okay so I had to wait a couple days to post it so that it was more obvious that the work is mine. here it is. the 1st chapter of Evanesce a thriller written by yours truely.

There Mayce stood in the cold of the night. Approaching his home he made sure to only step in the light. This ordeal was made easier by the countless light sources he had placed during the day. Everything from station lights to charismas wire lights riddled his front lawn. he stared at the spot lights that lined the walkway to his door. He smiled, not an inch of it was obscured in darkness. Mayce moved quickly, with door key at hand. He walked up your stairs and unlocked the front door. The door pushed inwards giving way to an abyss of black; Mayce had forgotten to leave the lights on in his rush. Chills ran down his spine and echoed out his fingertips. Mayce's home was still and uninviting.

The longer he stared into the black mist the more it felt alive, breathing in a hypnotic swing. His heart sank and legs shook. The breathing grew deeper and finer. It became more than breathing. It was a whisper. Quite and incomprehensible, it slowly gained clarity. Mayce's heart began to pound as the words came together. "Don't come in".

The darkness chanted the phrase again and again. The words hammered Mayce's mind like nails. He reached for a nearby lamp pleading to God for help. Mayce had to push forward, the mystery of his daughter's disappearance was about to reveal itself. The whispers grew louder the harder Mayce tried to expel the darkness. He began felt restraint in your movements, he were being controlled. The whispers tore into screams of pain and terror. Mayce struggled to grab the lamp as his legs lost all feeling. The dark seemed to consume him. He began to panic, waving his arms wildly. The lamp fell from the low perched table it laid rest on. Mayce let himself fall after it grappling it in his arms. The shrieks and moans had grown impossibly loud. Mayce hugged the lamp for dear life and clicked on the light.

And as sudden as a snake bite the screams vanished. Mayce regained feeling in his legs, the darkness couldn't reach him. The light created a fine bubble of safety around him. The dark cloud howled at the barrier the light created, a piercing howl that sounded familiar. Someone Mayce knew was dying. Mayce, with no memories of his daughter, screamed out in terror.

"Give her back! She's mine! I won't let you have her!" Mayce screamed. His shrieks were met with a loud snarl then silence.

Mayce sat up. The lamp wasn't going to move any farther without being unplugged. This was Mayce's last safe haven. He realized this and his moral took a hard hit. It made him question why Jessie told him to come back.

The date was July 6th 2007; it was Mayce's turn to take custody of his 9 year old daughter, Emily. He had an entire day planned for the two of them. He hoped that it could help get Emily's mind off the divorce. The divorce had really shaken her life. Now rather than coming home to two loving parents she would be fought over like a piece of candy between two toddlers. Mayce had felt a huge amount of guilt for his daughter's pain. He was not a dead beat father he loved her more than he loved himself. He blamed Jessie, his wife, for the entire situation, and he knew that she blamed him. He however never showed his anger near Emily. He always hid it and took the high ground when Emily was around. Mayce had lost the love of his life for a reason he couldn't even remember nor realize and he wasn't about to lose his daughter because he couldn't handle himself.

The day was theirs; Mayce had taken the day off from work. He reviewed the list of occupations that he had planned as he drove to his ex-wife's house. First the two of them were off to the park for a short walk and a picnic. Then it was off to the mall to buy anything that she wanted. After that it was of to his house to prepare for a movie night. Lastly, he would tuck her in and remind her how much he loved her.

Mayce turned the corner and drove into his wife's trailer park. He looked around the area was in very poor condition. Guilt built in his gut. He couldn't believe that his wife would rather live here than share his 4 bedroom suburb home. The 3 of them were living the American dream. They both had sable careers and were happy up until Mayce lost his first job due to a sudden inflation in the economy. Mayce was a hard worker and hardly deserved to get laid off, however the same could be said to the other 400 people that shared his fate. Mayce found work though. He was abated from a stock broker to a fast food manager. His wife at first had helped in all ways she could, she was an assistant nurse. For a while the three of them mustered enough strength to be happy. They paid the bills on time and were able to keep the house. It wasn't until Mayce got into a car crash and broke his arm and 2 ribs. Mayce was never the best driver and that day he had been in a rush. It was then that Jessie realized how ill prepared for anything Mayce was. He had no insurance of any kind.

This lead from one argument to another and before the small family knew it their American dream had been cut into a debt riddled divorce.