Not Quite Normal: Free Edition

By Shane Rynhart

Not Quite Normal - Free Edition is a collection of nine short supernatural tales from Shane Rynhart. The stories included are:

The Helper (Part 1)
Red
Not Quite Normal
The Well of Wisdom
Tomahawk
Clacking
Endeavour
Mirrors
The Helper (Part 2)

If you enjoy these tales, please consider purchasing the full version of Not Quite Normal. It's paid, but reasonably priced, plus you'll recieve an additional ten stories plus some bonus content (and the author's sincerest gratification)!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shane Rynhart
• Release date: Feb 29, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476313412

Shane Rynhart

Hi.I'm Shane. I'm currently 23 and living in the town of Bournemouth in the UK. I've lived here all my life. I've written things for ages, but since I'm currently unemployed (but looking to go self-employed for various projects - get in touch if you think I might be able to do something for you, incidentally!) I thought I'd give this self-publishing thing a shot.As I write this, I'm preparing to launch Not Quite Normal, a short story anthology. Over the next few weeks (it's currently the end of January 2012 in case I never update this!), I'll be releasing a few free stories from it. You can find out more information about the project on my blog, the link to which should be below this bio.Thanks for checking this out. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any comments or just want to chat. I'm pretty easy to find online, since I'm the only person who has ever had my name in human history. Which is pretty neat!Take care, and happy reading!Shane

Book preview

Not Quite Normal (Free Edition)

Published by Shane Rynhart at Smashwords

Copyright Shane Rynhart 2012

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by this author.

Cover image by Flickr user ‘mikeycordedda’ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeycordedda/5364245130/

Image used under a Creative Commons Attribution license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

* * * * *

Dedication:

This anthology is for you, the reader, whoever you may be. You are fantastic, even if you’re not quite normal.

* * * * *

Contents

A quick note on navigation - click the title of the story you would like to read to be taken straight to it. When you’re done, click ‘The End’ (or ‘End of Part…) or ‘Return to Contents’ to, well, return to this table of contents.

Introduction

Stories:

The Helper (Part 1)

Red

Not Quite Normal

The Well of Wisdom

Tomahawk

Clacking

Endeavour

Mirrors

The Helper (Part 2)

Appendices:

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Contact

End Note

* * * * *

Introduction

Hello. Welcome to Not Quite Normal. I’m Shane Rynhart and I’ll be your author today.

NQN comprises a number of short stories that I’ve written over the past few years. Most of them were written for my creative writing degree at University, but others were not. You’ll see that most of them fall roughly into the fantasy/horror/sci-fi Venn diagram, simply because that’s what I most enjoy writing, but equally I hope that there’s something here that everyone can enjoy.

Cliché alert: I hope you enjoy reading these tales as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. Feel free to throw up a little in your mouth now, if you wish.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for downloading it, whether you’re just checking out the free version or have even spent actual money on the full text. I can’t accurately put into words how much it means to me.

At the ‘back’, I’ve included a short ‘Contact’ section. If you’ve enjoyed the stories in Not Quite Normal, or even if you haven’t and want to scream abuse at me until you get your money back, I would genuinely love to hear from you. I’m not an attention seeker by any means, the opposite if anything, but I care about these stories as if they were my own children, and any feedback can only be a good thing.

A special note for readers of the free edition of Not Quite Normal: thank you for downloading! I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, please consider purchasing the full version. It’s only $1.99 USD, and contains ten more stories plus all manner of bonus content. Plus, I will personally give you a high five and/or hug if we ever meet. How can you turn down a deal like that?

Finally, if you happen to notice any errors - whether that be something like spelling or something more complex like a formatting issue that’s preventing you from reading something - do get in touch. I’ll attempt a repair and upload a new version.

I’ll shut up now, because you’ve got some reading to do. But thanks again.

--Shane Rynhart

Return to Contents

* * * * *

The Helper: Part 1 - Mercy

There are three types of human in this world.

The first type believes that the supernatural exists. That there is a God. That Angels have walked this planet. Perhaps they believe in ghosts, or aliens, or the monster under the bed. These men and women have open minds. But they are fools.

The second type believes that this is all there is. That there can be no afterlife, and the only monsters in this world are the bankers and politicians that control us like laboratory mice. These men and women have narrow minds. And they are fools.

And then there is the third type. These people have a combination of beliefs. That there is a God, but there is no afterlife. That there are monsters, but that they don’t all look like ‘Sir’ Fred. That there is more to the world than meets the eye, but mortals are not privy. These men and women are sensible in their views. And that is what makes them so frightening.

Where do I fit into this system? I do not. I have been around far too long to be even considered human any more. But my captors, well, they’re most certainly of the third category. They understand that beings like myself exist, and they seek to eradicate us for reasons only they know. I must have missed that memo. Regardless, I fear that my life is soon to be snuffed. If this is to be a memorandum, I