The River Valley Trilogy by Tess Thompson

Author:Tess Thompson [Thompson, Tess]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Booktrope Editions
Published: 2014-08-07T00:00:00+00:00

***

Once outside, shivering, her eyes adjusting slowly to the dark, she looked up to the stars. And there, shooting across the sky, was a falling star. Tears came to her eyes, remembering her little son, probably terrified as they waited for news. Stay strong, she told herself. Think. There had to be some way to escape. Could she dive in the water and follow the current into town? But how could she get away from him? Wait for him to fall asleep?

She squatted near a bush and urinated, humiliated as he watched her while he smoked a cigarette, the red butt glowing in the dark night. The sound of the river, a trickle of gushing water, water over rocks, nature’s current, always a source of comfort to her, was useless against the terror that wrapped around her like an icy cloak.

Then, in the relative quiet, came the sound of a coyote, howling ominously. And then another, as if answering his call. She stood, wrapping the blanket tighter around her torso, watching Marco. He’d gone still and in the glow of his cigarette she saw his face change. He was afraid. Was it of the coyotes? The howling penetrated the darkness once again, only this time the sound felt closer. But instead of it making her afraid, it comforted her. She was not alone in this wilderness with a madman. The beasts were there, howling in the night.

“Let’s get inside,” he said. And yes, there it was—in his voice—fear.

And then, the howling came again, one after the other, varying slightly in pitch, like they were in conversation. There were more than two, she realized. Perhaps four different pitches? Maybe more. With each howl, the sound grew nearer.

Marco raised his pistol into the air and fired a shot, then another. The sound was deafening. Her ear, injured earlier by Marco’s gun, throbbed. The howls ceased for a moment, the sound of the gun reverberating in the still summer night. But after a moment, they erupted once again in cascading tones, drawing nearer and nearer. Marco seemed frozen, holding his gun out in front of him, his eyes scanning the dark. The howls were close now. And then, six sets of yellow glowing eyes in the dark, low to the ground. Marco, breathing heavily, grabbed her and shoved her inside the shack and slammed the door, leaning against it with his body. The howling stopped.

Annie went to the window. It was a pack. And they’d come closer to the house. Behind her, Marco began to pace. “What the hell are they?”

“Coyotes,” she said.

“Why would they come this close to us?”

“I don’t know.” She went to the cot and collapsed, her battered body and head aching, expecting the worst. But Marco stayed at the window with his gun pointed towards the howling beasts. “Just let me go and they’ll leave.”

“Shut up, you stupid bitch.” He rushed at her, raising his pistol and smacking her hard on the side of the head. Everything went black.

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.