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A seven-year-old boy finds a doppelganger of him while playing in his backyard, and he does the worst he could've done; he brings him home. Reading time: 19 minutes. The Companion Chapter One — The Changed Plan I had been watching him for a few days now. He was seven. Only child. I had learnt his routine. Six hours in the school, rest in the house, secure and out of reach. The only time he would come out was just a little before sunset to play in his backyard. I watched him play all by himself, alone. I pitied him. He had no one to play with, but that was ideal for me. This was the perfect time to strike. So I made a plan. The next evening, when he was playing in the backyard, throwing around a big ball, I approached him from the bushes. He heard me and got alerted. He was looking in the bushes, and then without any prompt, he threw the ball at me. I caught it. He knew that whoever was in the bushes wasn't an animal. He knew that whoever was in there had hands. He took a f

A serial killer breaks into a house. Then begins the chase of cat and mouse, the game of predator and prey. Reading time: 12 minutes. Now Also available on Wattpad and Pratilipi . Chapter One - The Chances There was something eerie about that evening. The wind was witnessing the gloom that covered the city. The street lights were trying to light up every dark corner. They were afraid if they failed, something sinister might develop. A stray dog was lurking in the street, looking for something to eat. It stopped to smell a piece of garbage beside the pedestrian path. It was trying to decide if it was edible just when its eyes lit, and its head jerked up in response to the sudden movement. I turned on the light in the living room and looked outside the window at the stray dog, who stared at me for a second and then went along to do whatever it was doing. I looked across the street and the hazy sky. It was so calm that one would not have suspected a thing before stepping out of the

A man, fed up with his life, walks out at night to end it but ends up in a secret place where his life changes forever. Reading time: 17 minutes. Masks Chapter One — Not Allowed to be Normal "S o, got any plans for tonight?" asked Charlie. "Nah, just the usual. Falling asleep on the couch in front of the TV," Stanley replied in a tired voice. "Come on," said Charlie, picking up a king and placing it on an empty slot. He was playing solitaire on his computer instead of working. "It's Friday night, and Halloween is coming. I think it's gonna be twice as crazy out there tonight." "This is Crime City, Charlie. Every night here is Halloween night, and crazy is kinda your thing. I'm good at normal," Stanley said without looking at Charlie, who was sitting on his right. He was instead focused on the report he had to submit before the end of the day. "Exactly, this is Crime City, and nobody is allowed to be normal here. This

The recent disappearances have garnered the attention of a college senior who suspects the involvement of vampires. Reading time: 15 minutes. The Bloodsuckers Chapter One — Halloween A van came to a stop on the bridge in the middle of the night. Two hooded figures dropped out. One of them stood guard while the other circled to the back and dragged out something long and heavy wrapped in heavy-duty plastic. The one who stood guard gave a hand. They picked it up and put it on the railing. The first one then got back into the van and started it just on time to cover the loud crashing of the dead body on the water. Before anyone could notice anything, the van had disappeared. October had arrived. The wind had a hint of the approaching winter. The days had started to fall short. People had not yet begun to react to this change, but the sun went down as early as five o'clock, and it was almost at the horizon that day when Ahmed, Vikram and Nina were sitting in a restaurant, killing t

Two young YouTubers go on a life-changing adventure to a haunted cottage in a forest where they get trapped until a mysterious saviour arrives. Reading time: 17 minutes. Chapter One — Poking Around Dead Things "H ello guys, welcome back to our channel Mid-Night Mysteries," said Tammy, pointing the camera at himself. "As you can see, we have finally arrived at cottage number 13. Phew! Honestly, guys, it wasn't easy; the travel alone was exhausting. Back there, you can see Ash unpacking our bags. We are gonna take a good nap before we set up our equipment, but before that, let me show you guys around." He stood up and started pointing his Handycam all around the cottage. It was an old cottage. The dust had covered everything, including the floor and the wooden furniture. The lanterns on the walls were evidence that nobody had rented this cottage for quite a long time. Ash was now lighting up those lanterns while Tammy walked out. "Let me take you outside.

A farmer and his family were preparing to go to sleep when they were attacked by someone or something. Reading time: 13 minutes. The Hunt 1 The bright full moon shone on the village. It was a not-so-cold night of February. I had just finished my dinner and was singing my kids a lullaby. Their mother, my wife, sat on the opposite end of the bed, running her hands across my kids' foreheads, smiling. "...and all the tune that he could play, Was 'over the hills and far away." My cattle rested in the shed with my dog there to protect them. They felt safe together. There was little to no wind swaying across my fields of maize surrounding my farm. It was a quiet night, so my kids fell asleep rather quickly. I slowly faded down my voice to mere whispering and eventually stopped singing. “...over the hills and a great way off, The wind shall blow my top-knot off.” My kids were fast asleep. I ran my hand through their hair too, kissed on their foreheads, trying not to wak

A woman is trapped in a dark and unknown place, haunted by her thoughts and memories. Then a stranger arrives to rescue her. Reading time: 28 minutes. Now, also available on Wattpad and Pratilipi. Chapter One - Lost 'Why is it so dark here?' she thought. 'Why is it so—,' she looked around, '—quiet and deserted?' She was walking down a street that looked familiar. It was a grey night. 'Where is this light coming from?' she wondered. Everything glowed so faintly that it was difficult to locate the light source. It looked like that time of the evening when there would be no sun in the sky, but everything still glows with the light reflecting off of the red sky except—the sky was dark too, pitch black; no stars either. She had no idea where she was or—who she was. She walked further on the street and reached the intersection. There were no streets or traffic lights, or any living being for that matter. It looked like the whole city was deserted. The sk

A strange tale of an alien, a time travelling woman and a man with a library of hidden knowledge, the tale of their adventure through a desert when they are chased by a mysterious phantom. Reading time: 15 minutes 25 seconds. Previously - An Evoking from the Stars – An alien lands in ancient Egypt and walks across the middle east following a signal, looking for someone. & The Creator and the Creation – Bela decides to fix the time machine that she found in her basement to go meet her father who went missing before she was born. Chapter One T he dry and hot desert was unwelcoming. The scorching heat was like hell-fire. The sun may as well have sucked the life out of any inhabitants right way instead of drying them up bit by bit. The hot winds were no comfort either. Every gust was like a slap to the face. Every shrug was a decree of death to the ears. The hot sand covered the land that one could see from their feet to the horizon. There was not a single tree in sight, a petty littl

Arjun, the monster hunter, tries to solve the mystery of bloodless bodies, which everyone, at first, thought was the work of vampires but turns out to be something else. Reading time: 21 minutes. Attention to all science fiction lovers! Make sure to check out the website of a regular reader of XTales.net , Daniel Chesler. He has written a novel and a novela. They are both available on amazon. Website: https://danielchesler.com/ "Science fiction and urban fantasy with a dash of romance." Previously: The Bloodsuckers — The recent disappearances have garnered the attention of a college senior who suspects the involvement of vampires. & Cottage Number 13 — Two young YouTubers go on a life-changing adventure to a haunted cottage in a forest where they get trapped until a mysterious saviour arrives. ( Click here to see Arjun's whole chronology. ) The Krovosos Family Chapter One — Not a Vampire It was a serene night, calm, peaceful, and lonely. It was a beautiful nig

A boy recalls his story of getting mind-reading abilities and his relationship with the darkness. Reading time: 59 minutes. Now also available on Wattpad and Pratilipi . Chapter One - The Mind Reader It was dark. Peaceful and comfortable. I liked it there, but it hadn't always been the same. As a kid, I was too scared of the dark, never slept with lights off because I was afraid that an arm with sharp, long fingers would stretch out from any of those ghastly shadows or those dense, tenebrous corners and drag me into their endless world of fear and trauma. I was always concerned about not drinking anything before I went to bed so I would not have to wake up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. And yet, it did not do any good. On many of those silent nights, I woke up thirsty, but the kitchen was much closer than the bathroom from my bedroom, so it went a little too good until I turned ten. That year when the summer holidays were just about to start, my mother and m