Stumble Teaser

Good afternoon, dear readers. Today, I have for you an excerpt from Chapter 9 of the current project, entitled, Stumble". This one's a bit darker, folks.

The living room felt weird. He stopped just inside the doorway. “Solace?” he called, certain he wasn’t alone. But she didn’t answer him. Nobody did.

The room reeked of olives. He grimaced against the smell. And if it was that bad for him, he knew it would make Solace sick. He observed the dark stain on the couch, but was quickly distracted by a movement in the corner behind it.

He peered into it, but it was darkened as the sun faded from the day. His heart sped up. He stood there for what felt like a full minute, hoping his eyes would adjust. Trying to believe it was just shadow. Fighting the memories.

And then it moved again. Not spreading slowly as the light faded, no, but like a figure changing position. He gasped, his hand shooting out for the light switch even as his eyes remained glued to the darker shape within the shadow. His hand fumbled around, then found purchase, flicking it on, and froze again as Jake became acquainted with a new depth of terror.

The light found the corner and the shadow changed, but the shape – the deeper darkness – lingered. And he recognized it. His bladder threatened release as the shape changed, but rather than simply vanishing like the other shadows had, it seemed to cave in on itself, growing darker still as it shrunk, and then, *thwip!*, simply disappeared with an odd sucking sound.

He yelled as his knees gave out, the crutches throwing him forward in a mindless attempt at support, and he landed on his hands first, then his knees as the useless things fell. He stayed like that, breathing hard, the imploding black hole of a figure shrinking into nothing over and over in his mind’s eye.

He pressed his face into his hands and felt sweat and tears together. 

It’s getting worse, he acknowledged inwardly. It’s getting closer.