Here’s the link to read from the beginning Part 1

Working Title: The Presumption of Darkness

Word Count: 1,100 (approx)

Reading time for average reader: 5 minutes

Part 10

Sammy

Cassie, I know this might be hard to believe, but it wasn’t a dream. I stared at my beating heart floating in that toilet for 10 minutes trying to wake myself up.

Abby started knocking at the door. “Hey, are you okay in there?”

“I… I don’t think so,” I said.

She opened the door and walked in and stared into the toilet with me. I tried to speak for a bit, but nothing came out. It just kept on beating, Cassie.

Abby looked at me and then back at the toilet.

I looked at her and then back at the toilet.

Then Abby said, “For years I thought you were heartless. It looks like I was right.”

“What should…

Here’s the link to read from the beginning Part 1

Working Title: The Presumption of Darkness

Word Count: 2,300 (approx)

Reading time for average reader: 12 minutes

Part 9

Sammy

I don’t know if you will get this message, my precious Cassie, but I have to try. Every day I think of driving out to California, dragging you to my truck – peacefully or kicking and screaming, it matters not – and heading to the mountains so we can watch the world burn together.

Abby has gotten worse. She works still, but mostly from her bed. And she reads and reads. The other day she called me, her voice faint. I thought I had imagined it but went into the bedroom to make sure.

She was propped up against the headboard, pale as a ghost. As soon as I walked through the door she started to read to me:

Though…