Dark Ascension: A Demon Anthology

By N.R. Wick

Keep a flashlight handy. This collection of short stories for young adults is sure to draw out whatever's skulking in the shadows. From supernatural entities, to crazed monsters, to disturbing discoveries, evil is lurking 'round every corner. Delve into the dark recess of this creepy book... if you dare.

Dark Ascension: A Demon Anthology includes:  
GRINNING IN THE DARK: A girl is tormented by a shadowy, grinning figure.
 
HUNTED: Faceless monsters pursue and attack a young teen at her summer job.
 
DOPPELGANGER: Fraternal twins believe something sinister happened to their friend after playing with a real spirit board.
 
PICTURE EVIL: A boy finds a series of fuzzy photographs and is determined to discover what they are and how they came to him.
 
INFINITY: A teen couple is trapped on a treacherous road trip.
 
THE UNDERTAKING: A pregnant teen can't remember how she became impregnated and must control her violent urges before she gives birth.

ASCENSION: A teen witnesses demons emerge from the ground and murder his neighbors.

 
**Dark Ascension: A Demon Anthology is set in the same world as the Dark Ascension Series (Land of No Angels, Land of No Mortals, and Land of No Demons).**

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alchemy Ink Publishing LLC
• Release date: Apr 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781498988773

Book preview

Keep a flashlight handy. This collection of short stories for young adults is sure to draw out whatever's skulking in the shadows. From supernatural entities, to crazed monsters, to disturbing discoveries, evil is lurking around every corner. Delve into the dark recess of this creepy book… if you dare.

Grinning in the Dark

It watched her in the dark again, as it did most nights. Bethany sat up in bed and stared at the shadow against her sheer curtains; the way the street light filtered through them made her see a grinning face. Her unblinking eyes remained fixated on the eerie, leering shadow through the drapery, as though taking them away for a fraction of a second would invite the shadow inside to murder her.

As much as she wanted to scream for her parents to come and scare it away, Bethany had stopped doing that a few years ago after the last time her mother had sighed heavily and told her that she was getting too old for monsters under the bed. When Bethany pointed out that she wasn’t afraid of anything under her bed, and that it was a shadow leering at her from outside, her father showed her irrefutable proof that it had just been the shadows and the street light playing tricks on her eyes.

Bethany, he had told her as they stood together by the draped window. You have nothing to worry about from outside.

But Daddy, she said. Her father had reached for the blue and green gradient cloth. A shiver sparked in Bethany’s spine and rolled its way through her body. Something insider of her screamed that the window should remain covered, that opening it would be unsafe. When her father tugged at the curtain’s hem, Bethany grabbed his hand and begged him not to open it. He disregarded her. In one swift yank, he exposed the darkened neighborhood.

See? her father asked. Bethany couldn’t see. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, unwilling to look out the window. Even if the thing wasn’t there now, it had been there before. She knew it. Her father placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

Come on, Bethany. Open your eyes, he said. Once he pulled her closer, she forced her eyelids to lift. Of course, her parents had been right. There was nothing there, except a view of the homely little neighborhood they lived in and that obnoxious orange street light.

Nothing’s out there, not even a tree, her father said. Besides, we’re on the second floor. Unless the person can float to your window, or is over ten feet tall, there’s no way anyone can be outside.

It was probably just an owl, her mother added.

Bethany knew better. That night had taught her two things about the grinning shadow behind her curtain: calling for her parents was pointless, and the creature wasn’t human.

Tonight was no different. While she didn’t know how long her eyes had been boring into the darkness, the presence of the shadow made her heart pound, and her body was electrified with adrenaline. The creature never moved and never made a sound; it just stared back at her with big, round eyes and a grin that exposed rows of jagged, pale yellow teeth.

As time passed, Bethany grew weary. Her eyes burned, and her lids felt heavy and sore. The shadow’s grin widened, as if it knew that she would fall asleep soon. When her eyes began to blur, and sleep forced its way upon her, Bethany squeezed them shut and yanked the blanket over her head as she lay down.

Beneath the protection of her blankets, she heard the creature scuffle across the floor. Pressure sunk the edge of the bed. A lump formed in Bethany’s throat. The grinning creature had come inside before, but it had never come so close, and it had never touched her. She imagined it crouching at the edge of her bed, staring at her with its foul grin, waiting for her to emerge from the safety of her blankets.

Sleep pulled Bethany into unconsciousness.

The next morning, dawn broke on the horizon, filling her room with an orange glow.

Bethany, wake up. Her mother’s voice startled her awake. Did you forget to set your alarm again?

When Bethany opened her eyes, the underside of her green and pink blanket greeted her. She sat up and pulled the blanket off her head in time to see her mom shut the door as she left. With a heavy sigh, she rubbed sleep from her eyes. First, she checked her window, and then she looked to the corner of her room for any trace of the grinning shadow. Like every other morning, there was none. She slipped out of bed and got ready for school.

***

Wow, you look like hell! Did you have the dream again? Jordan asked.

Bethany stuffed her books and binders into her locker and said, Yeah. It was really bad last night.

I dreamed about kittens. Twenty of them all piled in a room, mewing, and crawling on each other. It was so cute, Jordan said. He rummaged through his military-green messenger bag while Bethany pulled her Geometry homework out of a blue folder.

Here, girl. Jordan placed a hand on her shoulder and held out a tube of concealer. At least cover up those dark circles. Bethany rolled her eyes and sighed before she snatched the tube from her best friend. She knew Jordan meant well, but his honesty could be abrasive at times.

A mirror hung in the door of Bethany’s locker, amongst pictures of herself and Jordan dressed in an assortment of wacky costumes. Her favorite was the one from last Halloween, when they sewed their own costumes together and dressed as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. Using the mirror to help guide her, she rubbed the skin-toned stick under her eyes and smudged it in with her fingers.

When she finished, Bethany handed the tube back to him. Jordan tugged her aside to check himself in the mirror and then combed his fingers through the front of his hair to keep it spiked.

It’s really not a big deal, Bethany said.

What? The nightmares? Or the dark circles? They chuckled together, and she closed her locker.

As they walked to Geometry, Jordan rambled on about a guy he had met at the supermarket over the weekend. Bethany tried to focus on his story, but a chill rolled through her body that made it difficult to listen. A girl stood at the end of the hall in a corner against