I didn’t recognize the name on the street
sign. Nothing about the rural road looked familiar or
friendly. Tall, imposing trees and
overgrown weeds choked the front of the dilapidated home.
Windows were boarded up. There was a gaping
hole where the front door had been. I shivered,
wanting to be far away from here…wherever
here was.
Walking felt harder than it should be, and
I stumbled off the chilly asphalt, wincing as
sharp gravel dug into my feet.
My bare feet?
I stopped and looked down. Chipped pink
nail polish peeked through the dirt…and blood.
Mud caked the legs of my pants, leaving the
hems stiff. It made sense, seeing as how I wasn’t
wearing any shoes, but the blood…I didn’t
understand why there was blood staining the knees of
my jeans.
My vision clouded and dulled, as if a gray
film had been dropped over my eyes. As I
stared at the weathered asphalt under my
feet, large and smooth rocks replaced the tiny stones.
Something dark and oily seeped over the
rocks, slipping through the cracks.
Sucking in a sharp gasp, I blinked and the
image was gone.
Hands trembling, I raised them. They were
also covered with dirt and scratches. My nails
were broken, bloodied. A silver ring
wrapped, encased in soil, around my thumb. Air froze in my
chest as my gaze crawled over my arms. The
sleeves of my sweater were torn, revealing pale
flesh covered in bruises and gashes. My
legs started to shake as I swayed forward. I tried to
remember how this had happened, but my head
was empty—a black void where nothing existed.
A car drove by, coasting to a stop a few
feet in front of me. Somewhere in the trenches of
my subconscious, I recognized the flashing
red and blue lights as a source of safety. Elegantly
scrawled along the black-and-gray side of
the cruiser were the words ADAMS COUNTY SHERIFF’S
DEPARTMENT.
Adams County? A flash of familiarity came
and went.
The driver’s door opened, and a deputy
stepped out. He said something into the radio on
his shoulder before he looked at me.
“Miss?” He started around the cruiser,
taking tentative steps. He looked young for a
deputy. Barely out of high school and able
to carry a gun seemed wrong somehow. Was I in high
school? I didn’t know. “We’ve received some
calls into dispatch concerning you,” he said
gently. “Are you okay?”
I tried to respond, but only a hoarse
squeak came out. Clearing my throat, I winced as the
motion scratched and pulled. “I…I don’t
know.”
“Okay.” The deputy held up his hands as he
approached me, as if I were a skittish deer
about to bolt. “My name is Deputy Rhode.
I’m here to help you. Do you know what you’re doing
out here?”
“No.” Knots formed in my belly. I didn’t
even know where here was.
His smile strained. “What’s your name?”
My name? Everyone knew their name, but as I
stared at the deputy, I couldn’t answer his
question. The knots started twisting more.
“I don’t…I don’t know what my name is.”
He blinked, and the smile was completely
gone. “You don’t remember anything?”
I tried again, concentrating on the empty
space between my ears. That was how it felt.
And I knew that wasn’t good. My eyes
started to tear up.
“Miss, it’s okay. We’ll get you taken care
of.” He reached out, lightly taking hold of my
arm. “We’ll get this sorted.”
Deputy Rhode led me around the back of his
cruiser. I didn’t want to sit behind the
Plexiglas, because I knew that wasn’t good.
Only bad people sat behind the glass in police
cruisers. I wanted to object, but before I
could say anything, he settled me into the seat and
wrapped a coarse blanket around my
shoulders.
Before he locked me in the bad part of the
car, he knelt and smiled reassuringly.
“Everything’s going to be okay.”
But I knew he was lying, trying to make me
feel better. It didn’t work. How could
everything be okay when I didn’t know my
own name?
It sounds amazing, and that cover is fantastic! It's creepy and beautiful all at the same time! :)
