The annual Fourth of July carnival has come to the small town of Lakewood, and fear has come with it.

Sheriff Sarah Keller and her deputy find themselves investigating an increasing number of deaths. As their investigation deepens, a chilling truth becomes clear:

These are not accidents. Something is killing people. Something not human, or even biological.

Something somehow alive, and not here for festivities.

NOTE: Previously published as “The Independent” in 2013.