124. No Time: “Rob,
I need you to listen to me very carefully. Grab your hiking pack, your
purse, and a jacket, then go to the most hidden part of the forest you
know. The boss of the people trying to take over the town are after
you. Don’t come back until one of us comes to get you.”
“OK. How long do you …” Robyn started to ask but Jericho interrupted her.
“Robyn, I need you to go now. I stashed a tent and a couple of sleeping bags there a couple of days ago. Now go!”
“OK. Stay safe.” Robyn’s heart pounded as she hung up her phone and
she dashed into her room. The Pacific Northwest was long overdue for an
earthquake, or volcanic eruption, or tsunami, or similar natural
disaster and so she and her family always had emergency bags packed with
food, clothes, medical supplies, and other lightweight survival gear,
and larger packs in their cars. But how would she make this
inconspicuous? Improvising, she grabbed a dark, long haired wig from
her closet, stuffing her hair underneath as best she could as she nearly
tripped down the stairs. From their front closet she took one of her
dad’s beige coats, large on her but typical of a hiker visiting the
town. Checking that her hair was out of the way enough to pass a
cursory inspection, she shoved her mother’s gardening hat on her head
and her look was complete. It wouldn’t fool anyone who knew her well,
or even a close glance from someone who didn’t, but it would do. She
slipped out of her back door and made her way through the back streets
until she reached the forest and disappeared.
Once again, originally this ended after Jericho speaks the first time. This will get worked into the rising conflict part of my story.
131. Flowers:
Beaming, the mayor took to the stage, resplendent in pink, white, and
green, matching the colors of the blooms with which they shared the
stage. “Welcome to the Twenty-eighth annual Rhododendron Festival!”
In your head, is the mayor a man or a woman? I can't decide.
138. Abandoned:
Near her sacred grove Robyn found an old trapper’s cabin. The windows
had long ago been broken or stolen and the door no longer latched well
due to the shifting and settling of the old house but the rest of the
structure was in remarkable shape. Though the wood was weathered it was
cedar and pine, and as such was resistant to insects. It was also
protected by legend. According to the lore of Aurelia, a woodsman, an
outcast of the Sterne family, had built the cabin so far from the town
because he was surly and didn’t get along well with others, except for
the physician’s daughter. Eventually the two fell in love and were wed,
she moving out to the desolately located cabin with her new husband. A
year, then two passed and the woodsman and physician’s daughter were
going to have a child. When the time came he rode to fetch his father
in law but when they two returned she lay dead, the babe cut from her
and all valuables stolen. Understandably the woodsman was never the
same after that. He tracked down and killed his wife’s murderers but
never found his child, a daughter. Eventually he returned but none
could ever speak to him again save the physician who had become the town
drunk. He had helped his son in law by torturing his daughter’s
killers in the cabin to get all of the information out of them before
killing them. It was said that if you took anything from the cabin the
woodsman and the drunken doctor would track you down, chop off your
fingers, and, if you were lucky, kill you. Teens left the cabin alone,
except for sneaking off to hook up, and always left a flower as
an offering to appease the love stricken pair.
This looks so much more impressive handwritten. Probably one of the darkest/most horrific things I've written but sets up parts of the story nicely. Based on an AU Once Upon a Time Rumbelle fanfic I read set in the wild west, mixed with years of watching Criminal Minds and Bones and recalling all the small town legends they faced that modern day killers used as cover.
In my head Robyn will buy this house and rebuild it to live in or Henry will make it a gift shop/nature conservation center.
164. Multitasking:
Robyn found it difficult to study without music playing so she usually
had her upcoming performance pieces playing in the background as she
read her textbooks.
Seriously, what is it with musical writers and mirrors? And I love the idea that in her bedroom one of her mirrors swings out to reveal a cupboard or that taped to the back of her mirrors are pictures and notes that she doesn't want anyone else to see. Can YOU think of any other important theatrical/cinematic/literary mirrors?
