The Forgotten

By Elle Driver

Dive into the chilling depths of "The Forgotten," a spine-tingling horror novel that will haunt your dreams and leave you breathless. Step into the unsettling world of a retired crackshot geneticist, yearning for a tranquil new beginning as a mundane college text writer. Little does she know that the darkest corners of her mind are about to come to life within the eerie confines of her uncle's bed and breakfast nestled deep within the foreboding Georgia mountains.

In "The Forgotten," nightmares transcend mere imagination as our protagonist grapples with the horrifying truth that her own twisted creations have been unleashed upon her unsuspecting existence. As she struggles to reconcile her past and confront the demons she thought she had left behind, a relentless battle for survival ensues, pushing the boundaries of sanity and pitting her against forces that defy comprehension.

Prepare to be enthralled as "The Forgotten" weaves a web of fear and suspense, with each chapter unveiling a sinister secret that chills the very core of your being. Immerse yourself in the haunting atmosphere of the Georgia mountains, where shadows lurk in every corner and reality blurs with the macabre. With every turn of the page, anticipation builds, gripping you with a sense of impending doom that lingers long after the final word.

Unleash your deepest fears and confront the horrors that lie within "The Forgotten." This masterfully crafted tale of psychological terror and supernatural phenomenon will leave you questioning the thin veil that separates the known from the unfathomable. Are you ready to face your nightmares? Prepare yourself for a harrowing journey, as "The Forgotten" beckons you into a realm of darkness from which there may be no escape.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Shorts
• Release date: Jul 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9781094464541

Elle Driver

Elle Driver is a mild-mannered civil servant who adores her husband and kid, and loves writing different romance tales to share with others when she can.

Book preview

1

The air conditioner clicked on and added its soft whirring to the bevy of sounds in the lab, weaving between the hum of the computer towers and fridges, the hiss of the autoclaves, and swirl of a centrifuge. Bea took her glasses off, realizing she had read the same sentence multiple times and not understood one word any of the times. She rubbed her eyes and pushed back from her desk. Maybe she’d take a little walk and get a drink. Wake herself up.

She stood from her chair and stretched her arms over her head, putting her glasses back on. When she picked her phone up, there were a few messages from her sister. She’d call her later in the day. It was nearly 1am. A bit too late or way too early to be returning a call. Bea opened her front-facing camera. She was double-checking that her wig was on straight, tucking the hair behind her ear. She loved her shaved head, but she also loved being able to throw on any style she wanted when she felt like it in the form of a wig. Especially when that wig afforded her warmth in her cold ass lab.

She glanced over her face. Her eyeliner had worn off long ago. Her eyes were red. Her sepia toned skin looked ashen, like she’d been scared to death or lost a lot of blood, but the truth was, she just hadn’t gotten any sleep. And she hadn’t eaten. Or had anything to drink outside of coffee or soda. She lifted her arm and smelled herself. And she hadn’t showered for too long.

Fuck me, she whispered, glad to have the lab to herself. She closed the camera and dropped her phone into her pocket, heading for the kitchen located on the floor below to get yet another soda. And a bottle of water. She had to do better.

When she stepped outside of the lab, the sounds went silent as the door clicked behind her. The quiet of the hall was eerie, and it didn’t help that the security station was empty. At midnight, there was no longer security on every floor. It wasn’t necessary. But being alone could get creepy.

There was something about the unknown left lingering in the building that unsettled her. That, and the lack of people around that she could turn to in the case that the unknown grew into something that was actually dangerous. During the day, there was a lot of hustle and bustle. Plenty of noise of activity filled the halls and labs. In the night, all of that was gone. In its place, there was a hush. And within that quiet, Bea couldn’t help but imagine everything around her that was developing and growing and multiplying. What could be happening around her was limitless. Locked away in different labs, storage rooms, fridges, and petri dishes, but still all around her.

It gave her the heebie jeebies sometimes. Just sometimes.

Unfortunately, tonight was one of those times, and she sort of missed the cranky security guard. Bea didn’t even like the guard on her flood. Maria was kind of a troll. She wasn’t very pleasant and she liked to make things hard for people. Bea found out quickly that forgetting her badge wasn’t something that would just be looked over. But in the silence and dimness of the hall, she would have taken the unpleasant interaction. Glancing around like something would melt out of the shadows, Bea sped up, walking a bit too quickly to get to the elevator.

Once she hit the button to go down, she let out the breath she didn’t even know she was holding. The elevator was waiting. She jumped in and jabbed the button that closed the doors, then hitting the one to take her down. She worked on the 12th floor. The good snack machines were on the 10th floor. She was in need of more than granola bars and water, as nice as that could be.

It jostled and then slid smoothly downwards.

She had to roll her eyes at herself. There was nothing in this building to be afraid of. It was an expensive, but established research center. They were funded by a lot of different investors, and even some universities. She was paid well to mess around with different solutions and compounds and fail repeatedly until she found out something new or made an advancement. It was what she had always wanted to do, though she had to admit…she found it significantly less satisfying than she had anticipated it being. There still wasn’t a feeling of fulfillment. Completion. She tried not to dwell on that, because if she really thought about it, what the hell was she still doing working here?

Pushing for a breakthrough, she said, repeating the words that had been repeated to her so many times from her director. Dr. Evan Fiennes was nice enough. She’d never found him particularly personable, but she didn’t mind being his employee. He was consistent.

She’d made a few breakthroughs, too. And they felt good. But she feared it wasn’t enough.

The elevator opened and she tucked the thought away as she typically did. The most important thing in the world right now was a fizzy drink with as much caffeine as possible, a bottle of water to balance it out…and maybe some salty chips, because the idea of it made her stomach do a little rumble. Bea promised herself to feed herself well later in the day. After that very necessary shower and sleep. And calling her sister Josie back.

On this floor, there was a security guard. His name was Jim. He was much nicer than Maria. He was about the same level of roundness, though.

Hey, Jim, she said, smiling easily.

Dr. P! He sat up and wiped the corners of his mouth. She wanted to roll her eyes. Jim was an older, white man. He was divorced, and he didn’t date often. He never hit on Bea, but he certainly tried to flirt. And it didn’t matter to her, because it gave him the cutest, little confidence boost; and she appreciated that he thought she was attractive enough to care to sit up straighter or wipe his face off. Bea was not romantically inclined most of the time. It just wasn’t a priority.

You really can call me Bea, she insisted for the hundredth time, going straight to the soda machine.

It’s hard to stop calling a doctor, a doctor, he said. "Dr. Akeelah the Bee."

Close enough, Bea said. She had a feeling he didn’t add the ‘a,’ but it didn’t matter. The only thing she was actually concerned about was which soda had the most caffeine, and while she couldn’t be entirely certain, she was going to place her hard earned $1.50 on a certain doctor–Dr. Pepper. But then again, a Red Bull was fizzy too. It definitely had the most caffeine, but it would be a less enjoyable drink. She could challenge herself to chugging it though. That would wake her up. And it was fun to pretend she was the kind of person who chugged energy drinks like a champ instead of nearly gagging and regretting it immediately after. Fuck it, she thought.

She got the Red Bull.

You’re such a wild girl. She rolled her eyes at herself.

So how’re experiments going? Jim asked, leaning back in his rolly chair.

Slowly, she answered. He almost always asked the same question. And she almost always gave the same answer. There hasn’t been much movement in her new application. She was trying to get these fabricated cells, or rather the properties they possessed, to attach to human DNA. She wanted to be able to use the healing properties found in the fabricated cells to human cells. It was the golden goose. And just baby steps toward that ultimate goal were like crossing the Grand Canyon.

I imagine it takes a lot of that to get to any breakthrough, he said.

You’d be very right, she said. She cracked the Red Bull open and then brought it to her mouth, tilting her head back.

How do you determine what a breakthrough is? he asked, leaning forward on the desk.

She held up one finger and gulped while Jim watched. After four big swallows, Jim’s lips parted a hair, his eyes widening. Once she finished she took a moment to suppress a burp. She’d do that when she was alone.

Honestly, any time you’ve done something you weren’t able to do before, it’s a breakthrough. But some are worth more, of course, she said, grinning as she tossed the empty Red Bull can into the trash bin. The thing had tasted awful, but the cold fizz and rush was unlike anything else. She then stepped over to one of the chip machines and got a salty treat. Or two.

After she stuffed her face by upending the bag (as she turned away from Jim) and deposited every last crumb into her mouth, she tucked the other bag into her pocket. She wiped her mouth, not very discreetly, and turned back to the security guard, who of course, was watching her.

Well, Jim, it’s been real, she said, smiling. Back to the dungeon, I go. She started back toward the elevator, but he stopped her.

Hey, Dr. P, could you do me a favor, though?

She turned back, eyebrow quirked. It depends on the favor, but I’m sure I can.

Dr. Yang left her badge here earlier today. Don’t you guys work on the same floor?

Yeah, she comes into my lab every day, she said, walking back toward the security desk. Jim already had the badge dangling from his thick fingers. She took it and scanned the badge. An unsmiling Yang looked back at her, glasses perched upon her nose perfectly, her black bob sitting as if it had been shorn by the world’s best hairdresser. I’ll make sure to get it to her in the morning.

Thank you, Jim said, sitting back and placing one hand on his rotund belly. I would have left it for Eloise, but she’s really forgetful and I’d hate to have Dr. Yang running around looking for it, or it get misplaced.

You’ve got the right delivery girl, she said, lifting the badge and then dropping it into the opposite pocket of her chips. He was lucky she’d recently emptied the big pockets in her lab coat of all of her pens, stickies, and scrunched up trash.

I hope you have a great rest of your night, Jim said, tipping his hat, glancing at his watch. Or early morning.

Bea looked at her watch. It was 2am. She supposed it could be moving into the morning soon. She tipped an imaginary hat