Corey Schultz Carter's Blog, page 6

An introduction to The Black Shadow, A Short Horror Story

The Black Shadow

After her parents divorced, Gracie and her mother, Lilly, moved into an old, two-story, riverfront home, where demons were just as real as the terrible bus ride that Gracie took to and from school each day. Her new bus route included a rotten seventeen-year-old boy named Denny. He was tall and muscular, with greasy black hair, and his acne was as terrible as his venomous demeanor. He harassed Gracie to the point of tears every single day. It all started on the first day of school, when she unknowingly sat in his seat on the bus. When Denny reached what he had claimed to be his seat, he cussed at her, called her dreadful names, and he physically forced her to move closer to the front of the school bus.

Denny grabbed the young girl tightly around the wrist and yanked her out of his seat. He jerked her arm so hard, that Gracie could have sworn that she heard her shoulder pop. He marched her down the aisle of the bus, shoving her each step of the way, as he forced her almost to the very front seat. Gracie sat quietly crying, as Denny returned to the rear of the bus, and she was offended that the bus driver had done nothing to stop the harassment. The burning, blood red impression from his hand circled her wrist, and Gracie worried that her mother would see it. This was not the time to upset her mom, she thought, as she sat alone, waiting for the bus to finally reach her house.

Gracie hated the fact that her town was so small that the elementary, middle, and high school students were forced to ride on the same bus together. The older students used their seniority to claim the seats that would be theirs for the school year, and the younger kids, like Gracie, sat in a different place everyday. She didn’t care where she sat, really, as long as she never had to be near Denny again; and especially if he never touched her again. Gracie’s only hope was that Denny would be getting his driver’s license soon, which would rid him from the bus and her life for good.

As the weeks dragged along, the despicable boy abandoned his own seat on the bus and started making it a point to sit in the seat next to her or behind her, and she was mortified. Denny continually whispered nasty things into her ear and called her by every derogatory name that he could fathom; he was a deep, dark well of endless insults. Gracie was only thirteen; a tall, blond, naive, plain stick figure, and she had never heard anyone use such foul language before. With each new day, Gracie boarded the school bus with an insufferable fear. She had done nothing to provoke this sort of behavior, yet the name-calling had increased, and Denny eventually began making violent threats.

As Gracie boarded the bus one afternoon, she was relieved when an older girl offered to share a seat with her. She scanned the bus nervously for any sign of Denny, but she didn’t see him. Gracie had never seen this girl before, so she assumed that she was a new student at the high school. Teresa was short, thick, and curvy, with curly black hair, and her clothing was very provocative. Surely, Denny would have been all over this newcomer had he been on the bus that day.

Gracie settled into the seat next to the girl, as the bus began its hour-long route toward Gracie’s home. The two girls sat in an awkward silence for only a moment before Teresa spoke to her.

She popped a huge bubble with her chewing gum and asked, “So, what’s your name?”

Gracie welcomed the thought of having a pleasant conversation on the bus for a change. “I’m Gracie. What’s your name? Are you new?”

In a matter of seconds, Teresa’s kind demeanor changed. “No, I’m not new. I just usually catch a ride to school, and you don’t need to know my name, Gracie. All you need to know is that I’m Denny’s big sister, and I don’t like the fact that you’ve been messing with my brother’s head. You stupid little tease!”

“What?” Gracie was dumbfounded, and when she heard the sound of Denny’s voice suddenly coming from the seat directly behind her, she was so frightened that she tried to get up and run.

Teresa grabbed Gracie’s arm and held her down, so she couldn’t get up. “You ain’t going nowhere, girl. My brother wants to talk to you, and you’re gonna to listen. You got it?”

Gracie found herself speechless. Denny had been harassing her for weeks, but she had always refused to react to his insults. She usually stared out of the window and pretended that he didn’t exist. She always avoided making eye contact with him, and she had certainly never engaged in a conversation with him; more less been a tease. Gracie wondered what lies Denny had told to his older sister to make her believe that he was the victim.

Teresa smacked Gracie in the back of her head. “Did you hear me talking to you? You ain’t gonna just sit there and ignore me, girl!”

Gracie’s rage grew out of control for the first time in thirteen years, and she snapped, “I heard you! The thing is, I don’t have anything to say to you or your loser brother. In fact, I’ve never spoken to your brother at all. He’s disgusting, and he harasses me every damn day of the week, and I’m sick of it! Now, let go of my arm, or I’m going to turn both of you in.”

Denny and Teresa both began laughing hysterically, and Denny asked, “Turn us in to who, Gracie? The bus driver? Your mommy?

Gracie spun around to look at Denny. “Yes, Denny! Exactly! I could have you both suspended for harassment!”

Gracie then turned to Teresa, in hopes of gaining some sort of sympathy. “Are you really going to take part in helping your brother harass another girl? I’ve done nothing to deserve this!”

Teresa still had a strong hold on Gracie’s upper arm, and as she dug her fingernails in sharply, Gracie screamed at her, “Let go of my arm right now, you freaking psycho!”

Please visit the amazon kindle store to read more of The Black Shadow by Corey Carter

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Annabelle’s Nightmare: A Suspenseful Excerpt from Shadows of Deception

Discussion Question 2: After reading Shadows of Deception, how did you feel about the use of nightmares throughout the novel?

Annabelle heard the alarming sound of heavy footsteps racing up behind her. When she spun around, she held her fists in a tight, defensive ball. The footsteps stopped, as if they had fallen into the pit of silence that now surrounded her entire estate. She couldn’t see anyone, but she could feel a threatening presence. Every hair on her body stood in alarm when she noticed a faint, shadowy figure lurking before her. It slowly blackened, taking the form of a tall and sinister looking man. She scrambled backwards up the stairs, regained her footing, and raced along the porch that wrapped around her home. Finally, she found a way in. As she ran for her life, she tried to scream for help, but nothing came out. She felt like she was suffocating as she fled through a strange house, which now, no longer appeared to be her own. She was frightened and confused, and she wondered how she could have ended up in this unfamiliar place.

As she made her way up a dark, winding stairway, the mysterious sound of footsteps returned. They grew louder and continued to close in on her with each passing second, until they were directly behind her, and she could feel a hot, heavy breath against the back of her neck. The shadowy figure was gaining on her too quickly, and she knew that she could not escape. Her chest grew tight and heavy. She could no longer take a breath. Everything around her began spinning faster and faster. Panic and terror paralyzed her, and she collapsed on the landing at the top of the stairs, desperately gasping for air. The footsteps stopped abruptly, and she turned to peer over her shoulder, looking directly into the icy, blue eyes of the shadowy figure, which now stood over her. She knew that there was no way to escape. He wanted her dead. Her worst nightmare had become a reality. He had finally found her.

A Short Story of Horror 18+ Only

The Black Shadow

  After her parents divorced, Gracie and her mother moved into an old, riverfront home where demons were just as real as the terrible bus ride that she took to and from school each day. Gracie’s new bus route included a rotten seventeen-year-old boy named Denny. He was tall and muscular, with greasy black hair, and his acne was as terrible as his venomous demeanor. He harassed Gracie to the point of tears every single day. It all started when she unknowingly sat in his seat on the bus. When Denny reached what he had claimed to be his seat, he cussed at her, called her dreadful names, and he physically forced her to move closer to the front of the school bus.

  Gracie didn’t care where she sat, really, as long as she never had to be near Denny again. As the weeks dragged along, the despicable boy went out of his way to sit in the seat next to her or behind her, and she was mortified. He continually whispered nasty things into her ear and called her by every derogatory name that he could fathom; he was a deep, dark well of endless insults. Gracie was only thirteen; a tall, blond, naive, plain stick figure, and she had never heard anyone speak that way before. With each new day, Gracie boarded the school bus with an insufferable fear. The name-calling had increased, and Denny began making violent threats.

On the last day that Gracie would ever ride the school bus, the foul teenage boy leaned over from the seat next to her and whispered in her ear, “I’m going to drive my dad’s motorcycle through the front window of your house tonight. Then, I’m going to kill your mom and rape you.” Gracie sat in shock for a moment. She could feel the color drain from her face, and she ran up to the front of the bus and begged for the driver to let her off. The woman refused to drop her off anywhere other than her own home, so Gracie remained by the driver’s side until the bus finally reached her house. Now seated at the rear of the bus, Denny watched her with an evil glare for the remainder of the ride.

After what seemed like an eternity, the door squealed open, releasing Gracie from her yellow, hellish cell. As soon as her feet hit the long, dusty driveway, she ran until she was safely in her mother’s arms. Gracie explained that Denny had been harassing her for weeks. She had kept the incidents to herself, because she did not want to worry her mother. Lilly called a police officer that lived in their neighborhood and asked that he speak with Denny’s parents about the vulgar threats he had made. Lilly assured Gracie that the boy would never bother her again and agreed to drive her to school for the rest of the week.

A week slipped by before Gracie saw the black shadow. It had appeared without warning and watched motionlessly from the bathroom door, which she had left open while she took her evening bath. She was so stricken with fear that she couldn’t even find the strength to call out to her mother, who was reading in the next room. The most disturbing thing about the shadow was its similarity to the human form. It appeared as a tall and slender man, but only a dark silhouette stood in place of what Gracie’s young mind imagined should have been an actual person.

It stood there in a still, deafening silence. The shadow watched her, enforcing its unnatural impression on the space where it stood. Gracie couldn’t move; she couldn’t speak. She had never felt so vulnerable in her life. Slowly, the black shadow began to drift away, dissolving into the darkness that consumed the hallway. It took Gracie a few minutes to recover from the shock, and she held her gaze on the doorway, fearing that the shadowy figure would return.

“Mom?” She waited for her mother to appear, but her cry had only escaped as a whisper. She began to tremble uncontrollably but called out once more; this time screaming, “Momma!”

Her mother, alarmed by the evident fear in her daughter’s voice, dropped her book, and raced into the bathroom. “Honey, are you okay? What’s wrong?” Lilly was deeply disturbed by the sight of her daughter, who stood there alone, naked, and shivering in her bath. Gracie’s face was now as white as the antique, porcelain sink.

Gracie reached for the bath towel that her mother held out, wrapped it around her body, and stepped out of the bathtub. She began to tremble in her mother’s arms, not entirely sure how to explain what she had just witnessed.

“I just saw something, mom.”

Lilly was alarmed and confused. “What do you mean you saw something?”

Gracie’s finger trembled violently as she pointed toward the door. “I saw a black shadow in the doorway. I was washing the shampoo out of my hair, and when I looked up, it was just standing there, watching me. It looked like a man, but it was only a shadow.”

“Gracie, are you sure you didn’t fall asleep while you were in the tub? Ever since that Denny boy threatened you, you’ve been having some awfully strange nightmares.”

“I know it wasn’t a dream. I wasn’t sleeping! There was something standing there watching me while I took a bath. I swear I’m not making this up!”

Lilly felt uneasy about her daughter’s claim. Ordinarily, Gracie was a very rational, well-grounded young lady. “I’m calling the cops!” She shouted loudly, so any intruder that may have been in their home would be scared off by her threat. Surely, Gracie had not made this up, so she considered that there could be someone in the house; perhaps it was Denny. While Gracie rushed to put on her flannel pajamas, Lilly ran to her bedroom to grab her cell phone and quickly rejoined her daughter in the bathroom.

As she began to dial 911, the black shadow reappeared in the bathroom doorway, revealing its malevolent presence once more. It was just as Gracie had described, and now Lilly found that she was also unable to speak or move in its company. Suddenly, the door slammed. Gracie had mustered just enough courage to reach for the doorknob, shutting the figure out of the room. At first, the house was enveloped in silence. When a slow, subtle knock began to assault the bathroom door, the women both clung to one another in quiet shock. The knocking grew stronger and louder, and the screws began to fall out of the hinges of old, rickety door. It looked like the door was about to submit to the mysterious force, which lingered on the other side.

Abruptly, the banging stopped. All they could hear was the empty sound of silence; the house was calm and still once again. Lilly quietly called 911 to report the intruder. The operator insisted that she wait with her daughter in the bathroom until the police arrived, but Gracie was already hanging halfway out of the bathroom window by the time Lilly began thinking clearly enough to give her the operator’s instructions.

She grabbed at her daughter’s legs, but it was too late. “Gracie Parker! What are you doing? Get back in here right now. It might not be safe out there either!”

By now, Gracie had landed in the grass, just outside of the window, and she looked up at her mother in defiance. “Mom, there is no way I’m coming back in that house. No freaking way! Come on, mom! It’s not safe in there.”

“I am your mother! I told you it’s not safe for us to go outside yet. Take my hand!”

Lilly tried to pull Gracie back inside, but her daughter refused to grab her hand. “The operator specifically said not to leave this room until an officer gets here, Gracie! Would you please stop being so stubborn? Now take my hand!”

Just as Gracie reached for her mother’s hand, every light in the old, two-story house began to flicker until they were finally extinguished. The black shadow began to reform out of the darkness just behind Lilly. Gracie watched in horror, and the dreadful sight of the shadow made her entire body tremble once again. She gripped both of her mother’s hands and pulled with all of her strength. Lilly hit the cold, hard ground, nearly landing on top of Gracie. She couldn’t believe her daughter had just jerked her out of the window. Once she regained her composure, she turned to see that the black shadow was peering down at them through the bathroom window. Lilly realized that it had come back, and that her daughter had just saved her life.

When Gracie finally awoke, her bath water was room temperature, and she could hear what sounded like the roaring of a motorcycle engine outside. Alarmed, she jumped out of the tub, as she recalled Denny’s threat. She screamed for her mother as she dressed, and Lilly immediately ran into the bathroom with her cell phone.

“I’m calling the police, Gracie. There’s someone on a motorcycle, tearing through our yard. Do you think it’s the boy who’s been harassing you?”

Gracie couldn’t be sure that it was Denny, but if it was, she had a definite reason to fear for her life. “Mom, he said he was going to rape me and kill you. Please don’t let him get in the house!”

When the roar of the motorcycle’s engine suddenly stopped, silence blanketed their entire home, and Gracie recalled her nightmare. She slammed the bathroom door and locked it. Lilly called 911 and told the operator about the threats made against her daughter and the boy outside. She prayed that the officers would catch the young man on her property and put him in jail. Gracie and Lilly were waiting anxiously in the bathroom, when they heard the distinct sound of footsteps in Gracie’s bedroom upstairs.

Gracie’s heart palpitated out of control, and she started feeling dizzy. “Mom, he’s in the house!”

“I know, honey. Listen to me. We are going to run to my bedroom right now. Ready?” Lilly knew they had to make it to her room before the intruder came downstairs.

Gracie nodded in agreement, grabbed her mom’s hand, and they bolted down the hallway and into Lilly’s room. Lilly quietly shut the door and locked it. She pressed her ear against the door and listened. She now heard the footsteps in the downstairs hallway. She ran to her bed, lifted the mattress, and pulled out her handgun.

With the gun trained on her bedroom door, Lilly whispered, “Gracie, open the window. If he gets in here, I want you to crawl out, and run as fast as you can to the neighbor’s house.”

Gracie was weary of her mother’s plan. “I’m not leaving you here with that creep! Lets just go together right now.”

“I’m not going to let this psycho get away. I’ll hold him until the police get here.” Lilly looked at her daughter sternly. “He comes in, you run. Got it?”

Denny kicked the bedroom door three times before it finally gave in to the weathered, steel toe boots on his feet. When Gracie saw that it really was Denny from the bus, right here in her own home, she completely froze. There was an untamed look of hatred behind his demonic stare. His clothes were torn and filthy, and he looked like he had not bathed in weeks. The stench of alcohol and cigarettes filled Lilly’s bedroom, as Denny stood there with a twisted smirk on his face.

Lilly saw the butcher knife in his hand and warned, “Drop that knife! If you take one step closer, I won’t hesitate to shoot you! That’s you’re only warning.”

Denny appeared to be unaffected by her threats and pointed the knife in Gracie’s direction. “I warned you, Gracie. This is your fault. You make me fucking crazy. I have to have you.”

Gracie began to cry, “Denny, please don’t hurt us. I never did anything to you. I don’t understand why you hate me so much. Please put the knife down.”

Denny’s laughter was wild and filled the room with a heavy sound of hatred. Just as he took the first step toward Gracie, a thunderous shot of gunfire quieted the deranged sound of his laughter. He fell to his knees, wide eyed and confused, as the knife slipped from his hand. He glared at Gracie; an unearthly silence filled the room, until Denny spoke his last words.

He stared at Gracie, as he slowly choked on his own blood. “This is only the beginning. I’ll be back for you. Whether you’re awake or dreaming; I won’t stop, Gracie.”

Gracie and Lilly stared in disbelief as Denny took his last breath and collapsed to the bedroom floor. Lilly placed the gun on her nightstand and wrapped Gracie in her arms. When the police finally arrived, Lilly explained that she had no other choice than to shoot the boy. Aside from his verbal threats, Denny had broken into their home and physically threatened them with a knife. Although she didn’t want to be responsible for anyone’s death, she was forced to protect the life of her daughter; a choice that she would never regret.

Behind the Scenes of Writing a Sex Scene

While writing Shadows of Deception, one of the biggest obstacles that I encountered was writing about sex. Love; I can write about love. Violence and suspense; I can do that too. Sex; that was a bit trickier for me! I’ve written my share of short stories and poems, but I’ve never actually described a sexual scene in any of my previous writing. Since my book is a romantic thriller, it was clear from the start that I would eventually have to write about sex, descriptively, and surely my mother would read it. How awkward? And so, the time came when things started to heat up between two characters, who were clearly past the holding hands phase of their relationship.

My goal was to avoid an incredibly raunchy sex scene. I wanted to describe my sex scenes in a sensual way;  a way that would arouse the senses without being overly explicit. That was also hard, because every reader (and writer) has a different idea of what is too sexually explicit. With that in mind, I imagined a ridiculing prude and a sex crazed maniac, and I wrote somewhere in between, hoping that I had pleased them both. I had to write, rewrite, edit, and then edit again before I felt satisfied that my readers (and my characters) would also be satisfied. Now that I have tackled this personal writing obstacle, sex will be much easier to write about in my next book. As always, comments are welcomed!

A steamy excerpt from Shadows of Deception: 

This was not something that he wanted to rush through. Despite his intense lust for her, he also cared very deeply about her. He loved her. Cole spun her around, pressing her stomach gently against the island in the middle of his kitchen. Slowly, he gathered her long hair, revealing her soft, slender neck. He kissed her there softly, over and over, until Annabelle thought she could no longer wait to have him. Cole raised her arms in the air, confidently removing her silk blouse. He began kissing her slowly down her back. He could see the reflection of her face looking back at him in the bay window of his kitchen. Her head was tilted back slightly, and she had a look of complete ecstasy in her eyes. He grinned, and continued kissing down her back.

Aching to feel his mouth against hers, Annabelle spun back around to face Cole. She jumped up onto the island and pulled him in by his waist, settling him firmly in between her thighs. Their eyes locked for a moment, fueled with an unruly passion, and they slowly embarked on the most alluring and taunting exchange of kissing and touching that either of them had ever experienced. Annabelle threw her head back and moaned softly as Cole’s mouth surrounded the nipple of her breast, and he began to unbutton her pants. She had never felt a desire of this intensity in her entire life, and as she felt her jeans hit the floor, she hastily tugged at the button of Cole’s pants and tore open his button down shirt. As she took in the muscular, god-like sight of his body, she could no longer stand the space between them.

Readers and Writers Unite; The Indie Author Experience!!

I’m so excited that I finally published my first e-book to amazon kindle! Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, I can’t express enough how truly amazing the Indie Author experience has been for me. I think the fact that writers, who otherwise would have been pushed aside or overlooked by traditional publishers, have been given a platform in which they can share their unique writing talents and stories is an incredible opportunity. I love that writers can make the first several chapters available for readers to decide whether or not they like the quality and writing style of individual authors. As a reader, I love having this option afforded to me, before I purchase a book. I admit, I had no idea that promoting my own book would be so challenging, but I love a good challenge. I’m new to the twitter community and many of the Facebook groups that I’ve recently joined, but I’ve met some amazing writers along the way. As busy as I am with my own personal and professional life, I find myself wanting to one-click, like, comment, re-tweet, and leave reviews for fellow authors. We have all been blessed with an amazing gift, and it is so nice to finally feel like I’ve found a place where I belong. I feel absolutely at home in the Indie Author community.

Best regards to you all,

Corey Carter

What would you do if you found out that your entire marriage was based on a lie, and your seemingly perfect husband was actually a money hungry psychopath with a dark and twisted past?

Shadows of Deception:

What would you do if you found out that your entire marriage was based on a lie, and your seemingly perfect husband was actually a money hungry psychopath with a dark and twisted past? One phone call from her husband’s mistress was all it took to unravel Annabelle’s otherwise perfect life, sending her on a dangerous journey of fear, paranoia, and unshakable nightmares. After a yearlong divorce process with the man she once knew as a handsome, charming, American hero, Annabelle learns that Evan Montague has been stalking her for months, and he is not at all the man that he claimed to be when they first met. In order to protect herself from his violent threats, including his attempt to extort all of her money, Annabelle is forced to leave her charming Virginia estate.

She travels to the Outer Banks of North Carolina; the last place her ex-husband would think to look for her. Although she has not spoken to her childhood sweetheart in years, she turns to Cole Cross for help. Cole owns an oceanfront beach house and several rental properties on the Outer Banks, and he is generous enough to provide Annabelle with a cottage to serve as her temporary refuge. Once Annabelle reunites with Cole, nothing can extinguish the fiery passion that they harbor for one another; not even the malevolent stalker that waits in the shadows.

As two detectives work tirelessly to put Evan in prison, Annabelle fears that her ex-husband may find her before the police are able to apprehend him. The last time they spoke, Evan vowed to kill her if she didn’t pay up, and there wasn’t a chance that Annabelle would even consider meeting his demands. When a flicker of light from a beach bonfire reveals Evan’s face from the nearby shadows, Annabelle fears that he has somehow found her; or could it have been her overly anxious imagination?