Short Stories

NOCS: Nocturnal Encounter

Back story: When Dr. Rugenn finds a unique genetic transcription factor from a discovery long buried in a Norwegian glacier, he can turn-on multiple traits left dormant in the human evolution. A new race is reborn: the nocturnals.

Using his favorite mythological creature as inspiration, the scientist is excited to bring about the nocturnals with fangs, nocturnal cat eyes, superior senses and attributes. The nocturnals, or nocs, becomes his pet vampire project. Long after Dr. Rugenn’s death, the small community of nocs lives hidden under the protection of the science society he started.

It is as a scrawny teenage boy that Varian, a noc, first sees Miranda, while she is attending a science fair with her scientist uncle, Ralph. It is love at first sight. His awkward pale appearance and indoor sunglasses register with Miranda as well, but her memory fades while he spends years waiting for an opportunity to expose himself and his kind to her, and woo her. Then one day, Miranda receives an invitation through her skeptics club to attend the summer science seminar at Pinecrest.

Pinecrest is the headquarters of Rugenn’s science society and it’s situated in the countryside by the rural town of Hibonville and the hidden nocturnal community. The deconstructive compound is surrounded by lush pine forests, hills, sweeping fields and a small lake. It is the perfect backdrop for adventure, romance, and tragedy for the young urban seminar attendees. The focus of the seminar is to distill mythological creatures and find scientific possibilities behind the myth.

Nocs: Nocturnal Illumination

When all is wonderful, disaster lurks around the corner. While the Nocturnal Encounter introduced us to the scene and the characters surrounding the nocturnal community.

The sequel - Nocturnal Illumination, brings us outside the contained environment of Pinecrest and out into the world, and into the big city. Miranda can't shake the drama that always seems to linger in her path, and Varian can't seem to catch a break in the pursuit of his dream - Miranda.

Nocturnal Illumination is a larger story with a sinister twist, or two. The drama, the action, and the twisted minds of the derailed are causing the nocturnal community considerable grief. But there is more.

Unbeknownst, Miranda has become a collector of clues. She holds the key to the long-unsolved mystery of the nocturnal origin. Much was lost in the Rugenn fire many decades earlier, but not all. In Miranda's world free of superstition, her stars readily align, and her fate is illuminated by signs of reemergence.