Apocalypse Atheneum

By Serena Mossgraves

A library of Scares, This is a collection of stories by Serena Mossgraves that she put together. Though Most have been published before, this is the first time she has gathered them all together in one book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fae Corps Publishing
• Release date: Sep 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223057536

Serena Mossgraves

Serena Mossgraves is a twisted faery with the urge to scare the unwitting reader. Her dark tales of nightmares excite the unwary. She has been seen prowling around looking for new tales to twist and share. She is an avid reader who has always enjoyed the more gothic settings. If you are not afraid to seek her out she is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/serenitysfall and will gladly visit with you there.

Book preview

Apocalypse Athenuem

A collection of stories told

Serena Mossgraves

Copyright © 2023 Serena Mossgraves

Publisher Fae Corps LLC

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All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Fae Corps LLC

5415 Raven Dr

Charleston WV 25306

Faecorpspublishing.org

Most of these are published previously – The publication will be listed in the Story heading. All are written by me.

All story traditions started out as oral. Tell stories to continue the tradition.

Contents

Rowan

Winter Whimsy

The Blood Siren

Apocalyptic Truths

Doll Dreams

Growing Up

Under the Shade

The Nothing

Dreams Become Nightmares

Campfire Creepy

Hunger

Vtm: Madness And Art

About the Author

About the Publisher

Author’s Note

This is a collection of shorts. Almost all have been released before (published in various anthologies mostly by Fae Corps Publishing. Though there are at least 2 published by Circle City Publishing.) I felt like it was time to gather the library of stories together...and maybe tell you just one more...

I will note in the title of each story which publisher/anthology the story was in.

Rowan

Originally in Under the Mists By Fae Corps Publishing

The old tree is moving again. We were told by the elders it holds all the evil of men deep inside and it only moves when the deepest fog sets in.. There is even a prophecy that claims that when the tree of Rowan passes through the gates into Eden, the end of time begins. The elders claim that Eden is the old graveyard at the end of the lane. Eden, the ancient garden of paradise, In a freaking ancient graveyard.

We are the grove of faeries who watch the tree, but we don't get too close. After all, it's creepy and dangerous. It always moves as though the wind were whispering to it, and it alone. The tree is as tall as any redwood, but it never grows any leaves. It looks dead, spots barren of branch or bark. The ground around the tree in a thirty foot circle will grow nothing.

What faery in it's right mind would go anywhere near it? Not I, That is for sure! Still, the elders insist that we have to keep an eye on it at all times. The prophecy is so out there, I mean it speaks of the dead walking.. Come on.. Zombies? Really? How does that affect us? Faeries, once dead, don't come back. Humans can't reach this place. We are hidden in a demi-dimension, a pocket if you will. Though my people can pass easily into the prime. Most of the faery groves are hidden.

Though it seems like most of the older faeries believe in it, The prophecy really sounds like something straight out of human nightmares. We faeries don't believe in nightmares. Though it seems like most of the older faeries believe in prophecy. There even are some of the eldest fae who say that they have had to fight the tree back away from the gates. Their stories are just too fantastic to be true. Sure, they are fun to listen to at the nightly fire, but that doesn't make them true.

Rowan doesn't like light. Who ever heard of a tree that didn't like light? My sister and I inherited positions as light keepers. This is not unheard of, as it has passed down our family line for over a hundred generations. We are supposed to make sure that there is always light shining on Rowan. Our mother and Aunt were the light keepers before us. One day in our third year they went to check on the tree and never returned. The elders claimed that the fog, and their fears took them. Only lady fae can keep the light, though I have never understood why. I am not sure that the term Lady fits me. I have never been comfortable with the labels that people have tried to place on me.

My twin sister was so easily frightened, she often would cling to me as we went to check on the old tree. The elders would ask us to check it at least once a week, though they really wanted us to do it more often, unless the fog came in. Then we needed to check several times that night. Some of the foggy nights, we camped out by the tree. Most of the time I didn't really mind the job. Yeah the tree was creepy, but to believe it was made of the evil of men? Pssh. I got so much better things to think about. I thought that I was fearless.

To hear the elders talk I shirk my duties all of the time. Mistress Kaolani, the shaman, often said Shiara, you and Kylia need to take Rowan seriously. There is things at stake beyond your understanding. Please start paying more attention! It isn't that we didn't pay attention, more that it all seemed too made up. How much we missed her. She was one of the first to disappear, on the first night of the fog.

The next night changed my mind, and my life. We went to check, as we had nightly for the last week. The fog hung thickly in the village. Rowan stood at the gate. Three whole feet from where it was before. We hurried back into the village to sound the alarm. Kylia looked so pale, eyes wild as we flew.

I was not sure if the old graveyard was Eden, to be honest I didn't care. I was not taking the chance. Trees were not supposed to move their roots. This one moved three feet farther down the lane. The truth was