Awaken: A Horror Short Story Read online

  He kneels down next to me, pats me on the shoulder, and says, “Goodbye, neighbor.”

  “You son of a bitch! When I get up from this, I’ll fucking kill you!”

  But he simply walks away. Toward the house. My house. My Emma.

  I lay my head flat on the board beneath me, gasping for air. My stomach rises and falls. Rises and falls.

  I scream.

  I look up again, and the shadow is slowly disappearing on the street. Soon enough, the light will hit me and I’ll be baking in the sun. God, I hope the day won’t be hot. There’s no telling when anyone will find me or if any of my other neighbors survived the night.

  I let out a sigh just as the sun’s rays rain down on me.

  My head falls over toward my home. Through her upstairs window, I see Emma. She is standing there, wiping her eyes with one hand, and holding the small brown bear I gave to her on her fourth birthday.

  She shakes her head, crying, and she turns away.

  I face the sky, and a tear drips down my own face, and...

  ...the sun.

  Oh, the sun.

  God, what’s happening?

  It burns.

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  WHAT DID YOU THINK OF AWAKEN?

  For independent authors like myself, reviews are very important. You won’t see my books at the grocery store or on some famous television personality’s book list. Reviews help new readers discover our work so that they can enjoy our stories and we can write more books.

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  Zach Bohannon Books

  Empty Bodies Series

  Empty Bodies

  Empty Bodies 2: Adaptation

  Empty Bodies 3: Deliverance

  Novels

  The Witness

  Lines of the Devil

  Short Stories

  Heritage

  Awaken

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Something about the dark side of life has always appealed to me. Whether I experience it through reading and watching horror or listening to my favorite heavy metal bands, I have been forever fascinated with the shadow of human emotion.

  While in my 20's, I discovered my passion to create through playing drums in two heavy metal bands: Kerygma and Twelve Winters. While playing in Twelve Winters (a power metal band with a thrash edge fronted by my now wife Kathryn), I was able to indulge myself in my love of writing by penning the lyrics for all our music. My love of telling a story started here, as many of the songs became connected to the same concept and characters in one way or another.

  Now in my 30's, my creative passion is being passed to willing readers through the art of stories. While I have a particular fascination for real life scenarios, I also love dark fantasy. So, you'll find a little bit of everything in my stories, from zombies to serial killers, angels and demons to mindless psychopaths, and even ghosts and parallel dimensions.

  My influences as a writer come primarily from the works of Clive Barker, Stephen King, and Blake Crouch in the written form; the beautifully dark, rich lyrics of Mikael Akerfeldt from the band Opeth; and an array of movies, going back to the root of my fascination at a young age with 70's and 80's slasher films such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

  I live in Nashville, Tennessee with my wife Kathryn, our daughter Haley, and our German Shepherd Guinness. When I'm not writing, I enjoy playing hockey, watching hockey and football, cycling, watching some of my favorite television shows and movies, and, of course, reading.

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