When the towns local Witch goes missing, her two familiars set out to find her. Matias only really likes one person, his witch, Eve. So when she goes missing one day he's determined to find her. Even if that means putting up with the annoying crow of hers. But there's only one problem, Matias has no clue where to start. Logical, the only right thing to do is blame the girl who's always hanging out around their cottage. Selene has been told to be scared of the witch that lives at the edge of town, and she is. Or at least she thinks she is. The witch is the only one who really stirs something in her gut, and it has to be fear, right? When a cat and a crow come to ask her to help them find the witch she's hesitant. How could she possibly be able to find her? But when no one else in town seems to be searching and the cat seems almost desperate she decides to help. How hard can it be to find someone who disappeared without leaving anything behind? *** An ONC 2024 Novella

When a struggling pianist takes up an offer to play at the mansion of an elusive billionaire dollmaker's son, she is not prepared for the horrors she finds within. ♤ Trying to maintain her scholarship at Juilliard and also pay her rent, nineteen-year-old Divya Mahavant is playing at a piano bar for bejeweled New York socialites when she is approached by a handsome stranger. He is Alexander Glass, with his diamond eyes and charming smile and a cheque with more zeros than she has ever seen on a single line. However, it is clear that there is something not quite right about the job and that The Glass Estate is hiding a sinister secret. Small things give it away at first--the ink pens filled with blood, the gilded paintings of eyeless corpses. The smell of rot masked by expensive perfumes. The beautiful Alexander, who smiles wider each time her fingers falter on the piano keys. As the horrors begin unraveling and the secrets begin festering, Divya cannot help but wonder if she will make it out alive.

When Marissa's poodle, Thor is snatched, the police can do nothing, so she goes to a private investigator. Their initial encounter leaves her shaken and wondering whether it's time to review her decision to avoid men. Graham gave up on women after a series of disastrous relationships, but something about Marissa stirs him. Dog? Oh, yes, there's a dognapping to solve. Written for ONC 2024 in response to the prompt: Sometimes words speak louder than actions. This story was named a Winner in both Round One and Round Two.

An ONC 2024 entry A regular museum worker one day, Raul Mendez finds his life turned upside down when he gets dragged into a supernatural grapple for power that threatens to plunge the world into eternal darkness.

THE WORLD IS CORRUPTED. THE WORLD WILL START ANEW. ━━━━ Generations after Adam and Eve, evil runs through the veins of every human being on earth. A great Cleansing is coming, and all life will be wiped out. Na'el doesn't know any of this. Betrothed to the son of a lunatic, the duties of her as a woman pressure her more than any impending apocalypse. But when the rain starts to fall, her life hangs in the balance. Which will destroy her first; love, or the Flood? ━━━━ ROUND TWO WINNER FOR ONC2024 ✨

Like every other day, Sunny is out walking back from the 24/7 store with some midnight snacks and cola. While he was lost in his daily tradition of walking in the chilly nights with no thoughts, he stops midway in a secluded dark area and lights up a cigarette. All of a sudden he is run over by someone who he identifies as a girl. Before he can question what was going on, he is dragged behind the nearby bushes with a hand over his mouth. TW: Discussions on mental health disorders, themes of self harm and suicide.