The Wintertide Festival had long been known as the biggest costume party in the world. For decades, that had been enough to draw travelers from across the globe. The half-forgotten Nimauk culture and the towering, fairy-tale-esque hills also called to the wanderlust yearning of the American story. Now, most of the visitors roamed no more …
Enoa did not ‘slide on over’ to the driver’s seat. She stayed where she was, gripping the sides of her passenger seat. She tried to ignore the world, ignore Orson’s muttering and cursing, the crashing noises from somewhere behind her. She tried to ignore the distant sound of the rushing water and the gurgling around …
“I heard you were taken into protective custody.” Mary Young had been a staple at local events since Enoa’s early childhood. She didn’t know the older woman well, but almost everyone in Nimauk recognized each other on sight. Enoa had no hope of escape without detection. She had no hope of vanishing. She didn’t know …
“Are you ready to get started?” Kelly Webster found Enoa in a small room behind the Treasures from the Clouds to the Sea’s storefront. She was safely out of sight of the Liberty Corps. The stockroom also offered access to the building’s enclosed staircase, leading down to the basement and up to the Cloud family …
“Do you have any evidence to back up that bold claim?” Sheriff Webster crossed her arms. “So far, I only have my own eye-witness testimony and over a decade of personal experience working in high strangeness situations,” Orson said. “When I tailed the two Sight-Stealers, one spoke into a radio. Then when I cornered them, …
Orson Gregory knew two things about his current situation. First, he was chasing men. They weren’t monsters, spirits, specters, demons, or any other colloquial name for such creatures. They moved and fought like humans. They acted predictably. They brawled with flash and emotion. Few of the nonhumans, part humans, or other beings Orson had met …
Enoa looked between her attackers and the strange new arrival. She didn’t know how capable this oddly dressed man was, but at the very least he’d managed to quiet the two attackers. “Yes, please!” “Okay.” The man nodded and began to stretch. He swung his arms in wide circles. “You never know when something’s a …
Hundreds of partygoers were set to arrive in Nimauk over the next twelve hours. Even in those strange times, cars and campers constantly descended on the small town during the Wintertide Festival. It offered a rare escape and the certainty of long tradition. That certainty ended with the train derailment. Heavy barricades had been placed …
Enoa Cloud was doing pretty well, for the end of the world. She hadn’t been attacked by starving raiders, invading militias, or monsters from folklore. She didn’t think such things were as common as travelers’ stories once led her to believe. Enoa never went hungry. She’d never gone to sleep with that dull, desperate …
