The Broken
Sean Frawley
language
(Garden Shed Publishing, Feb. 22, 2014)
Like most fourteen-year-old boys, Link Hartkins doesn't believe in monsters. So when he catches his little brother Ayden talking to an empty wall, Link doesn't think much of it and simply asks for an introduction to Ayden's imaginary friend. But even at four years old, Ayden knows the "moving dark" isn't his friend. Monsters don't have friends.Link assumes his brother is probably imagining things, but after the recent death of their mother, Link vowed to keep Ayden safe at all costs. In his search for answers to explain Ayden's disturbingly odd behavior, Link uncovers a camera hidden in their new house. Since talking to his brother is getting him nowhere, the next time Ayden claims to see a monster, Link decides to play along. He pretends to capture it inside the camera he found by taking its picture. As if by magic, Ayden returns to normal...at least for the remainder of the day. But soon after Link develops the film, he discovers that Ayden hasn't been imagining things. The monsters haunting him are real.With the camera accidentally revealed, the only thing remaining to prevent these monsters from invading the world of the living is the unbreakable bond between two brothers.