Taking Three (Paperback)

DEATH KEEPS COUNT IN THE TOWN OF SOKE As the numbers rise, time winds down for 11-year-old Robbie Callahan and Officer Merl Burt. They face a creature-Old Coals-whose power to prey upon its victims' fears has made reality of the old wives' tale that death comes in threes. Stalking the subconscious, Old Coals warps reason to wound, thought to poison. It kills by fashioning our fears into weapons, summoning despair, extinguishing the will to live. None save the ostracized eccentric called Wacky Jacky has ever withstood an encounter. Prepared for the conflict by his recently deceased Dad, Robbie fights Old Coals with memory and imagination, while Merl, who's dismissed the supernatural creature as legend, fights his own skepticism. Both must find the strength to move beyond reason, to overcome disbelief and to rely on faith-Robbie, in his father's lessons; Merl, in his friend Wacky Jacky's nonsensical rants-if they are to survive this day. Two already have died. But, Old Coals is taking three. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Author Mark R. McCallum was born and raised in the South. After earning a Bachelors in English from Presbyterian College and a Masters in Journalism from the University of Georgia, he spent 10 years as a sportswriter and 12 producing content for Internet-related companies before placing his career in God's hands and taking a giant leap of faith.Finding serenity amid this tumult, he uncovered the town of Soke and its inhabitants. While he parlayed his passion for baseball, hockey and World War II into work as a freelance writer, he remained drawn to the town, visiting often. Mark presently resides in Covington, Ga., noting how the supernatural touches our daily lives and smiling atwhat lurks in the darkness.