They Came At Night

By Sam Austin

A young boy awakens at night to find monsters have come to attack his family, but all is not as it seems.

They Came At Night is a short horror story of around 3,300 words.

Plus bonus story: Monster Hangover:

Waking up in a dog pound was not how newly turned werewolf Roy thought his night out would end. Late bloomer and heir to one of the biggest werewolf packs in England, he'd always imagined the first time he turned to be more heroic.

He must somehow escape without the humans finding out the 'doggy' they rescued is more unusual than they think. Failure will mean disappointing his father, and exposing the secret packs around the world have kept for thousands of years.

A werewolf form can only be held for so long. He's running out of time.

Monster Hangover is a short humorous paranormal story of around 6,900 words.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sam Austin
• Release date: Aug 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311695550

Sam Austin

Sam Austin is the author of over 25 stories ranging from short horrors to the 136 thousand word fantasy epic 'Damsel Knight.' Her short story 'Second Chance' was awarded an honorable mention in the writers of the future contest. Her favourite genres to play in are fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Most of her works could be considered young adult. Having autism and dyspraxia, she's passionate about including underrepresented characters in her stories. Her novel 'Damsel Knight' features a gender questioning teenager in a fantasy world with very strict gender roles. Roy of the 'Crystal Wolves' series occasionally battles mental health issues alongside solving paranormal crimes. And her upcoming series stars a protagonist who happens to have a severe spinal injury. She's very fond of underdogs, so most of her stories contain characters way over their heads. The sort of guys or girls who are way too stubborn to back down even when they seem to have half of London gunning for them (Truth Seeker), or are surrounded by creatures who could kill them with a flick of the wrist (Crystal Wolves). For updates on new releases sign up to her mailing list here: http://forms.aweber.com/form/70/1281520670.htm. Or check out her website here: http://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/about-me

Book preview

They Came At Night

By Sam Austin

All rights reserved

Copyright 2013 by Sam Austin

First Edition: November 2013

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing by the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.

For more information see: http://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/about-me

Cover photograph from Stock.XCHNG

Contacting me:

To contact me visit my website at the above address, email me at '[e-mail]', or you can catch me on twitter under 'NyxAustin'. If you want to be informed when my next story comes out, you can subscribe to the website above for updates.

Contents:

They Came At Night

Monster Hangover

Preview of short story 'What You Wish For'

They Came At Night:

Ryan, little hands pushed him out of his sleep. Please wake up.

The boy blinked, sitting up and pushing the covers away. His sister, Iris stood by the side of his bed, their younger siblings huddled around her like terrified kittens. Tears had flushed her face a bright red.

Iris? The sight of her distress propelled him to his feet. He looked over their younger siblings; Jasmine, eight years old shivered in her pink lace nightgown, and Cris shoved his chubby little arms upwards.

Ryan bent to scoop up the four year old, but both children seemed alright. Nothing to indicate why his usually so composed younger sister was crying.

Shouting carried up the stairs, through his open bedroom door. He looked out at the landing, wary, but before he could decide to make a move in that direction Iris grabbed his arm.

It's the monsters, Iris hissed, looking at him desperately with the violet eyes they shared. We have to run.

What about Mom, and Dad and the baby? His heart jumped to his throat, and his grip on Cris tightened enough that the boy whined in protest.

Just go, she pushed him toward the window.

Blood thudded through his ears. He had seen that edge to her jaw before. She was planning something that he wouldn't like. What about you?

I'll follow, the shouting rose in volume, and with it he heard the baby start to cry. Someone would call the police soon, it was supposed to be a quiet suburb, a safe suburb, that was why Mom and Dad had chosen it.

Jasmine was already perched on the window sill, looking down at the two story drop. She was holding her toy in one small pink hand, a small stuffed sheep that she had named Shawn. Then she disappeared from sight, her long brown plait of hair whipping behind her.

Ryan rushed to the window in time to see her roll off the hedge. Just like they had planned, only at thirteen Ryan had grown out of the stories. He had stopped believing that monsters existed.

He had been proven wrong.

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