[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-114623-en":3,"doc-seo-114623-105":28,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":89},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":20,"language":21,"language_code":22,"site_id":23,"html_lang":22,"table_of_contents":24,"faqs":25,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":26,"read_time":27},114623,1099514067438,"River Wang","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/100002539ee87300030?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1780474512215547542",1,"Story & Novel","THE MALICE - Part 1 - Chapter 1 - Michael","THE MALICE opens in the Ozark wilderness through Michael’s tense, sensory perspective, blending summer heat, forest detail, and a growing dread. A missing-boys routine in Harrow is treated as normal by adults like the Sheriff, while Michael clings to strict safety rules learned from family. The woods feel alive and ancient, with something that hunts, grinds bones, and never leaves. Michael’s fear is sharpened by the idea that a single trip alone could lead to being taken beyond survival.","[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nTHE MALICE  \n©2026 TYLER HAUTH  \nThis book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of the authors.  \nAETHON & Wicked House support the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.  \nThe scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author ’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [editor@wickedhouse.com](editor@wickedhouse.com. Thank you)[. Thank you](editor@wickedhouse.com. Thank you)[ ](editor@wickedhouse.com. Thank you)for your support of the author ’s rights.  \nWicked House  \n[www.wickedhouse.com](www.wickedhouse.com)  \nPrint and eBook layout, formatting, and design by Joe Hempel. Cover art provided by Covers By Christian (Christian Bentulan) . Published by Wicked House (an AETHON imprint)  \nWicked House is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.  \nThis book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author ’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.  \nAll rights reserved.  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nContents  \nPart One  \n1. Michael  \n2. Floyd  \n3. Doug  \n4. Floyd  \n5. Still Floyd  \n6. Doug  \n7. Carmine  \n8. Floyd  \n9. John  \n10. Doug  \n11. Floyd  \n12. Carmine  \n13. John  \n14. Mary  \n15. Floyd  \n16. Toni  \n17. Doug  \n18. Floyd  \n19. Floyd  \n20. Toni  \n21. Doug  \nPart Two  \n1. Michael  \n2. Beth  \n3. Carmine  \n4. Floyd  \n5. Doug  \n6. Jay  \n7. Toni  \n8. Doug  \n9. Floyd  \n10. Carmine  \n11. John  \n12. Jay  \n13. Floyd  \n14. Doug  \n15. Toni  \n16. Beth  \n17. Toni  \n18. Jay  \n19. Carmine  \n20. Floyd  \n21. Doug  \n22. Toni  \n23. Jay  \nEpilogue  \nThank you for reading The Malice  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nThis book is dedicated to my mother, who has always cared.  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nPart One  \n[O](OceanofPDF.com)[ceanof](OceanofPDF.com)[P](OceanofPDF.com)[DF](OceanofPDF.com)[.](OceanofPDF.com)[com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nChapter 1  \nT he woods swell in the breeze like a great thing taking a deep breath,  \nand Gus sticks out his big tongue to lick the malevolent air. Michael  \nimagines what the dog can smell and taste with that simple lick. Ablaze of maple, the heady pitch of the pines, blackberries and moss, tall grass, tepid ponds, wet bark—a climax of summer. There’s a whole country of forest out there, and the wind blowing through it is interminable. Michael can’t say what land it came from, no more than he can say what lake or river birthed the rain or where thunder learned to talk.  \nThis far into the wild, it’s hard for him to believe Harrow is just a few hours away. The city is an island. Fly a plane over Main Street and you might miss it among the mountains and trees that keep it prisoner. Now he’sadrift in the sea, and if he isn’t careful, he’ll be caught in a current and dragged out farther than he can swim, into the big waves.  \nHe can’t say what it is that’s waiting for him out there. Only that it’s a great thing. An ancient thing. An enormous and dangerous thing.  \nA thing that eats boys.  \nMichael clutches the handle of his hatchet and shakes the terrible thought away. Living in Harrow has made him especially","cbCairA8l7z3rcxb","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairA8l7z3rcxb","pdf",5107399,322,"English","en",105,"# Part One\n## Chapter 1: Michael\n## Floyd\n## Doug\n## Still Floyd\n## Carmine\n## John\n## Mary\n## Toni\n## Epilogue","[{\"question\":\"The Malice is set in what kind of place, and how does it affect Michael?\",\"answer\":\"The setting is Harrow surrounded by a vast national forest, where the woods feel ancient, hungry, and dangerous. The environment intensifies Michael’s fear and shapes his daily caution.\"},{\"question\":\"What does Michael believe is responsible for the missing boys?\",\"answer\":\"Michael believes the adults’ routine explanations hide a true monster-like presence in the forest that hunts, kills, and eats boys.\"},{\"question\":\"What safety rule does Michael follow, and why?\",\"answer\":\"Michael follows rules meant to keep boys safe, especially the first rule: never walk in the woods alone. 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