Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24983 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24983 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Two decades later, he was stunned when Juniper Finch stumbled into his arms without being hurt. It was a lucky thing since Silas knew at first glance that Juniper was meant to be his.
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1
Silas
I pulled off my leather gloves and flicked my fingers over the logs in my fireplace. The sparks that fell ignited the kindling, and the fire was soon roaring. It wasn’t cold outside, but there was a fall nip in the air, and one of my favorite things to do was open the windows and light a fire. Plus, any humidity helped to reduce static electricity. Everything in my home was grounded to the max, but even touching the metal coin in my pocket didn’t always quell the shock when my skin transferred electron charges to whatever I touched. Being able to manipulate electricity could be a handy tool, but if I wasn’t paying attention…well, I’d fried enough kitchen appliances to keep the local furniture store in business.
Satisfied with the flames, I tossed my gloves onto the coffee table and opened the windows on both sides of the fireplace, as well as the sliding glass door that went out onto a big deck that faced the thick woods behind the house.
I ran a hand through my shaggy white hair as I jogged up the beautifully carved, wooden staircase in my log cabin to the primary bedroom. The second floor consisted of a large suite that faced the back of the house, and across the hall were two smaller rooms that were connected by a Jack and Jill bathroom.
As I entered my room, I was already pulling my shirt over my head to drop it into the hamper. Sometimes, taking off my long-sleeved shirts felt like removing a binding from my lung, allowing me to breathe deeply. Even after twenty years, it wasn’t much easier to deal with the constant reminder of what I’d become by wearing the necessary clothes to protect anyone who came too close. Skin-to-skin contact was the only time I had no control over the voltage I was charged with. It was unpredictable, and I learned the hard way that I needed to wear long-sleeved shirts, pants, and gloves whenever I was around other people.
I discarded my thick work pants, and after a quick shower, I pulled on a worn pair of jeans that were light and comfortable. I zipped them but didn’t bother with the button as I wandered back downstairs to the kitchen. There was cold beer in the fridge, so I grabbed a bottle and made a sandwich, then took everything back out to the couch. With a sigh, I plopped down and finally relaxed.
It had been a long-ass day at work, and I was fucking exhausted. I had accidentally fried a cherry picker when I wasn’t paying attention to my natural output. There were power outages because people overloaded sockets and did all manner of stupid shit that involved electricity. And I had to deal with downed power lines because some pimply little teenager wanted to impress a girl and plowed into one of the poles when he lost control of his car. Without the cherry picker, I had to climb the handholds up to the bucket at the top of the pole.
The areas around the small town where I lived—formerly known as Stream in the Woods—had been slowly gentrifying over the past few years, bringing more residents and businesses. While the growth might have been seen as favorable to most, it was a downright pain in the ass to those of us who lived in the place that had been dubbed “Screaming Woods” twenty years ago.
Perhaps that wasn’t true of everyone who still resided here, but the majority of the inhabitants wanted to be away from prying eyes. And from the inevitable screams that erupted whenever they were spotted. Here, monsters were welcome and safe, albeit lonely.
It wasn’t always like this. Stream in the Woods had once been a joyous town. Most of us who grew up here had never intended to leave, but we didn’t anticipate being forced to stay because there was nowhere else for us to find peace and acceptance.
I’d been among those who had planned to spend my life here—to marry, raise a family, grow old, and watch over my grandchildren. My whole family had lived here once. But since that fateful Halloween, only my little sister, Maggie, and I remained. A few of our cousins had been affected but had chosen to brave the wide world—where they discovered that monsters had no place in it.
I drained the bottle of its contents and finished off my sandwich, then stretched out on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. I didn’t make a habit of dwelling on the events of the past. It wasn’t like it would do any good. But for some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about the life I’d been building before it happened. Inevitably, my memories turned to the night that forever changed us. Literally.