She didn’t understand hunger. But she was drawn by the sound of their voices.
“Bahhhhh,” the nearest goat bleated.
The Kasey thing moved toward it. The old Kasey would have been embarrassed by her attitude, which was currently one of childlike wonder and innocent curiosity. The old Kasey had been busy learning to be cool, ignoring her parents, and manipulating the people around her to increase her social standing and—more importantly—damage the standing of her female competitors such as Ashleigh.
None of that mattered now, only this rich, new sound that resonated inside her head and drove out and replaced the repetitive “Who?”
She let the new sound sink into her throat and then she pressed her lips together and vibrated her larynx.
“Bah.”
The others of her kind fanned out into the compound, not sure where they were or what they were, only that they were.
The thing that had been Kasey would have giggled at being called a “Zaphead.” Such a pejorative term was probably on the list of phrases that would earn a trip to the guidance counselor’s office and a lecture on the social evils of bullying.
The Kasey thing pressed her lips together again and exhaled, imitating the goat. “Bah.”
The other goats shoved against the fence, begging for hay, sounding almost like crying children. “Bahhhhh! Bahhhhh!”
The Kasey-thing repeated the simple phonetic, stretching out the sound by inhaling more air and expelling it. “Bahhhhh!”
The others of her kind stopped hissing and came closer to the pen. One of them said “Bah.”
Then more of them joined in. “Bahhh! Bahhh! Bahhh!”
The old Kasey would have been horrified to find herself a part of the crowd. Fitting in was one thing, but being just like everyone else was lame.
This new Kasey, though, she didn’t care. Any more than she cared about Hello Kitty and the end of the world.
This new Kasey liked the sound, and liked the others voicing it as well, and soon the sound became a bigger sound repeated over and over and over.
“Bahhh! Bahhh! Bahhh!”
Over and over, ever After.
About Scott Nicholson:
I’m author of more than 30 books, including The Red Church, Drummer Boy, The Harvest, and Speed Dating with the Dead. I collaborated with bestselling author J.R. Rain on Cursed, The Vampire Club, Bad Blood, and Ghost College. I’ve also written the children’s books If I Were Your Monster, Too Many Witches, Ida Claire, and Duncan the Punkin, and created the graphic novels Dirt and Grave Conditions. Connect with me on Facebook, Goodreads, LibraryThing, Twitter, my blog, or my website. I am really an organic gardener, but don’t tell anyone, because they think I am a writer.
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Try these other thrillers because they are good:
AFTER: FIRST LIGHT
By Scott Nicholson
The beginning of the end…
When NASA scientists detect intense solar activity, the warnings go unheeded. Soon communications fail, power goes out, and the world’s technological infrastructure collapses.
But the solar radiation has also inflicted an unpredictable change--a disruption in the impulses of the human brain. Billions die. And they are the lucky ones…
Prequel novella to the After post-apocalyptic series, with a bonus story by Joshua Simcox. at Amazon US or Amazon UK.
AFTER: THE SHOCK
By Scott Nicholson
A massive solar storm wipes out the earth’s technological infrastructure and kills billions. As the survivors struggle to adapt, they discover some among them have… change. The first book in the After series.
Learn more about it at Haunted Computer or view it at Amazon US or Amazon UK.
McFALL
By Scott Nicholson
Too good to be true.
That’s what the residents of Barkersville say when Larkin McFall moves to their small Appalachian Mountain community. The lawyer and developer quickly gains respect as a community leader who improves the economy, supports charitable causes, and takes an interest in local government.
But not everyone is so welcoming. The McFall family has been linked to supernatural legends and odd disappearances for generations. But Larkin laughs off the stories as superstition and promises a bright new future for the town. When those who oppose McFall begin dying in mysterious and violent ways, Sheriff Frank Littlefield investigates the newcomer and discovers a man with no past and no fingerprints—and no weaknesses.
THE HOME
By Scott Nicholson
A Top 50 Kindle bestseller.
Experiments at a group home for troubled children lead to paranormal activity—and the ghosts are from the home’s past as an insane asylum. In development as a feature film.
Learn more about The Home or view it on Amazon US or Amazon UK.
MEAT CAMP
By Scott Nicholson & J.T. Warren
In a desperate attempt to save their land from tax foreclosure, Delphus Fraley and his daughter open a camp for at-risk kids, with the goal of building character through experience in the Appalachian Mountain outdoors.
But a strange infection contaminating the camp’s mess hall soon triggers a violent rampage. As the isolated camp turns into a bloodbath, camp counselor Jenny Usher first fights to save the children, and then finds she must fight to save herself.
Because this infection doesn’t just kill, it brings the dead back to life…
Adapted from Scott Nicholson’s original horror screenplay.
View it at Amazon US or Amazon UK.
CREATIVE SPIRIT
By Scott Nicholson
After parapsychologist Anna Galloway is diagnosed with metastatic cancer, she has a recurring dream in which she sees her own ghost. The setting of her dream is the historic Korban Manor, which is now an artist’s retreat in the remote Appalachian Mountains.
Sculptor Mason Jackson has come to Korban Manor to make a final, all-or-nothing attempt at success before giving up his dreams. When he becomes obsessed with carving Ephram Korban’s form out of wood, he questions his motivation but is swept up in a creative frenzy unlike any he has ever known.
The manor itself has secrets, with fires that blaze constantly in the hearths, portraits of Korban in every room, and deceptive mirrors on the walls. With an October blue moon looming, both the living and the dead learn the true power of their dreams.
Learn more about the paranormal thriller Creative Spirit or view it at Amazon US or Amazon UK
Do you like movies? View the screenplay adaptation at Amazon US or Amazon UK
DISINTEGRATION
By Scott Nicholson
A Top 30 Kindle bestseller.