Scroll Down To Enjoy A Free Short Story by Urban Fantasy Author J.D. Brown
And Enter To Win An Autographed Paperback Book From The Author!
Click Here To Enter The Giveaway
(Demo Only)
Scroll Down For A Free Flash Fiction Feature by J.D. Brown
The Redline – A Vampire Flash Fiction Feature by J.D. Brown
The last train left at midnight.
Clara sprinted through the rain-slicked streets, her boots slapping puddles as the storm chased her down the empty platform. The subway loomed ahead, mouth agape and waiting, its lights flickering like a dying pulse. She ducked through the doors as they hissed shut, barely missing her coat.
Only two other passengers sat in the car: an old man asleep under a blanket of newspapers, and a woman in a sleek black coat, lips blood-red against porcelain skin.
Clara dropped into a seat and pulled out her cracked phone. No signal. No surprise. The Redline always dipped into dead zones between stations.
“You’re bleeding,” the woman said.
Clara looked up. “Excuse me?”
The woman pointed delicately at Clara’s hand. A long, shallow gash crossed her palm. She’d forgotten it—the price of scaling a rusted fence on her shortcut from the club.
“It’s nothing,” Clara muttered, wrapping it in her sleeve.
The woman tilted her head. “It smells like copper and regret.”
“Excuse me?” Clara blinked.
The woman smiled. “Most people don’t hear it, but your blood hums. Like it remembers something you forgot.”
Clara stared, unsure whether to laugh or switch cars. “You’re creepy, you know that?”
The woman stood and moved closer, heels clicking like clock hands counting down.
“You shouldn’t be on this train tonight.”
“Why? Are you gonna bite me?”
That smile again—sharp this time.
“No. But he might.”
A low groan echoed from the far end of the car. The old man under the newspapers shifted, then convulsed. The papers slid to the floor, revealing a face too pale, eyes too black, mouth too full of jagged teeth.
Clara scrambled back. “What the hell?”
The woman didn’t flinch.
“He followed the storm. Some of them do. They smell panic like perfume.”
Clara’s breath fogged the window behind her. The thing—man—monster—sniffed the air, teeth clicking.
“I don’t—I don’t understand.”
“You’re dreaming,” the woman said. “That’s the only way you’ll survive this.”
Clara shook her head. “This isn’t a dream.”
“It is now.”
The car lights flared and died. For a moment, only the sound of steel wheels and a growling hunger filled the darkness.
Then the woman moved.
Clara didn’t see her cross the space—just a blur, a flick of shadow, then the monster was on the floor, pinned by something cold and ancient in the shape of a woman.
Claws scraped. Screeches echoed. The train rocked with their violence.
When the lights flickered back, the monster was gone.
Clara pressed herself into the seat, shaking.
“You killed him.”
“No.” The woman wiped blood from her cheek with a silk handkerchief. “I unmade him. He was hollow already.”
“What are you?”
The woman paused, thoughtful.
“Something old that learned to walk through nightmares without becoming one.”
Clara swallowed. “Why help me?”
The woman sat beside her. “You’ve seen things, haven’t you? Things that don’t make sense. Shadows moving when they shouldn’t. Faces in mirrors that aren’t your own. And that scar on your shoulder—”
Clara flinched. “You shouldn’t know about that.”
“I do. Because I remember what it felt like, waking up changed. Afraid. Angry. Hungry for answers.”
The train screeched as it pulled into an unfamiliar station. The lights outside were flickering crimson.
“This isn’t on the map,” Clara whispered.
“It’s not meant to be.” The woman stood. “This stop only appears when someone chooses.”
“Chooses what?”
“To keep pretending the world is what it seems… or step into the dark and learn the truth.”
Clara’s throat tightened. “What truth?”
“That monsters exist,” the woman said. “But so do those who hunt them. And sometimes, they’re the same thing.”
The doors hissed open.
“Who are you?” Clara asked.
The woman gave that eerie smile one last time.
“Call me Red. I collect girls like you.”
Clara looked at the platform. Figures waited in the red-tinted fog—some cloaked, some fanged, some human. All watching.
And somehow, Clara knew this was where her nightmares had always been leading.
She stood.
And followed Red into the dark.
Read More Books By J.D. Brown HereAbout The Author
J.D. BROWN is the Award-Winning author of the Ema Marx series and the Daughter of Eve series. She writes in the urban fantasy and paranormal romance genres. Growing up with autoinflammatory disease, J.D. spent her childhood in hospital rooms seeking her escape between the pages of any book or magazine she could get her hands on. She developed a deep love for paranormal boyfriends, strong female characters, and epically-won battles. A Chicagoland native, caffeine addict, and occult enthusiast, she’s usually up at 3 AM making moon water and listening to her favorite astrology podcast.
Connect with J.D. Brown on her websiteEnter To Win An Autographed Paperback Book By J.D. Brown
Click Here!
Like this post? Discover more Fantasy Books & Authors here.
