I am working on a special surprise for all of my blog subscribers, and today I will share a very small part of that surprise! It is the first chapter of a new novella I am going to send out near the end of November. You’ll hear the blurb soon, but for today, here is chapter one!
Chapter One: A Very Sour Hermit
There was nothing that Cassie Eldwin hated more than going into town on a perfectly lovely Wednesday morning.
As she drove her battered Ford into town, it took everything in her willpower not to scowl at everyone watching her pass by. Looks of surprise and curious stares followed her through the windows, people trying to look subtle about the fact that they were gossiping about her.
Don’t they have better things to do? She wondered, pulling her truck in front of the feed store. Surely, there was some sort of work to be done. She knew that there was certainly a lot of work back at the homestead, and the longer she stayed in town, the longer she would put off that desperately needed ride on Cobalt.
What rotten luck that her monthly supply run would have to be today.
She parked the truck and strode out, bearskin cloak swishing around her. She almost smirked when the stares intensified.
Like they’ve never seen a bearskin coat before. She shook her head. And I thought these were ranchers. Let them freeze, I suppose, in those flimsy windbreakers of theirs.
She stomped inside the feedstore, greeted by even more stares inside.
Just get the feed, get what you need, then go back home. She made a beeline for the hardware section.
It didn’t help that the people staring at her were people that she’d known since she was a little girl. She’d rather have strangers stare at her than old acquaintances.
The old acquaintances always had pity in their stares. Cassie didn’t understand that. She was doing perfectly fine since Mom’s death— she was happier by herself up in the woods. Her homestead was all she needed, and it was only excursions like this that put her into a very bad mood.
I’d spend five minutes with my animals over twenty with humans any day. She thought, shaking her head at the outrageous price jumps on greenhouse plastic. If those high-and-mighty snobs in the government don’t stop printing all of that cash soon, I’m going to have start paying for food. The thought made her shudder.
She grabbed the greenhouse plastic, a new pair of pruning shears, and a canister of neatsfoot oil before heading to the checkout line.
A young mother leading her daughter through the store by the hand suddenly jerked her down the aisle when she saw Cassie. The cashier’s mouth was actually open, and her eyes were as round as saucers.
“Do you have any .338 Winchester Magnum bullets?” Cassie asked, setting the items on the counter.
The cashier, not much more than a teen girl, stared at her, blinking.
“Hello?” Cassie snapped, wondering if she’d also had the misfortune of getting a mute cashier.
The cashier— Rhonda by her name tag— shook herself as if suddenly awake from her stupor. “Oh… sorry… .300?”
“.338. Though I’ll take the .300 if you’ve got them.” Cassie crossed her arms, waiting as “Rhonda” went toward the safe and pulled out a box of .338s.
She handed it to Cassie, then turned to the cash register. “That’ll be $240 for the greenhouse plastic, $13 for the shears, $19 for the Neatsfoot Oil, and $60 for the bullets. Total is $332, not including tax.”
Good grief. Cassie dug in her pocket, counted out the cash, and gritting her teeth handed it over.
The cashier blinked, staring blankly at the cash.
“What? You’ve never seen a Benjamin before?” Cassie grunted.
The cashier blinked and jumped to sort the money out. “Oh, no, Ma’am, that’s not it. You just don’t see that many people paying in cash these days.”
“Well how else am I supposed to make sure those snoopy tax people can’t track my finances?” Cassie grabbed her purchases. “Good day.”
“Merry Christmas!” The cashier squeaked.
Is it already Christmas? Cassie shook her head. That explained all of the ridiculous lights and decorations she’d seen on her way into town. Sometimes you just couldn’t tell.
Well, the sooner she got out of here, the better.
At least I had good enough luck to not have a nosy cashier. She shoved the plastic into the back of the truck, set the neatsfoot oil, bullets, and pruning shears on the passenger seat and switched the truck into reverse to back out of the parking lot.
Home. Please. She set her eyes on the far peak, trying to focus on it.
The sooner she could get home, the sooner this terrible part of her day would be over and she could get back to her normal, comfortable homestead.
At least there, she didn’t have to deal with people.
***
Cold.
Why does Colorado have to be so cold?
Riley Monroe shivered as she forced one foot in front of the other, knee deep in thick snow. She blinked rapidly. There was even frost on her eyelashes.
Suck it up. She growled at herself. Do you WANT to go back to Aunt June’s house?
Obviously, no. But getting to Parachute to catch her connecting bus to Denver was a lot harder than she expected.
I think I’m just wandering in circles now. She stared at a furry pine tree in front of her, slowly turning into a dark shadow as the sun fell and the temperature dropped. Have I seen this tree before?
Dark gray clouds were moving in. They were blotting out the few early stars, cloaking the sky with a promise of more snow.
Great. Riley shook her head. Why couldn’t she have been sent away to a warm climate? Sure, Denver was cold… but at least the street sweepers cleared the snow. Warm climates were easier to run away in.
And now I’m definitely sure I’m lost. She almost smacked into a burly, bald tree with a familiarish hole in the middle. How long have I been out here, anyway?
Somewhere behind her, she heard the eerie howl of a wolf. For a normal person, that would be spooky enough.
But not for her. Oh no, not for the freak who could hear what animals really said.
And that peculiarity made the howl even more creepy.
“Keep awaayyyyyy!” The thin voice of the wolf howled. “KEEPPP AWAAYYYYYYY!!!”
A second how started up. “WANNNNDEEREERRRS BEWWAAARREEE!!! KEEEP AWAAAAAAAAAYYYY!”
Soon, they filled the forest.
“KEEEPPP AWAYYYYYY!!!”
“WANDERERS BEWAAAARRREEE!”
“RUUUNNN BUTT CAN’T HIDDDEEE!!!”
“HUMAN SCENT! HUMAN SCENT! HUUUNNNNTTT!!!”
Now there was a chorus of footfalls behind her, the yaps, snarls and howls growing and intensifying.
They’re hunting me.
Riley broke into a run, barely missing smacking into the trees in the darkness, staggering through the snow. Her numb legs barely held her weight, and the swift wolves were catching up.
Darkness. Everything was darkness. She couldn’t even see where she was going.
Eyes peered at her from the darkness. She heard their whispers as they began to surround her.
She thought she saw a yellow light up ahead, but just as her eyes focused on it, she smacked into something hard and solid and her vision went black.
Woah…. O_O (This is super good!! Very intense.)