Playtime is Over: Haunted Coal Ridge, #26

By Chuck Sperati

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.

Story 26: "Playtime is Over"

Sometimes life can be challenging. For Julie, it started with a divorce. Things got worse when her neighbor's death made her the caretaker of supernatural beasties who took her leg below the knee. Then the mysterious death of her ex-husband brought grief to her and the kids. By the time she was asked to take temporary custody of her nephew, it seemed like the universe was just piling on.

You wouldn't think that things could get worse, but this is Coal Ridge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Writing Distracted
• Release date: Sep 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781646390588

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 Midwestern town, the blue-collar people of Coal Ridge are friendly and laid back. They enjoy block parties, gossip, and the simple joys that come with being a close-knit community. Since 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.

Playtime is Over

Where’s Scruffs? I want him now!

Taking a deep breath and rolling her shoulders back to relieve some of the pressure building in her chest, Julie flexed her fingers, resisting the urge to ball them into fists. It had only been two weeks since the young redheaded boy had come to stay with them, and to say that she regretted that act of sympathy was a severe understatement.

I told you, Ms. Blair is fixing him up, but she had other customers first. Sooner or later, she would have to come up with another lie. No matter what they did, the boy stubbornly refused every attempt to distract him with other toys and stuffed animals.

Balling his hands into fists, Eric began to stomp around the kitchen, his face turning the same shade of red as his hair. I want Scruffs now!

Reminding herself that the boy’s mother, Janice Holtz—also her ex-sister-in-law, lay comatose in the ICU at St. Elizabeth Hospital, she closed her eyes and breathed the way they taught in her yoga class.

Fill your lungs with air.

Don’t take your frustration out on him.

Breathe into your belly, ribcage, and upper chest.

It’s not his fault.

Exhale completely.

In the past year, she’d lost her leg below the knee, inherited the care of supernatural lawn ornaments after her neighbor, Beth Denton, dropped dead from a heart attack, and had to deal with the suspicious death of her ex-husband. With all of that, caring for Eric should be no big deal. Except that the boy made it a big deal.

There’s a reason no one in that family wants him to stay with them, she reminded herself.

Watching as he began his third lap stomping around the kitchen, Julie had enough.

Eric!

Her tone brought him to stop.

There are toys in your room and outside. Go play with something.

I want—

Scruffs is not fixed yet! The shout hung in the air between them.

Seeing his eyes filling with tears, a mix of guilt