The following is a draft of chapter 1, which I decided to post for any of you to read and comment on. It's a work in progress, so there are many things that may or will change. The formatting has also been modified for this post.

Cheers!



The steady rumble of the engine threatened to lull the driver to sleep as his hands gripped the steering wheel. In the darkness around him, he tried to focus on any one point, but his gaze always drifted back to the lines in the center of the pitch-black road, illuminated in a yellow streak by the headlights of his small sedan. The highway was deserted and without streetlamps, the darkness bled over the landscape and obscured every detail of the surrounding tree-covered mountains. He’d seen areas like that many times before and could remember what they all looked like during the day, but at night, it was like something alien. The night blanketed the world around him and as far as he could tell, the only sources of light came from pinpricks of stars in the sky above, or the beams cast by the vehicle itself and both did little to ease his sense of isolation.

The cold chill of November struggled to find its way into the car and while looking over at his passenger’s sleeping form, he adjusted the heat.  Her head rested against the window and a strand of mahogany hair fell to brush against her cheek. Stealing glances back and forth between her delicate face and the harsh, black road, he slowly reached over and pushed the stray hairs back, gently hooking them behind her left ear.

She had suggested that they drive up to Tsowallie Lake to disappear for the week, after having been there two months before. She talked of how beautiful the town was. Spoke highly of how much of an inspiration it had been to write her travel article. He had given her an easy victory, agreeing that they should go, if for no other reason than to see what held her so captivated. It was only a few hours outside of the city, but she insisted on leaving after work, instead of battling with Saturday morning traffic in Vancouver. Ever since she had returned from her stay at the lake, she could speak of nothing else and her near obsession left him more than a little concerned. Reluctantly at first he had agreed, knowing that it would feel like a longer drive and that they would arrive well after midnight.

He looked down at the odometer and nodded to himself, peering out into the black for the shimmer of a road sign signaling his turn off. The headlights caught hold of the reflective marker and after a quick shoulder check, he followed the road as the trees slowly closed in on either side.

The beams of light from the front of the car did little to pierce the darkness as he leaned over the steering wheel, driving slower and more carefully as the road twisted through the forest-lined night. He felt a chill again and the feeling of sleepiness seemed to melt away, in spite of the almost stifling heat inside the sedan. Even looking up, he could see no stars and he swore that the trees curled over the road and swallowed up the remaining light. His reflection in the windshield faintly overlaid onto the darkness beyond and he frowned, dark circles under his eyes betrayed his otherwise youthful appearance.

The slumbering passenger moaned faintly and he looked over at her, as she seemed lost in a dream. Her face contorted into a grimace and she let out another groan.

“Jules?� He softly mumbled then cast his gaze back to the road.

Something dark moved in front of the car and he swerved off to the left, the front tire suddenly plunging downward and halting the vehicle with a stutter and at a skewed, downward angle in the ditch.

His heart was pounding in his throat and he looked over at the woman in the seat beside him who now sat awake, her dark eyes wide with surprise.

“You ok?� He asked her and she faintly nodded in response.

He looked out through the windshield and then the other windows, scanning the darkness for what he had seen, suddenly aware that he was holding his breath. With a calming exhale, he put the car in reverse and accelerated, but the vehicle protested and did nothing to free them.

With a sigh he turned off the engine as Jules unlatched her seatbelt and he looked over at her again, his expression going from one of helpless frustration to terror in an instant; his eyes widening and his mouth going slack. Jules could do nothing but look back at him with confusion. He wasn’t looking at her, but instead the dark shape outside of her window and the shimmer of yellow eyes in the darkness. He wanted to speak… to scream, but he couldn’t.

“Devon?� She questioned with a shaky voice and swallowed hard, slowly shifting in her seat to look out over her shoulder.

The passenger window shattered, causing her to scream as cubes of glass rained over them and he was suddenly propelled to action, diving across to pull her close, but held back awkwardly by the safety belt across his lap. He brought up is right hand to cover her as the dark form plunged a tooth-filled maw inside the claustrophobic space and pain ripped through him as teeth closed around his outstretched arm. The grip loosened and he quickly pulled away, feeling the blood warm his skin.

The beast lunged in again and Jules tried to move away, screaming as she did… hitting at the creature’s head with balled fists as it let out deep, throaty growls and snapped its jaws. She had backed up into the steering wheel, almost into Devon’s lap and he frantically dug beneath her with his left hand to undo his restraint.

The latch popped and they fell back against the driver-side door with a thud, squeezing a gasp of pain from Devon as his injured arm was pinned between them. Jules stared at the beast as it inched closer, and she scrambled for the door handle and pulled on it fiercely as she cried.

The world seemed to fall away and Devon’s stomach heaved as he tumbled out, landing hard in the cold, wet trench on his back. Light poured from the vehicle’s interior and he watched as Jules was falling as well, but she was caught at the now lit opening while she screamed in protest. She was on her back and clung to the doorframe, struggling to pull herself free as the beast clutched her thigh in its mouth.

Devon forced himself to his feet and wrapped his good arm around her, looking in at the beast as it dug teeth into her leg and had reached inside with a clawed hand to take hold of her jacket. Blood smeared over the upholstery from her various wounds and waves of horror crashed over him as he felt her being viciously pulled from his grip. Every wrenching tug freed her more and more from his grasp and a final and forceful pull caused Devon to slip, falling backward.

Jules screamed again and disappeared from view as he called after her, shouting her name in anger and agony over the pulsing tone of the open door indicator. Her frantic howl became distant and quiet and Devon clawed his way on hands and knees from the muddy ditch to the road, around the rear of the sedan.

“Julia!� He cried out again, but her screams had disappeared into the night, plunging the dark and empty tree-lined road into maddening stillness. The vehicle’s warning chimed in time with his heartbeat and he spun in a slow circle, peering into the inky depths of the forested edges, tears streaming down his face. His body shuddered with his sobs as he continued to call out in desperation, searching for any sign of where it had taken her.

The cold started to bite in and he shivered, pulling his jacket tighter around him and flinching from the pain of his angry wound.

Clutching his injured arm, he ran as fast he could in the direction of the town, never daring to look back over his shoulder, terrified that whatever it had been; that it was stealthily pursuing. The sound from his car faded into the distance behind him and he prayed that someone could help as the night felt lonelier and lonelier with each hurried step. His surroundings plunged into the deepest silence and his footfalls seemed to echo in the night, overshadowed only by his heavy breaths and the rhythmic pounding of his heart.

Time melted away, but he couldn’t slow his pace. He fought against the cold and the exhaustion and spotted the Ranger’s building come into view, unlit but unmistakable as his eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness. He wanted to shout, but his strength was all in his forced run as he approached the small, single level station, carrying him forward to slam his fist loudly on the locked door.

“Help!� He mustered the strength to yell, then pounded furiously again on the heavy wood. Inside there was the rustle of movement and a light shone out from a nearby window. Footsteps could be heard inside as Devon slowly slid toward the ground and his world became lost in a fog. His heartbeat was all he could hear, steady and pulsing as a darkness washed over him.