Hi! I'm writing a prequel to Terror in Norcal, which explores the MC's memories he reminesced about while chopping wood.
Here's what I got so far:
Doug and his Mom are at a cat show. His Mom is grooming his prized Bengal, Bagheera, in preparation for her appearance before the judges. Meanwhile, heâs mingling with the other cat fanciers and generally checking out the place. His eye is drawn to a booth where an older gentleman is selling various types of cat-themed jewelry.
âYouâve got some nice stuff here, Mr. DuPrais,â he says as he browses his table. âHey, that oneâs so pretty! Itâs got my birthstone,â he exclaims as he ogles a silver bracelet, with a gold catâs claw holding a ruby, surrounded by diamond ice crystals. âPick something else, please,â Mr. DuPrais says. âWhy, itâs just what Iâve been looking for.â âBecause it carries a curse.â âReally,â Doug says incredulously, âwhat sort of âcurseâ?â âYou will be changed into a cat.â
Doug laughs, âFirst, why should I believe that, and second, thatâd be awesome.â âReally? I donât think being a mountain lion in an urban area would be such a desirable thing. You want to risk getting shot, locked-up in a zoo for the rest of your life, or tranquilized and relocated to some backwoods area? But, if thatâs your idea of excitement, here, take it.â âGreat! How much?â â$100 plus tax.â âOkay, here you go,â Doug says as he swipes his credit card at the terminal, signs the slip, and puts the bracelet on. The ruby flashes briefly. âI guess this was meant for youâŚexpect to have some interesting times.â Doug walks off to find his Mom and his cat at the judging station.
âDoug, where were you? Anyway, Iâve got good news,â his Mom says while petting Bagheera, who now bears a white ribbon with a red rosette. âI doubt itâs that youâve saved 15% on your car insurance by switching to GEICO.â âActually, I did. But better yet, Bagheera won Best in Show!â âThatâs great,â Doug says as he picks up Bagheera, who starts purring and licking his face. âYouâre a very good girl, yes you are,â he coos as he strokes his prize-winning kitty. âDo you like my bracelet,â he asks as he drops his wrist to show it off. âVery fancy.â âThe guy who sold it to me said it would turn me into a mountain lion. Well, that obviously didnât happen.â âYouâre so disappointed, I bet.â
Later, theyâre back home. Doug is putting his leather jacket. âGoing out for a hike again,â his Mom asks as she makes dinner. âYep.â âJust be back before dinner, Iâm making parmesan chicken.â âYum! Iâll see you in an hour or two.â
Doug is walking through the woods in his backyard, having great fun fording the creeks and climbing over rocks. The gem on his bracelet starts glowing. âWhy do I feel soâŚodd,â he wonders. He begins to feel hot, and extreme pain courses through his body as it begins to rearrange itself. Before he can react, the transformation is complete, and his clothes have magically vanished. He is now a beautiful mountain lion with a shiny reddish-brown pelt, the same color as his hair once was. âSo he wasnât trying to scare me away from buying itâŚthis is so cool,â he thinks as he starts exploring his backyard from a new perspective.
He takes in the sounds of the forest using his vastly more-sensitive hearing. âI hear something yummy,â he thinks, âand now I see it!â He spies a Prairie Falcon flying overhead, and tracks it. Sensing danger, the bird dives to attack him with its talons. But Doug swats it to the ground, and bites its neck, killing it. âThat was fun! And apparently, my amblyopia is gone, or I wouldnât have been able to catch my very first meal, an airborne meal nonetheless!â He begins to chow down on the proceeds of his successful hunt. Having left nothing but dry bones as the remains of his kill, and blood on his paws and face, he turns around for home, when he notices a glint of metal on one of the birdâs legs, and recognizes it as leg band. âWell, at least weâll no longer have our chickens hunted by Bobâs falcon. Momâll be so happy!â
He arrives at his property line, but soon realizes something. âUh-ohâŚhow do I shift back?â He nervously paces while racking his mind to come up with an idea.
Meanwhile, his Mom has just finished breading the chicken. She notices a large, holstered revolver on the coat rack. âDouglas, how many times have I told you not to go out into the woods without your trail gun? Weâre in cougar country!â Then she notices the large tom mountain lion pacing near the property line, blood dripping from its lips. âOh noâŚ.â She grabs her shotgun and runs outside.
âOkay, this is bad. I canât be stuck like this forever,â Doug frets, becoming even more nervous and agitated. His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a shotgun being racked. He looks towards his house, and sees his Mom standing a few yards away, shotgun aimed straight for his head. She fires, thankfully missing. âOh, come on! Good thing she subscribes to the fallacy a shotgun doesnât need to be aimed,â He leaps onto his Mom, and grabs the shotgun away with his mouth, and throws it off to the side. Mom punches him in the nose, and kicks him off onto his back. Then she grabs the shotgun, and trains it on him again. He starts mewing, âPlease donât shoot me Mom, please donât. Iâm not a real mountain lion, the bracelet changed me into this. I donât know how to change back,â he thinks.
His Mom notices the bracelet, âDouglasâŚ? Itâs okay, there, there, I understand, donât be scared, I didnât know, and I hope you can forgive me. No matter what youâve become, I still love you,â she whispers as she gently strokes him. He starts purring as he calms downs. The bracelet on his left paw glows again, and heâs back in human form, clothes and all. âWell, that guy wasnât lying about that bracelet,â Doug says. âHe sure wasnât. Oh, do you still want dinner? I saw you already ate.â âThe blood gave it away, didnât it? Maybe Iâll have the chicken for breakfast; I just had a delicious Prairie Falcon a short while ago, and on an unrelated note, weâll no longer have to deal with Bobâs falcon eating our chickens. Iâm getting ready for bed, good night Mom.â âHave a nice night.â
As Doug is getting ready for bed, he steps in front of the mirror, and does a double-take. âWow, I look amazing,â as he admires what the magic of the bracelet has done to his human form. All his excess body fat has melted away, his muscles are lean and toned, and his skin imperfections are gone.
The next part is where he and his Mom go on a summer camping trip to Big Bear, where he uses his cougar form to use an alternate route to a waterfall, as the regular trail is too difficult for him due to his depth perception issues. While he's enjoying the view, a youth leader sees him, irritates him, and finally decides to attack him when he doesn't leave, leading to Doug fatally mauling him.
Any advice? Thanks so much!
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i read that part.
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Oldwolf81 wrote:
i read that part.
Yes, I know. This is a prequel, which explains the flashback in the other one. I'm trying to figure out what to do next in this one.
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Nice! i loved the original terror in norcal with bigfoot and everything, and i love the prequel too!
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