Lights Out Novels & Stories

He was about to take a step forward when Chloe grabbed him and said, "Peanut hasn't eaten, so let's grab something to eat." Ethan let out a frustrated sigh and swallowed the words he'd been about to say. Meanwhile, Calvin walked with me all the way to my door. "Goodnight. Get some rest," he said softly before leaving. I nodded, and just as I stepped inside, I received a call from my best friend, Layla Klein. "How's life going, Meg? I'm on vacation, so let's hang out tomorrow!" I glanced at my packed schedule and groaned. "All my time's spent wrestling with the grim reaper for lives, and I don't exactly have days off right now."

CHAPTER TEN: THE NIGHT IT STARTED The lights went out at nine forty-seven. I know the exact time because I had just checked my phone — a habit I had developed in the first week, the last thing I did before settling in for the night, a final check that Loise was asleep and the house was in order and everything that needed doing was done. Nine forty-seven, phone screen dark, and then the whole house followed it. Not a gradual dimming. Everything, all at once. The hallway nightlight, the kitchen downlights, the small lamp I kept on in the corner of my room because I had never entirely outgrown needing one. Gone.

Pain exploded through me, and I curled up instinctively. They dragged me back to the warehouse. The man spat on the ground in disgust before storming out, leaving me alone with my fading consciousness. After what felt like an eternity, the heavy iron door creaked open, and Elliott Reynolds stepped in, silhouetted against the light. His familiar, nonchalant drawl broke the silence. "Wow, look at you. A few days out of sight and you turn into a total mess."

Chapter 50: When Midnight Knocks Loud, We Don’t Answer They were asleep. Curled up in the warmth of shared air and half - charged phones. The kind of sleep that only came after trust had been earned, over and over again. Outside, the city kept its usual noise going — sirens somewhere distant, the hum of drones slicing through the humid dark, the metallic whine of a garbage bot missing its target. Inside the room, the only light came from the gentle glow of wireless chargers blinking on the floor, the smart diffuser in the corner pushing out lavender haze, and the soft neon streaks of city color bleeding through the cracked blinds.

I said in a long litany while holding the debatable series light I had bought earlier. I immediately turned it on and circled it around its tombstone. I also reached for my guitar and immediately took it out of the box and immediately started playing its tune. “We were supposed to be singing inside of our dim light small house. We are happy and goofing together with our small house with just us two,” strumming while saying those words makes my heart missed him more. The whole place started to get darker and my series light was the only light I had and his gravestone.

“If you’re not lying down when it hits eight, the motion sensors flag you as ‘Non-Compliant.’ And trust me, you do NOT want to know what happens to non-compliant players.” My stomach dropped. 7:59:58. “Shit ” I tossed the phone onto my bed and dove under the sheets. 7:59:59. Suddenly the light went out. Everything snapped black. Not even a moonlight. Like someone erased the world. A robotic voice echoed overhead: “Zone 1 dorm 3 Sleep Cycle Initiated.” Doors locked into place. The air vents shifted. A cold gust blew through the room, like sedative. My eyelids went heavy immediately.

Security was at the hospital. But there was no answer. Just silence. Grayson walked into the house carefully. Swept his phone's light around. Looking for Matthew. Looking for any explanation of why the lights were not working. And then at exactly 12:00 AM midnight, every single light in the entire house turned on simultaneously. Grayson froze. Blinked against the sudden brightness. The sitting room had been completely transformed. Black balloons covered every surface. Black ribbons draped from the ceiling. Black streamers hung on the walls.

“What do you mean? Tell me. Please, tell me everything.” But Himy’s eyes were already closing again. Her hand fell away from Kayla’s wrist, and she sank back into the pillows, her breathing becoming even more shallow. “Sleepy,” she whispered. “So sleepy…” Just then, the lights went out. The room plunged into darkness, except for the faint glow of the monitor beside Himy’s bed. Kayla knew what that meant—Liam had cut the power. It was time to go.

The private investigator I hired overseas had sent the latest photos of Jasper. In the photos, he had his arm around Fiona. The two of them stood beneath the Nordvalen night sky, gazing up at the aurora together. He had once promised to take me to see the northern lights for our honeymoon. Work always came first, though, and the trip kept getting pushed back. Now, I finally understood. I was simply never the one his heart wanted. The oxygen mask came down over my face, and the agony spread through every inch of my body. As blood drained out of me, a cold so deep that it felt cellular crept through my limbs. Bag after bag of plasma was pumped into my veins.

On the day I was diagnosed with stage four cancer, Vivian Cross handed me a contract for a divorce reality show. I already knew that meant she'd lost another bet to her secretary, Miles Smith. They'd made ninety-nine bets over the years, and every time, Vivian let herself lose on purpose. She lost the house we decorated for our wedding. She lost the wedding itself. She even lost our son's body, handing him over so Miles could satisfy his twisted curiosity about the human body. Our baby had been seven months along when they donated his remains. He'd been so small. Vivian slid the contract across to me, tapping the papers. "Ethan, I lost another bet. It's just a reality show. Help me keep M