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Whispers of the Devil Lured
BaileyHow did everything spiral so far out of control?I ask myself that question for the thousandth time, but I still don’t have a good answer.At least I can lose myself in my work. After rotting in bed over the weekend, I’m relieved to escape my childhood home and my mom’s knowing, silent stare. I don’t have any of my scrubs with me, but I’m able to track down a clean change of clothes packed away in a box in my old closet. My shoes are presumably still sitting in the hallway of the house I’d fled. I wasn’t about to go back to retrieve them, so I’ve settled on wearing a pair of borrowed flip flops.One glance in the mirror reveals that I look more like I’m going to some backyard barbecue than a nursing night shift. Shame washes over me at the sight of my reflection. Professionalism has always been very important to me. I guess that’s just one more way in which I’ve failed.My mom gives me a tight hug before I head out, promising to have some food ready for me when I come back earl
Whispers of the Devil Ghost Stories
TannerNever in my life have I felt so wretched.I’m slumped down in a chair at Hahnville’s only café, nursing a cup of coffee. I’ve been here for an hour. Bailey is set to arrive any minute, but I wanted the time to prepare myself before she shows up. Just the fact that she’s agreed to meet me here sends my heart racing.What am I supposed to tell her? The truth is unbelievable, but I don’t have any other explanation. My memories of the past few days are spotty and fractured. The pieces I do recall are cloudy and dream-like. The only thing I’m sure of is that I hurt Bailey, and that is unforgivable.Leaning my head back and closing my eyes, I try desperately to clear my foggy mind. My whole body aches. The blackened flesh around my left eye is still swollen and has now curdled toward a greenish tinge. The angry bruises that ring my neck aren’t faring much better. I know I look like shit. People have been shooting me curious glances all weekend, and I wonder if they suspect that I mig
Whispers of the Devil Shared Experience
BaileyI feel powerless.Anxiety gnaws at me as I lie in bed, my mind playing back the agreement that Tanner and I had brokered yesterday afternoon. I’d given him one last day to sort out the situation at the construction site. Keeping my side of the deal, I’d told Helen at the beginning of my shift that we were leaving town. The older woman had been supportive and understanding, urging me to do whatever I needed to do to get away from the swamp.Now all I have to do is wait for Tanner’s workday to finish later this evening, and we’ll be free.But it’s torturous, sitting here unable to do anything. I’ve already packed myself a bag and taken some money out of the bank. Other than that, I can’t think of anything else that I can possibly do to prepare, especially since we don’t even know where we’re going once we leave.Tanner has a large family spread out all over the country. Maybe we’d be able to stay with a cousin or an aunt for a while until we can find somewhere to settle. Or perha
Whispers of the Devil Cackling Demon
Tanner“Tanner?”I stare at the hole in the drywall. It gapes open like the maw of some unknowable beast, just waiting to devour anybody unwitting enough to step into its jaws.What would it feel like to watch this house consume somebody?Hungry desire washes through me at the thought. My hands clench into tight fists at my sides, my nails digging into the calloused skin of my palms.“Tanner!”Fingers close on my shoulder, and I whip around, my heart beating wildly.“Take it easy, boss,” Jose placates, taking a step back from me and holding his hands up as if to show me that he means me no harm.I blink. Of course, it’s just my foreman. Who else would it be?“What?” I growl, hoping my aggressiveness will hide my embarrassment at being caught spacing out like that.Jose raises an eyebrow but ignores my antagonistic tone. Instead, he asks, “Do you want an extra pair of hands in here?” He nods to the gap in the drywall.“I’ve got it,” I snap.“Whatever you say, boss,” Jose sighs with a s
Whispers of the Devil This is Where it Lives
BaileyI need to get Tanner away from that house.Bitter certainty floods my veins as I walk toward my car. Every nerve in my body screams at me that I’m making the wrong choice. But I can’t just leave him there, not after what Layla’s told me. I can’t.Making up my mind, I slide into the driver’s seat. Adrenaline surges through me as I turn the key in the ignition, urging the engine to life. I try not to think too much about where I’m going and why. Instead, I focus on the muscle memory of backing out of the driveway and navigating the familiar streets of Hahnville.Night’s grip has tightened on the evening by the time I reach the turnoff to the old Gregory place. As I steer carefully down the rutted drive, my headlights play off the gnarled trunks of the cypress trees and the twisted mass of foliage at their roots. It feels like there are a thousand pairs of eyes on me, watching my descent into this unholy place.My hands tighten on the wheel. I keep my gaze focused straight ahead a
Whispers of the Devil What I Have to Do
TannerEverything is fragmented, like I’m skipping through a movie and picking frames at random.I’m not in the swamp anymore. Instead, I’m standing at the back of the house where the fuse boxes are.How did I get here? The last thing I remember is Amos’ hand against my forehead, pushing, forcing. My eyes trail out toward the cemetery, but there’s no movement out there, no telltale shadows amidst the cypress trees.Why am I here? At this point, I notice a weight in my hand and look down. To my confusion, I realize that I’m holding a hammer, gripping the handle so tightly that my knuckles have gone white.I turn back to the fuse box, which is hanging open on one mangled hinge. The whole thing is destroyed. Bits of metal and plastic litter the dead grass underneath. A tang of burning electronics lingers in the air.Did I do this? I have a vague impression of swinging the hammer, but no memory of an impact.“What the fuck?” I groan as the tools slips from my grasp. My throat feels raw, a
Whispers of the Devil Killing It
BaileyThere’s so much blood.Oh God, there’s so much blood.I’m screaming, and I can’t seem to stop. My head swims at the sight of the nail gouged into Tanner’s hand. His agonized howls pierce through my skull in jagged bolts as he flails and fights against something I can’t see.And then he’s gone, staggering out into the night with only incoherent shouts trailing in his wake.I need to move. I need to get out of this fucking place.Groaning, I struggle to my feet and assess the situation. Amos, using Tanner’s body, managed to fix a panel of drywall to the bottom of the small space, and it’s too high for me to simply step over.I gather my strength and then kick out at the sheetrock. It splits with a sharp crack. At the same time, I cry out as pain shoots through my ankle and zings up my shin.“Fuck!” I sob, bracing myself in the small space as my foot begins to throb.But I don’t stop.I can’t stop.Somehow, Tanner must have broken Amos’s hold over him. I don’t know how he did it,
Whispers of the Devil The Aftermath
TannerMy eyelids close for what I’m sure is the last time as the swamp swallows me whole.I blink, and I wake up from the nightmare of mud and mire to see an angel.Bailey is smiling down at me, her eyes shining with relief and love. Muck from the swamp covers every inch of her, and brackish water drips from her hair.She’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.“Tanner?” she asks, her voice hushed and quiet as though she’s by a patient’s bedside. “Baby? Can you hear me?”“Yeah,” I sputter. My lungs are on fire, and my mouth tastes like I’ve been licking a sewage pipe. What the fuck happened? The last thing I remember is Amos trying to take me over again.Amos.Fear rushes through me, and I grip Bailey’s hands desperately. “Where’s Amos?” I wheeze as my eyes dart around, trying to catch a glimpse of the demon in the shadows.“Gone,” she replies firmly, her face grim. “I kicked his fucking ass.”“Good,” I sigh, settling back against the mossy soil. My whole body aches. All I want
Latest chapter
Whispers of the Devil Ramblings of a Madwoman
JuliaTo say I’m royally confused when I wake up is an understatement.I sit up groggily, blinking back sleep. My thoughts are a jumbled mess, and my body still rings from the ghost of this morning’s encounter. Logically, I know it was a dream. So why did it feel so real?An image of Zeke kneeling beside the bed flashes through my mind, and I can’t help but blush at the intensity that flared in his honeyed eyes. But he couldn’t have been here. That’s just silly.“It was just a dream,” I murmur into the empty bedroom, as if the words could convince my harried thoughts.“What was that?” Jake’s voice calls from the en suite bathroom. It takes me a moment to register the sound of the shower, and then realization hits me like a brick.Jake and I fucked last night.And we’d made love this morning, hadn’t we?It still seemed so hazy. I could have sworn it had been Zeke’s face hovering over me as he moved so reverently inside of me. Things with Jake had never been like that. They were either
Whispers of the Devil Taking What's His
JuliaAs a great woman once said, diamonds are a girl’s best friend.I stand in front of the mirror in the trendy boutique in New Orleans, examining the new strand of precious stones adorning my throat. I’d paid for the mind-blowingly expensive necklace using Jake’s platinum card, which had given me a small sliver of satisfaction.He’d called in the early hours of the morning, begging for me to forgive him. At first, I’d told him that there was no way in hell I’d let him come crawling back to me, but all the while, my heart ached until the burn was almost unbearable.One chance. That’s all I’ll give him.In the meantime, I’ll shamelessly spend down his accounts in preparation for the worst.Because it would be terrible if we divorced, wouldn’t it? I think wistfully of the lifestyle I’ve enjoyed over the last several years, excluding the months spent in solitude on the edge of a fetid swamp. I’d be losing much more than him if I left.Doubt continues to gnaw at me as I gather my bags a
Whispers of the Devil The Man in the Garage
JuliaI can’t stay here.Jake’s been gone all day. In fact, I hadn’t even heard him leave in the first place, and God only knows where he went. But I’m absolutely sure that I don’t want to be here when he gets back.If he comes back.Would that really be so bad, I wonder? It’s true that I hate it out here at the edge of the festering swamp, locked away in this big empty house with only ghosts for company. But without Jake tying me down, I could go anywhere, do anything.I could even find another man, one who would treat me better than the bastard I’d married.A fine blush rises in my cheeks as the memory of Zeke’s passion whispers across my lips. Guilt trickles through me in its wake. I can’t believe we’d kissed. As terrible as Jake’s actions have been, I’ve never once felt the need to seek out another man.But there is something about Zeke that beckons me, drawing me closer like a lighthouse in the dark. It isn’t just that he’shandsome, or even that he’snice to me. I have the uncanny
Whispers of the Devil Stolen Kiss
ZekeSomething dreadful happened last night.I’d been out in the swamp, enjoying the sound of the rain pattering off the soft fronds of the ferns in the underbrush when I’d noticed Jake stumbling drunkenly to the garage.Even worse, I watched from the shadows as he spoke to that thing as though he was just making another shady business deal. Though I wasn’t able to hear what Amos demanded, I think I have a pretty good idea what it is.Who it is.I watched Jake stagger around the property for a while before he got into his car and drove off. Good riddance, in my opinion.But I’m concerned for Julia. I don’t trust Jake for a second, and she doesn’t deserve to be used as a pawn in this sick game.And now I’m lingering at her front door, my hand raised and poised to press the doorbell. For a moment, I don’t think I can go through with it, but then the memory of Jake speaking with Amos flashes through my mind, and I know I have no other option. I have to make sure she’s all right.Thinking
Whispers of the Devil Repercussions
JakeOh God, what have I done?Panic and desperation crash over me in unrelenting tidal waves, dragging me under until I’m drowning in them. I’m sitting on the bed in the guest room, holding my head in my hands and rocking back and forth.I don’t know how long I’ve been here. Hours, probably. At some point, I’d stumbled down to the kitchen to grab a bottle of whiskey. It sits on the floor by my feet, the amber liquid significantly drained.The alcohol hadn’t helped. I’m unable to numb the tumult that roils inside of me.I hit my wife.She deserved it.The cold, foreign voice slithers through my mind, and I groan, trying to drown it out.I’ve done a lot of questionable things over the years, some more legal than others. And maybe, just maybe, I’d said things to intentionally hurt Julia in the past, but I’d never physically harmed her.Until tonight.She was asking for it.“Shut up!” I whimper, clawing at my temples. “Shut up!”I stand and start pacing in the small space between the bed
Whispers of the Devil A Slap in the Face
JuliaTears well in my eyes, threatening to spill over. But I know that if I start crying, I won’t be able to stop.“Get a fucking grip,” I mutter to myself.I’m lying on the couch in the living room, attempting to watch my favorite reality TV show. After I confronted Jake earlier, I haven’t been able to focus. Racing thoughts flutter through my brain like paper in the wind. I’d optimistically heated up a frozen dinner, but I’d only been able to pick at it before my nausea had overpowered my desire to eat. Now the meal sits, cold and congealed, on the coffee table, all but forgotten.I know I could call Nina for support, but I don’t want to go there until I have all of the facts. And the truth is, I don’t really have many of those at all right now.Yes, Jake’s reaction to my questions all but confirmed my suspicions that he’s nothing more than a cheating bastard. I have no doubt that he’s up to his old tricks, but this time, I’m not going to let him off so easily. I need cold, hard pr
Whispers of the Devil Something's in the Shadows
JakeI’m not a coward.It’s not like I was scared and ran away because a fucking light bulb broke, or because the ensuing darkness seemed bigger somehow, alive. No, it was because I simply had business to attend to. At least, that’s what I tell myself as I pull up in front of the house at the edge of the swamp.Julia probably hadn’t even cared that I’d gone. After all, I’d texted her that I had to go out, and she hadn’t ever responded. Did she even notice I left? God, she sure knows how to make a guy feel wanted in his marriage.A streak of lightning skitters across the leaden sky, followed quickly by a peal of thunder so loud that the car practically rattles around me. It’s not raining yet, though the clouds that loom overhead are the color of a fresh bruise and promise an imminent downpour. Not wanting to ruin my vehicle, I decide to park in the garage instead of the driveway.The rain starts just as I pull inside. Water roars against the roof, and once closed, the automatic door do
Whispers of the Devil Help from Beyond the Grave
ZekeGod, I feel so alive.I close my eyes and let the relentless eye of the sun beat down on me. What does it see when it looks at me? A man? Something more? Something less?And what does Julia see, I wonder?I know it’s dangerous to let my thoughts wander down this path, but it’s as though my mind has become untethered with possibilities. My hand curls around a phantom mug, remembering the feeling of the smooth porcelain against my palm and the heat radiating through my hand as Julia had questioned me with increasing interest.I’d just had coffee with Julia Carter.She wore no makeup, and her hair was mussed from sleep, but that had somehow only made her more beautiful. Her eyes, as green as moss, shone in the fresh morning light. I had the overwhelming urge to reach out and touch her, to brush my fingertips over the soft curve of her lips, but propriety stopped me in my tracks.I wouldn’t disrespect Julia like that. She is too good for me to be thinking about her in such a way.To
Whispers of the Devil Someone's in the House
JuliaI’m not sure what wakes me.It’s not the sun, that’s for sure. For some reason, the blinds are firmly shut, blocking the early morning light from filtering in through the glass.I blink the sleep from my eyes as I peer into the surrounding dimness. I’m lying in bed, the covers tangled around my legs as though I’d thrashed in my slumber. A dull soreness at the juncture of my thighs reminds me of exactly what Jake and I had been doing last night.But where is Jake now?His side of the bed is empty, the sheets cold and untouched.“Jake?” I call. My voice sounds muted in the still morning air.There’s no response.Sighing, I extract myself from the blankets. Goosebumps rise on my arms as the cool, conditioned air kisses my skin. I grab my robe and shrug it on against the chill before padding over to the bathroom.Like the bedroom, there’s no sign of Jake. I frown. This isn’t like him. Sure, he’s usually an early riser, but he’s not exactly quiet in the mornings. He runs the shower a
