[Chapter 4] of [Book I likely won't finish]

It's a bit of a slow day today. I reached chapter 12 by now and it's slowing down a bit towards the middle. I'm not sure if I can make it or if I should take a break and try again tomorrow but motivation is a bit meh today. I had to edit some stuff in chapters 9 and 10 so am a bit confused. But let's see!

Riz dropped the boy off at what she hoped was his school (You could never know with teenagers these days) and then sent a message to the headmaster where he'd been found the other night. If he chose, the headmaster could involve the boy's parents, but she wanted to give Ekko a chance to come clean himself. He'd said his parents weren't awful (like many other parents) but that didn't mean they'd appreciate a call from the police about their son being found in the woods where just the day before an accident had happened.

Then she went back to the police office and sought Detective Huber at his desk.

"Are they ready yet?"

"Good morning to you too, Clarisse."

"The Pipers," she said. "Is Mrs. Pipers ready to be questioned?"

"You make it sound awfully harsh."

"Detective -"

"Why don't you take a seat?"

Riz sat. There was no doubt she should be talking to Huber with more respect (He was her superior after all), but he was German, or of German descent, and while he was meticulous with his methods, he didn't often care to reprimand any of his deputies for their lack of etiquette. Today, however, seemed to be a day where he did care.

"I heard you went up to the Blackwater forests yesterday night."

"Mel told me?"

He gave a short nod.

Riz shrugged. Why couldn't Mel have stayed quiet? Huber must be thinking she was crazy now as well. "I thought I'd check out the crash site."

"What of the other part of the report?"

"What part?"

"Come, don't play games, Riz. We both know you know what crash sites look like, and as Mrs. Pipers wasn't injured, I don't think there was any need for you to drive there, never mind in the middle of pitch dark night. No? You don't want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about. I found tyre tracks like at any other crash site, nothing else."

"Mel says you seemed afraid."

Riz snorted. "Afraid?" Me? Have you seen me? Almost 5'7' and quick with a gun or rifle (and donuts) - why would I be afraid? But even his words sent a chilly shiver down her spine.

"And the boy?" he said.

"Ekko? He's a police work enthusiast." Or something like it anyway. Why else would he have been in that forest in the night? As if in answer to her question, the image of the leshen he'd shown her on his phone popped up in her mind, but she pushed it away. Leshen belonged to Geralt the Witcher, not Blackwater.

Huber stared at her a moment longer, then glanced down at his desk and pulled out a file from a stack. He held it out to her.

"The Pipers?" she asked as she took it.

He shook his head. "A certain Mr. Han."

Han.

"Sounds familiar."

"Indeed. He is the survivor of the three person crash last week up near Blackwater Creek."

Ah, that was it.

"What do I want with him?"

"You want to talk to him about what he's seen."

"What he's -" Riz groaned. "Not the yeti again."

"Precisely the yeti. If there's someone going around in an animal suit, on two legs, scaring our citizens half to death, or to death in Mr. Han's friends' case, then we ought to know, don't you think?"

Riz couldn't argue with that, so instead, she stood. Han didn't live too far away and if she was quick about it she'd be done in time for (donuts) lunch.

"And Riz!" Huber called after her as she left his office. "If you need any help let me know. Whatever you find out."

At the whatever his eyes lingered on hers, and she had to work on her sneer to keep it up.

Did Huber really believe in this supernatural thing? He was German, and she'd always thought Germans were reasonable, detached, what was the phrase? Down to Earth. (This same efficiency was the reason she felt safe in Huber's presence too although usually she preferred to avoid men) Then again, maybe he'd meant something completely different when he mentioned the animal suit, a killer in hiding, something like it, and she could really count on his help if she needed it.

[Chapter 2-2] of [Book I'll likely not finish]

Here's the third chapter of this venture. It's actually more like part two of chapter two however... and yes. I do know I'm going a bit overboard with Cthulu jokes! But that's what editing is for - right? :)

PS: as this is the second part of chapter two it's a bit shorter (sorry!) but I'll have the real chapter three up by tomorrow morning!

"I - I don't understan -"

The boy beside her moved first. His phone went up and there was a sudden flash as he pressed the trigger button, and then he gasped as if he'd been wounded. His terror brought her back to herself and finally her gun was out. Had the creature noticed the flash of light? Riz killed her flashlight. What had she thought coming here alone? What did she know Cthulu was capable of? All she'd heard about him was fiction and this? This creature? What if it was a ghost and she couldn't wound it?

"What should we do!" the boy whispered. His voice was harsh and terrified and HOW SHE HATED CHILDREN. Why had he come out here? He wasn't any smarter than she and now he expected her to solve it! How could she protect this brat if she didn't even know what she was up against? She could barely see anything ahead, her eyes still trying to adapt, and he thought she could do something to protect them?

"Officer!" he whimpered.

"Quiet!" she snapped back. Protocol. Remember protocol. The innocent behind you, the gun in front. "Don't speak and follow me! Quickly!"

If she could go around the road she might be able to get a better look at it, and they'd have a better chance to get in their car, but if it spotted them...? Then what? Where was it, even? Her sight was coming back somewhat, but the thing she'd seen was gone, the road empty, except.

"Riz?"

Tension drained out of her like a rushing waterfall and she was suddenly inexplicably tired.

"You followed me."

"Of course I followed you!" Mel exclaimed. "Gee, you look like you've seen a ghost."

Riz chuckled. A ghost, huh.

"Haven't you seen anything when you came down here?"

"A lot of trees. Who's that?"

Riz turned to see the boy staring at Mel (well, her lips, anyway). "That's uh -"

"Ekko," he said, half mutinous, half enthralled by Mel.

Riz scowled at him, almost jealously (she caught herself just in time) then turned back to the road, to her car. "And you didn't see anything when you arrived?"

"No." Her brow creased. "Was there anything I was supposed to see?"

An apparition, a ghost. Cthulu's grand grand-kid. An apparition in the dark, shrouded by mist, with antlers on top of its head.

"What did the witnesses say the yeti looked like?"

"Uh," said Mel. "Tall, like a man, dark fog surrounding it. It wears a mask of bone, like the skull of a moose, or an elk, but Riz - Do you believe in this crap?"

What was she to believe? A moment ago she would've bet her life (or at least Ekko's life) that there'd been something supernatural on the road, but now, with Mel there, it was difficult to concive such a notion, difficult to say she'd spotted bigfoot with a straight face.

"I need sleep" she said instead, and walked past Mel to check on her car. It was undisturbed, but in the darkness around her, Ekko's words echoed when he spoke.

"It's not the Yeti," he said, as if annoyed. "It's a leshen."

[Chapter 2-1] of [Book I likely won't finish]

All right. I've decided to take the plunge (if only to maybe try and figure out if/what the rules are about books you don't think are yours to write) and here is Chapter 2. This is again a first draft and you're reading at your own risk (of what I don't really know).

Please be advised that I'll be doing this project alongside another (edit 100000 of First Book Ever) and there is NO GUARANTEE I'll finish this one if it doesn't work out. For now, however, enjoy! It might be someone can learn from this.

Riz stopped her car at the site off the last report, and with the engine, [country singer] shut her mouth as well. The road was really in a rural area. The asphalt was cracked and there was no street light in sight as she climbed out of the car and pocketed her keys so she had her hands free for a torch. The torch, small and cheap as everything at the Blackwater police department, didn't reach very far, and the residual heat from inside the car evaporated quickly as she took a few steps.

So where was that monster that'd scared Henny so thoroughly she wasn't able to speak to the police? Riz grumbled. Her car had left tracks on the side of the road where she parked it (couldn't park in the middle of the street no matter how rural the area) and after a few minutes she found the old woman's car tracks as well. In one hand a donut (Ha. Ha.), in the other her flashlight, she observed the way Henny's car wound on the road (tyre tracks) and then close to the slope leading into the forest beyond the road. Henny had been driving straight, at least, while she chatted on the phone, but something deterred her, scared her, Riz could see where the black brake lines shrieked over the cracked asphalt. Then the old woman might have lost control of her car momentarily, tearing the wheel away from whatever she saw on the road, coming close to the incline before once again she ripped the steering wheel the other way. Riz couldn't help some admiration at least for the old biddie. Despite one of her hands being occupied, the woman had managed not to crash down the incline and into a tree. It spoke of some skill in driving, other encounters with deer over her 65 years of life perhaps.

Then why was she playing traumatized now? Riz growled. Her stomach did, too, and she took another bite of the donut. There she was, a policewoman in her early thirties, writing speeding tickets and eating donuts. This wasn't what she'd imagined her life would be like when she signed up some, what, ten years ago? There was much less glamour than she'd expected, and too much paperwork, but on the other hand, it never was achievement, was it? If she'd wanted to be a celebrity she wouldn't have signed up for the police force in an obscure town such as Blackwater.

Chewing, she walked back onto the road. Here, she'd see if it a car came miles away by the headlights, and even she didn't spot them through the trees immediately, she'd hear it. But cars didn't interest her as much at that moment. The beam of her flashlight combed the street like it would if she were trying to clean up after an accident, only she was looking for animal tracks instead of pieces of metal, glass, shards of plastic and airbags. It was well enough to say a few witnesses spotted bigfoot, but Riz didn't buy it. Her mother might be superstitious, but she was not. She had a gun, and she wasn't afraid. If a ghost wanted to challenge her, it might as well. She'd put a bullet through anything that decided to tangle with her.

But nothing did.

It was almost more frustrating than if Cthulu suddenly jumped out of the trees. At least Cthulu she could shoot. This phantom man-elk? She'd have to believe in it first.

Ten minutes passed as she walked down the road and then back up to her car. The donut was gone and the chill was seeping into her bones quickly now as the last warmth she'd held on to faded. She really should have taken Mel up on that offer. A bit of a movie, a bit of popcorn to go with the donuts, a bit of sex.

Riz stopped in the middle of the road (really, one shouldn't) and pointed the flashlight up to see if she could spot some stars as she blew out a sigh. A bit of sex often went a long way when one was stressed. Venus winked down at her as if she knew what Riz was thinking, and Riz scowled back up at the planet.

"You know nothing," she said.

She might have given up then. There were no tracks on the road or on the side of the road of anything, animal or supernatural elk-man, but the moment she lowered her flashlight again, something moved in the corner of her eye. A sharp intake of breath, her heart suddenly frantic, she suppressed that cold jolt of terror and whirled around.

"Oi!"

Something moved. She couldn't see it well because it was still in the trees and at her call started to run away. Run away? What elk-monster was this to be scared this easily? Cthulu didn't bow before anyone! Riz ran after the creature as it sprinted away, but it had a headstart, and anyway, wasn't it a bit small to be the great Lord's offspring?

"OI, I say again!" she yelled after it. Her flashlight bounced, the beam going wildly this way and that as she crashed into the treeline, through the trees, after whatever it was she was chasing.

"Will you stop!"

"I didn't do nothin'!" a voice came back at her.

No elk-man then.

Riz caught up to the creature (a teenage boy could still be considered creature, couldn't it?) and grabbed its hood. The boy jerked forward with momentum, and they might have both tumbled had she not grabbed a tree on the other side as well.

"Why do you run?" she snapped, but the teenage boy, scared as he'd been a moment ago, seemed to have found his juvenile disregard again.

"Why do you follow me!" he demanded back. "I've done nothin' and you're the police! You have no business followin' me around!"

"And what business do you have here, in the middle of the night?"

"Ain't none of your business!"

They stared at each other momentarily, panting, and Riz hated how out of shape she was despite her penchant for donuts.

"I'm not trying to arrest you," she said.

"Why'd you say that? 'Cos I'm black?"

She rolled her eyes. "'Cos you're a (stupid idiot) little careless to be out here in the middle of the night."

His arms crossed and Riz noticed he carried a lit phone in his hand. The phone's camera showed on the screen.

"Why?" he demanded. He sounded defensive and she supposed it fit to his crossed arms.

As she deliberated what best to say (The yeti is on the loose? Cthulu's spawn has been sighted in these woods?) she realized there was something odd about the camera and the phone and most importantly the fact that he was out here at all.

"Why don't you tell me why you're here instead?"

"No deal."

Damn it. She couldn't just warn him there was a monster loose. He'd have questions, and he'd think her mad, and besides, she had a hunch he already knew about the sightings if he was here in the middle of the night with a camera.

She straightened her shoulders, watched as he shrank back ever so slightly, probably not even conscious he did it, and relaxed again. Scaring this kid wasn't the way to go. He was already scared, whatever had possessed him to come out here to re-enact Ghostbusters.

"I was just investigating a crash site," she said, casually, trying to make her voice sound calm, unexcited. "An older lady tried to offroad here and she's in the hospital now. As an officer it's my duty to inspect, yada yada. You know all this. You've seen police work before."

His mouth was still pressed together and she thought he was chewing his lip, but he nodded, carefully.

"Anything you can tell me about the crash, since you're here?"

It was difficult to tell but she thought he paled somewhat.

"If you don't know anything, that's all right. I'm - I got a bit carried away chasing you, that's all. I'm not gonna arrest you." She paused. "I got two more donuts in the car if you like."

"No."

She lifted an eyebrow. "You don't think I'll leave you here by yourself, hm?" Yeti or not, it was late, and way past a teenager's time to be on deserted country roads. "As an officer it's my duty to -"

"All right, all right," he said. "I'll come with you, but, but not to the road."

"Not the road, and why not?"

He didn't respond. Riz was about to repeat her question when something drew her attention to his eyes like a sudden gunshot. Her words stopped in mid sentence she stared. It seemed the boy's eyes were turning red. There was something in them... and a reflection of something small behind her -

Her hand was halfway toward the gun as she whirled around. The boy was staring at the street and now she was too and there was... something out there on the road. It was hazy and dark, but tall, almost half as tall as the trees around it, with two antler-like protrusions on top of its enlongated head. Riz felt suddenly cold. Her breath stopped, and it seemed like her pulse did too as she stared at the road.

Isn't that a cliffhanger!

As always comments are appreciated! And now back to my other project.

Leshen! Do you HAVE TO write every idea into a book?

I went out to cycle around the close-by lake yesterday. It's about an hour and a half around and you can cross some islands (pirate island is one of them! Treasure island another!) while you do it. Treasure island (where you start) has a small path across it. This path is about one bicycle wide and surrounded by the lake/rivers on either side of it. As you'd expect close to the water there's also some brushwork around the water's edge and some trees stretch their branches over the path. It's quite idyllic.


It's also scary when you're alone (but that might just be my imagination).


As I was riding my bicycle through it I had this idea: what if suddenly a leshen appeared out of the brushwork before me? It was quiet and though the bushes around the edges of this path aren't particularly thick it seemed entirely possible.

(PS: if you don't know what a leshen is you absolutely need to google! They look awesome. They're a kind of ancient spirit - at least in the Witcher - with human-ish bodies and elk skulls/antlers. They must be one of my favourite monster of all time.)

Let's get back to the story:

A few leafs got stuck in my wheel and I got off the bicycle to remove them.

I DID look over my shoulder while doing it but predictably there was no leshen (sigh).

I got back on my ride and had the idea that: what if there's this old lady driving her car in rural Colorado (or somewhere else?) when suddenly this elk-man thing jumps out at her? I gave her a name: Henny. Henny doesn't have time to do much except push the brakes and steer away and because she's old she has a near heart attack. This gets back to the sherrif's department when Henny's husband calls into report the accident.

Henny's file is placed in front of my main character's desk (a woman called Clarisse INSERTLASTNAME). The department of course doesn't believe in Henny's elk-man BUT there have been other such incidents where a leshen was spotted. Riz's superior wants her to write Henny up because when speeding away she crashed her car into two others (or a tractor) on the other lane. Riz is getting tired of these yeti-reports she gets daily and though her job is easy (write a speeding ticket) there's been too many coincidental reports of fairytale monsters to sit still.

At the end of the first chapter Riz is going to rural CO to find out what the heck Henny and the other witnesses have seen.

This is where I stopped writing yesterday and I've been considering the story ever since. I have this voice (obsession) urging me to write the rest but at the same time I'm not sure this is a book I should/would write. I probably could. It seems like I have to (thanks obsessive compulsive) but I'm not sure that I want to.

Here's the argument in my mind:

I only have one other new project going and the rest are edits. I might as well try this story out.

However - I've already started a new story and I keep starting stories I don't finish. Do I want to add another?

And also: I am currently editing two stories and have one more on the back burner to edit. Do I really need more work on my plate?

These are all questions you should keep in mind. I have no clever answer - or any answer really - in this post. I'm still trying to figure it out myself.


Here's my favourite part of the first chapter however:

"Why don't you come to my apartment?" Mel said as she passed the other deputy's desk. "We could order pizza, watch a movie..." Her voice trailed off.

And then what? Riz thought. Have sex? She didn't need sex. She needed to find out why all of Blackwater had suddenly gone insane with these fairytales.