Page 2 of Hollow Forest

But now…what?

I couldn’t stay here. Not without water, food, or electricity. Yet the thought of hiking back to town was equally impossible. It was going to rain soon. The trek down the dirt road had taken a little over an hour, and if I went back to town, it wasn’t like I had enough cash to see me through the night.

“Spend the night in the creepy house it is,” I decided.

The bones of the old home groaned in response.

Using my phone, I lugged my belongings up the worn wood stairs. There were four bedrooms and one hall bathroom. I chose the least drafty space and shut the door firmly, flipping the flimsy lock on the knob for good measure.

I spent the next ten minutes composing a long, detailed message to the landlord. I threatened to have him reported to the sheriff for deceiving me as to the state of the house. He’d taken the deposit, and this was what I was stuck with?

After hitting send, I made myself a nest on the floor.

“Now I lay me down to sleep,” I muttered as I curled into a ball, using the duffle bag as a pillow. The hoodie was warm enough to keep me comfortable. The rest of the prayer came out as a yawn.

***

I didn’t think I would fall asleep, but traveling by bus yesterday, walking three miles in the dark, and the unwelcome greeting were enough to throw me into a fitful slumber. A girl with twin French braids laughed, beckoning me into the shadows. The farther I chased her, the farther she disappeared…until the laughter turned into screams.

When I woke, grey light filtered through the dirty window. There was just enough battery on my phone for me to check for messages.

Landlord: Someone will be by at eight to begin work.

I scoffed at the device. There was no apology for the unfitting welcome. No explanation why the house was in such rough shape. My nocturnal rant had fallen on deaf ears.

It wasn’t like I was in a position to find somewhere else to live. I was stuck here for the foreseeable future.

My stomach pinched with hunger. Sighing, I reached into the pocket of my backpack. The last scoop of trail mix was the only thing available. I would need to be careful grocery shopping later today, which was always a hard thing to do when hungry. But if I rationed myself, the forty-seven dollars I had left would buy enough beans to keep me fed until I could earn a paycheck.

Slapping some deodorant under my arms, I bit my lip. My bladder screamed at me.

“Bush wee it is.”

I took my gun. There might be wild animals out here in the country. Or worse….

Thick blots of grey decorated the October sky. The trees around the property had shed half their blazing glory. The forest beckoned me with multiple points of entrance to its dark interior. I could step under those branches and instantly be swallowed by the darkness as I lost myself into the hollow expanse of nothingness.

Squatting next to a bush outside the back door, I allowed myself a rare moment to picture the potential; the ancient house could have such a beautiful personality. I’d always been drawn to a more gothic aesthetic. While this part of the country wasn’t close to Salem, it was cold enough in New Jersey that I could convert this property into a hag’s paradise. A wrought iron fence to enclose the yard would look grand. A summer garden bedded down with straw over to the left, while back here a large space to have bonfires would paint the perfect picture.

Too bad I wasn’t staying.

A rough laugh scratched my dry throat. “Yeah, it’s west for me after this.”

Hell, after what I’d done, it might be safer to leave the country. There were places a broken soul like me could disappear, and no extradition order would ever carry me back to face the pitiful excuse for a justice system.

With a shake, I stood and buttoned my jeans. The first order of business was to find water, buy some food, and then I would survive the next few weeks camped out here in the woods.

And dammit, I was a survivor.

Life might have taken everything, but I would be the one with the last laugh. I stepped into the backyard. The brittle, brown leaves danced over the frost-stained grass. There was a woodsy scent to the landscape. Fall was here, and it was freezing! I could see my breath, which was a novel concept.

Winter….

That was foreign to this Miami Beach Babe. I would need to thrift some warmer clothes if I couldn’t complete my work before the snow fell. Damn…I hoped it didn’t take that long. A twinge of sadness made my heart clench. I would probably lose my tan.

But if snow meant I could make the last bastard pay, I would take every frigid drop to exact my revenge.

“Miss Jones?” A gruff voice broke the stillness of the cool morning.