It is spreading, consuming, and destroying us all. Can you see it? Hear it? Feel it? There is a sickness here.

In Aiden Merchant’s latest collection, you’ll attest to obsession, hunger, domination, and other terrible things that will leave you without a happy ending.

In “Last Meal,” an astronaut must flee an assault of his scientific station, accompanied by the small alien specimen he’s been tasked to bring home. But when his escape capsule loses all power and communication, and his oxygen reserves begin depleting, survival looks bleak.

In “Just A Baby,” a diving instructor captures a small, unknown eel from the reef, only to learn it’s something far more dangerous. Not only can it multiply on its own, it grows much larger than the palm of your hand.

In “Camping Isn’t for Everyone,” a boy and his stepfather stumble upon a new species of beetle in the wilderness, hungry and quick. They’ll burrow under your skin before you know it, and feed upon your blood, muscle, and bone. Eventually, you’ll be nothing but a sack of skin.

You’ll be presented danger in all forms, as well questions of bravery and foolishness. What if a doorway to another dimension were to open before you? Would you step through and see what awaits on the other side? If you came in possession of a necklace that controls a powerful demon, would you make yourself a god and conquer? If you could bring back your dead child through the sacrifice of your partner, would you commit murder?

There is sickness all around us.