Dark Realms

Dark Realms

SIX Stories of Paranormal
Fantasy and Horror

By Kristen
Middleton

Smashwords.com edition

Copyright©2013 Kristen Middleton

Wicked (A Night Roamers
Short)

Blur (Book One of Night
Roamers)

Enchanted Secrets (Book One
of Witches Of Bayport)

The Coin Collector
(Stand-alone Short)

Zombie Games (Origins) Book
One

Venom – (Derived from Night
Roamers)

Cover by Lourdes Blazek

Warning – This book contains adult
situations and language. Recommended for ages sixteen and
older…

This book is purely fiction and any
resemblances to names, characters, and places are coincidental. The
reproduction of this work is forbidden without written consent from
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products referenced in this work of fiction, which has been used
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owners.

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Wicked

When eighteen-year-old Emily wakes up to find herself being held
captive in a barn with four other women and tries to escape, she
finds herself being hunted by a dark presence through the deep
woods of Montana.

Blur

Danger lurks in the dead
of night...
Seventeen year old Nikki and her twin brother, Nathan, move to the
small town of Shore Lake to start over after their mother is
brutally attacked. When a missing teenager washes up on shore
during their first night at the cabin and there are whispers of
vampires in Shore Lake, Nikki begins to realize that there are
things roaming in the darkness that are far more sinister than what
they left behind in the city.

Enchanted
Secrets

Magic, murder, and
mayhem...
Eighteen-year-old Kendra learns that her mother has been keeping
secrets, the biggest being that she and her twin sister, Kala, are
descendants of a long line of witches. Unfortunately, where magic
reigns, so does danger and she is forced into an adventure that
leaves her racing against the clock to stop an evil
curse.

The Coin Collector

In their small Iowa town, children start to go missing on their
tenth birthday. The hot Irish girl across the street claims her
creepy father, Mr. O'Darby, is a leprechaun who collects more than
just gold coins, and 17-year-old Trent begins to fear for the
safety of his brother, Ben, whose tenth birthday grows near.

Zombie Games
(Origins)

Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Wild thought
that living in the chaos of her mother's home daycare and dealing
with new feelings for Bryce, her martial arts instructor, was a
struggle until her world turned upside down. When an untested
vaccine kills more than just a rampant flu virus, Cassie learns how
to survive in a world where the dead walk and the living...
run!

Venom

When Melody Williams goes missing at a
concert, at Club Nightshade, her eighteen-year-old cousin, Chelsey
Fairfax, sneaks into the club to find answers. Little does she know
that some mysteries are better left hidden.
Meanwhile, Venom is in town, a hot new band from Europe, and the
owner of Club Nightshade wants them there permanently...

Wicked

By Kristen Middleton

Chapter One

I stared up at the white speckled ceiling of
my new apartment, still too full of adrenaline to sleep. The
excitement of moving out of my parents’ home and starting college
in two weeks was beyond exhilarating. Plus, my best friend Betsy
was going to join me after she returned from Florida with her
parents in a couple of weeks. They’d taken her to Disneyworld as a
graduation present, and although she’d been excited about the trip,
finding an apartment we could afford together had been the real
highlight of the summer. Ever since we’d met in the eighth grade,
we’d always talked about going to UMT, living together, and meeting
hot college guys. Now our dreams were finally becoming a reality
and it made me so giddy, sleep was laughable.

Sighing, I got out of bed and went into the
kitchen for a spoonful of creamy peanut butter. It was a nightly
habit that sometimes helped me sleep and my parents had purchased a
case of it for me as a joke, but I’d been thrilled to receive
it.

As I opened the cupboard, I thought of my
mother, who seemed to have a knack for catching me with my hand in
the peanut butter jar every time I had a craving. She often teased
that if I ever stopped, that peanut farms everywhere would go
bankrupt.

I grabbed a jar from the shelf, twisted the
cap off, and scooped out a large spoonful. Once it was in my mouth,
I remembered that I had nothing to wash it down with. Plus, my cups
were still packed in one of the boxes and I really didn’t feel like
rummaging for them in the middle of the night. Recalling the
landlord’s mention of a beverage machine by the swimming pool, I
decided to buy a couple bottles of soda and check out the pool.

I put the jar away, washed off the spoon,
and went back into my bedroom to change out of my pajamas. As I
pulled on a pair of jean shorts, I caught a glimpse of myself in
the dresser mirror and was relieved that it was so late. My auburn
hair was messy and there was mascara smudged under my lower
lashes.

Screw it.

I slipped on an orange sweatshirt, pulled
the hood over my head, grabbed a handful of change, and stepped out
of my apartment.

Shoving my hands into my sweatshirt pockets,
I went downstairs to the lobby and stepped out into the cool
darkness, suddenly grateful that my parents had pushed me into
Taekwondo three years ago. Although I normally didn’t think much
about wandering near my parents’ house late at night, here,
however, it was a little disconcerting. Even for a Brown Belt.

I thought of my parents, who were only an
hour away, and had acted like I’d moved to a different continent.
My mother had been in tears when she’d left earlier, and my dad,
well his voice had actually cracked, which truthfully had kind of
shocked me. In all my life, I’d never seen my dad cry, even when
his own father had passed away. My mother had told me he’d mourned
in his own way, and didn’t like people feeling sorry for him. It
was kind of weird, but I always assumed it had to do with the fact
that he’d served in the military for many years. That it had made
him hard. But, this afternoon, he’d kept his eyes down and had
given me an extra-long hug before driving away.

Now, thinking of them, I felt a tug on my
heart. Although I was excited about the move and starting a new
life in college, part of me already longed for them. They’d been
strict and demanding, but I’d never doubted their love.

For a long time, I’d felt
as if they’d treated me like a baby. Nothing had ever seemed fair,
not my early curfews, or any of the other stringent rules they’d
enforced. Hell, I hadn’t even been able to sleep at a friend’s
house without getting the third degree. They’d always said that
they’d trusted
me
,
but not other kids, claiming that they didn’t want me to be
influenced by the wrong kind of people. This had seemed like a
total joke to me, since Betsy and I hung out with computer geeks
and people not really into partying.

And dating?

Well, sadly, I’d only gone
out on
one
date in
high school – the prom. My dad had put the poor guy through hell
before releasing us. Sure, we’d had fun there – dancing, flirting,
even a couple of kisses, but when he’d gotten me home a few minutes
late, my dad was waiting for us with an earful for Brian. Needless
to say, he never asked me out again and I decided that it wasn’t
worth torturing any of the guys at school by going out with them.
So, here I was – an eighteen-year-old virgin who’d had one date
–

Brian, and had only kissed one person –
Brian.

Not that I hadn’t fantasized about other
guys. Hell, my dreams were filled with faceless heroes rescuing me
from danger. Sexy, brave hunks who would carry me off into the
sunset, where I could shower them with kisses. Unfortunately, I
always woke up before getting a chance to show my appreciation.

I couldn’t even get lucky in my dreams.

Betsy promised that everything would change
in college. There would be guys, parties, and more fun than we’d
know what to do with. She said that our lives were just beginning.
I prayed she was right. I was all about doing well in college, but
I was also ready to start dating. Life was too short.

Pulling my sweatshirt in
tighter, I
wandered between the buildings
towards the pool area. When I arrived at the entrance, the gate was
locked.

“Crap,” I mumbled, glaring at the sign. It
had closed several hours before.

Annoyed, I turned around and gasped in
shock.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” said
a man, stepping away from the shadows of the building next to the
pool.

I stared at his alabaster skin, which seemed
to radiate in the darkness. I swallowed hard. “It’s, uh, okay.”

“Little late for a swim,
isn’t it?” he asked, standing in front of me. He appeared to be in
his late twenties, high cheekbones, a pointy chin, and dark eyes
that burned into mine. Although he was certainly nice-looking,
there was something
off
about him. Something creepy.

I took a step back and forced a smile. “I
was just going to buy a bottle of soda.”

His lips, which seemed eerily red against
his translucent skin, curled up. “Late night craving?”

“Yes. I guess so.”

“I can appreciate that,” he replied, staring
at me so intently, that things became more awkward.

I tore my eyes away, and looked past him, as
if searching for someone. “Well, I suppose I’d better get back to
my place before my boyfriend gets worried and comes looking for
me.”

“Boyfriend?”

I looked at him again. “Yes, boyfriend. His
name is Brian.”

His eyes, which were blacker than coal,
danced in the darkness. “Brian should have volunteered to get you
your soda. It’s much too dangerous for a girl to be wandering out
here, all alone.”

“Good point,” I said, feeling the hair on
the back of my neck stand up. “With that in mind, I guess I really
should get back. Excuse me.”