'The clouds had returned. The Figure looked up, still no rain. He continued to drift aimlessly through the desert. As far as the infinite horizon there was sand. Nothing else, and as The Figure often liked to think, no-one else.' A horror-tinged short story of a mute drifter that travels through a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Thanks to VanillaBeanWriter for the awesome cover that perfectly fits the tone and ideas and my editor for forcing me to create an actual mythos, dealing with my awful spelling and making the narrative tighter. Part one of a trilogy.

'The rain had come at last, embracing the world, refusing to let go. The Figure stepped in another in a long line of invisible puddles, making the one in his boot even deeper. He scaled the hill, the sand that covered it for what had seemed so long, fell rapidly, taking the memories of Before with it. He wasn't nostalgic about it. The only thing that crossed his mind was the fact that underneath the sand was only rock, he would have to hurry. He rushed up the hill, at last seeing the top, hoping it would hold his asylum. The rain held him back, causing him to slow down, slightly unnerved at slipping and falling to his certain death. But he still clambered, hoping he would make progress as the sea of sand in his eyes deepened, hitting his face like bullets, but the pain was nothing new to him. He pulled himself up his final obstacle and instantly regretted it.' Continuing from 'Before, A Tale of The Figure' The Figure finds himself in need of shelter in his quest for survival, he is found and becomes trapped in a house that he must escape before he is trapped forever. Just to point out, whilst it contains the same lead character and follows on a few of the hanging threads of it's predecessor, this story is pretty much completely standalone and almost completely different in tone ('Before' is a post-apocalyptic thriller- this is a full-on gothic horror) so you can read this first if you want. Again thanks to my editor for his annoying obsession with such insignificant things like 'grammar', 'spelling', 'continuity' and 'plot holes' and VB writer for the incredible cover.

'The rain crashed down to earth like Satan from heaven, it would not stop. Though The Figure wished it would, his arms pushed against the sheer power of the flood, he felt as if he would lose consciousness any millisecond, yet he continued to fight the numbness that enveloped his body, not daring to stop. Mountains taunted him from far away, beyond his reach, beyond the threshold of his weakened body. His leg, burning in the water, had almost stunted his progress, it would not move, despite his desperation, his hat had fallen off his head, it floated peacefully in the water, almost taunting him. He let it lie there, at peace. His determination not wavering, he continued.' Again, this story is pretty standalone, so you don't have to worry about not knowing the continuity and whatnot. Containing the trilogy of standalone-but-connected stories that began with 'Before, A Tale Of The Figure' and continued with 'The House, A Tale of The Figure' This short story will take The Figure through his most dangerous situation yet. His survival is necessary, but not inevitable. A Tale of survival and suspense that will push you to your limits. Thanks to Vanillabeanwriter for the incredible cover! For Seamus.