Against the Clock (Dark Tide, Book 8) by Mark Allan Gunnells, Brandon Ford and Shane Nelson
About Against the Clock:
Subscription Due by Shane Nelson: Rupert Seville is living an idyllic life. A successful writer married to an amazing woman, everything seems to have fallen into place. But when a strange notice arrives in the mail, Rupert's idyllic world is turned upside down. It is a “Subscription Due" notice for a magazine to which he's never subscribed. Beneath the surface, it is far more than that and the arrival of two violent men with murder on their minds only makes it clearer. Rupert doesn’t know it, but the amount he owes is far more than he’s able to pay. The past itself has come due, and Rupert has no idea of the terror about to be unleashed. When the world he thinks he knows begins to unravel and the truth of the past catches up to him, it is up to Rupert Seville to find a way to settle old debts and escape a horror that isn't of this world.
Pixelated by Brandon Ford: After the passing of his grandfather, Tanner returns to his hometown to clean out the property willed to him. However, what he finds holds the key to an unsolved crime decades-old and shows just how little he knew of his former father figure.
Excerpt:
Septic: A Novella of Suspense
Mark Allan Gunnells
I’m going to die here.
Carl Morrison huddled on the floor with his back against the wall, wedged between the sink and the toilet. The pain in his abdomen was intense, but his body must have been acclimating to it, because he no longer felt like he was going to vomit.
He raised a hand, surprised and scared by how much effort that required, and swiped at his dripping face. Sweat poured from him in rivulets, soaking his hair as if he’d just stepped out of the shower, and tears streaked down his cheeks. He had never thought of himself as a crier, but then he’d never been in this much pain in his life. Not even last year when he sprained his ankle.
“Please God,” he said, even though he considered himself even less a prayer than a crier. No atheists in foxholes, he’d heard, and apparently that held true for cramped bathrooms with busted locks. “If you’re there and not just some imaginary friend, don’t let me die like this. I know I can be an ass sometimes, but I’m not a bad person. And my mother is practically a saint. It would devastate her if she lost me. It’s not like I’m asking for a miracle, for water into wine, or the raising of the dead. Just please get me—”
Carl’s words morphed into a strangled scream as the pain flared even more sharply, like a poker buried deep in his gut. He fell forward onto his hands and knees and crawled slowly toward the door, pushing aside the ceramic pieces from the broken toilet tank lid. Luckily it wasn’t far or he might not have made it. Though he had tried this several times already, he reached up with a trembling hand and twisted the knob as if testing to see if his prayer had born fruit.
Nothing. The knob turned, but the door would not open.
He fell on his side then rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling, thinking of the string of events that had to align to land him in this situation. Not just one or two unfortunate coincidences, but a domino effect of things going wrong to leave him trapped and dying here. Almost as if by some design. It was enough to make one believe in God, but not the benevolent Grandfather type he’d learned about in Sunday School as a child. But instead, some evil prick who delighted in torturing His creations.
The choices were few. Either God never existed, He was dead, or He had orchestrated all of this for His own entertainment. Carl supposed it didn’t matter because it all resulted in the same end.
He was going to die here.
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About the Authors:
Shane Nelson has been passionate about writing for most of his life. He loves exploring various genres, from horror to romance; his writing has most recently appeared in Shivers VIII (Cemetery Dance) as well as Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. He has been nominated for the Journey Prize, Edgar Award and Ellis Award (for which he was short-listed). His main goals in writing are to tell a good story and to always entertain readers. As a substitute teacher, he also tries to inspire his students to find joy in writing. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada, with his wife, his twins, and their cats Lazy and Thor. Drop him a line at permanentfiction2006@gmail.com, and find him on Facebook as Permanent Fiction.
Brandon Ford has written more than 15 horror and suspense books, including: Drowning in Oceans of Black, The Mystery of Kelly Christopher, He Wore a Leather Jacket, and Progressive Entrapment. He also hosts a weekly horror movie commentary show titled The Blind Rage Podcast, which has over 200 episodes and is available on Apple, Spotify, and similar platforms. He currently resides in Philadelphia.
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