Scorched Earth

Four college friends go inner-tubing down the Wakkamungus River after a forest fire has devastated the surrounding landscape. As they float through an eerie silence, they can't help but feel that there's something else out there...something watching them. They soon find themselves in a life and death struggle against something that has risen from the smoldering ashes.This short story is also part of Arnold's collection 'Bait & Other Stories'. Joel Arnold is the author of several novels. His short stories and articles have appeared in dozens of publications, including WEIRD TALES, CHIZINE, AMERICAN ROAD MAGAZINE and Cemetery Dance's anthology SHIVERS VII. In 2010 he received both a MN Artists Initiative Grant as well as the Speculative Literature Foundation's Gulliver Travel & Research Grant.Arnold teaches writing at student workshops throughout Minnesota and has given presentations about the Ox Cart trails of Minnesota and the Dakotas to several historical societies and other groups interested in history. He also serves as the literary director for the Savage Arts Council.Arnold lives near the Twin Cities in Minnesota with his wife, two kids, two cats, a dog and a ball python. Plus he makes a mean coffee cake.Sign up for his monthly newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/Gre2f