Daywalker ~ The Beginning: A Dark Fantasy Short Story by Tessa Dawn

Author:Tessa Dawn [Dawn, Tessa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781937223052
Publisher: Ghost Pines Publishing, LLC
Published: 2012-02-29T23:00:00+00:00

five

Of course, the address on the man in black’s business card would have to dump me in an empty gravel lot beside a narrow hiking trail, in what could only be called the Sedona desert. Sure, there were probably amazing caves and cliffs to be explored and beautiful vistas to behold, but I had no idea where I was going. As it stood, it was getting late—almost five-thirty—and I didn’t want the sun to go down while I wandered around like the lost.

Regretting my careless choice to bring Skippy with me, I rolled down his window, just enough to allow him some air but not enough to let him escape. Then I grabbed a bottle of water, a flashlight, and the trail map I had taken from a wooden box staked to a post at the canyon entrance and I started down the trail.

I don’t pray much as a rule—and I didn’t care to become a hypocrite now—but with the dying thing hanging over my head, a few words seemed in order. After all, there was a good chance I wouldn’t make it back, and I wanted to say a few words for my family…and Skippy. “Dear God,” I whispered beneath my breath, “please look after the people I love and make sure someone finds my puppy before he starves to death in the car.” Seemed like a reasonable enough request to me. No need to go on and on about it.

I had probably been walking for about thirty-minutes when I started to get that ‘something’s-not-right-here’ feeling again, and the hair stood up on the back of my neck…again. While I wasn’t the world’s best detective by any means, I figured it wasn’t a coincidence that I happened to be standing right in front of the mouth of a cave when it happened, so I flipped on my flashlight and entered cautiously, careful to check for rattlers, scorpions, and cougars. Wasn’t exactly sure if those were the right animals to watch out for, but it seemed like an appropriate list. I tossed a few pebbles in front of me and listened to see if anything moved.

When nothing did, I shouted: “Hello! Anyone there?” No answer.

So far, so good.

No wild-animals, no skeleton bones, and no fresh droppings—just a plain dirt floor surrounded by low brownish-orange walls.

I checked every nook and cranny carefully with my flashlight as I ventured further into the cave. I was fascinated by how smooth the rock was and how narrow the passageways were—good thing I wasn’t claustrophobic. I couldn’t have gone more than an eighth of a mile when I noticed a faint glow in the distance, like firelight flickering in a hearth. I shut off my flashlight and tiptoed in the direction of the light. I still wasn’t sure what I planned to do: confront whatever I found, hide, or search for clues…

I guess I’d figure it out when I got there.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lot of time to do any figuring.

Before I could take three more steps forward, the man in black stepped out in front of me and blocked my path.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.