Someone

I was on the train that morning. The floor rumbled with motion under my feet. The car was empty. Or so I thought. We passed through a tunnel, came out the other side. A seat was suddenly occupied.

The hair on my neck stood on end.

I got off at my stop. Headed up the stairs. My heartbeat pounded in my ears. Uneasiness spasmed my guts into knots.

There’s someone behind me.

I don’t want to look. I just know they’re there. I can feel them. The eyes staring holes into me.

An icy chill races up my spine. I want to run but I can’t. I just walk.

My flesh is beginning to crawl, my mind running rampant with desperate attempts to dissuade myself from what I know is true.

I’m going to die today.

***

There’s someone behind you.

Don’t look. Don’t run. Don’t speak. Just wait.

Can you feel it? The eyes, that are staring at you? They stare intently. They stare without purpose.

Can you feel that? The hair on your neck that’s standing on end? That’s because you’re uneasy.

Do you feel that sensation? The flesh on your arms as it rises? That’s your skin trying to crawl from your bones. It wants to drag you away from this unseen threat.

Do you feel the cold? That chill as it creeps down your spine? That’s the last bit of your instinct begging you to flee, the desperate plea of your mind to run away.

Now… Do you feel that? That lump that’s knotted your guts?

That’s the weight of a decision you took too long to make.

You didn’t look. You didn’t speak. You just waited.

And now you’ll die.

Because it’s me behind you.

And you didn’t run away.

A Little Musing and Some Throwback Thursday Goodness

I'm taking a short break from writing all of the short stories to do a fun little Throwback Thursday post and just kind of talk about how things are going. 

I've been a little quiet the last week or so since finishing up the Inn of Cali, and that's mostly because my work schedule has increased AND my oldest child started preschool. So life has been quite busy, but I do have a few projects I'm working on.

I have two short stories I'm working on, though one is shaping up to be something bigger, so we'll see how that pans out. The other is going to serve as the perfect segue into yet another short story I wrote some time ago, and I'm really excited to see where it goes. 

So, on to your Throwback Thursday awesomeness... my good friend and fellow partner in word-crafting crime, Marissa, over at her blog Marissa Writes challenged me a couple years ago to do a Top Ten Halloween Reads list and so I thought I would post a few of them here as a way to get ready for my next Top Ten Halloween Reads to come in October. 

I'm not sure what it is about horror or thriller reads that appeals to me... For that matter, I'm not sure what it is about writing scary things that appeals to me either. I think maybe I see it as a challenge to be able to craft some seriously unsettling shit and make people uneasy. I've always been a firm believer that what I see in my head is far scarier than what I see on the screen, and so when I'm reading, I see the images so vividly. Then when I'm writing, I feel challenged to use the right words to convey what I see and hope that maybe other people are spooked by it.

Of course, all of this is probably why I'm afraid of the dark... And that is no lie, I am actually quite alarmed by dark rooms and dark spaces. I panic. I sweat. It's not pretty. 

Anyway, check out the list below for the first five of my top ten, or the full list, you can click here. 

Amanda's Top Ten Halloween Reads 

(in no particular order)

1. Patient Zero – Jonathan Mayberry

                The first in a trilogy with protagonist Joe Ledger, it explores a zombie outbreak from the moment it happens. Suspenseful and thrilling, it’s the perfect read for a cool fall evening.

2. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – Seth Grahame-Smith

                Classic vampires reimagined to involve a famous historical figure. It’s campy and creepy in the best possible way, with a few awesome and clever cameos along the way. A must read for fans of vampires and history.

3. I am Legend – Richard Matheson

                This story, included in a collection of equally scary short stories, Legend is classic and unsettling. Written in the 1950’s to be set in the 1970’s, Matheson was able to capture the essence of what it’s like to be the last man on earth that transcends time. Dr. Robert Neville finds himself living amongst the vampires who are out for his blood the same way he is out for theirs.

4. Hell House – Richard Matheson

                Truly the master of horror, in Hell House, Matheson successfully tells the tale of a house haunted by a sordid and gruesome past. The house seems to be alive in its own right; and desperate to keep its secret hidden from the latest group of ambitious investigators to tempt fate. (*This book has some disturbing sequences involving sexual violence)

5. Salem’s Lot – Stephen King

                More vampires abound, but always in completely different ways. Stephen King never fails at writing about the small towns with the dark secrets that make your skin crawl. Salem’s Lot is no exception, being set in a sleepy New England town, it’ll have you looking over your shoulder before you’re done.

Don't forget to hit up Marissa's blog for the full list of creepy books for your fall reading list!