The Koschei

When night approaches 

and darkness falls,

and the shadows come out to play.

When your safe in your bed,

laying down your head,

That's where you should stay.

for in theses shadows,

amongst the debris,

lays a terror of no hope and decay,

wating to take,

all hope and joy,

and to steal your soul away.

This is sung around the cold and hostile streets of a small village in South Russia known in English as ambiance village simply for the lack of atmosphere and character that this town brought with it. When you walked though it you could see men that looked like they had given up on life everywhere you went, they sat on street corners expressionless smoking pipes and staring at you without ever saying a word. The musky streets matched the brick built houses with your breath the only sign of life that could ever be seen here, shops and bars were open but if it was a social night you wanted then you would be better off staying in and talking to the local black cats that wandered proudly through the alleys of the village. The smell of mortar and industrial smoke took the place over in the light and when it got dark it turned into a dreary village of hibernation and loneliness. 

A writer once went here, he had heard of the reputation it had and he went looking for inspiration for a book about how the place you live in has a big impact on the person you are, both good and bad so he thought that this place would be a great for this social experiment. He stayed in what they called a hotel but in reality it was nothing more than an abandoned motel with the exception for the old lady that sat in the dark at reception, all that gave her away was the smoke coming from the corner followed by her harsh lengthy cough. He checked in but the only time he ever spent here was when he slept, he preferred to spend his day roaming around the depressing streets rather than spending it in the "Lavish, modern hotel room with all the up to date equipment needed for your leisurely/business trip" its amazing what they can get away really.

He travelled all over the world looking for evidence to back up his theory but never had he stayed somewhere like this before. Walking through the streets he couldn't help but be drawn to the negative feeling everywhere and that everyone had, a simple hello was greeted either by a cold stare or a groan in reply. One night the writer who went by the name of Wesley was coming back from a venture down to the cafe on the corner when he could feel the presence of someone following him, there was a shadow on the walls next to him but every time he turned around there was nothing there. The shadow he described was skinny and that of all bone, very skeleton like and seemed to float rather than walk, this was what he wrote in his journal. the next night he took the same walk home from the cafe and again he seen the shadow following him back to the hotel until it disappeared. 

This happened for about a week straight with Wesley trying to take pictures and record it but it never appeared on camera when he watched it back. Time came to check out and in he went to reception on one of the very rare bright mornings that this village saw but still the old lady manages to surround herself in darkness, she was standing still, smoke constantly following her breathing, she started laughing " Did you see it" she cackled. Wesley wondering what she was talking about responded "Um no, see what?" the old lady suddenly stopped laughing and rocking and sat right up from the dark corner staring into Wesley's face sniffing him, " You seen it I know you did, I can smell him off you now go, go into the shadows". She spoke with an accent but without an accent of familiarity, it had a Russian edge mixed with a Mediterranean twang. Wesley left and at the door was a black cat purring at him to which he tried to ignore but the cat kept following him and stopping in front of him, what did this cat want thought Wesley to himself, it walked back the way while looking back all the time, it wanted him to follow and follow the cat he ended up doing.

It led him to a shop that was called Lyev's treasure of love, he entered through the push door at the front, the cat waited outside as if it could read the sign saying "No Pets Allowed". The place itself was empty but filled with old ornaments and had a relaxing feel to it, certainly a change to everywhere else around here. Wesley walked to the back of the shop where through hanging door beads was a hand that signed for him to come in, little stumpy fingers curled back in a waving motion one by one. An old Russian man stood there , Wesley presumed this was Lyev, he was blind and didn't say much but he handed Wesley something ; a bracelet along with a small pamphlet and whispered to him "Wear this until it passes the 12th day of the month and never take it off especially when out in the streets" . Wesley accepted. hesitantly said thank you and left the shop, outside the cat was gone.

The torn pamphlet read "This chakra bracelet brings healing to the seven energy points in your body the solar plexus, the heart, throat, sacral, crown, brow and the base. However it is also used to fight off the Koschei who arrives every year in November and feeds off the souls of others by draining all their energy points until they are filled with negative energy. The Koschei comes in shadow form and leaves after the 12th day of the month after bending the town to its will" 

Wesley stuck around out of curiosity, everyone who lives here seemed convinced about this idea and it would explain the way the place is, besides if it is true what a story that would make he thought to himself. It was now on the 12th day of the month and Wesley waited for the night before going out in search of feeding his curiosity, along the smokey alleys he wandered for the night. The sound of cats purring started growing louder like they were scared of something, a swooshing sound of the wind knocked over the nearby trash cans, Wesley stumbled along entering down streets he didn't know in order to take cover from the swirling winds. He reached the end of one street where on his left there was a chowder of black cats blocking the way out and on his right was a large brick stone wall to which a shadow started to emerge and get larger and larger.

It was tall in stature but skeleton like in frame, exactly as the figure that was following him days earlier looked, he also noticed long pointy hands with nails as long as the fingers itself on the shadow and it hissed like the cats. Wesley looking perplexed was in awe of this figure, he quickly tried to draw it before his paper was pulled from his hands as if the creature had a magnet attached to it, he was lifted from his feet and thrown against the wall. Blood was trickling down from his face which got the cats excited , they hissed with a pleasureful ring to it waiting to go in for the kill, Wesley tried rubbing the chakra bracelet on his left wrist but nothing happened it only brought on a rather stuttering laugh from the Koshei who then picked him up by the throat, bent back his arms and reached deep inside of him. A ball of light appeared as it was sucking all the positive energy out of Wesley and taking his soul. It then dropped him abruptly and the shadow started to slide back down the wall until it blended in with the darkness, the cats gathered around Wesley in a circle and slowly enclosed on him, they scratched and clawed at him but never bit him - this was like there little reward for a job well done.

He was told a lie, he wasn't sold a chakra bracelet by the blind man he was given something which resembled one but it was in actual fact the very thing which released the Koschei, the cats were sort of the minions that led people to it. Wesley now works in that hotel he stayed in as a caretaker, his body and mind bound to the Koschei who has his soul and this is the same for everyone else here. On the 12th of November each year the people and the cats of this small dark and dreary Russian village work together to get another soul for their master the Koschei and this now includes Wesley. His theory was correct you are the place you live in.

When night approaches 

and darkness falls,

and the shadows come out to play.

When your safe in your bed,

laying down your head,

That's where you should stay.

for in theses shadows,

amongst the debris,

lays a terror of no hope and decay,

wating to take,

all hope and joy,

and to steal your soul away.

Side note; Thanks to Donna Gladman for the short poem, you can follow her on Twitter @F4ll3n4ng3l81, she is amazing at what she does.

Shutter Road

I put on my jacket, said my goodbye and shut the door behind me. The wind was strong you could hear it whistling and swirling as soon as I stood outside, I pulled my jacket together because I broke my zip inside the house and kept my head down as I walked past the rustling trees on the side of this country road. I stopped to tie my shoe lace, bent down and brushed the clay stain off the end of my already stained boots until ahead of me I could see the headlights of a car shining directly at me so I stayed in this position and watched the car slowly pass me. Three female faces stared out at me as I smiled back at them before licking my lips in a clockwise motion.

Further on up the road there was a large puddle to which I washed my hands and drank out of but not in that order, the taste of muddy water makes me feel something, it was a tingly feeling I knew it wasn't a good feeling but it was a feeling none the less so I slurped away on it for a few moments. Often I would turn around a look at the open fields, some would have animals roaming in them others would be idle but I enjoyed looking at the fields, it was calming. There is a good and not so good effect to everything I done but I preferred to focus on the good it made me think better whereas the not so good effect didn't agree with my overall well-being.

The road had a bend on it up ahead which led to a house that I recognised, it was my home. The door was open so in I went and searched the house from top to bottom but I couldn't find her, where was she, I love her but she isn't here I don't understand. I was angry and in my rage I tossed over the table and threw around a few chairs , this always helped release my anger so I didn't see why I shouldn't do it. I left the house in search for her I mean she wouldn't have gotten far, not in that wheelchair!!

The wind was getting stronger and all that was on this long endless road were a few cars that had crosses on them almost like they had their own little cool gang, they bothered me how they would drive slowly. Things were starting to seem familiar , the bushes I walked by seemed like ones I said hello to before and even the drop of rain felt like it had dropped on my head at this exact moment of time before, it was like a crazy messed up deja-vu. My thoughts were becoming more muddled and frantic, the voices started happening.

Sweat started to pour from my body, my hands had got really clammy all of a sudden and everything started to seem so fake as if it was a dream but it felt so real. I just wanted to see her and tell her i'm sorry that my angers takes over and when it does I am not in control of what I do the voice is and as much as I don't wanna do them things he says it will be much worse if I don't, so really mum I did what I did to save you, can you forgive me? This is what I wanna say to her , she will understand I know it.

There was a shop at the end of the road, I wanna go in but I don't want people to see me in this state of panic and I can feel the noise taking me over. The person standing at the door of the shop made me nervous, why is that person laughing at me? I was offered sweets, one blue and one yellow, I took them suspiciously, I just hated the person looking at me it was like that human knew everything about me, ugh just look at it standing there in their white coat smirking. I didn't wanna go in so kept my distance from the person , I have met people like that before and the voice in my head warns me of them.

The person asked did I see her, I didn't answer. It pointed into the shop saying "she is in here come look, all the answers you need are in here", I raced in expecting to see her but again I was disappointed by the expectation. I felt a sharp poke in my neck and suddenly everything was getting drowsy until I...I....I.....I........

The person who led Jimmy inside was Dr. Shepard, an expert in Oneirology. Jimmy had been asleep for over a few hours now and all of what he explained never actually happened, this of course was all part of his dreams and was his subconscious talking to us so he is injected with a drug to help him recall a traumatic event that happened, this was when he severely killed his own mother but he cannot remember how he did it or why. In his dreams he mentions a voice telling him to do so which is caused by his schizophrenia but it is the how part that remains a mystery, every night he gets to the part about meeting Dr.Shepard and goes insides and wakes up.

Never can he find his mom and tell her that he thought he was saving her, this is believed to be what is blocking out his memory of what he done to her so when he finds her then the Doctor will be able to conclude what he did. Every morning when Jimmy wakes he has no idea what is going on around him and thinks that these are his normal dreams, he thinks he works as a caretaker in the hospital as this was his job on the outside but in an old folks home, it is thought this technique will relax his brain a bit more.

The funny thing is that Jimmy's mum passed away from a terrible spinal injury when he was a newborn and never actually talked to her but on the bed every night he remains trapped into this idea that he brutally killed her so when he wakes he lives this lie of a life. Jimmy's dad remarried before he also passed away but in his will he wrote that his new wife would get the house only if his son also lived there so they both were bound to the house. Oh and yeah Jimmy's stepmom was a psychiatric nurse called Dr.Shepard....

There's Something About Mary

Mary Enright was a foster child living with a couple who were unable to have kids and decided to adopt Mary as a result of this. Her adopted parents lived very fast paced lived with important state jobs and weren't really at home much especially during the week especially when it was "work season" as they called the weeks leading up to the holiday season so Mary grew up with multiple nannies who looked after her. She was an introverted girl that never really had any confidence in herself except for when she was in a library or at home in front of the computer, she was dark haired with a fringe covering one half of her face which happened to be the half that her speech impediment was more noticeable on.

She just started her first term in high school and hated every single moment of it, well except for Math and General Science, but besides these classes she would dread the thought of going to school, as soon as she left she was thinking of going back in and when she was in it felt like it was never gonna end. The people in her class would avoid her as much as they could and call her names behind her back, no one would say it to her face as they quietly feared the consequences of doing so, she had a very angry aura to her. She had one close friend though - C.J Clutterbuck who was similar to Mary but made much more of an effort to fit in with others despite the treatment she got from people because of her second name, but overall Mary and C.J were good friends.

The night of the end of term school dance was approaching and Mary of course wasn't going, C.J wanted to go but didn't wanna go alone so she pleaded with her friend to go. "We can just go for an hour and get collected" "We can sit out in the hallway for most of it" "Please please please Mary" C.J begged for days until Mary finally gave in under the condition it was only for an hour and they were to sit alone, oh and also she could bring her earphones and listen to her music, C.J rolled her eyes and agreed.

At the dance and everything was going as Mary planned it, she was wearing dark jeans and a dark hoodie with her trademark fringe intentionally combed to the right, you could see underneath there was a pretty young girl but she didn't wanna show this side to her, she felt more comfortable just the way she was. After C.J went in for a quick awkward dance that everyone laughed at, C.J Clutterfeet she was now known as, she joined Mary back out in the hall where they say and talked about how they grew up together and how they share loads with each other, this even brought a happy smile to Mary's face and the two hugged.

She went into the bathroom as she was feeling awkward at showing her emotion, she never normally used public bathrooms but she made an exception here as she had to get away. While in there she dropped her phone that slid under the door of a cubicle, she opened the door and picked it up but she noticed a lot of writing on the back of the door, it stood out because of the amount that there and all the different colours that were used. It read some horrible words about Mary - "Freak" "Loner" "Slanty mouth"  "Psycho" "I wish she would leave forever" these were just some of the words that were used by people to describe her.

Mary was took over with emotion she was so angry but also sad, at the bottom of the door everyone had signed their names and she noticed one in particular that made her cry and that was C.J Clutterbuck. Mary sat there crying before walking up to the mirror, taking out a scissors and cutting her hair while talking to herself out loud. Looking at herself and wondering why she can't be pretty like everyone else drove her into a rage and she smashed through the mirror cutting all up her hand, one piece of glass was indented in her wrist and blood was pouring out, it had gone deep inside her and cut her at the veins.

A girl walked in and seen the mirror smashed to pieces and on the ground was Mary lying a pool of blood, she screamed and called for help but by the time help had arrived Mary had bled out. C.J was distraught wondering why she did this and it was then she seen the door with all the horrible words said about her friend and on the end of it she was shocked to see her name written there by someone else. Her last image of her friend Mary was of her lying there all bloody thinking that she killed herself because she had thought that her best friend had wrote some horrific stuff about her.

A year later and it was the turn of next years high school newbies to attend their first end of term dance. In the bathroom which Mary died in entered a very pretty looking confident exuberating blonde girl , she was doing her makeup in the mirror when she could see a girl behind her with a long dark fringe covering most of her face, the pretty teen turned around in shock before she was grabbed by this figure and had her face smashed through the mirror before her wrists being slashed. Her body was found a few minutes later and no one could ever explain what had happened to her.

Some say that at the event every year Mary comes back to claim one pretty victim to get revenge for what they wrote about her and drove her to do. There is another saying that if you go into that bathroom at anytime and turn off the light and say out loud the words "Bloody Mary" and repeat this three times then she will appear and take your life. This is said to be the origins of Bloody Mary!!!!

Mudhouse Mansion (Explicit)

In Fairview County, Ohio just east of the city of Lancaster stood a brick mansion that was named Mudhouse Mansion. It was built in the late 1800's and throughout the years on owners in and out of abandonment many times until finally in 2015 just two years ago it was sadly demolished by the then current owner Jeanne Mast who was tormented for years by people vandalising the property or else others coming in search for some old ghost story that they were told by some so called "Historian".

After the civil war there lived a man who kept a secret in his basement, but this secret turned out to be what killed him. Ohio was never a slave owning state but this man who was a middle aged racist managed to keep a slave locked away down in the basement for his own personal use. The slave who he kept was only in his late teens, he had brought him here on the promise of freedom but once he got here he was tied and beaten, he now serves his "Owner" out of fear. His daily chores would include doing the housework, preparing meals and keeping the landscape in good condition. His hands and feet would be bound while he did the chores and failure to comply would result with the endless lashings of a whip by his master as he followed him everywhere he went laughing and truly enjoying the punishment he was inflicting.

Some eighteen months later the master as he liked to be known as returned home from a game of cards over at his friends house, one of those gatherings where they all sat so arrogantly stroking their mustache while chuckling loudly at how great they all were. He walked down to the basement, slowly sauntering down step by step whistling away while thinking of tonight's beaten of choice for "the piece of shit muck" that was down there, that was the name he christened his slave. As he planted his feet at the basement floor he could see the empty shackles he had kept the slave in just dangling from the wall, the cold cluck of the metal objects rang around in his head as his face grew with bewilderment and fear.

The basement light was suddenly turned off, the master stood there in the dark, his legs shaking and the anticipation was building as to when something was gonna happen. He started to hear whispers coming from his right ear then his left ear almost immediately after , the master turned quickly asking "Who's there? Is that you boy" more whispers ensued, the basement door could be heard locking shut, there was no escape.

He was hit over the head and knocked to the floor, while he was drowsy he was being tied up, the hunter had become the hunted. On came the lights and standing in front of him was his so called slave dresses in his masters finest suit, how daring and insulting thought the barely conscious master
"My name is Terrell, Terrell Regis not shit muck not slave but Terrell" the once terrified slave had shouted repeatedly at his former "master" before going into a rage and repeatedly punching and kicking him until he lay there gargling blood chained to the wall. "I'm sorry, please, please" spurted out the man but this only fueled Terrell more as all the flashbacks of when he was pleading with the man came to mind but he would just get smirked at and thrown some racial slurs his way.

Terrell went and got a rusty pliers, knelt down in front of what now would be considered his slave and one by one snipped off each of the mans fingers, the screaming cries of pain were matched by the screaming cries of the pure release of anger by Terrell. His anger and PTSD totally took him over as he worked down to his feet and snipping off each toe before going up to his mouth and taking tooth after tooth as the man lay there bleeding from everywhere in his body passed out, on the verge of death.

There was one more surprise for the "Racist old prick" as Terrell called him and that was in the form of a beheading. He went and got a large carving knife and started slowly doing as the knife suggested, carving his way through the mans neck as though it was the thanksgiving turkey. He kept going until the head was able to be pulled right off and pull it off he did, what remained of his body was chopped up and fed to the large meat grinder out the back. Terrell packed his bags filled with his former masters clothes, filled his pockets with his money,relieved himself all over his king sized bed and then left the house for good but just before he left he placed his masters head on a pike in the front yard and on it he wrote the words "FREEDOM"

A Wing and a Prayer

24° C coming into dusk as the sun sets over The Shooting Star Ranch in the countryside of Monterrey Mexico this was a lovely place to spend your retirement.

Big Jorge Flores or gordo to the people that knew him (fat in Spanish) was the ranch owner, he was the "King of the ranch" as he called himself but in fact he was solely responsible for the ranch being there. He was a retired teacher who taught English and local Mexican history to kids from ages 6-11, he was forced to retire due to a growing problem with his knee that caused great discomfort when on his feet too long -  slipped capital femoral epiphysis was what the official diagnosis read but what it meant in simple terms was that the head of the femur slipped off the shaft of the knee cap and causes an irreversible limp.

The ranch itself was an average size and took a long time to plan and build, it was an escape for Jorge when he retired, it gave him something to focus on. Filled with livestock which included sheep, alpacas, mules, cattle, chickens and hens, and the odd deer that he kind of just adopted. The views were stunning all year round, in front of the ranch you had the endless open fields of green and behind it had the very scenic mountain views that offered a refreshing place for his evening meal and cigar, star gazing at this time was his favorite thing to do.

As he sat down this one evening ready to tuck into his platter of greasy food there was a disturbing moan coming from the area where he kept his sheep so he went to check it out, chicken wing in hand of course. His limp followed the noise until it stopped, when he reached the sheep it was a horrific sight, three sheep lay on the grass lifeless, it was like they had been shrunken. Jorge dropped his beloved chicken wing and inspected the bodies closer and realised that there was no blood at all, three dead sheep that had been torn apart but no blood. This was strange, something had drained all the blood from their bodies.

In this part of Mexico if you talk to the local folk the story of the Chupacabra is very well known and often believed to exist. It is said to have a stature resembling that of a kangaroo but is hairless and looks like some sort of a reptilian scaly wild dog, it can also reach lightning quick speed in a matter of seconds and some say that during the end of summer/autumn months it can grow wings to migrate and hide until it needs to feed again. Jorge being a former teacher of the local history was aware of the legend of this creature but never believed it to exist, the night he came across the bloodless bodies of his sheep he started to change his beliefs.

Over the next few nights Jorge started to set traps to see if he could catch the returning creature, the sheep were reluctantly used as bait, while he also had cameras set up in the hope that he could get this on film. Cynics would say all he wanted was the exposure. The nights passed without incident , all that wandered through was the odd kit fox looking for a bit of a late night feast but to no avail as Jorge who sat up through the night would set off a trap and scare it off. Not a single sheep dead in over a week it seemed that whatever killed them was a once off and has now left to find pastures new.

In the surrounding mountains there wasn't any animals seen for miles, birds had flocked and even the wolf had left. Unusual tracks could be seen by hunters passing by, they were larger than a dogs paw print but in the same shape except that it had five prints not four. The fishermen had complained to the national wildlife services of another strange occurrence, hundreds and hundreds of fish lay on the land ripped apart savagely, the lakes were surrounded by the foul stench of dead fish but again here there was no sign of blood, it had been drained from the bodies.

Something was happening you could feel it, almost like that feeling you get before a big fight was about to take place, the air had a taste to it. Jorge sat down facing the mountains ready to eat his meal, by his side was his stick to help him get around, and a packet of cigars attached to his hip belt. The sun was setting and in the distance he could see the trees rustling and hear a fast moving sound like someone is zipping up their jacket repeatedly at an overly excited speed. It started to get really dark all of a sudden and growls started to verve in the surrounding trees, Jorge stood up knowing that something wasn't right, he started to walk back to his house to check the cameras and traps when he heard the painful cry of his sheep again.

Caught between going back to his house or heading over to where the noise was coming from he smartly chose to go back to the house. On his camera he could see what must of been twenty creatures to which he never came across before surrounding the ranch and feeding on his livestock, it mirrored how Jorge tucked into his chicken wings. "Chupacabra" he said with a frightening look on his face, they were done feeding, carcasses were everywhere it was a horrific sight, especially if you were a vegan. Slowly they edged closer to the house that Jorge was in, their reptilian/dog features very distinct, tongue popping in and out of their scaly mouth very fast while they walked on all fours and had that echo to their bark.

Jorge's mind was racing wondering what could he do, he went into his room took out his gun and got on his knees. He put it in his mouth preparing to blow his brains out but when he pulled the trigger nothing happened, the gun was empty. He sat there crying before going over and grabbing the rosary beads before again returning to his knees to pray. Outside he could hear them getting closer and closer, he knew he only had seconds left as he tried to squeeze every last prayer in. The door was scratched at until suddenly the windows smashed open and one after one they all hoped into the house. They surrounded him in a circle, twenty of these creatures surrounding a man on his knees praying, it was like they gave him the respect to say his last few words. Moments later Jorge could hear deafening barks as he waited for the inevitable. He opened his eyes to a blinding bright light and all he could see around him was white.........

Paradise Casino

Happiness is said to be made up of three components - genetics 50%, the environment make up 10% and 40% is made up based on our actions. It's really what we all spend everyday searching for, that feeling when you go to bed at night free of mind and feeling like your life has meant something. The example we all are told we have to live by is finish school and college, get a house, marry someone, have kids, then grandchildren and retire happy-  this is essentially what society pushes on us without us really knowing and if we don't achieve these goals then we feel like we aren't living right and without a doubt people do judge you but in fact it is all just a way of keeping society in check like a good army of soldiers.

Ever think what happens when we achieve these goals? We climb the ladder step by step but when we reach our next target surely the happiness from doing that can only last so long and then we need to find a new target to get that happy high again. Is happiness an innate drug? Are we all addicted to being happy? Can you buy happiness? In other words become happy from material things or is the only way true happiness can be achieved is for us to naturally feel happy and not become happy.

For Jack Davis all that seemed to bring a smile to his face was the ringing of the winner bells in the casino, gambling was his poison. His wife and kids left him a year ago because his addiction was spiraling out of control to the point where he gambled the college fund for the kids and inevitably lost it all. He would steal from his wife's purse also and even guys from work whenever he had a chance and all for that endorphin release he would get when his risk paid off and he returned home a winner.

Nightly he would head down to The Paradise Casino or heading to paradise as he facetiously would say before listening to what he had said in his head and feeling like an idiot for saying it. He would fancy his chances at most games but stayed away from poker claiming that there are "too many good liars in a casino" in his deep late night radio edited toned voice. Blackjack was normally what he would settle with, no alcohol needed this required a clear head - "a clear head for a clear conscious" was another one of his casino bubbled life sayings.

Surprisingly he was not a premium member he stuck with the basic membership, maybe it was his was of being in denial about how deep they had their hooks in him. As he sat there one night doing his usual chat so much that the others would be distracted, in walked a new dealer - dark green suit with green tie and shoes, he had a swagger about him and glint in his eye. His aura was enchanting as he gave the five people playing a wink before dealing out the cards, he spoke in an Irish-American accent but it was raspy with a sort of echo too it.

As the night progressed there was only two guys left, Jack and another local casino-goer that didn't wanna go home. The dealer asked if they were given a chance to have one thing back in their lives what would it be "The last few hours of listening to you" said the down and out, "Probably my family" replied Jack, "Oh Christ" mumbled back the other guy whilst shaking his head at the floor. The dealer explained that there is a way to do this but he needed their permission to do so "That's it i'm outta here, I dunno what kind of nutjobs they hire in here at all lately" out stormed the man sitting beside Jack. Standing there shuffling the cards the dealer leans over and says "So Jack, just me and you, what do you say? Wanna try and win your happiness back?" Jack hesitated for a few seconds before reluctantly saying " Whatever it's late and I am up nothing just do it i'm in, whatever"

A different deck of cards were pulled out by the dealer and dealt to Jack " A one off game, if you win you get your wish, if not the game gets its wish" the dealer explained to a tired looking Jack. He received a card which was a 9 of hearts "hit me" said Jack who got another - a 7 of spades, "hmmmm hit me again" Jack got one more which turned out to be a 5 of spades "Yesssss" shouted a happy Jack who sat up from his seat. "21 well done fella, now all you gotta do is hope that I don't match that in less cards and you get your family back" The dealer flipped over the first card , 10 of diamonds. Jack started biting his nails, a habit he stopped when he was a child but this brought back all the same nervous reactions that he got when watching his favorite wrestler on TV back in the day.

As the green suited dealer prepared to turn over the last card Jack could hear the winner bells go off from a machine behind him while he was picturing Christmas dinner as a family again. The dealers hand hovered over the card before slowly turning it to reveal an...Ace. " An ace can be 1 or 11 Jack and I think I am gonna choose 11 here" said the dealer with a smirk on his face. Jack's face dropped he was in disbelief, how did this happen he thought before claiming that it was a fix all along and he was never gonna win which wasn't denied either by the dealer who continued to smirk at him while shuffling cards. "The rules were set out Jack, the game won and now you have to deal with the consequences" , Jack was worried and intrigued " Yeah and what are the consequences".

It was tomorrow night Jack was heading to the Paradise Casino or heading to paradise as he would facetiously say before instantly regretting it and feeling ashamed of himself. He sat down to play his favorite blackjack as he disliked poker "Too many liars in a casino" he claimed as he chatted to the other blackjacks players, this was his tactic. In walked a man who was a new dealer, he was dressed in a green suit and had a matching tie and shoes to go with it, he also had a charm to him that would make you take note of his presence. As the night went on it was just Jack and another guy remaining when the dealer lent over and asked quietly "What is the one thing you would have back in your lives" The other guy left and Jack played.

Six months ago Jack died in his home of heartbreak and loneliness, he is now stuck in an endless loop of going to this casino and every night the same actions occur, he plays blackjack, dealer walks in and offers him a chance to get happiness and he loses. All he has to do is change one of these actions or not play the game and follow the guy next to him by saying no and leaving but he is still trying to buy happiness, a lesson that killed him in the first place. Paradise Casino as it's known to some but to others it's Purgatory.

Seven Hills

Ellicott City, Maryland 1983. Luke and his girlfriend Olivia went on a late night drive down along Seven Hills Road when they encountered their last day on earth.

There's an old story told by locals that if you drive down Seven Hills Road at midnight then you might be unlucky enough to come across a truck. This truck wasn't just like any other truck, it was a ghost truck or the demon truck to some. When you get over the seventh hill it would apparently appear in the distance looking very transparent while revving the engine before turning on the headlights and driving straight for you, it is said once this happens you can never escape the road and the chase continues until the truck eventually gets you and get you it always does.

Luke was driving his left arm leaning out the open window, cigarette in mouth, hair gelled back with Billy Idol playing loudly out of his very rare 1983 DeTomaso Pantera. Olivia sat in the passengers seat admiring him and feeling invincible in his presence while also trying her first ever cigarette but not to the knowledge of her boyfriend. They were in search of this mystery truck that everyone talked about in school, it even made the rounds in their school in which they were now known as local celebrities and the coolest people to be around. "Wow they are actually doing it" " They are so brave" "I once kissed Luke" "Olivia is cool but she has changed" these were common conversation pieces floating around the high school.

Over the first hill they went, 11.11 pm said the clock as they sped over the hill getting that exciting gut sinking feeling. They talked about everything and nothing at the same time, "Is this our official first date" thought Olivia, "She looks so hot in that dress" thought Luke.The second, third and fourth hill passed by without any sign of either the truck or anyone else on the road, it was like Luke arranged this perfectly for whatever intentions he had.

Hill number Five passed as the music changed from Billy Idol to Journey, which for the cynics was not a coincidence as the two of them started to grow closer. Staring into each others eyes forgetting exactly why they are out here, Olivia trying to do some Jedi mind shit by hoping he could read her thoughts while Luke was hoping she couldn't read his. "Number six, we are getting close now" Luke leaned over and whispered in Olivia's ear, she sat there biting her lip in anticipation. Maybe this was a night of firsts.

They could see number seven up ahead, it was the biggest of them all and steepest. 11.56 the clock said "Right on time" said Luke as he drove slowly, ambling towards the start of the hill ready to speed up and impress his nights coup. He stopped and asked is she ready to do this to which she nervously replied "yeah", they pull back the chairs and park the car. Excitement, anticipation and trepidation all floated around their heads as this was it, the real reason they came here, the isolation.

Just parked by the side of the upward hill they could see if any car was coming in either direction. Right up ahead shone a blinding light, clearly coming from a large vehicle but they were just parked there as if they bought a ticket to the show. Luke and Olivia beeped the horn wondering what this guys problem was, she questioned weather this was in fact the ghost truck that people talked about , "There's no such thing as ghost trucks, do you really think this is why we came here? It's just some jackass" Olivia seemed confused and equally reassured.

The truck seemed deaf to the beeps until the engine started and it drove in their direction at a speed that is surely allowed only in the sky. "Holy shit" Luke shouted as he just managed to turn the car around in time and swerve the incoming crash. "Go,go,go,go" panicked Olivia, they drove up over the seventh hill but the truck stopped following them. A few hundred yards down the road their car stopped, Luke got out to see that their tyres had been slashed. It must of happened on the drop down of the hill he thought. "FUCK FUCK FUCK" he shouted. Just behind them the truck appeared once more and drove at them but this time the had no where to go, the truck ploughed into the back of them causing their bodies to sickeningly crack into each other.

Out from the truck stepped a very large man, about 6ft 8 give or take. He dragged both bodies into a barn that lay by the road side, they were still breathing and conscious but barely. The guy took out a sledgehammer and repeatedly smashed Luke in the ribs with it to the point where all his stomach was caved in and then he focused his attention on lovely little Olivia. She pleaded with him and offered him money and even herself to let her go but he didn't want anything only pain. The last thing she remembered was looking at the wooded roof of the barn until boom, it was over. Both of them dead, brutally murdered and dismembered.

Some weeks later a group of people were driving by out searching for the "ghost truck" when they passed the barn and outside it they seen heads on pikes that must of stretched for a kilometer long. The police were informed and when they searched the area they seen the man lying in his chair wrists and throat slashed. He turned out to be a man that had lost his family on this road due to drunk teens drink driving one night searching for the so called ghost truck that the town had advocated was real. This was his way at revenge on the people of the area that took everything from him.