything you bash for this family.”

I near it astatine that, not definite if helium was susceptible of proceeding me. As I climbed the stairs retired of view, glancing backmost for conscionable a moment, his eyes met mine, and I swore for conscionable a 2nd helium softened. He didn’t reply, earlier returning to his show, but his look had said much than enough.

I passed my mother, hunched implicit the delicate glow of the magnifying lamp successful her sewing room, humming on astatine her workbench, surrounded by cluttered shelves of signifier books, piles of vivid fabrics, and endless spools of thread successful each imaginable color.

“What are you moving on, Mom?” I asked.

She raised her head, rima unfastened slightly, pausing successful mid-stitch.

“Fixing a hem connected your favourite jeans. You’re truthful unsmooth connected them.”

“I emotion those jeans,” I said. “Thank you for taking specified large attraction of me.”

She stopped moving for a second, a twinkle successful her eye, biting her little lip, the needle catching a gleam of light.

Before she could respond, I shuffled down the hall, truthful anxious to find my bed, and collapsed connected apical of the covers to the acquainted dependable of the heater downstairs kicking in. A lingering odor of fried chickenhearted drifted up done the level vents, paired with vanilla from a adjacent candle, and a faint hint of lemon-scented cleaner.

I closed my dense eyelids and slipped into a waiting dream.

Because I inactive could.

About the Author

Richard Thomas is the award-winning writer of 9 books: 4 novels—Incarnate, Breaker, Disintegration, and Transubstantiate; 4 collections—Spontaneous Human Combustion, Tribulations, Staring Into the Abyss, and Herniated Roots; and 1 novella of The Soul Standard. He has been nominated for the Bram Stoker (twice), Shirley Jackson, Thriller, and Audie awards. His implicit 175 stories successful people include The Best Horror of the Year (Volume Eleven), Cemetery Dance (twice), Behold!: Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders (Bram Stoker Award winner), The Hideous Book of Hidden Horrors (Shirley Jackson Award winner), Weird Fiction Review, The Seven Deadliest, Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories, Qualia Nous (#1&2), Chiral Mad (#2-4), PRISMS, and Shivers VI. He has besides edited 5 anthologies. Visit whatdoesnotkillme.com for much information.

© Adamant Press

Please sojourn LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE to work much large subject fabrication and fantasy. This communicative archetypal appeared successful the August 2024 issue, which besides features enactment by K.A. Wiggins, Dominique Dickey, Cat Rambo, Matthew Hughes, Archita Mittra, Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe, Deborah L. Davitt and more. You tin hold for this month’s contents to beryllium serialized online, oregon you tin bargain the full contented close present successful convenient ebook format for conscionable $3.99, oregon subscribe to the ebook variation here.

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