Short Story

Welcome to Amelia, an area of land that's filled with

the creatures from your darkest nightmares. In this first visit, a

homeless man finds himself up against a creature determined to kill him

and his fellow street people. This release includes ROADMAP TO AMELIA, an introduction to the series by the author.

Excerpt

David Engle burst through the eastern doors of the abandoned high school

like a maelstrom. I can’t run from it forever, he thought. And if I

escape, it’ll kill the others.

A homeless vagabond for several years, David belonged to a pleasant

family-like cadre known as ‘The Forgotten Ones’ in Amelia City. His

attire was that of the standard American bum, which included a tattered

old pair of jeans, a worn chambray shirt, cast-off boots and, of course,

an Army surplus field jacket. His odor matched that of a cat lady’s

apartment. The loudest sounds in his ears were of his own pounding

heart, and the splash of his feet as he ran along a floor covered in

water dribbling through a damaged roof.

And what was he doing, this curious fellow? He was running for life and

limb from the Beast. No living thing David had ever encountered could

completely and effortlessly rip a human being’s head off. Twenty minutes

before in a seldom-used subway terminal, he had seen the creature do

just that to an unsuspecting civilian. David had noticed the rise in

disappearances of his kinsmen, as well as the discovery of some of their

bodies. Now he knew why.

David stumbled over a pile of old textbooks, discarded relics never

properly disposed of in the times when people still attended classes in

the school. He caught himself, his tattered boots scrambling for

purchase on the wet floor. The school’s roof hadn’t kept the rain out

for months now, and the stench of wood rot, mildew and other forms of

decay wafted into his nostrils. Gagging on the pungent mixture of

aromas, he vaulted forth.

Twenty yards in he heard its growl, a thundering cacophony that shook

the very foundations of the building and sent tremors rippling

throughout the city. These were its hunting grounds, these places of

darkness and abandonment. Through no fault of their own, in most cases,

the members of the Forgotten Ones had taken up camp in the various lairs

of a creature beyond comprehension or mercy.

David stumbled on, trying not to imagine the horror or pain he would

likely suffer should the Beast catch up to him. He reached his right

hand into one of his upper jacket pockets, withdrawing an old and

battered miniature flashlight of the type policemen were issued. He

still moved forward, his sweaty hand fumbling to turn the top of the

trinket so that he could find his way more readily.