AUREALIS AWARD 2024 FINALIST

When Sam's ex, Danny, winds up gutted beyond recognition, Sam has no memory of where he was at the time. He can only remember the strange comfort of his new house. The endless ticking of a clock he can't find. The bloody knife he woke up holding the morning Danny was killed.

Sam's guilt over Danny is undercut by the endless ticking, a growing desire to drink from the dead, and anonymous GPS pings that lead him to corpses. The stench of them rotting makes him hungry.

He begins to feel the ticking inside him, feeding a darkness he's long ignored. It compels him to take what he wants, regardless of the price. When he begins to act on his bloodlust, the ticking leads him to the death of a loved one.

The clock begins to point to more of Sam's friends and family, begging for their blood. Fuelled by a deep desire to feed, and compelled by the power of the ticking clock, how far will Sam go to get what he wants?