JEFF STRAND: Excerpt of DWELLER

Excerpt from DWELLER

BY JEFF STRAND

Copyright © 2017 by Jeff Strand

PROLOGUE

1946

"We should've brought more ammo," Thomas said, wiping the blood out of his mustache. He brushed his wet fingers along the oak tree he leaned against, then picked up his empty rifle by the barrel, holding it like a baseball bat. Phil was surprised the metal didn't burn his hands. "Why the hell didn't we bring more ammo?"

Phil didn't answer. They all knew why: because they weren't fighting Nazis this weekend, they were camping by the lake. The only reason they'd brought the rifle in the first place was because Christine was paranoid about bears. Phil had humored her--there was no reason not to--but he'd never expected to need any weapon more powerful than a fishing hook. The war was over. One fully loaded rifle should have been more than enough to protect them from nature for a couple of days.

It hadn't protected Christine, though. She'd been the first to die.

The creatures had gotten Darla, too, but instead of ripping her apart they'd dragged her away. Thomas, Phil, Mikey, and Nancy had chased after her, racing through the woods and screaming her name. When they found her half an hour later, she looked worse than Christine. They probably wouldn't have recognized her at all if it weren't for those elegant shoes she insisted upon wearing, even on a camping trip. They sure wouldn't have recognized her once-white blouse. Or her face.

Mikey had screamed and vowed revenge. And he'd fought like a brave soldier after those things ambushed them. Had they known how many creatures were out there, though, Thomas probably wouldn't have wasted the mercy bullet he put in Mikey's forehead before they fled.

At least their enemies had fared worse. Three dead humans, five dead creatures. Unfortunately, that left at least five more of the creatures--that they'd <I>seen</I>--and Thomas wasn't going to be doing any more running on that leg, maybe ever. Phil's vision was still fuzzy from bashing his head against the ground when a creature pounced on him. Nancy was the only one of them not in terrible shape.

"Do you think they can climb trees?" Thomas asked.

"I don't know. They've got two arms and two legs--I don't see why they couldn't."

"Maybe they can't, though." Thomas coughed, and a rope of red spittle dangled from his lower lip. "Let's not kid ourselves. I'm not going anywhere. Unless you want to carry me on your back, you need to hide me somewhere and leave me behind."

Phil nodded. "You and Nancy hide in the tree. I'll go get help."

"No," said Nancy. "I'm going. You're hurt too bad."

"I'm fine."

"Your head is bleeding and your words are slurred. I'm going."

"I'll go with you."

"Honey, you'll slow me down." She reached for Thomas' rifle. "Give me that so I can beat them to death if I need to."

Thomas hesitated for a moment, then handed it to her. Nancy gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll bring back help. I swear." She looked at Phil. "Don't let anything get him."

"I won't," he promised.

Nancy ran off.

Getting Thomas up the tree wasn't easy, but when they heard a rustling in the nearby bushes it encouraged Thomas to move more quickly, ruined leg or not. They climbed to about thirty feet high and waited.

They saw the first creature about three minutes before it saw them. It immediately shouted out in the guttural sounds of an ape, and was soon joined by two more. Then another three. Then another six.

But though it sounded like an ape, it couldn't climb like one. The creatures punched at the tree, kicked at it, and tried to shake it, yet didn't seem able to actually ascend the branches. We're safe for now, Phil thought.

Thomas bled to death before dark, so Phil had nobody to talk to.

By the end of the second day he was talking to himself.

* * *

The youngest one, the runt, was hungry. He was also getting impatient waiting for the food to fall out of the tree, so he searched for bugs. Caterpillars were his favorite. He let a bright green one crawl along his talon, then popped it into his mouth and chewed slowly.

He cried out as his mother's head burst open.

Loud noises everywhere. His father moved toward him, arms outstretched, but several red holes popped in his chest, all at once, and his father fell to the ground. The youngest one screamed and scurried away, just like his mother and father had taught him.

He hid in the bushes for a while, sad and scared.

When he finally went back, food was helping other food out of the tree. Some more food was poking at his brothers and sisters with the same kind of stick that had made his oldest brother's eye explode two days ago. All of them were dead, even Beka.

The youngest one turned and ran.

He ran and ran, as fast as he could, so that the food wouldn't kill him, too.

When he stopped running, he wept.

* * *

GIVEAWAY

Great excerpt from Jeff’s must-read horror DWELLER!!! Just enough to get the creep on!!! And of course, with Jeff here, you know it’s gonna be a great GIVEAWAY!!!  It’s going to make a lot of you happy because … it’s another PRINT DAY!!!! Yes, today’s giveaway is THREE PRINT COPIES OF PRESSURE AND THREE PRINT COPIES OF DWELLER!!!
 
By now you know how it works at HALLOWEENPALOOZA!!! Click on back, find today’s post featuring Jeff, and comment, “I WANT TO WIN” and you just might!!! First three winners receive PRESSURE , next three DWELLER!!!!  GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!

PLEASE NOTE: BECAUSE THIS ARE PRINT COPIES, WE ARE RESTRICTING WINNERS TO THE U.S. and CANADA!

pressure

“Marvelously creepy reading…the horror in this tale of twisted friendship is relentless.” —Publishers Weekly

Alex stared at the red pocketknife shown to him by his daughter. A pocketknife owned by somebody he hadn't seen in years…

CHILDREN

They met first in boarding school at age twelve. Alex Fletcher, shy and scared. Darren Rust, always furiously scribbling away in a private journal. It was not an immediate friendship, but then one night Darren convinced his roommate to sneak off school grounds to see something glorious. There was a sleazy strip club, you see, and every once in a while the back door opened just long enough to maybe catch a quick glimpse…

Though a bond was formed from their pre-pubescent interest in naked women, Darren had another interest. A morbid curiosity about death. A curiosity that turned into something much more sinister.

FRIENDS

They crossed paths again in college and became the best of friends. But Darren wasn't just looking for a friend. He had dark, ghastly urges squirming around in his head, and he believed he saw the same things—the urge to hurt, the urge to kill—in Alex. He was looking for somebody who understood. A partner.

But Alex could never become a monster. Not even when Darren tried to bring out his friend's most deeply buried feelings of rage. Not even when Darren tried to show him the euphoria of having that much power over another human being. It just couldn't happen…right?

ENEMIES

Now Alex has a wife and a daughter. And Darren is back. He's hiding. He's patient. His mind is twisted in the worst possible way.

And he's seeking a soul mate.secret on the island, Shane begins to wonder if any of them will survive their two night stay on

DWELLER

When Toby Floren was eight years old, he discovered a monster living in the woods behind his house. A ghastly, frightening creature with claws, fangs, and a taste for human flesh. As he ran out of the forest, Toby felt that he'd been lucky to escape with his life.

Years later, Toby finds comfort with the creature. It's his own special secret--something that nobody else in the world knows about. Somebody to talk to. Somebody to confide in. Sure, Toby has concerns about his own sanity, but really, what boy wouldn't want to be best friends with a monster in the woods, especially if he's being tormented by bullies? The creature, who he names Owen, may be the answer to his problems...

From Jeff Strand, the author of PRESSURE, comes the story of a macabre, decades-long friendship. A relationship that will last their entire lives, through times of happiness, tragedy, love, loss, madness, and complete darkness.

DWELLER. The lifetime story of a boy and his monster.

AUTHOR BIO

Jeff Strand is a four-time nominee (and zero-time winner) of the Bram Stoker Award.

His novels are usually classified as horror, but they're really all over the place, from comedies to thrillers to drama to, yes, even a fairy tale.

His book STALKING YOU NOW is being made into the feature film MINDY HAS TO DIE.

Because he doesn't do cold weather anymore, he lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and cat.