Lest We Become...

by Dale W. Reierson

"Shut the lights off unless you want him to see you." He said once again in that dead pan voice.There is no way I am shutting the lights off, not with you in the damn room."What?" I said. It was the only thing that would come from my lips."Robert, when I said we needed to trust each other...I meant starting now."I hesitated."I told him to stop looking at Tiny's little wiener." He said as a massive fist crunched down and into the side of the black man's head. The skull gave way under the anvil-sized fist like an egg responding to a hammer blow. The skull caved in and bright arterial blood spurted onto the glass.Once.Twice.Three times.I reached forward and shut off the lights. I had not prepared myself for the darkness and it took a moment before I was able to see. The silhouette and splattered gore shadowed the light as it filtered in from the corridor.I felt my stomach turn over and for a moment forced myself not to spew the Denny's eggs, hash browns and bacon onto the floor."Sit down and remain quiet." He said from what seemed like a lengthening tunnel. The metal of his leg shackles tinkled, and chimed from movement. The darkness began to close in from the edges of my vision. I recognized the signs. I was about to pass out.Robert Walton, an aspiring investigative journalist, sits across from the one man he never wanted to meet. Jacob Clauson is not only a long term resident at the Reinhold Asylum for the Criminally Insane, he is the monster responsible for the murder of Robert's parents as well.When Jacob starts to tell his story, Robert soon discovers that there are far greater things to fear than the man sitting before him. The power is out, the doorknob to the room spins in his grip and now there are screams outside the door. All the doors are open now and the real monsters are on the loose.Robert doesn't believe in real monsters but he will soon enough.Robert's reality becomes a spellbound nightmare. His only salvation is to trust an ancient storytelling madman and to somehow escape...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1507509480
• ISBN13: 9781507509487
• Release Date: January 2015
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 170 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.4" x 6.0"