Evoking the paranoid tension of Rosemary's Baby and the unnerving atmosphere of the cult horror film Jacob's Ladder, The Cracks in the Labyrinth is a disturbing psychological thriller set in present-day Caracas, where the government has devolved into a "democratic dictatorship"-a creepy suspense novel meant to challenge your deeper, subconscious fears of losing control. It consumed the sanity of an entire country... And it was not from this world. It couldn't have been. Whatever caused the incident known as "The Red Christmas" drove Venezuela into madness. Even ten years since it happened, none of the survivors of that night dare to attempt to make sense of it all, including Adam. Living ostracized to hide from the brutal way of life in Caracas, he's working tirelessly as an online writer to help his brother and sister flee the country. Now, as he's about to have enough money to take them to safety, he receives an email from his old girlfriend ... which is remarkable, considering she's been presumed dead for years. Adam tries to think nothing of the email or the broken video file attached to it. He convinces himself that it has to be a computer virus of some kind until he discovers something terrifying: the video might link his sister to the worst night of his life, the night his girlfriend went missing, the night of "The Red Christmas". Then he realizes this could be a threat; his sister's life could be in danger. As he starts to investigate who sent the video, Adam begins to uncover dark truths about his neighbors and finds evidence that there might be a larger conspiracy at play. The problem is that he's starting to suffer from hellish hallucinations that make him question what is real. Soon, the only clear thing to him is that someone doesn't want him to dig up the past. Will Adam be able to stay sane long enough to find out what really happened the night of "The Red Christmas"? Will he succeed in helping his family escape the country?

Conan Hill is a trans male looking to escape his haunting past. He wants nothing more than to keep his head down and remain unnoticed at his new school, though that is quite difficult when the captain of the track team seems to have fallen for him. ***** Life has been hard for Conan. In hopes of escaping past bullies and finding a fresh start where no one knows who he used to be, his family decides to move from Texas to Massachusetts. He makes a promise to himself that he will survive high school by going unnoticed and avoiding any conflict that might reveal his former identity. But this ends up being more difficult than expected when the school's golden boy and popular jock, Owen Wilson, takes up a keen interest in him. Could this be the beginning of something beautiful for Conan, or just another chapter of his life that he would have to run away from? Content/trigger warning: This story contains themes of bullying, transphobia, homophobia, abuse, and suicidal thoughts, as well as sexual activity. [[word count: 80,000 - 90,000]] Cover designed by Jenna Conrad