Shivers: The Horror Diaries Omnibus Edition, #5

By Heather Beck

Feel the chill...

Heather Beck presents Shivers, an anthology of curses and secrets.

Night Of The Vampire

Strange rituals, strict curfews, people who live in constant fear...there’s something wrong in Kristine’s new town of Darscadia – something that only comes out at night to drink human blood.

Long Live The Bonsai

When twins, Caddy and Cody find a bonsai tree in an old attic, they discover that it holds the secret to eternal youth.

The Wildest West

A school trip turns into a nightmare when the class arrives in a ghost town that was once home to three very evil cowboys.

Curses Never Die

Beneath the waters of Hawaii lies a rare and beautiful diamond, but when amateur divers, Erin and Dustin, discover the treasure, they learn the hard way that it’s cursed.

*Shivers contains The Horror Diaries Volumes 21-24

• Language: English
• Publisher: Treasure Cove Books
• Release date: Oct 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781516393770

Heather Beck

Heather Beck is a Canadian Author and Screenwriter who began writing professionally at the age of sixteen. Since then she has written eleven well-reviewed books, including the best-selling series, The Horror Diaries, which has sold in six continents. Heather received an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree from university where she specialized in English and studied an array of disciplines. Currently, she is working on the Frostbitten series and has two anthologies slated for publication. As a screenwriter, Heather has multiple television shows and movies in development. Her short films include: Young Eyes, The Rarity, Too Sensible For Love, Circular, and the forthcoming Witch’s Brew. Besides writing, Heather’s greatest passion is the outdoors. She is an award-winning fisherwoman and a regular hiker. Her hobbies include swimming, playing badminton and volunteering with non-profit organizations.

Book preview

Night Of The Vampire

Kristine Locke tossed and turned in bed, just like she’d been doing for the last two hours. She looked at her bedside clock, which read 1:03, and sighed. She’d wanted to get a good night’s sleep before starting school tomorrow, but that obviously wouldn’t be happening.

The Locke’s had moved to the sleepy town of Darscadia exactly one week ago. Since they’d been busy getting their new house in order, Kristine hadn’t seen much of the town, but what she had seen, she adored. Darscadia was a small town with a vintage feel. The main street was lined with small shops in nineteenth century buildings, and the closest thing to a modern store was the grocers, which was at the end of the street and belonged to a large chain company. Darscadia also had a scenic park with a river and even a lift lock, where small boats could pass through on route to other towns.

Sighing yet again, Kristine stared at the ceiling. Although she liked her new town very much, she still missed her old school and especially all her friends. Thoughts of what might be happening in her former hometown of Somerville floated through her mind, until she finally fell asleep.

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The buzzing of an alarm clock jarred Kristine from her slumber. She groaned and hit the snooze button, but before she could fall back to sleep, her eyes flew open upon remembering that today was her first day at Darscadia High School. She quickly showered, got dressed and then headed toward the kitchen. 

When Kristine entered the kitchen, she let out a cry of terror; the room was a complete mess.  The small dining table in the corner was overturned, and all the drawers had been pulled open, the contents now littering the floor. The tall cabinet doors were torn at the hinges and the dishes that they once contained lay broken on the floor. Although the ransacked kitchen was a frightening sight, it was the writing on the white refrigerator door that really terrified her.

If you want to live, go home, Kristine slowly read the words, which were written in a blood red marker.

A sudden shrill noise echoed throughout the kitchen, causing Kristine to cover her ears. She didn’t know what the sound was or even where it was coming from. All she knew was that she had to get out of there now.

Kristine ran out of the kitchen and through the foyer. She’d just opened the front door when she let out another cry. There, standing right before her, was a tall figure in a black hooded cloak. His appearance was concealed by the cloak, with the exception of his glowing red eyes and an extremely bony, grayish hand that was reaching toward her throat. Kristine tried to run, but for some reason, she couldn’t move. With wide, terrified eyes, she watched as his hand inched closer to her neck, before wrapping his fingers around her throat and beginning to squeeze. She struggled to breathe, but it was no use – his grip was too strong, unearthly even. Then everything went black.

Kristine sat straight up in bed, her heart racing and her pajamas sticking to her clammy body. Finally realizing what was going on, she turned to her alarm clock and switched it off, causing the shrill noise to cease.

It was only a nightmare, Kristine kept telling herself as she quickly showered, got dressed and then headed toward the kitchen. Still, she was relieved when she found everything in perfect order.

––––––––

Darscadia High School was less than a ten minute walk from Kristine’s house, and as she made her way through the busy streets, she was glad she’d refused her mother’s offer to drive her to school. Everywhere she looked, she saw teenagers gathered in groups. As they chatted amongst themselves, she could feel their excitement and perhaps even nervousness. After all, this wasn’t just the first day for Kristine, it was also the first day of the new school year.

When Kristine reached the school, she stopped to look upon it, noting that the building was much smaller than her old school and even a little rundown. Strangely, the bricks were painted a sterile shade of white, which reflected the sunlight and almost made her eyes hurt. Her focus on the building was short-lived, though, as she realized that several students were staring at her.

Feeling uncomfortable, Kristine began to walk toward the school’s front doors. As she went, she could hear people whispering. Most of their words were undecipherable, until she heard someone say something about her clothing. She looked down at her plain red t-shirt and dark blue jeans. Although her outfit was certainly nothing out of the ordinary, she suddenly realized that no one else was wearing the color red. Instead, everyone was dressed in bright colors or a shade of white that almost matched the school’s exterior.

While wondering if there was some kind of weird dress code she wasn’t aware of, Kristine opened the doors, hoping to get away from the stares and whispers. However, as soon as she’d entered, a pungent smell hit her like a ton of bricks. She instantly began to gag. 

What’s that smell? Kristine cried, more to herself than anyone else. In disgust, she stumbled out of the doorway. 

What smell? a girl, who was dressed in a neon yellow t-shirt, asked. She was with a group, which was made up of five other girls.

Do you really not smell that? Kristine asked in shock. She stuck her face into the school’s entrance and then retreated once again.

What’s her problem? one of the girls whispered to the group.

I don’t know, a girl, dressed completely in white, replied.

The girls looked at Kristine as if she was crazy and then went inside the school. As more groups of students passed by, they stared at her, too. She was going to ask what their problem was, but she quickly realized that would only cause more unwanted attention.

Kristine was the last student to enter the building, where she was faced with the odor yet again. As she followed the students through the hallways and toward the auditorium, she finally recognized the smell. Why is this place reeking of garlic? she pondered in confusion. And why can’t the other students smell it?

Stepping inside the auditorium, Kristine suddenly shielded her eyes; the room was bright – too bright. Squinting, she looked up to see multiple light fixtures lining the ceiling. They cast a spotlight upon the entire auditorium, making it feel very warm. She knew that auditoriums were usually dark, so she was baffled by this oddity.

After Kristine’s eyes had slowly begun to adjust to the drastic change in light, she found a seat at the end of a row and then waited for the assembly to start. She looked around the auditorium, thinking that someone may sit beside her, but no one else was near the end of a row. Instead, they were all congregated in the middle.

Weird... Kristine thought for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

The assembly began like any other, with the principal of Darscadia High School, Mr. Russell, welcoming the students back and saying that he hoped everyone had a safe and happy summer. It was only when he started talking about the rules of the school that things became unusual. 

I’m sure most of you know the rules of Darscadia High, Mr. Russell began, but in case you are new, I’ll repeat them. This is a zero tolerance school, which means we don’t allow violence, crude language or stealing. We also don’t allow any students to be in the building after dark. And there is absolutely no red clothing permitted on school property. It has come to my attention that this very important rule has been broken by a new student. I would like this student to please come to my office immediately. You won’t be penalized this time, but you will be required to wear something more appropriate.

As all the students turned around in their seats to stare at Kristine, her face went as red as her t-shirt. She couldn’t believe that she was getting singled out because of the color of her top. It was ridiculous, and she couldn’t fathom why they were so worked up about it.

The final rule, Mr. Russell said, interrupting Kristine’s thoughts, "is that every student must wear the school’s emblem, which is a cross, around his or her neck at all times. Although these rules are only enforced on school property, it’s advised that students always abide by them."

The assembly finally came to an end, and although Kristine was the closest one to the door, she waited for the other students to file out, still uncertain of where she was going. She then followed them, all the while thinking about the school’s weird rules. For the first time, she noticed that they were all wearing necklaces with a cross pendant. 

As soon as Kristine exited the auditorium, someone slammed their hand down on her shoulder. You’ll have to come with me, a man said.

Spinning around, Kristine saw Mr. Russell standing behind her. Like all the students at Darscadia High School, he wore a