Soulless Overlook: the Overlook Series, #1

By JA Stone, Paula Acton, Diana L James and 5 more

A dark deserted highway. One last stop for gas could be your last. Judgement awaits you. Do you dare to step inside the Soulless Overlook?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hargrove Perth
• Release date: May 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223795599

Book preview

Copyright

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Soulless Overlook, © April 2023

Gathered and Presented by Hargrove Perth

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Cover Graphics by Dark Water Arts Designs

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The tales presented herein are the product(s) of the individual authors' imaginations and are presented for entertainment purposes alone. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead was done so based on research and readily available information from various web sources and used through fictitious means.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form, or by any means whatsoever, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author. The Berne Convention Copyright Laws of 1988, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, enacted by Congress, protect this work from piracy and any transmission is strictly prohibited and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Any unauthorized reproduction, presentation, or sale in any forum without the express consent of the author(s) is prohibited.

Note to Readers

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As this anthology contains a worldwide cast of authors, some acts will be presented in Normalized English, whereas others shall retain their Proper English.

Table of Contents

Copyright........................................................................................4

Note to Readers...............................................................................6

Table of Contents.................................................................................7

BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP.....................................................................10

Part One.....................................................................................11

Part Two.....................................................................................15

Paula Acton..................................................................................27

MALFEASANCE..................................................................................30

JA Stone......................................................................................43

FATE’S FEE......................................................................................45

Diana L. James...............................................................................61

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE....................................................................63

Karen Black..................................................................................78

THE LODGER....................................................................................80

Ripley Archer...............................................................................101

VAMPIRE SOUL.................................................................................103

Prologue....................................................................................104

Chapter 1:To Ride a Unicorn................................................................105

Chapter 2:The Cemetery...................................................................110

Chapter 3:Six Feet Under...................................................................116

Chapter 4:Immortal Soul...................................................................123

Chapter 5:Sweet Seventeen................................................................130

J.C. Seal....................................................................................135

REVENGE IS SWEET............................................................................138

Part One....................................................................................139

Part Two....................................................................................142

Seraph Evie Starfire.........................................................................144

TEARS OF DAMNATION.........................................................................147

Hargrove Perth.............................................................................154

BEAUTY IS ONLY

SKIN DEEP

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A Soulless Overlook Short Story

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By Paula Acton

Part One

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Damn sat nav!

Ever since the stupid artificial voice had told her to turn off the interstate onto the godforsaken highway, she had been debating turning around. But now, looking at the needle dropping down the gauge, she knew she had no choice but to keep going - she didn’t have enough gas to turn back.

In fact, nothing had gone right since that stupid wedding invite dropped into her mailbox last month. She had intended to respond saying she was busy. She should have. But it was too late now, she had turned up, oh, had she ever turned up. She laughed to herself as she eased her foot off the gas to read a sign at the roadside announcing a service station ahead, and that it was the last for the next seventy-five coastal miles.

Thank goodness, the idea of running out of gas in the middle of nowhere did not appeal. She had shut her cell phone off but doubted if she would be able to pick up a signal here anyway. Another sign ahead announced her destination and the dirt track which turned off the road.

Overlook Curiosities & Service Station

There were two buildings set back from the road next to each other. The service station looked like it didn’t get much business; it had an air of abandonment, and for a minute she panicked. What if it was shut down? But a light flickered over the doorway and as she pulled up to the pump, she noticed movement inside the building.

She turned off the engine and stepped out of the car. Her Louboutin’s were probably the most expensive things to have stood on this forecourt in the last fifty years, she mused. The door opened and a tall thin man walked towards her; it was impossible to guess his age from his weather-beaten face. She was fairly sure he wouldn’t see seventy again, if not eighty. The blue dungarees he wore had seen better days too, an overall feeling of belonging to a different era pervaded over the whole place.

Can you fill it up please? I don’t suppose you take card payments here?

I can fill it up, but it looks like you need your tyre sorted out before you can go anywhere.

She followed his gaze to her rear tyre, which was now totally flat. How could that have happened without her noticing? She opened the driver’s door and reached in to grab her purse; she knew she had some cash on her but needed to check how much.

And yes, ma’am, we do take card payments, if that’s what is worrying you.

Okay, thank you. Is there a bathroom and somewhere I can wait while you fix the tyre?

Not here there ain’t, but there is a bathroom over at the Shoppe over yonder.

The man pointed to the other building, and she turned to give it her attention. Separated from the service station with a blooming brightly coloured garden was a large Victorian house. She racked her brain, what was it they called them? ‘Painted Ladies’ that was the term. Purple railings, lavender window frames complimenting the blue-grey siding, it sat starkly in contrast to the dark forest background.

I will pop over there while you sort the tyre. I shan’t be long, so if you can get it done as quickly as possible. I want to be back on the road in the next half hour.

Yes, ma’am, that won’t be a problem, the car will be ready by the time you get back.

She handed her keys over to the attendant, her fingers briefly brushing against his leathery palms. A shiver ran down her spine at the chill of his skin, the guy must have circulation problems she reasoned with herself as she turned her back on him.

The walk over to the gate in the railings was difficult, her shoes were certainly not designed for this terrain. Once through the gate, she was relieved to find the path was paved and couldn’t help thinking that it was actually quite a quaint little building. In fact, in a better location, it would be worth a pretty penny.

As she reached the wrap-around veranda, she considered the sets of steps leading up to the front door, and the parlour. The sign next to it indicated that it was the latter she should use. She was not in the mood for shopping; she just wanted to get away from this backwater place and back to her normal life as soon as possible so she could forget this whole entire trip.

Glancing back over her shoulder towards the garage, she could see her car but no sign of the attendant who was supposed to be working on it. I may as well have a look round she thought—better than standing over the man’s shoulder getting frustrated trying to speed him up.

She placed a foot onto the step and felt a strange tingling sensation. Dismissing it, she continued up the steps and into the parlour.

Part Two

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As she walked through the door, a bell gently tinkled overhead announcing her presence. She looked around the room, this was not what she had expected. The room was opulently decorated, it spoke of elegance and wealth albeit of a bygone era.

On delicate clawfoot tables an array of antiques was displayed, on one, a display of jewelry caught her eye. Pearls in abundance, hair clips, hat pins, period costume jewelry. Picking up a bracelet, she turned it in her hand; a look at the price tag made her decide that the jewels were most likely paste or glass rather than sapphires and diamonds. To be fair, it did not make them any less tempting, however this stop was already costing her. Unless she saw something special, she had no intention of buying anything.

The counter was to the rear of the room, and she made her way towards it and the woman standing behind it. The woman was middle-aged, she reminded her of a fifties film star, not quite leading lady material but good-looking enough to have merited a speaking part. Like the room itself, she seemed out of time.

Excuse me, the man over at the gas station said you had a bathroom I could use?

Of course, it’s just over there. Go through that door then the door on your left.

Thanks.

She walked through the door, following the directions given. The same faded elegance continued in the hallway. She opened the door into the bathroom and was not surprised to find that it, too, was luxurious. It reminded her of a bathroom in the bar of the five-star hotels she had grown accustomed to staying in. She shuddered at the memory of the cheap motel she had been forced to stay in for the wedding.

There had been a group block booking of rooms. She tried every other hotel in the area but there was not one decent room available anywhere else. The thought of that bed ... she had not got into the bed, instead turning the heating up to full and laying on top of it in her silk pajamas. She left those behind in the bin; she had no doubt a cleaner would be happy to stuff them in their bag and take them home.

She took care of her physical needs quickly before finding herself standing, looking into the mirrors that ran the length of the wall.