Life in a Moment — James Maxey

Crows gather in a barren field. A woman with muddy fingernails lifts a skull from a splintered coffin. A bloodied switchblade clatters to the pavement behind an all-night diner. The wind howls as a naked man stumbles through snow. On a stony hillside, a lonely old farmer shovels beneath starlight, digging to awaken something ancient... and hungry.The light is fading.In ten haunting stories, James Maxey guides you deeper into darkness through realms of terror and wonder.The stories (with teaser text from each: Lonely HillMaybe we stepped through a vagina door after all.I Wear DevilsAwesome. Now help me into my straightjacket.Clockwork MeltingI'm a walking, breathing ship of Theseus. Only the brain remains, fragmented, fractured, filled up.Mercy is for MorningMy only weapon was my copy of Les Misérables. There were worse books to use in self-defense, but still.Suzie Durham, Reaper of SoulsLuckily, late-night grocery store dress codes are notoriously lax.Angst of an Atomic AntPlease don't crush my skull like a melon, Dr. Mayhem whimpered.Angel HuntedAm I really Albert Einstein? Or am I only his memory?Queen of MarsI was going to die because of my stupid cat.The Map of the Drowned CityThe people who lived here might have watched the waters claim one cobblestone at a time, year after year, until endless loss became the normal course of life, and none could remember that the streets had once been dry.Life in a MomentIt was and is and always will be the most terrifying thing I've ever done.