The Rash - Descent Into Madness

By B.D. Knight

Who would have thought a tip from a coworker about a hot fishing spot would throw havoc into the lives of two fishermen? 

Bill and Steve worked their way through the brush to the fishing spot they were told about. Before they headed home both had developed a rash on their faces.

Bill's wife, Jill, wasn't too overly concerned about the rash. She was a nurse and suggested he put lotion on it. When it got worse she promised to check with the doctors at the hospital where she worked.

 Bill received a call in the middle of the night from Jake, the guy who had alerted them about the hot spot. He was incoherent and babbling on about the rash before the connection was lost. The next day Bill watched the news in horror as the ambulance workers who went to take Jake to the hospital were ripped to shreds and Jake was missing.

To make matters worse, Steve disappeared after talking to Bill.

Would they both go mad or could a cure be found in time?

This story will keep you on edge until the startling finish. But be warned, after reading it you may not feel comfortable walking in heavy brush again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: B.D. Knight
• Release date: Mar 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781507010907

B.D. Knight

I write books for middle grade and young adults. They range from scary to spun fairy tales and more.  Most of the stories, including the scary ones, are basically fantasy tales. YOu need to have an open mind when you read them. :-) That's one of the reasons I enjoy writing for the younger audience. I really think it's also why many adults are reading these types of books. To escape reality.

Book preview

Jake? Jake, you still there?

Nothing.

Say something, Jake.

Click. The phone went dead.

Now what was I supposed to do? I had no idea what hospital they might be taking him to and, besides, we weren’t friends anyway. I only knew him at work. And why would he talk to me that way?

I remembered when my dad was in the hospital. He had always been mild mannered. Never raised his voice in anger. But the medication he was on changed him. He cussed us out every time we went to see him right up until the moment he died.

Maybe Jake was on medication. That might explain it. I decided to let the hospital deal with him.

Right now I’m tired and just want to go back to sleep.

Saturday

If I’d known what a rash like this was capable of, I’d have never fished that freaking spot.

Bit of an itch there, huh, Bill? asked Steve.

I was pissed. I had poison ivy when I was younger but you don’t touch something and get an immediate rash. At least I didn’t think you did. But it popped up out of nowhere. There was nothing there when we started our fishing day.

Yeah, I said I don’t have a clue why. Maybe it’s poison ivy or something. But it don’t look like no poison ivy to me.

The brush we walked through was thick. There were lots of briers so we were scratched up quite a bit. But that wasn’t unusual. It was a regular occurrence when you hike through the woods and brush to reach a fishing spot.

Is it just on your face?

Yep. Pretty strange, huh? You’d think I had kissed a poison ivy plant. That’s the only spot that itches. Nothing on my arms or hands.

I didn’t remember cutting my face on the bushes. How do you get a rash on your face and nowhere else? It was possible though. Might have been a high hanging brush. It still seemed wrong.

I got some shit in my tackle box that might help. It might at least stop the itch.

I’ll give it a shot. This itch is driving me nuts. It’s hard to fish when I’m scratching like this. If I ever do get a big fish, I’m screwed.

I fished regularly with my buddy, Steve Cross. The lake offered plenty of fish and a nice variety of them, at least if you could find the hot fishing spots. We had days we caught lots of fish and days we didn’t catch squat. Typical for most any fisherman. That’s why when someone says they found a hot spot, you listen.

We were fishing a remote spot a guy at work had told us about but we weren’t catching anything. Not even a nibble. After fighting our way through those briers and bushes, we were not exactly happy campers.

I’m gonna jump on Jake’s ass when we see him Monday.

Right.