Periphery

It lurks at the edge of our world, a dark mirror universe that feeds off negative energy. A surreal, barren hellscape where all hope is lost... The Periphery. Damiano Sourci seeks to change all that... at least so that it better suits him. The leader of a mystical cult known as The Collective, he urges his loyal followers, including right hand man Matt Weiland, to help fulfill an ancient prophecy, and literally take a leap of faith. The Collective assemble on the desert plains of The Periphery, in hooded robes, consume a blinding poison, and then step off a cliff in a stunning act of mass suicide. In our universe, known as The Core World, Matt Weiland awakens from a bad dream. A grizzled police detective, his investigation into the mysterious appearances of five unidentified corpses has thus far yielded no leads and seems to coincide with the onset of a degenerative eye condition, affecting his peripheral fields. He then gets the call, from his partner, Faraday. More bodies. Twelve in all, dressed in robes, with astrological symbols on their backs, scattered across the main intersection in town. It's an apocalyptic sight, and one that has brought traffic to a standstill for miles. When he arrives on scene, Weiland is confronted with another startling revelation. One of the corpses looks exactly like him. Baffled by this ominous sight, he and Faraday, confer with witnesses, who all swear the bodies appeared out of thin air. But another big surprise awaits Weiland. FBI Agent Kristof LeBarre leads them to the outskirts of town where one more body has been found. This one a dead ringer for Weiland’s late father, who perished in a mine collapse ten years prior. Suddenly, the case has become eerily personal and prescient. Meanwhile, in an underground chamber, within the now abandoned mine complex, Damiano Sourci has crossed worlds and set up shop, working to open a gateway to The Periphery and unleash a swarm of winged, parasitic demons known as Acherons, into our reality. But first, he’ll need to take out The Collective's opposite numbers in The Core World. Using an ancient protocol rooted in astrological magic, he sets about tracking them down, one by one, and sacrificing them in a brutally ritualistic manner. In the county morgue, surrounded by John and Jane Doe’s, Weiland, Faraday, and LeBarre struggle to make sense of the bizarre case. But it’s not long before more bodies are turning up, courtesy of Sourci. Despite his tunnel vision, it’s crystal clear to Weiland what’s happening, and the race is on to track down the others, beginning with Naomi, a waitress he crossed paths with earlier that day. Weiland’s eyesight deteriorates further, but grants him unique glimpses into The Periphery, out of the corner of his eyes. Haunted by Acherons at every turn, he must utilize these startling glimpses, these fleeting, yet revelatory visions, to help put an end to Sourci's plans.   As the serial killing cult leader's dark agenda comes to fruition, and Weiland’s vision worsens, the troubled cop increasingly learns to walk by faith and not by sight. PERIPHERY From the corners of our world, a new horror is edging closer. ************The REVIEWS are in on PERIPHERY************** "ATMOSPHERE: The visuals you describe for the alternate world are gorgeous. I really felt as though I travelled through landscapes... with the occult energy of PRINCE OF DARKNESS and neo-noir energy of SE7EN. With a bit of Moebius imagery turned gothic and horrific. This gothic energy doesn't leave once we slip back into the real world, and that's amazing. This sort of sinister bleakness mixed with the colorful yet horrifying shapes of the periphery. Your story definitely has a visual identity, and a truly captivating one. I loved the first appearance of the Whispers at the beginning. Now that's horrifying, perfect for an introduction. Very reminiscent of Hell's Styx, but skybound ! ...To be fair, the Acherons as a whole are pretty interesting opponents. The fact they shapeshift and are so various is intriguing, but each description you give of them is a pleasure to visualize for a horror story. The parallel between the characters's peripheral vision and the Periphery world (and the title) is honestly captivating. As for the occult imagery (the theodolite, the fortune teller shop, the underground chamber, etc..) amazing! It was on point to make me feel like I was a disciple of Sir John Dee as well. PLOT: I love the fact the corpses have been sent into an alternate universe. Now, that's horror. Both conceptual and classic horror. At that point of the plot, it made me totally invested and captivated. The point of view changes regularly: that's good, that's pretty dynamic. It doesn't let the audience get bored, and help your characters show their personality off and build up. The vulture metaphor p.12 was a really nice touch, contributed to the southern gothic horror. The Brenda flashes moment felt really Lynchian, it was enjoyable. Most of the flashbacks have this energy! ...The sex scene between Naomi and Matt is an amazing example of Eros and Thanatos, I loved it. It felt at first like you were writing a casual sex scene as needed in this kind of plot, but no! It was relevant, intense, and horrifying. Good job, that was one of my favorite moments. The parts where the doppelganger bodies wake up around Dr. Nichols are terrifying, one of the moments where it truly feels like a horror movie. The fact the true followers (the periphery's doppelgangers) take over their core world counterpart bodies is bone-chilling! Let me say this straight: your writing is gorgeous... The plot is quite ambitious. It wants to be a polar, a cult horror movie, and an alternate universe story at the same time. It's going to be hard to tie all of these together harmoniously, but I salute your efforts and admire your desire to mix genres in a baroque piece like this one. Between the heart on fire, the flying dark antagonist and the elongated skeleton shadows, it's all extremely gothic and fantastic. On paper it works... I know this has potential... “ *****************************************************