The sound lingers in my memory more than the pain, because it had been so peaceful in the park beforehand. Every night on my way home from work, I would go out of my way to enjoy that scenery. Then, in a literal flash, all the serenity disappeared. No one could ever describe how loud lightning is when it strikes right next to you--or in this case, on you. I wouldn't be surprised if the thousand decibels knocked me out, instead of the million volts of electricity. My ears were ringing for days, and I'm still not confident I could ace a hearing test. Like my grandpa who had tinnitus, I kept thinking an ambulance was going by or the tea kettle was ready, but it was just the lightning's echo. I was worried that constant chiming wouldn't ever go away. When it finally did, I would've given anything to have it back. Alex Tucker returns with Scared Sh!tless, his second book with Alien Buddha Press, following the highly rated 2025 novella Afraid to Feel, where one reviewer called him "the new master of slow-burn psychological horror." In this chilling collection, a woman finds her own way to survive in post-apocalyptic San Diego, a man is forced to play a twisted game where Saw meets Squid Game, the animal inhabitants of Yellowstone prevent history from repeating itself, an accident leaves a woman with a bizarre gift, or curse, and a disturbing version of Scrabble turns words into terrifying reality.