UNKNOWN

A Mysterious Small-Town Crime with Cosmic Repercussions. In 2005, Police Sergeant Stacy Keppler worked her first big case: the abduction of Matt Freeman, a young boy taken from his bedroom in the dead of night. The only witness to the crime: Matt's older sister, whose story of "Gray Men" was dismissed by almost everyone, causing the case to eventually go cold. Now, nineteen years later and on the eve of her retirement, Stacy receives news she never expected to get: they've found Matt Freeman alive. But the young man who has returned is...different. Changed. And things about his story just aren't adding up. Skeptical of the official narrative and determined to learn the truth, Stacy heads down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and cover-ups in an effort to finally solve the case that has haunted her for decades.

2025 IngramSpark(R) Editorial Selection - Horror

Patrick Barb is an author of weird, dark, and horrifying tales, currently living (and trying not to freeze to death) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His published works include his debut sci-fi/horror novel Abducted, the dark fiction collections The Children's Horror and Pre-Approved for Haunting, the novellas The Nut House, Night of the Witch-Hunter, and JK-LOL, as well as the novelette Helicopter Parenting in the Age of Drone Warfare. In addition, he is the editor and publisher of the anthology And One Day We Will Die: Strange Stories Inspired by the Music of Neutral Milk Hotel, and runs the monthly interview column "Your Favorite Author's Favorite Author" in Shortwave Magazine. His 2023 short story "The Scare Groom" was selected for Best Horror of the Year Volume 16. Visit him at patrickbarb.com.