Inhuman

brighter. The old woman stared in disbelief as the shining cable began to tear into two.

Dancing above the babies, the two silver threads descended and—one each—wrapped themselves around the babies. In an instant, both threads disappeared into the babies’ chests.

Both children inhaled at the same time and exhaled with a tiny cry. Tears of joy rolled down the old woman’s face as she picked up her grandchildren—both adorned with a six-sided white star upon their chest.

Looking at the little girl, her head covered with black downy hair, the old woman smiled as the little one cooed. “Cassia would have wanted your name to be…Amy.”

Turning to the little boy, his eyes rich brown and full of wisdom she said. “And you, young man, shall be named after your grandfather…Tanaka.”

Walking to Cassia’s vacant body, she leaned over kissed her daughter’s cheek. “I will keep them safe Cassia.” And turning to leave with the twins in her arms, the old medicine woman looked back and whispered. “Good-bye my daughter.”

Epilogue

“Come on now, you can do it.” The old woman gently urged the young man as they maneuvered down the side of the mountain. The sun had just risen and was moving to grace the sky with its presence.

She heard the young man grunt ahead of her and watched him clutch his shoulder as he struggled down the steep slope. His wounds were bad, but she felt that she could heal him.

Glancing back at the mouth of the cave in the distance, she thought of Cassia’s body, lifeless and cold, lying on the cavern floor. Nodding, she silently vowed to have her brought down and be given a proper burial.

Cradling the two babies in her arms, she smiled wistfully at their innocent faces. She’d lost a daughter today, but gained two grandchildren.

With the prophecy now complete, she had no idea what the future world was going to look like. Her ancestors had promised peace and a utopian society, she hoped they were right.

As they reached the outskirts of the village, the old woman braced herself for what she might see. The men dressed in black had attacked her village the night before and a flutter of fear danced around her heart as she proceeded with caution.

“Careful.” The young man whispered as he leaned against a tree for support. He eyed his children carried in the crook of the old woman’s arms with concern. His heart ached with the loss of their mother and his sister, but he felt warmth like no other for the twins.

Peering around the corner of a neighbor’s hut, she was surprised to see so many bodies lying upon the ground. In the distance, she could see many men digging shallow graves and inspecting a large, black helicopter.

Her lips curved into a smile. The outsiders hadn’t stood a chance against her people.

With the babies clutched close to her bosom, she wandered into the center of the village. Instantly surrounded, tears flooded her eyes and ran down her wrinkled cheeks.

“Medicine Woman, is it true?” The chief asked, his eyes wide with hope. His ceremonial headdress perched high upon his head and his bare chest coated with the dried blood of the outsiders.

“Yes.” Her voice was quiet as she gazed at the infants, settling upon the tiny boy. “The prophecy is complete, a new world has begun.”

The End

Scroll down for an exciting excerpt of NIGHTMARA!

 

“Whatever you do, don’t think about them before you fall asleep.”

After Grayson Castle is kissed by a beautiful and mysterious woman at a night club, he soon discovers the true meaning of fear. Plagued nightly by what he believes to be a terrifying curse, he seeks professional help from Dr. Zoe Alexander.

Convinced it’s nothing more than sleep paralysis, she disregards his experiences as merely a hallucination— until they come after her.

Based on a true phenomenon, Nightmara explores what horrors may lie between sleep and awake.

Excerpt from:

NIGHTMARA

Darkness had descended on the city hours ago, leaving only the streetlights to illuminate the black fabric of universe that hung overhead. An occasional honk or barking dog can be heard, but otherwise, a hush of eerie silence drifts over the community like a dark fog.

Moving through the lonely streets, left abandoned by the endless activities of the day, an impromptu ghost town is born by the setting of the sun.

While most of the population had closed their eyes and succumbed to the call of slumber hours before, one particular bedroom window remains brightly lit.

Entering the tiny apartment, it looks like any other messy bachelor pad.

A second-hand couch stares blankly across the living room at an extra large television while a mystery plant dies of dehydration in the corner. Tonight’s dirty supper dishes, along with yesterdays, lie abandoned on a rectangular coffee table.

Stacks of unopened mail are left strewn upon the matted beige carpet which is in desperate need of vacuuming.

The bathroom is littered with the remnants of the weeks’ laundry and the hallway devoid of any pictures except for one that clings precariously to the corner of the tilted frame.

From the outside, it was a home like any other…except for the bedroom.

Approaching the plain white door, a glaring light escapes from the small crack at the bottom. On the other side of the door, only a light whispering can be heard penetrating the silence of the apartment.

Several dead bolts decorate the inside of the door even though he’d learned long ago that no amount of locks can keep the entities out.

Plugged into every outlet within the little room, nightlights and lamps of all shapes and sizes enlighten each dark corner.

Strategically built wooden boards form a barrier around the base of the queen-sized bed. It was simply too frightening to climb in and out of the bed with the dark space underneath threatening to grab his ankles at any moment.

A lone dresser sits unrecognizable at the far end of the room. Beaded rosaries drape over the semi-open drawers while a tiny statue of Buddha grins from his perch atop the dresser. A miniature nativity scene, depicting the birth of Jesus with his human and animal onlookers, occupies most of the space on the left side of the dresser. A lovely bust of the Virgin Mary wears a Mona Lisa smile next to a large silver menorah, all its candles lit and flickering with every breath of air that nears it.

A crucifix hangs beside a large amulet of the Star of David; both seem to be overlooking the young man as he reads from various bibles and religious scriptures. The words of King James, the Kabala and the Quran are amongst the rows of sacred literature decorating the bedroom floor.

Kneeling before the shrine in the corner of his bedroom, the young man shivers as psalms and verses pour rapidly from his trembling lips.

His forehead beading with sweat, he glances around himself every few seconds. Palms pressed together, he ignores the pain of the fresh bruises on his wrists and ankles and rocks back and forth as he prays feverishly to any deity that will hear him…and protect him.

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