Tales From the Abyss: Paradox

By Daniel Dennis

"What is the Void?"

The world watched in horror on the day the mysterious being known only as 'the Void' made its presence known to the world. But for John Parker it would be remembered as the day his son disappeared without a trace.

Desperate for answers, John begins a life-changing search for his lost child that brings him to the brink of despair while the FBI uncovers a link between John's missing child and a Void-worshiping cult called The Brotherhood.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daniel Dennis
• Release date: Apr 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311952776

Daniel Dennis

Daniel was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he lived the majority of my life. He recently graduated from Oklahoma State University and works as an IT security professional. In his spare time, he enjoys spending as much time with my wife and kids as possible.

Book preview

Tales From the Abyss:

Paradox

A Fate’s Haven Novelette

Daniel A. Dennis

1

The world changed over-night. For some, the appearance of the dark figure calling itself ‘the Void’ was affirmation that there was indeed a god walking among men. Some saw it as just the opposite: a living incarnation of evil. A being born of darkness that desired only chaos. Others believed it was confirmation of the existence of life beyond our planet Earth. A celestial entity from another world.

Families sat around their television sets watching as the first glimpses of the Void were televised. The initial sighting occurred in Berryhill, Oklahoma near the town’s high school. Many media broadcasters ignored the story completely while others dismissed it because the first images of the creature — that resembled a six-foot tall man embodied by the night — were taken by a group of sixteen-year old boys from the town. The only media outlets who believed them were late-night conspiracy theorist shows. The others mocked the students as rednecks and back-water hillbillies and accused of faking the photos. The most popular references were Big Foot and little green men.

A few days later the mocking stopped.

Reports described a man — or what walked like a man — south of Tulsa. Not far from where the first pictures of the Void were taken. Journalists, expert witnesses, and local law enforcement speculated that it may have been walking along a railroad track to an unknown destination. The sun had set and the train couldn’t stop in time. By the time the dark creature was seen the train was just seconds from hitting it at full speed. But it wasn’t the Void who would perish. The train found the Void to be an immovable object that stood unwavering even in the wake of the impact. The train operators died immediately upon impact as the train buckled at its center.

The Void seemed curious. News reporters and first responders arrived to find it standing on the tracks at what was later believed to be the exact point of impact. It made no attempt to help any potential survivors nor did it speak to anyone who tried to communicate with it. It appeared to have just turned around to see what touched it.

There it stood nearly six feet tall. Its muscles were defined on its flesh — if it could be called flesh — which was so dark that most light seemed to vanish, though some was reflected. Some news reporters would later go on to speculate that it was a man wearing a rubber suit. But they were wrong.

The train was transporting numerous petroleum tankers that caused numerous explosions. The resulting petroleum-fueled fire ravaged the land for days as fire crews worked tirelessly to stop the flames. News stories filled with speculation were aired before anyone had answers to the questions at hand. Nobody knew which the more newsworthy story was: the disaster or the dark entity that appeared to be the root cause. Local law enforcement didn’t care. They decided to approach the creature, treating it as a potential threat.

It’s unknown whether the Void would have lashed out had it not felt threatened. Some tried to rationalize that it was studying the train wreckage and didn’t understand what it saw just a few feet away. Others — the vast majority — saw it as an aggressor.

A local sheriff’s deputy asked a few simple questions: Are you hurt? and What is your name?

At first the Void said nothing. It turned its head from the wreckage, studying the deputy for over a minute before answering: I am the Void.

This was the claim of the deputy, though no footage of this exchange exists. The Void’s voice was not audible and was only heard within the deputy’s head. Twenty-four hours prior, he would have been written off as insane. But seeing the Void made most believe the deputy did indeed hear something meant only for his ears. The being’s name was quickly adopted by the newscasts. It would be known from that point forward as the Void.

A police officer from nearby Sapulpa made a life-ending mistake shortly after that resulted in his