Oskar doesn't have many friends. So when Eli moves in next door, things seem to be improving. She's a little strange, and her 'father' is frankly sinister, but at least she likes Oskar. Then a child's body is found hanging from a tree, and all hell breaks loose. Is it a serial killer? Or something a bit...different?

A selection of chilling stories from some of the best Indie authors on the market. With stories by Donny Swords, Chris Raven, A.L. Butcher, Alan Hardy, Adam Bigden, & Dani J. CaileA selection of chilling stories from some of the best Indie authors on the market. We dare you to venture into these pages of spine chilling tales and stories of dark shadows & darker tidings, shifters, ancient warriors, zombies, & demons… See the world through the Ripper’s eyes, and so much more. So many dark, foul things wait for you between these pages. Freely donated by the authors themselves, these dark passages are a great example of their various, unique styles and imaginations. Join us in Darker Places. With stories by Donny Swords, Chris Raven, A.L. Butcher, Alan Hardy, Adam Bigden, & Dani J. CaileBrought to you by The Indie Collaboration.

After fighting as a red commissar in the Russian Civil War, he wanted nothing but his peaceful home. Instead, he received a strange instruction that brought him to a leper colony lost in the endless steppes. What awaits for the brave commander there?50% John McClane50% Robin Hood100% troubleReeling from the death of her lover and partner, freelance “exfiltration specialist” Billie Carrie Salton breaks into a high-tech, high-security biotechnology firm to steal their sickle cell anemia cure and broadcast it to the world.In, out, announce. Easy.Except Salton’s life never works that smoothly...

A classic story of haunted terror inspired by the works of M.R.James.“I have a tale to tell, gentlemen, if you have a care to listen.”So begins the dark tale of terror that our narrator unearths from his childhood memories. A tale of tragedy ... or something more sinister? Read on to discover the truth, and the manner in which an innocent game of hide and seek turns into a terrifying voyage across the shadowed chasm between life and death ...

The Man. The Mystery. The Madness. Dex Foray has never been anyone’s fool – until he missed his chance for happiness with Perry Palomino. Broken and alone, Dex has no choice but to rise from the ashes Perry left behind and find his own path to redemption. But nothing in Dex’s life has ever come easily, especially when there’s a dark madness waiting in the wings. Told from Dex’s POV, And With Madness Comes the Light is short story/novella that spans the time period from the end of Lying Season (Book #4) until the end of On Demon Wings (Book #5). If you were ever wondering what really happened to Dex while Perry was gone - his journey to Dex 2. 0 - now is your chance.

A sort of stand alone sequel to Zombie Holiday in which Huck discovers the dangers of the New City and nefarious plot of the New World Order.Forget the killer babies, rifle-toting rednecks, and black widow zombies. Now Huck finds himself in even hotter water when he returns to the City and gradually becomes an unwitting accomplice in the global plan of the New World Order.

What would you do for your one true love? Would you lie? Would you kill? She lies sleeping in the upstairs bedroom as he paces the halls relentlessly. His world is torn in half, and she is the blade that severed it. His love for her runs deeper than blood, deeper than the boundaries between right and wrong. Tonight, he's going to prove it to her. Tonight, she'll finally see things his way.How far would you go to win the heart of the one you love? Paul would do anything for Alessa, absolutely anything. There are certain lines you cross, however, and you cannot cross back. One jealous moment, one bad decision, one long nightmare you can't escape. This short story offers a twisted version of true love, and all the dirty little deeds it empowers.

This collection of dark poetry and flash fiction wants you to come and play. After all, even the things that live in the dark get lonely . . .The spaces between the connect and the disconnect are in concert when a young psychiatric intern, Doctor Pierce, faces the many challenges that the state run institution of Westwood presents to him. There he meets Paige, a frail and catatonic patient, that forever changes both of their lives. Through cryptic passages and heavy metaphor, the story unfolds to a bewildering and unnerving ending.

Just over the hill was this little town called Eadondale with a population of one hundred and twenty-five. Eadondale had one church, one school, one bank and one restaurant. Eadondale may not be as big as a big city, but if you ever came to visit you would think otherwise. Everyone left their doors to their house unlocked. But evil would be lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike at any moment.Just over the hill was this little town called Eadondale with a population of one hundred and twenty-five. Eadondale had one church, one school, one bank and one restaurant. Eadondale may not be as big as a big city, but if you ever came to visit you would think otherwise. Everyone left their doors to their house unlocked. Everyone smiled and waved to any stranger that came through this small town. The neighbors were always eager to lend a helping hand to anyone in need, but evil would be lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike at any moment.The evil I'm talking about is a man by the name of Johnny Walker. Johnny is what you would call a true hell raiser. Johnny stood six feet two inches tall and drank a lot of beer. When he had just a little too much to drink he would get into fights at the bar. Johnny would like to drive his loud Harley Davidson motorcycle in the wee hours of the night, waking up all the neighbors in town. The only thing Johnny was good at is using his pickax that he always carried on the side of his motorcycle.

Also available in Pump Six and Other Stories “The People of Sand and Slag” starts as straight military sf — and then twists. It was nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 2004.

In the cataclysm of the battle of the gods, a portal to Hell has been opened, releasing legions of unnatural creatures that have pushed humanity to the edge of extinction. While warring deities clash with fallen angels, the only hope for mankind’s survival lies with the most unlikely heroes: Former assassin Rachel Hael has rejoined blood-magician Mina Greene and her little dog, Basilis, on one last desperate mission to save the world from the ravages of Hell. As Rachel travels to the final confrontation she has both sought and feared, she begins to realize that time itself is unraveling. And so she must prepare herself for a sacrifice that may claim her heart, her life, her soul—and even then it may not be enough.

"There is something special about the relationship we all have with our mothers . . . " Meet Pat McNab, forty-five years old, and about to embark on a homicidal rampage sparked by matricide. Or is he? Pat spent endless hours chain-smoking and propping up the counter of Sullivan's Select Bar (not that Mrs. McNab knew anything about it—she and Timmy the barman didn't get along at all) or sitting on his mother's knee singing away together like some ridiculous two-headed human jukebox. But that was all before the story really began—Emerald Germs of Ireland is in essence Pat McNab's post-matricide year. Pat, who now spends many of his waking hours sitting by the window in his old dark house, watching videos and nibbling abstractedly on pieces of toast, reflects on those long-gone days with Mommy, while fending off the persistent interferences of his small-town neighbors: the puritanical Mrs. Tubridy; that irascible seller of turf, the Turf Man; Sgt. "Kojak" Foley, and other unwanted snoops who could soon come to regret their inquisitive, nose-poking ways. This is Patrick McCabe at his fiendish best. Dark, emotionally powerful, and surreal, Emerald Germs of Ireland is also his funniest work to date, masterfully displaying the anarchic twists and turns that are the hallmarks of his comic genius.

Steffa thought that by moving across the country and changing her name, she could start a new life free of the stifling old-money and high-society obligations of Hartford Cove.She should have known better. Her ex-mother-in-law doesn't give up that easily. When Virginia Vandermere wants something, there's no distance too far, no lengths too extreme, and no hurt too deep.Steffa thought that by moving across the country and changing her name, she could start a new life free of the stifling old-money and high-society obligations of Hardford Cove.She should have known better. Her ex-mother-in-law doesn't give up that easily. When Virginia Vandermere wants something, there's no distance too far, no lengths too extreme, and no hurt too deep.

Ten years later, Starr is even more miserable. Self medication has been the only way for her to cope.Ten years later, Starr is even more miserable. Self medication has been the only way for her to cope. Barely able to handle her own business affairs, she now faces trouble with the Romanian Ministry over her father's castle.She lands in a white collar jail, yet finds herself having a much needed vacation. But as problems arise, she must help her friends by using a telepathic connection.Genre: Starr series

A demon is stalking Vicky's dreams-just as several of Deadtown's zombies are viciously attacked and become really dead. And when Vicky realizes she is the only connection between the victims, she suspects that the demon is somehow working through her dreams to become Deadtown's living nightmare.