LOGINWhat if you were held captive by your own family? Emma Rawlins has spent the last year a prisoner. The months following her mother's death dragged her father into a paranoid spiral of conspiracy theories and doomsday premonitions. Obsessing him, controlling him, they now whisper the end days are finally at hand. And he doesn’t intend to face them alone. Emma finds herself drugged and dragged to a secluded cabin, the last refuge from a society supposedly due to collapse. Their cabin a snowbound fortress, her every move controlled, but even that isn't enough to weather the end of the world. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing Everything she knows is out of reach, lost beyond a haze of white. There is no choice but to play her father's game while she plans her escape. But there is a force far colder than the freezing drifts. Ancient, ravenous, it knows no mercy. And it's already had a taste...
View MoreChapter 1 The Wedding
The Substitute Bride Triplets And The Impotent BillionaireWritten ByOkeke-Eze Ifeoma IsabellaThe WeddingChapter 1Tick Tock Tick Tock.The sound of a clock was the only thing heard in a white dressing room.Tinsley looked into the mirror motionlessly and a beautiful young lady in an expensive white wedding dress stared back at her.The young lady's lips were quivering and tears began to pool in her eyes but not wanting to ruin her wedding make-up, Tinsley picked up a handkerchief and used it to clean the trace gently and quickly.A pathetic smile hung on Tinsley's lips and so she reached out her hand but before she could touch the mirror…"It's time for the bride to appear, Lillee are you done?" Someone asked which made Tinsley quickly dump the veil on her head and fixed it back.The door was suddenly unlocked from outside which made Tinsley raise her head.Her mom, Mrs. William's figure appeared to her through the mirror which made Tinsley's eyes reddened more."Tinsley," Mrs. William called. "Remember not to alert Conrad. Just do it for us and your elder sister, please." Mrs. William said, but there was no trace of sadness or remorse on her face which made the pathetic smile on Tinsley's eyes grow wider.Yes, it was only about them and Lillee they cared about which was the reason why they didn't fail to make Tinsley stand as a substitute bride on Conrad and her elder sister, Lillee's wedding."Okay." Tinsley replied in a shaky voice. Her lips were quivering but everything was well-hidden by the veil.Mrs. William continued to give out warnings like she had been doing since the very beginning, "Don't talk to anyone except it's extremely compulsory and you're Lillee until Lillee is back from the modeling show." Mrs. William continued to inform.Not at all caring to ask about how Tinsley is coping up with being used as a substitute bride but Tinsley was already used and numb to it. Lillee was always the apple of her parents eyes while she was just nobody."As long as you do everything I say, you can successfully pass the role of Lillee." Mrs. William explained which made her nod.Mr. William suddenly appeared in Tinsley's view. "Did you hear all your mom asked you to, you mustn't mess it up." her father warned coldly which made her nod silently."Please come out, Lillee William."Tinsley stood up and walked to Mr. William who immediately held her hand with a fake smile on his face.Tinsley's heart fell thinking about how cruel and selfish her family was when it comes to her--+---Conrad's cold face was soon replaced with a wide smile when he saw the approaching figure that was being held by Mr. William. Conrad's happiness was vivid to everyone. After all, how wouldn't he? Conrad and Lillee had always been childhood sweethearts who swore to love each other for eternity.Unfortunately, Lillee was invited to a modeling show out of the country and so she had pushed all the wedding aside to pursue the dream that would finally make her famous.Tinsley and Lillee could easily pass for each other because they have the same body structures which they took from their mother, Mrs William, but that thought wasn't enough to assure Tinsley because Conrad always recognizes the love of his life.And that made Tinsley's heart caught in her throat as she made way toward him.'This was all wrong! Everything was all wrong!' she trembled with fear. But she had no choice than to follow her parents' order. You mustn't mess it up.'Do you, Conrad Norton, take Lillee William to be your wedded wife….'The wedding vows, everything that was being said continued to flash in her ears and like a machine, Tinsley continued to give answers like a robot."You may now kiss your bride." The pastor said which caused an eruption of claps from the massive crowds.Tinsley's mouth immediately turned dry and her heartbeat immediately sped up.Didn't mom and Dad say there'll be no kissing of the bride in order to not blow her cover? Tinsley thought in confusion.Her heart began to pound as Conrad suddenly held her waist and pulled her closer toward him with a mischievous smirk playing on his face.And before her hand could fly toward the veil to cover herself tightly, Conrad suddenly reached for the veil and threw it away.At that minute, the party seems to undergo a massive change as everything stops. The noise and claps Immediately fell silent as the bride turns out to be Tinsley not Lillee.The church was so silent that one could hear the sound of breathing but that wasn't what scared Tinsley; it was Conrad's smirk that immediately turned back into a cold and furious expression, Conrad looked like he was about to strangle Tinsley to death."Where's Lillee?" Conrad's booming voice resounded in her ears which made Tinsley's mouth dry.Tinsley's body began to tremble and she looked towards her parents and casted a helpless gaze at them but no one looked at her side which made a fearful feeling RI wash over her. But wait, why does her parents frown as if they didn't know about this?Conrad raised his hand slightly as if he wanted to slap Tinsley's face which made her hurriedly take steps back in fear. But in a few seconds his hand made way to ruffle his hair.Conrad wouldn't dare slap her now considering his status as a famous actor and that the wedding show was being played live on all the famous tv stations and social media, "How dare you pretend to be Lillee. I said, "Where's Lillee?" Conrad asked her with a contemptuous gaze which made tears pooled into her eyes.A burst of fury seems to make way into every of the party attendants and many hands pointed toward Tinsley with disgust.Tinsley gulped and stuttered in fear while looking at her parents to say something, "I..."What should Tinsley say? That Lillee chose the modeling gig that could give her the fame she wanted over Conrad and their wedding. And her parents repeatedly begged her to substitute for Lillee until she was back.THE LAST GREAT EFFECTClyde Reynolds pushed his foot down on the accelerator so hard his knee began to ache. He gritted his teeth, dodging around traffic and ignoring the profanity aimed his way through open windows. Reggie’s voice again drifted into the car via Bluetooth.“Clyde? You still there, man?”Clyde winced as yet another horn blared behind him. “Yeah! Yeah, I’m here. You just stay with me, okay? Just keep talking.”A sigh blew through the speakers. Tired. Dreamy. Clyde cringed deeper into his seat, feeling as if a precursor to his friend’s death rattle were blowing into the car like a dry Autumn breeze.“I’ve had an awful lot of pills. An awful lot. I’m sorry about all this.”Oh Christ!Clyde held his breath and blew past a red light. His hands throttled the wheel when the sign for Reggie’s street came into view. The car nearly tipped when he spun into the turn.Almost there. Keep him talking.“It’s okay! I’m your friend, remember? It’s been that way for thirty years
THE DECONSTRUCTIONISTAndy Harper drank in the world he’d wrought. The spires of massive skyscrapers pierced the clouds and gouged the ionosphere. Far below, the tangle of glass and steel stretched across the landscape. The streets that had once connected the buildings were no longer necessary. The roads had simply been swallowed up as the structures grew, the bulk of each tower melting into the next until all were united. Vacant, the rows of buildings stood sentry over what few patches of bare space remained below. All was silent until Andy’s mutter of disgust.It’s gone stale? Already?He waved his hand and let it all dissolve. As the structures had been built, they vanished, their outlines shimmering while the molecules composing them lost their solidity and came apart. Dozens of miles of metropolis were reduced to a vacant lot in a matter of seconds. Only a few places that held the essentials of life were allowed to remain behind. Andy sat and rested his narrow chin on his knuck
THE SKIN TRADECarl Hanson nursed his whiskey and soda at the hotel bar. He observed the man reflected in the polished wood under his elbows, his free hand unsure whether to smooth the streak of gray hair resting near his temple or hide it. Carl grimaced, sharpening all the little lines in his face he was learning to hate. The smooth, hungry faces of the others he’d met at the conference leered through his memory.Young Turks as far as the eye can see. Probably snickering behind my back as soon as I got off stage. Or just planning how to gun for me. Well, I may be getting a little gray and overweight, but I’m not dead yet, kiddies.Carl downed the rest of his drink. Setting the glass down, his eyebrows raised when the bartender gave him a refill without prompting.The young man looked at Carl over his shoulder while returning the bottle to its spot on the shelf. White teeth flashed a conspiratorial smile in his tan face.“Courtesy of the lady at the end of the bar, sir.”Carl lea
JUMP CUTSEllen Harris sleepwalked through town. Reflex lifted her feet with the February drifts, the whiteout in her mind even more complete. Her slow pace through the snow on the ground offered up no sound to wake her from the daily trance while her subconscious gorged on winter scenery, storing the skeleton fingers of white trees for future dreams and nightmares.A truck sped by her, the spraying of snow under its tires breaking the spell chanted by the wind. Ellen wiped the moisture from her face.Was that ten minutes I’ve been walking? She squinted in search of a landmark. Twenty?Ellen hid her face deeper inside the collar of her coat and picked up her pace, desperately trying to return to the dead zone in her head. She strained to find the emptiness, but it was too late. The past coughed the dust from its lungs and whispered to her instead. A different void began to creep inside her, and this one didn’t offer the comfort of oblivion. She glared at the taillights disappearing
CHAPTER 6“Em! Time for dinner!”From atop the bed, Emma looked over her knees to the door. Her will fought what felt to be a nest of rats chewing at her insides, but the growl that bubbled from her guts spoke of larger creatures.“I’m not hungry.”Past the door, her father sighed.“Now, I know
CHAPTER 15Emma perused the assortment of tools lining the safe room wall with her bug-out bag in hand.Cripes, it feels like I’m shopping in a hardware store.Her fingers brushed the handle of an axe before drawing away and grabbing the hatchet beside it instead. She lifted the sheathed blade free of
CHAPTER 8“How’d you sleep?”Emma watched her father’s hopeful smile wilt under a well-aimed glare. Clearing his throat, he turned his attention back to the eggs cooking on the stove.Emma took a sip from the cup of coffee waiting for her on the table. Her mouth puckered at the drink’s bitterness
CHAPTER 7Emma paced her room.If I can’t figure something out and get away with it, I’ve got four months . . . four fucking months . . .Looking around, she realized she didn’t even have a calendar to mark the days. Instead, the paranoid titles of her father’s books whispered to her about the ho
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