The Faces of Lions (Book One - The Reset) by Angie Morel

Author:Angie Morel [Morel, Angie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2016-10-21T02:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

In the country, the arrival of spring came by way of sound first. If you paid attention and listened closely, that is. And I listened closely to everything now. Almost a hyper-awareness, you could say. Ears cued for any subtle variation that might indicate danger.

So it began, tentative chirps from birds here and there, graduating to continuous twittering as the air warmed. Delicate sounds were there too, hidden unless you stood still and let your mind go fishing for them. The creek, which cut a path through the fields to the east, gurgled as it swallowed down the icy water fed to it by the melting snow to the north. Newborn grasses whispered to each other as they rose up and tested the wind. Spring made the horses livelier too. Not that I got too close to those unfamiliar beasts, but I could hear as well as see them prancing around in the pasture, neighing, hoofs clomping the ground.

It felt good to finally get outside and breathe some fresh air. Granted, you couldn’t ask for a better house to be cooped up in all winter long, but I was about bursting with the need to be outside, to shake off the confines of the walls. As soon as most of the snow melted and the temperatures rose to a reasonable level, I explored the pastures and wooded areas nearby—always with my weapons because I’d never be caught unprepared again—and enjoyed using all of my senses as the earth awoke, flinging off its winter coat.

It smelled really good too. Fresh.

Did springtime ever arrive in the projects? I couldn’t recall noticing if it did. In fact, I doubted it. Only one season took place there, and there wasn’t anything pretty or good smelling about it.

Today was the fifth time I’d been out this week. The ground was semi-hard, having a slight squishy feel to it from being saturated by the snow melt. There were still patches of white visible, but only in the areas that remained hidden from the sun.

Heading north from the house, I increased my speed. After running the perimeter of the cleared land at a good clip for several minutes, I slowed it down to a jog, never quite losing sight of the house. The run was invigorating, infusing a feeling of strength and well-being in my body.

Following my cool-down, I wandered over to a downed tree a few feet into the woods. Taking a seat on the makeshift bench, I closed my eyes and tilted my head back. It was a good day. The air was crispy and fingers of bright sunlight reached through the branches above and touched my face.

There was a rustling.

My eyes popped open as I stood, looking for the possible source. It had to be a small animal or something. That’s what it sounded like anyway. Something along the lines of a spring-energized squirrel burrowing through the icy leaves, rejoicing in the departure of winter. But thoughts like that were dangerous. Oh, it’s nothing, it’s happy little animals, la la la.

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.