Tuesday terror in this sample from the spell-binding novel
By David C. Cassidy
“Jesus,” Jared muttered. He had thought the kid looked familiar. It was Bobby Duncan’s son.
“Stay with me, Kyle.”
The boy looked up at him, dazed. He was fading fast.
Jared searched the crowd. His heart was racing. “Does anyone know first aid? Has anyone called 9-1-1?”
He took out his smartphone. As he started to call the emergency number, the boy coughed up blood. Jared dropped the phone.
No—
It was coming. And he couldn’t stop it.
No—not now. Not with all these people here—
His eyes locked with Kyle Duncan’s. He couldn’t look away if he tried; it was simply impossible. His body became cold and stiff, but he felt the fading warmth of Kyle’s hand, the rapid beat of his dying heart. His own pulse rocketed as his head began to pound.
Already it was too late.
The gateway had opened.
He tried to fight it. Tried to close it. But that crippling force, that damnable curse, had an iron will. It held him in its inescapable grip. He was helpless, useless. All he could do was stare into Kyle’s dying eyes.
And know.
“It’s all right, son,” he said softly. He feared what was coming next, coming through. He knew full well the terrors that could come for him, but no. Not this time. His body trembled, overwhelmed by a sweeping contentment that quickly consumed him.
His lips curled into a smile. He couldn’t help it. “It’s all right, Kyle. I know. I know.” Tears slipped from his eyes.
Kyle Duncan drew a final breath, tried to speak, and died.
Jared slumped back, overcome. He couldn’t focus. The world was a haze. He still held a slight grin.
The crowd stood hushed. A young woman wept as she knelt beside Jared. “Are you all right? Your nose … it’s bleeding.”
“Why are you smiling?” a man said, his voice biting.
“Yeah, what’s that shit?” another said. “What did you do?”
“That’s Jared Cole,” someone said. It was Tom Greenwood, the assistant manager of the Eight-Ball. “Holy smokes, that’s Jared Cole!”
Gateway
Emerging from a coma after a tragic accident, horror novelist Jared Cole discovers he can see souls—and it’s mind-blowing. He can bask in the glory of a person’s deepest joy, or suffer the terror of their darkest fear. Thing is, he never knows when it will happen.
He calls this mysterious link a gateway. And when he unwittingly opens one with an extraordinary boy who has second sight, he unleashes a malevolent entity that twists good people into suicidal psychos and bloodthirsty killers. Now, Torch Falls is eating itself alive … and this relentless, invisible monster is hunting the boy.
For Jared, the only way to save the child—and his precious home town—is to sever their link. Close the gateway, send the evil packing. But as the bodies continue to pile up amid the growing chaos and violence pushing Torch Falls to the brink, there’s just one problem …
He has no idea how to slam this hell-gate shut … or if he even can.
“A supernatural thriller with an irresistible appeal.”
★★★★★ – Romuald Dzemo, ReadersFavorite.com
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David C. Cassidy
David C. Cassidy is an award-winning author, the twisted mind behind several chilling books of horror and suspense. His supernatural thriller, The Dark, won the Independent Book Publishers Award and ReadersFavorite.com Award in horror fiction.
If you love horror with unforgettable characters in epic stories that draw you in and won’t let go—stories that haunt you long after the final page—then check out his incredibly rich storytelling.
To learn more and connect with David, you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook, or visit his:
