Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
There’s an alleyway to the left. If I have to run, it’ll be there.
He’s blocking the path back to the main road.
Can I somehow get around him?
“You already said that,” he snaps. “But to be honest, I’m not having a lovely day. I’m having a really bad fucking day. And I think you can help with that.”
I open my mouth, meaning to give him some snappish response, to try and scare him away. But all that comes out is a shuddering breath.
I wince, cursing myself for the show of weakness.
But I can’t stop thinking about how helpless I’m going to be if this man tries to hurt me, not just scare me.
“What do you want?” I say, hating how small my voice sounds.
“I want you,” he says. “I want your smell.”
“My....”
I trail off, shaking my head. Surely I didn’t hear that right.
“My smell?”
“You see,” he says, still with that evil smile. “I’m on my way to becoming somebody. They called me pathetic for the tattoo. A tattoo of a wolf but no real wolf. But you’re my ticket. Your workplace. Your apartment building. The supermarket you visited a couple of days ago...his scent, which means your scent brought him there. Or something else about you. It doesn’t matter. I’m going to become a legend.”
I have no idea what to say; his confusing words mean nothing to me.
“Either way, people will know my name now. They’ll hear Jerry Flowers and say, Hell, he did it. He really did it. But first, you have to come with me.”
I swallow, knowing there’s no going back. He’s ranting about crazy things. His name almost made me laugh when he said Flowers.
It’s just so not the name I’d expect him to have.
But I stopped myself. I don’t want to set him off.
I remember the cult, how quickly men can snap, the sudden eruptions of violence.
“No,” I whisper. “I’m sorry about whatever’s happening to you. But I can’t come with you.”
“Do you think you have a choice?”
He leaps at me.
All at once, time speeds up. I’m running down the alleyway, my breath loud in my ears, my legs feeling stiff and way too slow.
Laughter follows me.
I look behind, almost crashing into a dumpster can.
Jerry’s not even moving quickly. He’s jogging after me, seeming to enjoy this, then I see why.
The alleyway is a dead end.
I turn from the graffiti-covered walls, the reek of trash all around us.
Jerry steps forward slowly, his hand near his hip like he’s going to grab a weapon.
“Please,” I whisper. “You don’t have to do this. I’ve got money.”
He laughs gruffly. “I’ve been following you for half a week. You do not have money.”
“I do,” I say, noting the way his face changes. “We’re living in that crummy apartment building because we’re hiding. But we have cash.”
He folds his arms, a twisted smile on his face like he’s humoring a child. “Oh yeah? How much?”
My mind spins. It can’t be too much or too little. It has to be realistic.
“Forty-three thousand,” I tell him. “And a couple hundred. We’re saving. But it’s yours if you let me go.”
He grinds his teeth from side to side. For some reason, he looks up at the sheer walls of the buildings blocking the sun.
He returns his gaze to me, narrowing his eyes as he unfolds his arms.
“No, that won’t do. I need you. What I want, the glory I’m seeking...it’s worth a hell of a lot more than forty grand. Are you going to come with me peacefully?”
Finally, he reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small pistol, an easily concealed weapon that looks silly in his hands. Or it would look silly if I wasn’t currently wondering if I’m going to pee myself.
He aims it at my head. “I’ve got zip-ties. Put them on, and we’ll walk around the block, to my car, and then….”
He yells and leaps back.
I scream, doing the same, my shoulder bashing into a trash can when I almost fall. It pulses numbly, but I barely notice it, barely notice anything except for the wolf.
The wolf that just crash-landed in the middle of us that must’ve just fallen – or jumped – from one of the roofs.
It’s the same one from before, from my hallucination, except Jerry is on his back, staring up at it like it’s real.
The wolf is on its hind legs.
I was wrong before.
It’s not twice the size of a regular wolf.
It’s more like three, four times a wolf’s size, its back covered in rippling thick muscles, its arms unbelievably huge with muscle, strong human limbs, covered in that same glistening silver fur.
Then the wolf collapses onto all fours, walking slowly toward Jerry, growling low and threatening.
CHAPTER TEN
Ramsey
Stop, stop, stop.
The human is on his back, his scents lacing the air. He’s pissed himself, and his tears reek of salt, mixing with the rest of him, his false bravado, his meanness, and his genuine terror.