I wrote this following a dream. All I can remember from the dream is that I was standing atop a platform in space and there were three rings floating in the darkness right at the end of the station. One of these rings was sheathed in flame. Thus, the inspiration for the beginning of this story. What followed afterward, is simply of product of my mind without the influence of my dreams. The game Dead Space may have influenced me a bit as well, if I’m being honest.

I’ve always hated the cliche of aliens. Why were they so odd-looking and physically weak in all the movies and shows I saw growing up? Well, I decided to change that cliche and carve out my own idea of an alien. They’re fearsome creatures better than us in every single aspect.

I also wanted to twist the idea of them descending on our world from above for various reasons that have been overplayed time and time again in media. The creatures in The Source merely “arrive” to survive. The Source, as you will learn if you read the story, is an artifact created by a species on the verge of extinction. Its final dying breath is this artifact and once it awakens, it afflicts those around it with madness as it morphs their minds (and eventually their bodies) into something different. It is the progenitor of a long dead alien species.

William Donahue utilized his awesome editing skills to make this novella what it is, and the cover art is something I licensed from shutterstock, created by Tithi Luadthong.

I hope you check it out on Smashwords and that you dig it. I will write the next part and publish it for free also if I get enough interest from readers. So, if you want more of the story, drop me a comment, an email, a message on FB, or just tell me in person. I’d love to hear from all of you.

the-source

As the Earth withers and dies, humanity discovers an alien artifact capable of generating massive amounts of breathable atmosphere, allowing them to migrate to three normally uninhabitable planets similar to their dying home. The Source is placed on a station far off the worlds where its gift can be directed to the three planets. Without cause, the gate to New World I begins to malfunction, threatening a massive evacuation and the possibility of a complete shutdown of all the gates. The engineers aboard the station find that the Source is not a mere machine. It lives just as they do, and it requires sustenance to continue living, to begin propagating an alien species long extinct. For the Source to live, however, people must die. Will the very thing that saved humanity ultimately be its demise?