Waiting Fear

By Jason Janes

After finding a mysterious painting in the basement of an art academy, a struggling painter is haunted by nightmares. A man in black chases him through his dreams, night after night.

When he finds the man in black is alive and real in the waking world, the painter desperately seeks to discover the true nature of his pursuer, and the hidden power of the painting that haunts his dreams.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9781312411388

Book preview

THE WAITING FEAR

By Jason Janes

Copyright 2010

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the express permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-312-41138-8

Where am I?

What is this swirling blue?

It’s everywhere.

Churning, swirling blue. Not like waves.

More like sea currents.

What am I walking on?

It’s nothing but this swirling blue…

I reach out. My hand touches something solid. It feels cold. So cold it almost feels wet.

It all looks the same.

That sound…

It sounds like screaming.

At least five people screaming.

Where? I can’t tell.

It sounds like it’s coming from everywhere. Permeating through these unseen walls.

I start moving forward, with my wall against…whatever it is to guide me.

The solidity continues on.

I reach out with my other hand.

I feel the same thing on my other side.

Whatever this is…it’s some kind of corridor.

Not having much choice, I follow it.

Gingerly, step by step, I feel my way forward.

A cold wind wisps from behind me, freezing my backside.

I turn.

For a moment, I freeze in my tracks.

A man in black!

He’s behind me! Turning some kind of corner, it looks like he steps into existence from nowhere.

I don’t stick around to verify that. I start running.

I stick my arms in front of me as I sprint, expecting to hit one of those invisible walls again.

In a few moments, I do. My hands scramble about the invisible wall, trying to find an opening.

I find a place to pass through. I start to run.

In a panic, I look behind me.

The man in black is there!

How? He’s barely breaking a walk!

I run faster; arms outstretched.

I crash into another wall.

The man in black is getting closer!

Scrambling once more to find where the wall breaks, I run for it.

He’s only a few steps behind!

Crashing into another unseen wall, I stumble into the next opening.

What is that?

A light!

Shining in the blue!

That must be a way out!

I run as fast as I can, nearly losing my footing at every step keeping my arms in front of me.

I hit another wall. The jolt bounces me backward.

Fear surges through me, expecting to fall right into the