 Night breeds a certain animal, made more beast than man. One made with eyes glued to a television screen. One made with a long pointy nose and jagged teeth. He stalks the night, never once seeing his prey, blind as he is from anything outside his screen. He uses his nose to sniff out perfumed vanilla, cinnamon, and his favorite of all, lavender. His victims never hear him approach as they are deaf from everything outside their headphones, nor do they feel his touch until it's too late—until they’re dragged through the night, and he’s feasted once more. But there is one small creature who sees all and hears most. It is the darkness that lives within the walls, the life that breathes through the dirt. It is the all-seeing thing of the world, hidden within plain sight. It knows our secrets but never speaks. It sees our pain but never helps. Its actions aren’t of malice, yet when the weak cry out in the night, it stays still, watching the beast in the shadows. Watching and waiting for a new day to come. For a day where screens break and delicate women become fierce.  Elizabeth Suggs is the co-owner of the indie publisher Collective Tales Publishing, owner of Editing Mee, and is the author of a growing number of award-winning published stories, one of which titled “Into the Dark” part of the Collective Darkness anthology was Amazon Bestseller and another was selected for second place in the Quills Short Story Contest “Technicolor Tears.” She is also a book reviewer (EditingMee.com), popular bookstagramer, and cosplayer (@ElizabethSuggsAuthor). When she’s not writing or reading, she’s traveling the world.
Follow her on IG: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethsuggsauthor
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 What is it that they have? The Eyes I mean They have seeds, petals, and a missing spleen The Eyes have incantations of all kinds These Eyes have the magics to hide their minds The Eyes have the sight to mar our souls The Eyes have the will to cross the coals Are they merely men or are they visionaries? Were they truly expelled from the land of fairies? What glories they’ve seen with eyes closed Horrors witnessed while the world dozed… What is this power they wield over me? What have Eye done so I’ll never be free?  Jonathan Reddoch is co-owner of Collective Tales Publishing. He is a father, writer, editor, and publisher. He writes sci-fi, fantasy, romance, and especially horror. He’s a prolific flash fiction author, but also writes poetry and short stories. He has been working on his enormous sci-fi novel for over a decade and would like to finish it in this lifetime if possible. He’s from southern California, but lives in Salt Lake City. Notable works included in Deluxe Darkness, Darkness 101: Lessons Were Learned, and This Isn’t the Place.
Find him on Instagram @JonathanReddochAuthor or CTPfiction.com |
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