So Mary gasped in disbelief as she heard the squeaking noise again, and the grandmother’s rocking chair was not moving at all. Then the grandmother opened her eyes and looked directly at her, holding her...

But I was still determined to protect her. It might be the one good thing I would ever do in my life. I wondered if God would even notice.

You got what you deserved. Now be a man and confess to what most of us already know.

This place is Hell’s waiting room.

‘Eighth one this week,’ he said.

He had existed for a long time and was fluent in many languages – most of them…dead ones.

This guy was a humorless bag of nothing but.

I remembered what it was like to die-the pain, the fear, the doubt, and the unknown. Somehow I had cheated death once. Now I was about to try again.

Gods do not decide who goes to Heaven or who goes to Hell. That is for the Cosmic Forces to decide. You are as close to being like a God than you ever will be....

Even now I can’t describe the fear that contaminated my blood like black ink.

There’s no better way for a woman to punish a man than to make him sleep away from her.

I was a spectator who had gotten free admission to a freak show.

As the helpless vampire watched the transformation, it started screaming. It was still screaming when his rows of razor sharp teeth sank into its throat.

She gave herself a hard twist and fell into a sitting position, staring at me with those maggot-filled doll’s eyes.

The marine underworld stretched below the ship and embodied many secrets. The disappearance of Olga had become one of the mysteries that would remain with Stefania and her family. The disappearance of her baby sister...

Am I Dead?”Had she fallen to her doom and this was all an elaborate fantasy? Was this the place between life and death? Her eyes welled up with tears and she ran towards the man...

I turned to her, my whole body hard with tiredness and regret.

You shouldn’t have done that, Dave.

I’m not a bad person.

And now the bad Mommy was here – outside his window. With a little whimper, he ran back to the bed, jumped in, and pulled the covers over his head.Good Mommy was gone now…and bad...

I thought if I loved you enough I could change you. I was so stupid.

Is it possible for one to enter sleep and wander while never waking? And if so, for how long can one survive this way?

…Late at night, when the hour is none, I dream the dreams of the damned.

Remember. Observe, assess and act. No hesitation. No remorse.

‘There’s no time for right or wrong,’ I said.

During our time together in this place Holly didn’t outright avoid me or treat me rudely. But she wasn’t—how do women like to put it? She wasn’t emotionally available to me.

Leaning forward in the chair, Harley squeezed out a controlled fart, so no one could hear it. This damn reception area was like a echo chamber. If he weren’t careful, it could reverberate around the...

I felt a lunatic’s laugh welling up inside me.

And maybe that is exactly what happened…he walked away and never woke up…

Forg…ive me fath…er, fo..r I haa..ve sski..nned

Dude, don’t die out here.

She smiled at him like a freshman invited to the senior prom. It made my blood boil.

It’s not about winning, it’s about doing what’s right. And yes, we will do what’s right.

He screamed in agony as large black wings erupted from his back – each had four large talons on it.

I like to think she hates my guts a little less every hour.

When my mother died, I thought I’d drown in sorrow. But my grandmother said something very wise, and I’ve always held it close to my heart. She said that not even the sea is infinite,...

I like to make blank pages darker. It’s this thing I do.

I don’t know how these things died without benefit of a bullet to the brain pan. They seemed to exist in an eternal twilight of longing.

She played me with a bad hand, and I fell for it every time.

‘Can’t you see what they are?’ I said. ‘They’re all dead.’

She was a predator – a creature of the night who rejoiced in the thrill of the hunt.

I wanted to see the bullet coming, wanted to know the exact moment of my death.

Famine was a dirty bitch with rotten fangs, but the hunger she put in a belly bit sharp nonetheless.

Magic is a naughty beast.

I heard them tearing at it. It was the sound of mortality.

The people inside the gym didn’t stand a dead drunk’s chance.

A riverless silence made the air heavy.

Stop wiggling – you’ll move when I move you.

People talk about survival. What they mean is killing the other guy.

I stumble across the sea of tarmac, finding pavement, concealment and a brick wall. Palms brace against the scrubby surface. My stomach churns and then bubbles over, burning my throat as acrid yellow acid spills...