THE LAST WITNESS What Memory Knows The mind protects itself. Sometimes the protection is the most dangerous thing about it. Therapy || Dr. Ross || Memory || Psychology Dr. Petra Ross had been Sara’s therapist for two years. They met on Thursday mornings at ten, in a small office in Lincoln Park that had the … Read more
THE LAST WITNESS The Victim’s Name Thomas Greer had been dead for six hours before Sara Cole learned his name. She had six seconds before she learned why it mattered. Detective Webb || Thomas Greer || Investigation || Revelation Detective Marcus Webb arrived at Sara’s office at the Cook County District Attorney’s office on West … Read more
THE LAST WITNESS The Alley She would remember later that it was raining. She would not remember much else. Sara || Murder || Rain || Night The rain came down the way it always did in Chicago in November — not in sheets, not dramatically, but in the persistent, bone-finding way of a city that … Read more
THE LAST WITNESS “She saw a man die in an alley. She called him three times that night. She cannot remember why. And someone very powerful needs her to keep forgetting.” Chicago, November. Sara Cole is thirty-four years old, eight months pregnant, and the most dangerous thing in the city’s legal system — an Assistant District Attorney … Read more
All Are Welcome Here – Chapter 25 All Are Welcome Here The words spread through the mountain like a living nightmare. “Then all are welcomed.” The moment the First Listener spoke, every remaining bell in the cavern shattered at once. The sound exploded through the collapsing underground chamber while black roots burst violently upward from … Read more
All Are Welcome Here – Chapter 24 One Must Remain Beneath the Roots The cavern trembled violently beneath the mountain. Stone rained from the ceiling while black roots burst through the walls in every direction around the collapsing bridge. Far below, the countless eyes of the First Listener continued opening within the abyss, each one … Read more
All Are Welcome Here – Chapter 23 The Eye Beneath the Listener The new eye opened slowly beneath the pit. Far below the wounded Listener. Far below the roots. Far below the mountain itself. And the moment Elias saw it— his mind recoiled violently. Elias Ward physically dropped to one knee on the collapsing bridge … Read more
All Are Welcome Here – Chapter 22 The Faces Inside the Roots The cavern descended into chaos. Every hanging bell overhead rang violently at once while the Listener’s scream continued echoing through the mountain like something ancient and wounded awakening beneath the earth. Elias Ward nearly lost his footing as the bridge shook beneath him. … Read more
All Are Welcome Here – Chapter 21 The Final Bell The final bell rang slowly through the cavern. One enormous metallic tone rolling beneath the mountain while every hanging bell overhead vibrated softly in response. The sound passed through Elias like a heartbeat older than language itself. The ceremony had reached its end. Elias Ward … Read more
All Are Welcome Here – Chapter 20 Then She Stays in Your Place The cavern fell completely silent after the Listener spoke. Even the bells overhead stopped ringing. The words echoed slowly through Elias’s mind while cold dread spread through every part of his body. “Then she stays in your place.” Elias Ward looked immediately … Read more
