After I Dream
Chapter One
Night blanketed Lower Sugarloaf Key, surrounding the cottage and
threatening to bury it.
Chase Mattingly looked at the 9mm Beretta sitting on the table in
front of him. He took it out from time to time to clean it, then sat
staring at it with a mixture of loathing and need. Sometimes he came
perilously close to putting the barrel to his head, but so far it
had been enough just to know it was there.
Tonight was one of those nights when he was coming close. Every
light in the cottage was burning brightly to hold the night outside
at bay. He couldn't stand the darkness anymore. Out of the dark came
the twisting, evil things to torment him. Out of the dark came
monsters that had been spawned by a nightmare that had nearly killed
him.
As long as the lights were on, he could cling to the edges of
reality. As long as the lights were on, he could stare at the
Beretta and know that relief was only one short act away.
He scorned himself for it. He scorned his weakness in needing that
gun and needing the lights that drove the demons back. He scorned
himself for not being strong enough to put a bullet in hi ... read full excerpt from: After I Dream ebook
