John Thomas Opalenik

Six tales of the strange and supernatural, all set in the American Old West. Characters stumble upon things better left undiscovered, find new beginnings, tragic ends, and in some cases redemption.

Riley and her best friend Matt are going their separate ways. Before they do, they intend to travel together. Not to anywhere special. To them, it's not where you're traveling, but who you're traveling with that makes it special. Soon they arrive in the small town of Altum, an oasis in the desert hiding a terrible secret. A secret that has been living inside the mountain far longer than even the citizens of Altum know. What dwells within the mountain will change their lives and their friendship forever.

Ever since he saw a frightening vision in the forest when his father took him hunting as a boy, Fran Rivera has felt uneasy around the forest on the edge of Hopeville, Massachusetts. He only returned to it after taking a job at his childhood friend's construction company. Fran and the others, including Brad and PJ quickly found out that Fran had every reason to be afraid of what he'd seen in the forest. After barely surviving the night confronting the ancient evil in the forest, PJ, Fran, and the other survivors try to come to grips with what happened to them while at the same time trying to find a way to avenge the friends they lost that night. Meanwhile, a man who is eerily familiar with the creature in the forest hovers in the orbit of their investigation, a man who can shed light on the ancient evil they barely survived a glimpse of or who can plunge them deeper into the abyss. PJ, Fran, and Brad will have to reconcile with one another and risk everything in order to face the darkness that they could barely escape before.