Where Dreams Are Lost: The Second Nightmare

By Stuart Tudor

James lost his job, and his prospects are grim. He and his friends - Latisha, Alice, and Harvey - decide to engage in some urbex, hoping to escape their aimless lives. They don't expect the Grand House mall, once bustling with life but now abandoned, and host to something far more sinister than an uncertain future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stuart Tudor
• Release date: Nov 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005451004

Stuart Tudor

Hi!I am a South African Indie author. I write Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, Dystopian, and Thriller, among other genres.I have been writing for as long as I can remember, I love all forms of narrative art, and I want to share my stories with the world. I love to explore the world and topics through the supernatural and the abnormal lens. The metaphor sets us free in a way.So come with me, let us explore the dark together, so we don't get lost.

Book preview

Where Dreams are Lost

Stuart Tudor

Published by Stuart Tudor at Smashwords

Copyright 2022 Stuart Tudor

To Mom and Dad, who protected the family from the nightmares explored here.

...due to cost-cutting measures, you are being let go from your current place of employment (C&T Carpet Cleaning). 

Good luck with your future endeavours.

Yours sincerely,

Joe Lackey.

James had lost count of the times he had reread that email. A numbness took hold him, he was without a job, there was nothing he could do about it. Finally, his eyes burned under strain, and he shut them to gain some respite.

James? James! A concerned voice penetrated the heavy dread that had begun to consume him. Are you okay?

I...I... James ran a hand through his long brown hair, I just lost my job. The words were leaden, in tired recognition of reality.

A pause occurred before Harvey produced a low, Oh shit.

Another moment of silence permeated the room. The small apartment was beginning to become an expensive and hostile beast to James. His rapid heartbeat became louder as he dwelled on what had transpired.   

James, are you still there? Talk to me! Harvey’s voice shot through the phone, reaching out to his friend.

James sat frozen to the spot in front of his computer screen, tears running down his face. How the fuck am I going to pay off my debts? How the fuck am I going to eat? His voice broke over the words.

James, listen to me, Harvey’s voice soothing over the phone. 

I can’t do this, James said, You don’t know how to do this! 

We all need to escape right now, James. You know what Alice has been going through?

Yeah...

None of us should be alone with our thoughts right now. So I suggest we stick to the plan and head to the mall to explore it. It could be a fun distraction, and we might get a good story out of it, Harvey said, but if you really don’t feel up to that, which is fine, we can always hang out at Latisha’s place.

She’d be up for that?

Yeah, apparently.

James inhaled deeply, considering the options, and shook his head. No, I don’t want to be reminded of her success right now. He switched off his computer and made his way towards the door, grabbing a camera and flashlight as he passed. See you at the mall, bro. A weak smile grew across James' face. 

As he was about to leave, James saw his framed degree in literature. A degree that had taken so many years of harvesting in the field, now a rotten-useless piece of fruit.

I couldn’t even hold a crummy carpet cleaning job down. How could I have ever gotten a job in a newspaper? James thought.

James, there is something I want to tell you. There was a breathless recklessness to the statement that made James’ heart speed up. 

Yeah?

I can’t say it over the phone. some description of his voice.I will tell you when we’re there. See you soon.

Wait! Don’t go. Let’s stay on the call. Maybe Alice wants to chat?

James reached his car. It sat laden with freshly fallen snow, waiting for him on the curb, trash bags and dog shit decorating the grounds of the apartment complex. The cold cut through his thin clothes as