Chapter 1

His heart stopped beating for a moment. One brief moment. Still it was enough to let the demons in. Glen's heart condition was a common yet rare one. Millions of people live normal lives without any knowledge that an occasional beat is skipped. There is no tingling in the arm. There are no chest pains. Just a slight pause before business as usual.

Glen is a bit analytic about his health at 32 years old. Not a hypochondriac, just analytical. He has spent his life learning the bare minimum about his body and making assumptions that have not caused him any damage. Not to this point in his thirty second year on the planet. Scrapes and bruises were not a big deal. Glen's immune system could handle those minor things as long as he wasn't rolling in toxic sludge or dining at Taco Bell on tainted lettuce or green onions.

Glen lived his life without much notice of his body until something did not function as it should. When he bumped his ankle on the coffee table at Trent's parents' house in the 7th grade, he couldn't recall if he had heard a slight pop or if he had felt a snap. He knew his ankle hurt but he could still walk on it. As long as he didn't let a diagnosis slip by his brain, Glen felt in control of his life. The first 27 were smooth. Smooth until Samantha came along. Before the old woman on the corner started pointing nervously as he passed, muttering to herself.

"That one dreams of demons, he does."

If only he could lose them again when he wakes.