[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-115946-en":3,"doc-seo-115946-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":92},{"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":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},115946,2336475104957,"Seraphina","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c4c6bd8a5076e1?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1787554080175789136",1,"Story & Novel","When the Cicadas Stop Singing - Chapter One - Cora Faces the Lizard Monster","A dark survival tale opens with the eerie silence of cicadas in a forest that once felt safe. Cora spots an asaurian humanoid lizard monster closing in after taking her boy, and realizes neglecting its warning invites the reaper back into camp. She performs a fierce call to disrupt the creature’s tracking, then races through traps, terrain, and suffocating fear toward a murder hole. Each breath, scent, and footfall tightens the hunt into a desperate chase for control.","WHEN THE CICADAS STOP SINGING  \nBY  \nZACHARY ASHFORD  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nPublished by Horrific Tales Publishing 2021  \n[http://www.horrifictales.co.uk](http://www.horrifictales.co.uk)[ ](http://www.horrifictales.co.uk)Copyright © 2021 Zachary Ashford  \nThe moral right of Zachary Ashford to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and  \nPatents Act, 1988.  \nAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author ’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  \nI usually dedicate my books to my wife and kids, but Ramona knows I love her and the kids know I can’t wait till they’re old enough to read them, so this time, I’m taking a different route. This book wouldn’t be possible without the support of Graeme at Horrific Tales. It just wouldn’t. Dion, who edited this one, deserves a lot of kudos for it becoming the streamlined beast it is today, and Dan Russell’s early read was invaluable. Mostly, though, I want to dedicate this to two of my favourite bands: Revocation and The Black Dahlia Murder. If people enjoy this as much as I’ve enjoyed their music, I’ll know I’ve done a stellar job. PS. I can’t not mention her. My wife, Ramona is seriously amazing. She indulges all of my obsessions and without her holding my life together while I journey into other realms, it would all fall apart. I love you, babe! PPS. You, the reader. The fact you’re holding this is pretty unbelievable to  \nme. You rule!  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nWHEN THE CICADAS STOP SINGING  \nBY  \nZACHARY ASHFORD  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nCHAPTER ONE  \nThe cicadas had fallen silent. If Cora hadn’t seen the lizard monster earlier, she may even have taken a moment to enjoy the peace. She could have appreciated the other sounds that symphonised the forest here beneath their white noise and gave the living foothills beneath the ridgesand uprearing escarpments of the mountain its voice. But the world was a less gentle place now. To neglect this sign would be to invite the reaper back into the camp.  \nFrom her vantage point high up the track, she watched the creature, asaurian humanoid, approach. It didn’t seem to matter how many times they intruded, it would always remain a stressful and sobering experience. This was life now. Precarious. Fragile. Although she was sure they must have their own unique features, she only ever saw the monster that had crept into her sanctuary and taken her boy.  \nThe tension in her chest knotted into a clustering ball of panic as its tongue flickered in and out, no doubt tracking her scent. It tilted its head to the side, listening perhaps. If it were farther out, she’d lead it through the steel-jaw traps she’d pilfered from farmhouses and supply stores overtime. This close, she could only hope to stay far enough ahead of it to get it to the murder hole where she could finish it off the old way.  \nSteadying herself, she took a deep breath, cupped her hands to her mouth and whooped. The sound echoed off rock-faces and travelled beneath the canopy in a swelling burst. There was a poignant moment of nothing, and then the cicadas reacted, exploding into frantic noise that washed over the forest like a tidal wave, echoing off the mountain above her. Birds erupted from trees, cawing loudly, and a kookaburra threw its head back, laughing like a maniac.  \nThe drooling beast tilted its head to one side the","cbCaipMfkV283STN","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipMfkV283STN","pdf",1432181,12,102,"English","en",105,"# Chapter One\n## The forest grows silent\n## The monster approaches\n## Cora lures it with cicada-like sound\n## The chase through traps and terrain","[{\"question\":\"What changes in the forest at the start of Chapter One?\",\"answer\":\"The cicadas fall silent, and Cora senses the world has become far more dangerous. The silence signals a threat and the risk of the reaper returning to camp.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is Cora afraid when the lizard monster appears?\",\"answer\":\"She knows it has crept into her sanctuary before and taken her boy. Its presence triggers panic and urgent survival instincts.\"},{\"question\":\"How does Cora try to gain control of the situation?\",\"answer\":\"She whoops loudly to redirect the creature’s attention, then runs hard toward a planned kill location, aiming to use traps and a murder hole to finish it off.\"}]","When the Cicadas Stop Singing - Chapter One - Cora Faces the Lizard Monster | PDF",1785477852,157,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":87,"head_meta":89,"extra_data":91,"updated_unix":28},"when-the-cicadas-stop-singing-chapter-one-cora-faces-the-lizard-monster","",{"@graph":36,"@context":86},[37,54,69],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,51],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/story-novel/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":53},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/when-the-cicadas-stop-singing-chapter-one-cora-faces-the-lizard-monster/115946/",4,{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":55,"author":56,"headline":13,"publisher":58,"fileFormat":61,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":62,"datePublished":63,"encodingFormat":61,"isAccessibleForFree":64,"interactionStatistic":65},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":57},"Person",{"url":41,"name":59,"@type":60},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-25","2026-07-31",true,{"@type":66,"interactionType":67,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":68},"ViewAction",{"@type":70,"mainEntity":71},"FAQPage",[72,78,82],{"name":73,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":75},"What changes in the forest at the start of Chapter One?","Question",{"text":76,"@type":77},"The cicadas fall silent, and Cora senses the world has become far more dangerous. 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