Disease
an excerpt

Chapter Zero
Another circular area, in the exact center of the clearing. It looked small from where the guard was standing, but as he stepped slowly closer to it, he realized it was no tiny hole. It was what appeared to be a bottomless pit at least fifteen feet in diameter. He reached the edge and hovered over the black abyss, an odor sifting into his nose and burning the insides of his nostrils as he did so. He lifted his hand to his nose and pulled his head from above it. He couldn’t describe this stench, it was something new to him, but the guard had never smelled anything so bad in his life. It was like death.

Chapter One
The sound of his body hitting the ground was drowned out by that of the crashing objects and piles of papers and books being sent to a huge mess on the floor. And the final sound of a door slamming, and the very distant sound of footsteps disappearing in the direction of the village.

Chapter Two
Ashlee stared into the office window in front of her as she squirmed uncomfortably in the plastic cushioned chair. It was meant to be professional and high-tech looking, but the quality should not have been suffered for trying to stay up with the times. She was always trying to point out little things that were out of place or wrong in some sort of way. She noticed that the clock on the wall to the left of her above the secretary’s desk was crooked slightly, causing the 6 to be in the place where the 5 ought to have been.