The Sins We Take With Us

By Christopher Bond

In a forgotten schoolhouse, three friends are trapped in a realm where the past's darkest secrets come alive.

 

As windows shatter and ghostly children chant, Arthur, Heather, and Jonesy must confront the sins of a town and the malevolent spirit of a serial killer.

 

But when salvation lies in a silver crucifix with mysterious powers, can they escape the fiery grip of retribution?

 

Dive into a chilling tale of guilt, redemption, and the thin line between good and evil. Will they find their way out, or become another chapter in the schoolhouse's haunted history?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Black Hare Press
• Release date: Dec 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223004721

Book preview

The Sins We Take with Us

Christopher Bond

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Black Hare Press

The Sins We Take With Us is

Copyright © 2023 Christopher Bond

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First published in Australia in December 2023

by Black Hare Press

The author retains the copyright of the works featured in this publication.

All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this production may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

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Edited by Jodi Christensen

Formatting by Ben Thomas

Cover design by Dawn Burdett

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For Emily, my muse,

who has always been the inspiration

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Christopher Bond

Black Hare Press

Coming Soon from Black Hare Press

Acknowledgements

Chapter One

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Clem was nervous. I could tell that before I even stepped up onto his sagging front porch. Nervous and pissed off. He was sitting in his usual spot, or what had been his usual spot at least the last time I saw him, on a worn-out bench, the wood gray and cracking. Clem had gone gray, too, in the decade since I’d last seen him, not even a speckling of black in the thin hair poking out from under his stained John Deere hat. He wore overalls and a plain white shirt, and his calloused hands clutched a cane that was planted on the wooden planks between his legs. Rubbing one hand over the other, he traced the ridges of his arthritic knuckles. He peered at me through his glasses as if he were examining some filth he’d just stepped in.

I wanted to walk to him and shake his hand or give him a hug, but I didn’t. That look stopped me just at the edge of the porch. I settled for a nod instead.

Hello, Clem. Guess it’s been a long time, huh?

Clem didn’t say anything, not right away, just kept staring. After a few excruciatingly long moments, he exhaled; he’d been holding his breath the entire time. His expression never changed.

Arthur.

I looked down at the porch, at my feet, at the crooked heads of rusty nails pulling themselves out of the twisted boards. Anywhere but at those calculating eyes. Those angry eyes. This was starting to feel like a bad idea.

Yeah, Clem, I…I had to fly in to Cleveland for business, you know, and…and I just thought maybe I’d—

No, he said. I don’t care what you thought. You need to leave, Arthur.

Part of me figured it’d be like this—this, or even worse. The last time Clem and I were together on this same porch, he’d lifted me up and thrown me to the sidewalk like a sack of rotten potatoes. I tried to look him in the eye, but it