At First, You Hear The Silence

By Mark Fuller Dillon

"An enthralling encounter with mysteries from beyond... tearing at the veil between worlds one minute, scratching at our very windows the next. Filled with breathless suspense and cosmic strangeness, it's a story sure to put the reader in the shoes of the sharply-drawn young protagonist, as his human strengths are put to the test."
-- Jeffrey Thomas, author of PUNKTOWN.

"A new twist on what used to be called science fantasy, it strikes a great balance between horror, sf, and action writing. This is a modern, intelligent story with its roots firmly in the Golden Age pulp tradition."
-- David Longhorn, editor of SUPERNATURAL TALES.

Cover by Tragelaphus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Fuller Dillon
• Release date: Jan 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9780991861224

Mark Fuller Dillon

"Mark Fuller Dillon is an original talent, whose precise use of language, obliquely disturbing imagery and meticulous world building single him out as a writer to watch." -- Peter Tennant, BLACK STATIC #35. Hello, and welcome! Most of my stories are set in the region where I live (Gatineau, Quebec), and are based on some of the stranger moments of my life, or on my nightmares (which have kept my nights lively and loud since I was three years old). I've had work published in Barbara and Christopher Roden's ALL HALLOWS and in John Pelan's DARKSIDE; I've also had work accepted for anthologies and magazines that faded away before my stories could appear. The best of these are collected in my second ebook, IN A SEASON OF DEAD WEATHER. Right now, my goal is to find reviewers. Writers can focus on craftsmanship, but they cannot be certain of just how much they've been able to learn and apply, until the readers tell them. To that end, I'm inviting you to let me know exactly what you think of my stories. Honest feedback, pro or con, is one of the most valuable things a writer can use. And please don't hesitate to visit my blog, or my Facebook page. Thank you! Mark Fuller Dillon

Book preview

At First, You Hear The Silence

by Mark Fuller Dillon

Smashwords Edition

Cover design and art by Tragelaphus.

Copyright 2016 Mark Fuller Dillon

Smashwords Edition License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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At First, You Hear The Silence

Philippe knew that his father had secrets, but he never understood the fear behind them.

He could sense the fear on that early summer afternoon just before his family left to visit Aunt Helene. As he came downstairs, he overheard his father and mother talking in the kitchen.

We should have had her tested years ago, his father said. She'll be put away, locked up for life. And what will people say about that?

Then his father caught sight of him, and Philippe did his best to seem unaware. He walked away from his parents without comment, but he chafed at the silence.

Whenever he thought of Aunt Helene, he recalled her kitchen drawer filled with tiny figurines that she had always kept for him: purple aliens, green skeletons, monsters of every kind. He thought of the terrain-model maps that she created for the government; he had several hung on the walls of his bedroom. Running his fingers over the hills and valleys felt like testing the doors of a planet.

When was the last time he had seen her? Back in 1973, before his family had moved to the farm. He had been eleven years old, and now he was thirteen. Something had changed in two long years, and she had become just another family secret.

While his father packed for the trip and his mother fed Luc and Anna (his brother and sister, too young to worry about secrets), Philippe swept old hay out of the barn loft.

The lower section of the barn had been constructed with cement blocks in the 1950s, but the loft had been put together with roughly-hewn local wood, and it was huge. With its faded red paint and high aluminum gambrel, it stood out like a target in the Gatineau hills.

Inside, the loft was dark and smelt of dust and sour hay. Sunbeams from the western sky pierced the gaps between the wooden boards and made points on the ceiling