Breathing Darkness

By Matt Bialer

Famous for his long poems exploring the paranormal, the weird, the unexplained, and what makes us human, Matt Bialer turns his poetic talents to the urban legend of the Shadow People. Pat is a cyber-security expert at a software start-up called InterFaze, which was acquired by a Saudi Arabian prince. The prince wants to launch this revolutionary image and face recognition software called FazeLift at a major hacker convention in Las Vegas. Pat must launch the vital cyber-security software called The Dome before the conference, as the prince wants to maximize its publicity. Meanwhile, at home, Pat's ten-year-old son, Jared, keeps waking in the middle of the night screaming, saying a tall being in a long black coat and fedora hat is watching him. His younger son, Max, is also seeing this figure; this man made of darkness. When Pat learns that what his sons are seeing is true, that they're being visited by entities known as the Shadow People, he takes an unexpected trip to Saudi Arabia for answers, and in turn, confronts his deepest fears.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JournalStone
• Release date: Mar 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781950305001

Book preview

Copyright 2019 © Matt Bialer

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Bizarro Pulp Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

Bizarro Pulp Press

www.bizarropulppress.com

or

JournalStone

www.journalstone.com

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-947654-99-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-950305-00-1 (ebook)

Bizarro Pulp Press rev. date: March 29, 2019

Printed in the United States of America

Cover Art & Design: Dyer Wilk

EBook Layout: Lori Michelle

Edited by Scarlett R. Algee

Seb Doubinsky—

this one is for you

Our son wakes up screaming again

Screaming

We run into the boys’ bedroom

Buddy, our border collie,

Pacing and barking

Jared

Ten years old

Max is seven

Both sobbing

Jared

Says he saw the darkness

A man made of darkness

- How can that be, Jared?

- It was a nightmare

- Just a nightmare

It was not a nightmare, Mom

I couldn’t sleep

I saw it

Saw the darkness

Saw the darkness move

At first it was a smell

An old smell

Like musky sweat

Buddy is barking at the wall

Something’s there

Something’s there

I smell something too

Do you smell