Even things that go bump in the night need a place to unwind!
The Grand is a collection of Gothic horror stories that focus a town prosecutor who accidentally discovers a series of grizzly case files. Individual stories incorporate supernatural themes based in the Roaring Twenties to create a rich historical, linguistic and cultural backdrop.
The host walked up the steps and bolted towards the space between the walls, where the doors once stood.
Before anyone could object, Kyle slammed face-first into an invisible wall. The impact caused him to bounce off and land straight on his ass. I wonder how much money we’d make in blackmail for withholding that video?
Both Lauren and Tyler covered up a smirk prior to converging on Kyle. The host held his nose as blood poured out from between his fingers. While Tyler thought it was funny, he hoped it was not broken, because that would mean going back to the city. Tyler was sure that another crew would swoop in to claim all the glory.
Kyle looked up to the both of them and said, “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” Lauren said with a smirk.
Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.
Kyle took a video which had both the viewfinder and the fountain in the frame. He then turned the camera on himself before adopting his well-practised host pose.
“How spooky is that!” Kyle exclaimed. “Here we are in the ruins of an old railway hotel from the Roaring Twenties. From the naked eye, this appeared to be nothing more than an old fountain, now a home for skeeters and frogs.”
He paused before adopting the used-car-salesman smile, then panned the camera. That way he could show to their audience that there was no obvious source for the sound of running water.
“Riddle me this,” Kyle said. “Where’s that trickling sound coming from?”
Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.
“Can you hear that?” Lauren asked.
On instinct, Tyler closed his eyes, while letting his jaw hang loose. There was nothing out of the ordinary. The wind was blowing, some birds were chirping, as water trickled playfully into the pool.
“Nothing…wait…running water?” Tyler said.
“Correct,” Lauren replied before turning to face the fountain.
In infrared light, the fountain and the water pouring through the spurts were clear as day. That’s one hell of a trick! Was this some sort of illusion? Or were they peering through a window to the past?
Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.
They arrived at the foot of a stagnant pond contained by a stone embankment. The remnants of a statue in the middle confirmed it had once been an imposing fountain. However, water no longer poured from the rust-stained spouts, and a thick layer of algae covered the pond’s surface.
The sight of all that stagnant water took him back to his early training, and all that time spent ploughing through swamps. The smell and sound of buzzing mosquitoes awakened memories that he thought suppressed long ago. Those bloodsuckers were relentless.
Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.
Upon reaching the halfway point, there was a massive tree trunk lying on the road ahead. Tyler hesitated for a moment, and smiled.
“You got the insurance on these trucks?” Tyler asked. “Right?”
“Yeah… Why?” Kyle asked, confused.
“No reason,” Tyler said before burying the accelerator.
In response to an imminent crash, Kyle grabbed onto the oh-shit handle. However, it was all for naught, they drove straight through the felled tree and appeared on the other side intact.
“Whoa!” Kyle said before asking, “How did you know that would happen?”
“Well, there was no stump on either side,” Tyler said.
Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.
They reached an impasse before reaching the hotel. Dead ahead there was a heavily corroded wrought-iron fence. While it had seen better days, the chain and oversized padlock that secured the gate gleamed in the light. Why would anyone put a fresh lock on a rusty gate?
Tyler went to the back of the truck for a zip-saw. With a saw in hand, Lauren tapped him on the shoulder. She pointed at the gate, and he realised the padlock was gone.
“When did that happen?” Tyler asked.
“Dunno,” Lauren said.
To prove a hunch, Lauren pushed against the gates, and they swung open effortlessly…
Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.
“Shall we head up?” Lauren asked.
The men looked up at the ruined hotel, and then to the road that led to the cell tower. After that, they suspected it would be a rough ride. It was a good thing they left the van at home.
“Sure,” they replied before getting back into their truck.
“This should be fun!” Kyle exclaimed as the engine roared to life.
“Oh yeah,” Tyler confirmed.
If that were true, why were his instincts urging him to turn back?
Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.
Microsoft Office can be used to make charts and diagrams in their office suite. While useful, it’s been traditionally difficult to free them from the clutches of Office. Your creations often end up being converted to images, leading to a drop in quality.
So, what do you do if you want to use your Charts and SmartArt in your EPUB or website? Fortunately, there’s a solution that promotes portability and flexibility in the final design.
Inkscape, is an open-source vector image editor that saves images as SVG. An image format that:
Even things that go bump in the night need a place to unwind!
The Grand is a collection of Gothic horror stories that focus a town prosecutor who accidentally discovers a series of grizzly case files. Individual stories incorporate supernatural themes based in the Roaring Twenties to create a rich historical, linguistic and cultural backdrop.
