9 Tales Told in the Dark 9 by 9 Tales Told in the Dark

Author:9 Tales Told in the Dark [Dark, 9 Tales Told in the]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bride of Chaos
Published: 2016-01-21T23:00:00+00:00

***

Douglas sat in the only kitchen chair he owned, Chinese food spread out across the table. He picked out noodles and chicken with chopsticks as the rain continued to fall, splattering on the darkened window.

The evening news played in the living room. His apartment was small, one bedroom, one bath, kitchen and a living room. He watched as the nightly news play on the flat screen in his living room from the kitchen table as the anchors discussed another grisly murder. A man had been found, murdered in his own home. This was the third member of a particular congregation belonging to the Church of the Firstborn. A small parish located on the outskirts of town. It was one of the older parishes, having been established before the Revolution. Police believe the congregation is being targeted by a hate group for reasons unknown at this time.

Douglas tuned it out. His mind kept dwelling on the baby that looked like his own child. He hadn’t thought about that in years. His boy died three days after birth. The doctors said it was heart failure. Betty was never the same. The death of their son drove a wedge in their marriage. He turned inward… She turned outward…

The nightmare invaded his memory as Douglas slid the noodles away from him, his appetite gone. The television news had moved on to discuss sports. The rain continued to pour.

Douglas heard a sound come from his bedroom, like something falling over and hitting the carpet, something small. He licked the teriyaki sauce from his fingers and walked into his bedroom, thinking maybe his laptop had fallen off his bed. His laptop still sat in the same place he left it. Everything else looked like it was exactly how he had left it. He opened the closet and checked the bathroom to see if anything had fallen over. Everything was still in its place.

The living room wall shook as something thudded against it. He ran back to the living room, the news anchors discussing an upcoming local election, and wondered what his neighbors were doing to cause such a fuss.

He brought his laptop into the kitchen, ready to work on his report about Neal and Alice’s experimental dream machine, ignoring the disturbances his neighbors were causing. He knew he wasn’t getting any sleep tonight and was ready to work late.

The living room wall thudded again. This time it was heavy, causing his television to shake violently.

“Hey!” He shouted. This was getting ridiculous.

Douglas opened the front door to his apartment. Rain fell as he stormed next door. “Hey!” He shouted, banging on his neighbor’s door, slick with rain. “What are you guys doing in there?!”

There was no answer. He banged again, harder. Still no answer. He jiggled the handle. Locked.

Douglas kicked the door in frustration. Cowards, he thought.

He looked towards the parking lot, frustrated, anger building inside him. In the darkness and falling rain, on the opposite side of the parking lot, just outside the protecting circle of light from the streetlight, he could see between two cars a grayish looking sack on the ground.

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