Here's a little sneak peek my darlings. Book two spoiler!
Intro
Amanda’s
hands were shaking, and a great sadness filled her heart. I just called and told her the news
about my parents falling to the illness in Ghaor, Idaho. Amanda and I were good friends all
through high school, being on the activities committee together. It was already sad enough that many of
their friends from school died, like Rose, but now my parents too?
She
looked outside her dorm room window, looking out at the lights from the Vegas
strip not too far away. This
called for an escape plan; Amanda needed to get her mind off of things. Grabbing her phone, she called up some
friends from her designing class.
What she needed was a girl’s night out.
“Honey
that’s terrible,” Amanda’s friend said.
This
friend was covered in creative body art.
Compared to her, Amanda looked like a sheltered farm girl. Amanda’s hair had always been in a
blonde bob, giving her tiny figure a lollipop look. Since moving to Nevada for school she’d gotten used to
seeing unique and more outgoing people.
Her friend’s name was Missy, and they took a clothing design class
together at the college.
They
met at a cute little bar in town.
Amanda didn’t feel like dressing up too much, but in honor of me, she
wore the scarf that I gave her before she moved to Nevada. I was on a family trip in Florida a
couple years ago and bought a teal fringed scarf. It did look great with Amanda’s complexion, enhancing her
blue eyes.
“I
just feel horrible for my friend,” Amanda vented, “And she has a little brother
too! Oh gosh I can’t even imagine what they’re going through right now!”
Missy
nodded sympathetically, “How about your parents?”
Amanda
sighed. What about her parents
indeed? Luckily they moved
slightly north of Ghaor right after she went away to college, but that was
still too close for comfort. They
called occasionally, but they always seemed ok.
“I
think they’re safe for now. I just
don’t understand how nowhere else has ever heard of this disease! It’s like Ghaor fell off the face of
the earth!”
Missy
scoffed, “No kidding, it’s like a conspiracy. I’m tellin ya, the government is going to be behind this.”
“You
think so?”
“Probably.”
Missy
waved down the bartender. She
herself was twenty-one, but Amanda was still nineteen. Missy had friends that worked at this
little joint, so she could sneak a drink every now and then.
“Something
fruity?” Missy asked Amanda.
“Yes
please,” Amanda smiled.
They
got their drinks and sipped away.
Amanda wasn’t much of a drinker, but in situations like these or just
for social gatherings she would allow herself one. Missy would have at least three by the end of the night;
luckily neither of them was driving.
“I
wish she would just move out here with me,” Amanda said, “Doesn’t seem like the
illness is spreading out of Ghaor.
She needs to be away from that place.”
“Yeah
before she’s quarantined,” Missy said.
Amanda
gasped and glared at her friend, “Don’t say such things! I might have a stroke!”
Missy
apologized.
“Maybe
you should have her come down for a visit? Unless she’s tainted, I don’t want to be getting sick down
here,” she grunted.
Amanda
thought on it. What was this
illness anyway! It was a miracle
Ghaor was still standing after all the deaths. In such a small town, how did no one else know that Ghaor
was slowly disappearing? Amanda
and Missy talked for a while longer, letting the alcohol numb their senses,
Missy more so than her. Missy was
a block away in a different apartment complex and Amanda was a street down from
her. Amanda thanked Missy for
meeting up with her and asked if she wanted an escort home.
Missy
waved her hand lazily, “Oh I’m fine.
I’ll see you in class. Call if you need anything!”
Amanda
walked to her apartment. The stars
were all hidden in the night sky due to the intense light pollution. The weirdest part about moving to
Nevada was the city. Amanda grew
up in a small town with the same people and no noise. Now she was only a few minutes away from the Las Vegas strip
that illuminated everywhere. It
was also strange how she felt safe being out at night compared to in
Ghaor. For some reason people
started hiding in their homes at night after graduation day. She remembered grad night with
Kaya, and how they wandered about finding things to do to celebrate but
everywhere started closing early.
They were forced to have a scary movie sleep over instead.
She
really did miss me, especially with all the nonsense going on. It was Sin City, but at least she
didn’t feel like the plague would destroy half of town. Amanda tried to not think about poor
Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell, and focused on the sidewalk. Suddenly, she bumped into someone. The person felt like a boulder and Amanda almost fell
backwards.
“My
apologize miss!” a young man’s voice spoke.
Amanda
looked up and saw a scrumptious looking man. His hair was blond and styled with care, his eyes were gray
like mist, and he was quite tall.
He looked very eccentric.
His clothing wasn’t shy at all.
He wore a baggy white-buttoned shirt that reminded Amanda of a pirate,
dark pants with boots, and a long red scarf. Must be an artist, Amanda thought dreamily.
“No,
I’m sorry I wasn’t even looking!” Amanda said excitedly.
The
man smiled and held out his hand, “My name is Algernon. At work people call me Al, for short.”
“Algernon,”
Amanda giggled, “Don’t hear a name like that every day. I’m Amanda.”
“Definitely
not. Amanda? Well that’s beautiful. Your name most certainly exceeds mine.”
Amanda
blushed. She did get hit on a lot
our here, but this man in particular was just gorgeous to look at. It was like drawing a character out of
a fantasy book.
“Where
do you work?” she asked.
Al
pointed far out toward the strip with all the lights and building.
“I
have an underground club. It’s
actually quite lovely, not totally
trashy. You should stop by
sometime! We’re the only bar that
serves blood.”
Amanda’s
face dropped. Al looked confused
and then put his hands up laughing.
“No,
no, my dear! I’m sorry I forget
not everyone knows about it. My
colleagues and I invented a new drink that seems to be pretty popular, but the
color is red, so we found the name blood suitable.”
“Oh!”
Amanda stifled a laugh, “Blonde moment…”
Al
grinned brilliantly and looked at her with greedy interest. Amanda loved this run-in with a
gorgeous stranger. She’d never
seen him before but then again she lived in the city area now, you ran into new
people everyday!
“So,”
she started, “How old could you possibly be? If you own your own club.”
Al
gave a sly smile, “How old do I look?”
“Honestly…
pretty young! Like a student!”
It
was true, there was a mature and wise depth about him and his mannerisms, but
his features were very youthful.
Couldn’t be too much older than Amanda herself.
“I’m
twenty-five,” Al said.
“Wow!”
Al
turned shyly, “Yes well I got the club from my brother so… I guess you could
say I cheated, or got lucky! You
should come by sometime with your friends! If you give me your number I’ll get you all in free.”
Amanda
gave her number to him without question.
She didn’t want to break the news that she was underage just yet in
hopes it wouldn’t make her less appealing. Al explained that he was a student at the same college she
was and was interested in psychology.
Crazy, Amanda hadn’t seen him at campus, but she brushed that off.
“Need
an escort home?” Al offered, “I’m afraid I distracted you.”
Amanda
realized it was getting late.
“Oh
it’s fine! I was having a rough day
and needed a night out with my friend.”
Al
cocked his beautiful blonde head to the side with a sincere look in his
eyes.
“Rough
day huh? I’m so sorry to hear
that. Care if I pry?”
Amanda
decided to let Al walk her to her dorms.
It wasn’t far after all. He was a stranger but he also went to her
school so it didn’t bother her at all that she didn’t know him. Amanda filled him in on how back home
in Idaho many people were getting sick and dying, and how my parents just
passed.
“This
is her scarf actually… She let me have it before I moved here to make me
remember her,” Amanda smiled.
She
fiddled with the scarf as they walked, and Al was quiet for a moment. He’d been a chatterbox until now and
Amanda worried that she scared him with the death stories. Al’s face looked strange. He was staring at the scarf with
curiosity, but also desire; like a shark spotting something swimming
frantically in the water.
“May
I?” Al asked.
He
extended a hand out casually to her.
Amanda was confused, but slowly unwound her scarf and let him hold
it. When their hands touched she
almost recoiled. Al’s hands were
chilly, and it was fairly warm in Nevada.
He held the teal cloth in his hands tenderly like it was something
precious. Amanda wondered if maybe
he was more eccentric than she presumed.
“It’s
lovely, what was your friend’s name?” Al said.
“Kaya. I wish her and her brother would just
leave Idaho for good…”
Al
patted her shoulder warmly.
“She
sounds like a strong girl. I’m
sure everything will work out for them in the end. Just invite them to Vegas!”
Amanda
laughed. She’d already thought
about that. An environment like
Las Vegas wasn’t exactly the best idea for Ricky especially after the death of
his parents, but seeing me again might be what they all needed. Amanda would make a trip to Idaho, but
she wasn’t keen on the idea of visiting the disease ridden small town. Maybe Kaya could come down for a visit
to get away from the sorrow and pain, Amanda thought. At the same time, Amanda didn’t want to impose after my
parent’s just died.
Al
and Amanda arrived at the dorms.
She was on the second floor, so they went up a flight of stairs. Al handed her back my scarf and held
onto her hand for a few seconds, making Amanda feel tingly all over. She thanked him and opened her door
revealing her tiny but homey living space. Amanda only had one roommate, Sue. Sue was a tiny and shy girl with social issues, but she was
clean and friendly and quiet. That
was perfectly fine with Amanda.
Sue was already asleep in her room, and Amanda turned around facing
Al. Amanda envisioned a romantic
movie night commencing.
“Would
you like to come in for a bit?” she offered.
Al
stood in the doorway quiet again.
He chuckled, like he remembered a good joke from earlier or
something. His smile stayed sweet,
but Amanda wondered what was so funny.
“Not
right now, thank you, but I would love to see you again. Soon?”
Amanda
was disappointed, but it was their first time meeting, and he did get her
number and walked her home.
“Ok! Call me sometime. Thank you for walking with me.”
She
shut the door and rolled her eyes.
Sometimes she seemed desperate even to herself. He was too cute that she couldn’t help
it! It still bothered her that he
smiled like that though, like she said something stupid. He was probably toying with her, so
much for chivalry. Amanda huffed
and resumed to her usual nightly rituals.
Sue was sound asleep, so Amanda tried to shower quietly to not disturb
her.
Amanda
wrapped her fluffy warm bathrobe around her and stared into her small fogged up
mirror. She felt a sudden cool
breeze, and something moved from behind her. When she turned around there was nothing, but she could’ve
sworn that there was someone or something moving in the reflection. Amanda brushed it off; she should stop
watching horror movies with killing shower scenes.
When she went back into her living room she felt something
strange. It felt like someone was
watching her. Amanda tried to tell
herself she was only being paranoid, but that’s when she noticed her curtains
blowing in the wind. The window was closed when she arrived home, but now it
was open!
Feeling
panic rise, she quickly slammed the window shut. Maybe the wind just pushed it open? That feeling was still there though,
like someone was watching the inside of her apartment. It’s possible Sue woke up while she was
showering and wandered around. It
wouldn’t hurt to check. Amanda
went to Sue’s bedroom door and tapped on it lightly.
“Sue?”
she whispered, “Sue are you awake?”
There
was no response. In fact Amanda
couldn’t hear anything at all. Sue
had a delicate snore when she slept, so where was it? Amanda decided to open the door and peek inside. Her heart stopped and a scream was
erupting from the pit of her stomach.
Sue was sprawled onto her bed over the covers in her dark blue
nightshirt, with ruby red blood soaking her neck, face, and pillow.
Amanda
screamed bloody murder and stumbled backwards. She felt her back press against another body. Before she could run or see who it was,
a hand covered her mouth and the other held a death grip across her arms and
chest. The next thing she felt
were teeth sinking into her neck.
Teeth? Who was this?
A breeze woke Amanda up from her
trance. She sat up feeling panic
all over again. Why was she so
frightened? What happened? The living room window was open again. She was lying on the carpet in her
bathrobe. There was a throbbing
pain in her neck, but when Amanda ran her hand across the spot there was nothing
there. Something scared her, but
she couldn’t remember what it was! The only thing she could think of was this
strong desire to...
Kaya needs to be here in Vegas… Kaya needed to be here in
Vegas… Kaya needed to be here in Vegas her brain roared. For some reason that was the only way
this fear would go away. Call Kaya… Call Kaya.
Sue’s
door was ajar. Amanda crawled
towards it and saw a flashback; blood everywhere on Sue’s face. Now though, all
she saw was Sue on her bed, pale and quiet like a ghost. Amanda slowly approached her motionless
roommate and felt Sue’s pulse. Her
hands were shaking, but she could tell already that Sue was dead. Amanda instantly thought off all her
friends in Ghaor and how they died looking fairly similar. No way, no way could this be the same
thing that killed Sue?
Amanda
whimpered, and ran to her phone.
Before she called the police, she dialed my number. My message machine answered.
“Kaya! Please call me back soon as you get
this. My roommate is…she… Kaya
she’s dead! She was fine when I
left the apartment, but she looks pale and a lot like Mr. Wright when he died
from the illness… I know you’re going through a lot right now… but Kaya I need
you! I need to see you!” Amanda
sobbed, “I don’t want to die! I don’t want you or Ricky to die!”
..................................................................................................................
Well the secret is out. Book two (if you hadn't already guessed from the promo book title) Kaya and friends are going to be taking a visit to...
Nevada! Good guess ya'll. Sin City (book 2) is changing it up quite a bit! No this is not going to be a parody of The Hangover.
Book 2 is digging up characters that you didn't get a whole lot of action in book 1. The nifty part about having so many small characters is that you can totally mess with you plot whenever you want! Poor Amanda... We all thought she was safe and away from the drama in Idaho. Well we'll see shall we?
I am looking forward to it! You know how sometimes when you watch the first episode of a new season and you're kind of like eh... not sure bout this. THEN the next few episodes you warm up to it and BAM! Solid fan.
I'm not hinting or anything ;)
BUT I did enjoy writing book two much more than the first! Can't wait for the future series!
