The Shadow Code
The rain fell in sheets, turning the city into a blur of neon and shadow. Detective Mara Voss stood at the edge of the crime scene, her boots sinking into the puddles as she scanned the alley. The body lay…
Suspense
Read MoreThe Shadow Code
The Last Light of Meridian
The salt air bit Mara’s cheeks as she trudged up the cliff, her boots crunching over gravel. The lighthouse loomed ahead, its white paint peeling like dead skin. She’d skipped school again, but the note had been urgent—scrawled in her…
The Iron Trail
The air reeked of coal smoke and sweat as Clara navigated the crowded docks, her boots clicking against the wooden planks. The harbor bustled with merchants unloading crates of spices and textiles, their shouts blending with the cawing gulls. She…
The Fractured Mind
Dr. Elara Voss stared at the neuroimaging screen, her pulse a frantic rhythm against her ribs. The data pulsed in jagged lines—abnormal activity in the hippocampus, a region she’d spent her career dissecting. Her fingers trembled as she scrolled through…
The Sentinel’s Keep
Lila’s fingers brushed the edge of the journal, its leather cover cracked and stiff with salt. She pulled it from the hollow beneath the dock, where the tide had left it like a gift or a warning. The air smelled…
The Lattice of Elsewhere
Dr. Elara Voss had always believed memory was a ledger of moments, precise and immutable. Her work at the Neurocognitive Advancement Institute focused on refining neural implants to enhance recall, a project she called the Lattice. It was meant to…
The Silent Horizon
The air in the station tasted metallic, like rusted iron and burnt ozone. Commander Rhea Voss adjusted her gloves, her breath fogging the visor of her helmet as she stepped onto the observation deck. Outside, the stars stretched in endless,…
Whispers in the Pines
The rain tapped the windowpane like a stranger seeking entry, each drop a quiet叩击 on the glass. Mara adjusted her scarf, the wool rough against her neck, and stared at the fog-draped highway. The sign ahead read: *Welcome to Blackwood*—a…
Whispers in the Pines
The first time Clara heard the whistle, she was knee-deep in the creek, her fingers curled around a rusted key. The sound sliced through the fog—high, thin, and wrong. Not the call of a train or a bird but something…
Whispers in the Pines
The wind clawed at Mara’s coat as she stepped off the rusted bus, its engine sputtering like a dying animal. The air smelled of pine resin and something older—decaying wood, maybe, or the faint tang of blood. She hadn’t been…
The Silent Current
Mara’s boots sank into the mud as she pushed through the thicket, the air thick with the tang of pine resin and damp earth. The note had been folded twice, its edges frayed, tucked beneath a rock at the edge…
The Hollowing
Dr. Elara Voss adjusted the dial on the cylindrical device, its surface etched with intricate patterns that seemed to shift when viewed from different angles. The lab’s fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting a sterile glow over the steel worktables. She…
Whispers in the Pines
The rain fell in steady sheets as Mara stepped off the bus, her boots sinking into the muddy path leading to the town of Blackwood. The air smelled of wet pine and something sharper—oil, maybe, or decay. She pulled her…
The Silent Town
Mara stood at the edge of the pine forest, her boots sinking into the damp earth as the wind carried the scent of cedar and distant rain. The town of Black Hollow had always felt like a place suspended in…
The Hollowing
Mara stepped off the rusted ferry, her boots crunching on gravel as the salt-kissed wind tugged at her coat. The town of Black Hollow stretched before her, a cluster of weathered cottages clinging to the cliffs like barnacles. Ten years…