Feb 2018 v01 online

“It’s an unwieldy tool,” he said as she turned
the knob, “Because its power relies on the mind
of the victim.”
Jane’s eyes widened, but it was too late. The
room’s lights dimmed as Dave sunk back into
himself.
* * *
There was a pounding in Dave’s head that
wouldn’t stop. It wasn’t just the sharp pain in
his body, or the dryness of his lips. The very air
tasted musty and familiar.
The alley was barely wide enough for a child,
but Dave was a small child. He took shambling
steps, one hand pressed against the wall to hold
himself up, the other pressed against the part of
his abdomen that was hot with pain. A strange,
uneasy throbbing in his head slowed his
thoughts. Adrenaline drove him onwards.
He couldn’t stop now. He almost felt the
whips cracking against his back, whistling past
his ear. But it would be so much worse if they
caught up with him.
He had been here before, he was sure of it.
Perhaps in a dream, in a vision, where he had
been free to walk beyond the mill and its yards,
into this strange world with no doors or gates.
The throbbing built, until it felt like a little
animal thumping around inside his head.
Dave’s vision blurred. Clint’s screams rang in
his ears. He shuddered as he recalled the empty
socket staring back at him, Clint’s other eye
wide with something worse than terror or even
anger.
His legs buckled, and everything faded into a
panicked heat. Above him loomed something
big and blue, warm like a blanket. He wanted to