I’m travelling at the moment, so my writing has been a little interrupted. I like to keep to my routine though, so I’m sharing an extract from the game I’m currently working on – it’ll be out either this month or early next. We’ll be back to normal service here next week.

It was a new moon. The night sky wore clouds like bundled sleeves, enveloping stars that would only have been faint comfort if they were visible. The warm, heavy heat had settled earlier in the day, announcing both the coming storm and its own intention to linger as long as possible, insolent, spiteful and sullen. [] tossed a stone into the lake. She heard it plump into the water, and imagined more than saw the ripples. There were stories about the lake. Terrible stories. She didn’t believe them, but she didn’t feel safe there either. The car had broken down. Her brother had gone for help, and she’d promised to stay in the car, but it was so hot. She couldn’t help thinking that the gasoline had congealed into jelly – that’s not how it works, her brother had snorted – and she knew that if she stayed in the car any longer, her blood would congeal in exactly the same way. And she’d die, and rot in her grave, and when they exhumed her the blood would be all that was left, like the tunnels of an ant colony cast in red concrete slurry. She tossed another stone. It went plump, and she listened to the ripples, and wondered if she had a latent sonar ability. She didn’t see the ringed, puckered hand reach out of the water. She didn’t notice the scaly, frilled body that followed. She idly threw another stone, and – dook – registered its impact on something other than water before being seized and dragged screaming into the thick, dark lake.