EXCERPT: Miss Locks

From my BRAND NEW short story, just released Friday from Untreed Reads: "Miss Locks." It's a bit on the disturbing side. I think I'm finding a niche in horror. You can get it HERE or through Amazon or - soon enough - anywhere you download from:




MISS LOCKS
Eric Arvin

Virginia Locks, a woman of established career and notable grace, found herself standing on the walkway in front of her house. 

“What am I doing here?” she wondered. 

The night was still around her. As if it was staring her down. Up and down the street of old Victorian homes she could see there had been a blackout. This was strange, as there had been no bad weather. But there were no lights. There was no life. There was hardly a sound to be heard at all. Not even the night bugs. 

“What is going on?” 

Her career had made her a world traveler. She knew the ins and outs of every major airport and expensive hotel on earth. She knew where to get the best gifts and souvenirs. She had put off settling down because she just couldn’t see herself being locked in to one place for very long. But she had found this city on one of her many trips and had fallen in love with it. Then she found this old house on this old street. It was perfect and seemed as traveled as she. She had been living there for a few months now. In a place as old as this there were ghost stories, but she had never thought twice about such things. That’s not to say she believed in ghosts or didn’t. She simply never thought too hard on the matter. 

Virginia—Ginny to her friends—placed her hand to her chest, as was her habit when, on the rare occasion, she faced confusion. Confusion was not affordable when one traveled as much as Virginia. She wore a slimming summer dress, the one she had chosen for the blind date her friend had set her up on. The description she had been given was of a nice handsome doctor. At least that meant he had to be somewhat intelligent. Virginia had not dated in a while precisely because of the seeming stupidity of every man she ever met. But, no matter his intelligence, how would her date ever find her now that the power was off? She wondered if it was off in his area of the city as well. He would be there soon to pick her up. She decided to go back in the house and finish… 

Finish what? She was already dressed. What more had she to do? And why was she outside? 

Strange that there was not a sound. Not a single insect chirp.