Excerpt: Me and the Devil

The board appeared to have been wiped clean, though Brett imagined he could see faint letter and number shaped variations in the chalk dust on it. A sudden wave of dizziness washed over him, and he had to catch himself on the chalk tray.

The room grew brighter around him, like a gray fog lit by headlights. He spun around to see a room full of foggy students sitting at their desks, facing him expectantly. He heard no sound, and the kids were very, very still.

It was gone in a blink, and he was facing the dark chalkboard again. There were words there now, written in large, shaky block letters:

YOU ARE GOING DOWN, SOON.