I Dare You: Haunted Coal Ridge, #21

By Chuck Sperati

A series of intertwined supernatural stories that will make you wonder where the darkness ends and the light begins. All small towns keep secrets, but in Coal Ridge when the secret gets out, it begins to feed…again.

Story 21: "I Dare You"

Kelly and Matt grew up together in Coal Ridge and have been best friends forever. After college they went different ways, but the passing of her Dad and end of his marriage have brought them both back home.

Cele-mouring in the family room of his parent's house with a bottle of schnapps leads them to relive a childhood adventure and before long drunken Team Scooby Doo is trying to solve a mystery. The problem is that in Coal Ridge, the soul devouring monster isn't an old man in a mask.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Writing Distracted
• Release date: Jan 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781646390441

Chuck Sperati

Among other things, I'm a writer--with some published experience--whose been mostly quiet for the past few decades, mostly because I let life get in the way. I've long had a creative outlet at the gaming table and recently found another when I started building a website. With this new outlet also came inspiration. Right now I'm working primarily on a series of short stories that has received some very positive feedback, so I'm sharing. If you enjoy anything I've written, check out my website at https://www.chucksperati.com, where you can find more things that have crawled out of my imagination.

Book preview

Dedication

Coal Ridge is based on Ohio's Finest Village. It was a great place to grow up and continues to be a remarkable community to which I enjoy returning to see friends and family. For those who live there, take a moment, look around, and be wary of the shadows.

Preface

A series of intertwined short stories that will make you wonder where the darkness ends and the light begins. All small towns keep secrets, but in Coal Ridge when the secret gets out, it begins to feed...again.

Set in a small, somewhat geographically secluded town in the Midwest, the blue-collar people of Coal Ridge are friendly and laid back, enjoying block parties, gossip, and the simple joys that come with being a close-knit community. Because everyone knows everyone else, secrets are hard to keep, but some are so well hidden that they've been forgotten.

These short stories explore a supernatural awakening that will test the bonds of family and community.

I Dare You

Alright. This time, suck the lime wedge, take a shot, and then lick the salt.

Wait Kel. We're already not using tequila and now you want to do the salt after the shot? Matt Freeman asked, trying to blink the drunk out of his eyes.

It wasn't working.

Pointing a finger at him like a gun, the short nail roughly painted purple, Kelly Collins made a clicking sound with her mouth and attempted an exaggerated wink that caused her balance to waver. It's my turn to make the rules, so we do it my way.

Shrugging, he nodded and tried to focus on the shot glass. The collar of his polo had caught most of the last shot that ran down the side of his face when he missed his mouth.

Grinning with her perfect teeth, Kelly held up her lime wedge. Ready...go!

In order, they each sucked a lime wedge, took the shot—they weren't yet so drunk that it didn't burn going down—and licked the salt.

Turning to her with his hazel green eyes closed tight and stifling a cough, he exclaimed, Ugh that was awful.

"Yeah,