Before I Wake
The Nightmare Chronicles
Chapter One
"You're a Nightmare."
Diet Dr Pepper halfway to my lips I paused, staring at the old man standing beside me at the Duane Reade checkout. My heart nudged hard against my ribs. "Excuse me?"
His face was the color and texture of a worn piece of leather, and his hair was a mass of tight, frizzy gray curls. But his eyes were as sharp as a child's. "You're a Nightmare, girl. What're you doin' here?"
I glanced around to see if anyone else in the drugstore had heard the old fella's surprising—and very vocal—accusations. If anyone had, they were pretending they hadn't.
He was just a crazy old man. No need to panic. No need to do anything. "Sir, I don't know what you're talking about."
"You are not of this plane," he insisted, doing this weird little stomp with his foot that made me wonder if he had to pee. "You shouldn't be here."
I took a step away just in case his bladder gave out. It was instinct, driven by pure self-preservation. One thing living in a city the size of New York teaches you is tha ... read full excerpt from Before I Wake ebook
