Dark City Beneath The Beat Novels & Stories

Beatrice’s thoughts had been suffocated by the intense fury coursing through it, blinding rational thought, and poisoning reason. The Dark Heart, The Darkness, the thing that consumed and was itself consumed. The town known as Dorsal Finn had been there, making a play. The time was here but conditions were not quite right. The meddling of others had hampered the climate so painstakingly created to bring this girl to this point in time. In that instant Beatrice could feel it, it ran through her like slippery grease, making her entire body crawl with its malevolence. The Darkness was old, and it was adaptable.

FIFTY-EIGHT SECONDS. The basement floor didn't just vibrate; it shrieked. A high-frequency howl tore through the limestone, rattling my molars and making the glass of the monitor screens ripple like water. I lunged for the terminal, my boots skidding on a layer of frost that shouldn't have been there. In the gaps of the foundation above, the sky of Rebirth City had finished its rot, turning from a synthetic blue to a flat, light-eating black.

The heavy doors hissed open, revealing a dark, claustrophobic corridor pulsating with blinding purple light. "I've got your back, Ghost," Dax said, stepping into the bunker, his phased knife raised. I followed him in, the heavy doors sealing shut behind us. We were cut off from the army, standing directly beneath the center of the hovering city, with less than two hours to stop the end of the world.

Skylar was moving too, circling to the right, his eyes never leaving Becca’s hands. "You think you’re the only one who knows about the old ways?" Skylar asked, his voice low and dangerous. "I know enough to end you," Becca hissed. She dropped to her knees, slamming both palms onto the floor. The ground groaned. Shadows stretched from every corner, weaving together to form a dome of suffocating darkness around her. She began to chant, the words sounding like glass grinding against stone. The air grew so cold that ice started to crystalize on the crates nearby.

Then, like a thief sneaking back to the scene of the crime, I switched my phone on once more. I could not follow the rule about exposing it to the sunlight for three hours. It was pouring outside. The weather was so gloomy, just like the deep sea in my dreams. I tapped into the Echoes from Below application once more, but there was no sound. The waveform interface was gone and replaced by a basic discussion forum. There were not many posts, but every single title made the hair on the back of my neck stand.

"When death is circling just outside the door in a shroud of chrome and red laser sights, the only way to prove you are still breathing is to let someone ruin you completely in the dark." The bass from the underground club pounds against my ribs like a physical blow, vibrating through the sticky synthetic leather of the VIP booth and rattling the cheap glass of liquor sitting on the sticky table. Outside the heavy velvet curtains, the district patrol drones hum with a low, menacing frequency, casting sweeping arcs of crimson light across the packed dance floor. My skin crawls with every pass of the scanners, a sharp, feverish sweat breaking out across my collarbone as I press myself deeper i

And will the people of Darkwood accept Jace, or will the people in time think that Jace is not normal? Those thoughts kept filling Jace's mind during their journey to the city of darkness. Erica suddenly stopped walking, so Jace, behind, almost bumped into her. "What's wrong, Erica? Is there something blocking up ahead?" They had just passed through the underground passage leading to the city of darkness. A black tower loomed before them. The amber panels glowed gold under the artificial, gloomy, and strange glare of the city of darkness. Jace could see the frozen shapes of giant insects in every tower panel. Like a firefly, the light source came from the bug emitting light in the darkness.

There was no doubt this was her time. Yada walked to the doors of Dark Temptations. Vincent had opened the new club downtown near Pine Ave, a few blocks from the pier. It allowed him more access to the tunnels below the city. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see at least a hundred people waiting to get in. Spotting Eric emerging from the building, she gave him a quick kiss on the right cheek. “Good evening, my friend,” she commented. “Is he here?”

As Drew pulls me closer and kisses me softly under the faint shimmer of lights, I can’t help but think… How could a man so sweet have been hiding beneath the surface all this time? THE END

' 'Whatever,' I said, barely stopping as I watched him disappear into the crowd. The beat was hypnotic, addictive, the heat of the people around me rising, swelling, filling the air above our heads. I wasn't sure how long I had been dancing for, but I knew it must have been almost time to hit midnight. Davey's underground club nights didn't usually start till twelve, but tonight was different. We'd listen to the chimes roll in from Big Ben, then party till dawn. Well, those of us still standing would anyway.