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artisanal_xaraApproximately 5 days ago sabethea said on the Facebooks: "Omg, someone needs to write a werewolf story called ' Were the wild things are'."
To which I immediately replied something along the lines of "OMG! Me! I love werewolf fic. I want to write werewolf fic. I will write you werewolf fic called Where the Wild Things Are, and it will be sexy and fabulous. I'll have it done tomorrow. Any special requests? " Or something like that.
At which time two of Sab's friends and I got into a conversation about teddy bears and picnics and the deep dark forest. Also about Sab being awesome and deserving of fiction and love and admiration... Or something like that.
So I began writing. And writing. And writing. This is not the short story that I thought I was going to write. At present it is over 21k words in length, 9 chapters, 55 pages, (but I think these are research paper sized pages, not paperback book sized pages, as it does not seem to get the approximate number of words on a page that some online sources tell me book editors consider standard,) and the story is not done. But I have edited this chapter enough, and gone far enough past it in the story that I don't think I will want to make any significant changes to it.
I only hope that it meets Sab's expectations. (and forgive me for any SPAG mistakes, as I know that I am a fan of run on sentences, and that grammar errors are a particular pet peeve of hers.)
And so I give you the first chapter of:
Where the Wild Things Are
Chapter 1. Waterfall
1660 words
Jana pulled her long black hair back into a ponytail and tightened the laces on her running shoes. She’d been in the little mountain resort for about an hour, and she was drained from the long trip. She needed a quick run, a quick shower, and then she would meet her girlfriends down at the restaurant for dinner. This was her sister Kat’s bachelorette party and weekend getaway, three days of spa treatments, food, and nature. Three of Jana’s favorite things.
The cheerful woman in the lodge who checked her into her cabin had told Jana about the nature trail that started at the end of the cabin road, and made a slightly hilly two and a half mile loop through the forest at the back of the property.
Watery afternoon sun spilled through the tree branches warming Jana’s face. The sound of birdsong was the perfect counterpoint to the crunch of the sparse gravel under her feet. As Jana fell into the rhythm of running, a deep sense of calm overwhelmed her. Nothing was better than the sounds and smells of nature, except maybe taking it all in while her legs and heart pumped and she sweated. She had just heard the first burbling sounds of the river when she saw a fork in the path that the caretaker hadn’t told her about. She paused, jogging in place to keep her heart rate up while she studied the neglected looking sign. Three quarters of a miles to the left was an overlook and the waterfall. To the right was the rest of the loop back to the resort. It must be a fairly steep climb up to the overlook, she thought, because the falls were tall, and so far this trail had been mostly downhill toward the river. Adding another mile and a half round trip to the falls with a steep climb would add maybe another half hour to her run. She’d have to make it a quick shower if she was going to make dinner on time, but she really wanted to see the falls, and her body was singing with pent up energy after traveling all day.
Five minutes later, Jana wondered if she’d been mistaken about the climb. The trail meandered through the forest, met up with the river, and traveled upstream along the bank. She paused at a sandy patch and dipped her fingers in the crystal clear water, only to draw back with a gasp. The water was frigid, a fact that should have been obvious considering that it was a mountain stream, fed by snow melt from further up the mountains, and it was early April. This wide spot in the river might make a good swimming hole in August, but right now it would just get you a case of hypothermia.
Setting out again she wondered if this “overlook” was actually going to turn out to be a view of the falls from below. Then she saw it. The looming staircase cut into the side of a bluff. Rough wooden handrails lined the trail on one side to preventing you from taking a wrong step and tumbling down the steep bank. Stairs made out of logs or cut into stone led up and up and up. She gave up on jogging, and set herself the task of climbing the mountain. This trail was far less used than the one she’d left behind. Damp slippery moss clung to the stone stair treads, making her wonder how long it had been since anyone had made this climb. Mid way up she paused for a quick glance at her fitness tracker. Her heart rate was well above her usual target zone, and she nearly did a double take when she saw the time. The climb had really eaten into her schedule. Oh well. She couldn’t give up now that she could finally see the path leveling off up ahead. When she finally had both feet on the flat stone at the top of the bluff she dropped to a squat, elbows on her knees, and panted out several breaths. Thank goodness she’d thought to bring her water bottle. She took a long drink and sighed in relief as her burning thighs started to calm down.
A distant sound that may have been a coyote howling brought her attention back to the forest. Only then did she actually take in her surroundings. She was not at the top of the mountain by any stretch of the imagination. The little river meandered on, up and up the landscape, with several mini waterfalls and stone filled pools visible from where she stood.
She realized with a start that the rushing sound that she had taken for her pounding heart was nothing of the sort. With an exhilarating sort of trepidation she peeked around an outcropping of rock and saw the edge of the platform. A much sturdier stone handrail lined the rim, only feet from the edge of the river. When she approached the edge she saw that the wide placid pool at the top dropped of sharply into the abyss almost directly below her feet. Startled she jumped back from the edge, then more cautiously approached for a better look. Scraggly trees and moss clung to the steep wall of the bluff, while white water thundered over the edge, bouncing and tumbling off of jutting rocks to crash to the ground below in a cacophony of noise and spray into what must be a very deep pool at the base of the falls. She could see a trail cutting through the forest at the base of the falls, and wondered idly if she would pass that very spot on her way back down toward the resort.
Jana’s watch beeped at her and she glanced down to see that it was now much later than she had intended. With one last wistful glance at the beauty before her, she turned from the falls.
“Oh,” she yelped.
A man stood at the trail head. Tall and broad, he watched her out of a deep set eyes. His hair and beard were thick and glossy but long and unkempt. His clothes were the durable rugged sort that you would expect to see on someone who lived on the land. He had an air of possessiveness about him that had Jana wondering if she had inadvertently wandered onto his property.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t hear you come up behind me.”
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t speak for a moment. She was about to move past him and start the climb back down the bluff when he cleared his throat. “We don’t get many hikers up here.” His voice sounded rusty, like it had been a while since he had used it. He cleared his throat again. “It’s a nice view, but that climb is a bit of a challenge. Not many try it.”
She thought she detected a bit of admiration in his tone. “Yeah. If I’d known what I was getting into I might not have. The woman at the lodge sent me for a jog around the main loop, but she didn’t tell me about the trail to the falls. Still, I’m glad I did it. It’s breathtaking up here.”
“Not many do,” he said again.
Jana wasn’t sure what to make of this stranger. He looked entirely at home up here on the mountain, confident, competent, and at ease in his surroundings. At the same time he had the air of someone desperately lonely. Nothing good could possibly come out of this encounter, she thought.
“Well, it was nice to meet you,” she said at the exact same moment that he said, “You’re staying at the lodge near town?”
They looked at each other, and when their eyes met Jana felt a strong pull deep in her belly. There was something compelling about him. She really didn’t want to tell him that she was staying in the cabins, or even at the lodge, though she had already admitted as much. He didn’t seem like a person that would attack her while she slept alone in her cabin, but then again, predators rarely warned their victims beforehand. Right?
“My family is there,” she said noncommittally.
He glanced none too subtly at her left hand, looking to see if she wore a wedding ring. She balled her hands quickly into fists and jammed them into the pockets of her jacket, knowing that it was already too late.
He raised his eyebrow in that same knowing gesture that he’d used before.
“As I said,” she said stiffly now,” I need to be going. My family is expecting me for dinner, and I wasn’t planning to be gone quite this long.” Damnit! Now she’d told him she was going out to dinner. It was a tiny town, and the resort was the only place that she knew of to go for dinner around here.
He stepped away from the mouth of the trail, making room for her to access the stairs. “It was very nice to make your acquaintance,” he said with a slight bow, the words and gesture not fitting at all with the rugged mountain man aura he had been projecting.
When she had gone far enough down the trail that the man was no longer in sight, Jana closed her eyes and sighed. Her instincts were telling her that she needed to be careful, that he was dangerous, that he was a predator. Yet she was fascinated by him. He had a charm about him, and a magnetism that made it hard to look away from him.
When she got to the base of the bluff, she set off running as fast as she could safely go in the fading daylight. She wanted to get back in time for dinner, and she really wanted to get out of the forest where she suddenly felt incredibly alone and vulnerable.
sabethea said on the Facebooks: "Omg, someone needs to write a werewolf story called ' Were the wild things are'."To which I immediately replied something along the lines of "OMG! Me! I love werewolf fic. I want to write werewolf fic. I will write you werewolf fic called Where the Wild Things Are, and it will be sexy and fabulous. I'll have it done tomorrow. Any special requests? " Or something like that.
At which time two of Sab's friends and I got into a conversation about teddy bears and picnics and the deep dark forest. Also about Sab being awesome and deserving of fiction and love and admiration... Or something like that.
So I began writing. And writing. And writing. This is not the short story that I thought I was going to write. At present it is over 21k words in length, 9 chapters, 55 pages, (but I think these are research paper sized pages, not paperback book sized pages, as it does not seem to get the approximate number of words on a page that some online sources tell me book editors consider standard,) and the story is not done. But I have edited this chapter enough, and gone far enough past it in the story that I don't think I will want to make any significant changes to it.
I only hope that it meets Sab's expectations. (and forgive me for any SPAG mistakes, as I know that I am a fan of run on sentences, and that grammar errors are a particular pet peeve of hers.)
And so I give you the first chapter of:
Where the Wild Things Are
Chapter 1. Waterfall
1660 words
Jana pulled her long black hair back into a ponytail and tightened the laces on her running shoes. She’d been in the little mountain resort for about an hour, and she was drained from the long trip. She needed a quick run, a quick shower, and then she would meet her girlfriends down at the restaurant for dinner. This was her sister Kat’s bachelorette party and weekend getaway, three days of spa treatments, food, and nature. Three of Jana’s favorite things.
The cheerful woman in the lodge who checked her into her cabin had told Jana about the nature trail that started at the end of the cabin road, and made a slightly hilly two and a half mile loop through the forest at the back of the property.
Watery afternoon sun spilled through the tree branches warming Jana’s face. The sound of birdsong was the perfect counterpoint to the crunch of the sparse gravel under her feet. As Jana fell into the rhythm of running, a deep sense of calm overwhelmed her. Nothing was better than the sounds and smells of nature, except maybe taking it all in while her legs and heart pumped and she sweated. She had just heard the first burbling sounds of the river when she saw a fork in the path that the caretaker hadn’t told her about. She paused, jogging in place to keep her heart rate up while she studied the neglected looking sign. Three quarters of a miles to the left was an overlook and the waterfall. To the right was the rest of the loop back to the resort. It must be a fairly steep climb up to the overlook, she thought, because the falls were tall, and so far this trail had been mostly downhill toward the river. Adding another mile and a half round trip to the falls with a steep climb would add maybe another half hour to her run. She’d have to make it a quick shower if she was going to make dinner on time, but she really wanted to see the falls, and her body was singing with pent up energy after traveling all day.
Five minutes later, Jana wondered if she’d been mistaken about the climb. The trail meandered through the forest, met up with the river, and traveled upstream along the bank. She paused at a sandy patch and dipped her fingers in the crystal clear water, only to draw back with a gasp. The water was frigid, a fact that should have been obvious considering that it was a mountain stream, fed by snow melt from further up the mountains, and it was early April. This wide spot in the river might make a good swimming hole in August, but right now it would just get you a case of hypothermia.
Setting out again she wondered if this “overlook” was actually going to turn out to be a view of the falls from below. Then she saw it. The looming staircase cut into the side of a bluff. Rough wooden handrails lined the trail on one side to preventing you from taking a wrong step and tumbling down the steep bank. Stairs made out of logs or cut into stone led up and up and up. She gave up on jogging, and set herself the task of climbing the mountain. This trail was far less used than the one she’d left behind. Damp slippery moss clung to the stone stair treads, making her wonder how long it had been since anyone had made this climb. Mid way up she paused for a quick glance at her fitness tracker. Her heart rate was well above her usual target zone, and she nearly did a double take when she saw the time. The climb had really eaten into her schedule. Oh well. She couldn’t give up now that she could finally see the path leveling off up ahead. When she finally had both feet on the flat stone at the top of the bluff she dropped to a squat, elbows on her knees, and panted out several breaths. Thank goodness she’d thought to bring her water bottle. She took a long drink and sighed in relief as her burning thighs started to calm down.
A distant sound that may have been a coyote howling brought her attention back to the forest. Only then did she actually take in her surroundings. She was not at the top of the mountain by any stretch of the imagination. The little river meandered on, up and up the landscape, with several mini waterfalls and stone filled pools visible from where she stood.
She realized with a start that the rushing sound that she had taken for her pounding heart was nothing of the sort. With an exhilarating sort of trepidation she peeked around an outcropping of rock and saw the edge of the platform. A much sturdier stone handrail lined the rim, only feet from the edge of the river. When she approached the edge she saw that the wide placid pool at the top dropped of sharply into the abyss almost directly below her feet. Startled she jumped back from the edge, then more cautiously approached for a better look. Scraggly trees and moss clung to the steep wall of the bluff, while white water thundered over the edge, bouncing and tumbling off of jutting rocks to crash to the ground below in a cacophony of noise and spray into what must be a very deep pool at the base of the falls. She could see a trail cutting through the forest at the base of the falls, and wondered idly if she would pass that very spot on her way back down toward the resort.
Jana’s watch beeped at her and she glanced down to see that it was now much later than she had intended. With one last wistful glance at the beauty before her, she turned from the falls.
“Oh,” she yelped.
A man stood at the trail head. Tall and broad, he watched her out of a deep set eyes. His hair and beard were thick and glossy but long and unkempt. His clothes were the durable rugged sort that you would expect to see on someone who lived on the land. He had an air of possessiveness about him that had Jana wondering if she had inadvertently wandered onto his property.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t hear you come up behind me.”
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t speak for a moment. She was about to move past him and start the climb back down the bluff when he cleared his throat. “We don’t get many hikers up here.” His voice sounded rusty, like it had been a while since he had used it. He cleared his throat again. “It’s a nice view, but that climb is a bit of a challenge. Not many try it.”
She thought she detected a bit of admiration in his tone. “Yeah. If I’d known what I was getting into I might not have. The woman at the lodge sent me for a jog around the main loop, but she didn’t tell me about the trail to the falls. Still, I’m glad I did it. It’s breathtaking up here.”
“Not many do,” he said again.
Jana wasn’t sure what to make of this stranger. He looked entirely at home up here on the mountain, confident, competent, and at ease in his surroundings. At the same time he had the air of someone desperately lonely. Nothing good could possibly come out of this encounter, she thought.
“Well, it was nice to meet you,” she said at the exact same moment that he said, “You’re staying at the lodge near town?”
They looked at each other, and when their eyes met Jana felt a strong pull deep in her belly. There was something compelling about him. She really didn’t want to tell him that she was staying in the cabins, or even at the lodge, though she had already admitted as much. He didn’t seem like a person that would attack her while she slept alone in her cabin, but then again, predators rarely warned their victims beforehand. Right?
“My family is there,” she said noncommittally.
He glanced none too subtly at her left hand, looking to see if she wore a wedding ring. She balled her hands quickly into fists and jammed them into the pockets of her jacket, knowing that it was already too late.
He raised his eyebrow in that same knowing gesture that he’d used before.
“As I said,” she said stiffly now,” I need to be going. My family is expecting me for dinner, and I wasn’t planning to be gone quite this long.” Damnit! Now she’d told him she was going out to dinner. It was a tiny town, and the resort was the only place that she knew of to go for dinner around here.
He stepped away from the mouth of the trail, making room for her to access the stairs. “It was very nice to make your acquaintance,” he said with a slight bow, the words and gesture not fitting at all with the rugged mountain man aura he had been projecting.
When she had gone far enough down the trail that the man was no longer in sight, Jana closed her eyes and sighed. Her instincts were telling her that she needed to be careful, that he was dangerous, that he was a predator. Yet she was fascinated by him. He had a charm about him, and a magnetism that made it hard to look away from him.
When she got to the base of the bluff, she set off running as fast as she could safely go in the fading daylight. She wanted to get back in time for dinner, and she really wanted to get out of the forest where she suddenly felt incredibly alone and vulnerable.
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Date: 2018-01-30 07:38 pm (UTC)