I'm going to leave you with a bit if mystery from my YA novel 'UNDERTOW'. If you've been following us, you know that Freesia has slowly been gathering some clues trying to figure out what happened to her mom. This week, her younger sister, Sage, has a nightmare that may give some important clues Freesia can add to her pile.
Ready?
This scene starts just after Freesia rushed into Sage's room after hearing her scream for her mom. Freesia and her grandparents calm Sage back down, Gran and Graddad go back to bed and the girls are alone:
~~~~~~
“Holy crap, Sage,” Freesia said, keeping her voice low. “What were you dreaming about?”
Sage breathed in a staggered breath, her chin quivering. She didn’t respond.
“You know, you were talking. You called for mom and you were telling someone not to touch her. Can you tell me what you remember?”
Sage shook her head.
Freesia bit her lip, trying to keep her tears in her eyes. “I’m going to ask you this straight out, Sagey, and I want an honest answer. I promise it can be just between us for now. Do you know something about where mom is?”
Sage swallowed. She shook her head.
“Do you have information like the stuff Detective Cuaco is looking for to help find mom?”
She paused, then shook her head again.
“Do you know someone who might know something about where mom is?”
Sage squeezed her eyes shut and clutched Lamby.
“Sagey, if you know something, even if you think it’s something that’s small or won’t help, you have to tell me.”
Sage gave Freesia a side-glance, but said nothing. Freesia blew out sharply then reached down for the keyboard. “If you don’t want to talk again right now, type it.”
Sage looked at the door then scrunched her forehead into worried lines.
“Don’t worry about them,” Freesia said. “I’m betting they either went right back to bed or are fixing themselves some tea. C’mon. Tell me.”
Sage chewed on her top lip then typed slower than Freesia thought was humanly possible. If she hadn’t just had a terrifying nightmare, Freesia would have yelled at her to hurry up.
An angry man in a blue sweatshirt with a hood yelled at her. He was shaking her and cursing at her. And…
She stopped typing. Freesia didn’t say anything, though she was convinced that Sage would be a pro at being a suspense fiction writer with the tension she was able to generate. “Okay. And…?”
…told her she’d be sorry if she crossed him.
Freesia’s skin crawled like she was covered in hundreds of caterpillars. She had to choose her next words very carefully or she knew Sage would be scared into not talking again. “This is what happened in your dream? An angry man was yelling at mom like that just now in your dream?”
Sage typed again. No. He really did it. I saw.
Freesia’s heart pounded. “Who’s ‘he’, Sage? Who said those things to mom?”
Sage shrugged then typed, Didn’t see his face. The hood was up.
Then she dropped the keyboard on the floor and scooched back down under her covers. Freesia wasn’t going to push her anymore, but knew she’d have to talk to her again as soon as she calmed down enough to.
She turned on Sage’s stereo to the Beatles part of her CD, tiptoed out of the room and shut the door halfway. She turned around to see Rudy sitting by the fireplace. She tilted her head at the dog then whispered, “Go on in, then. Just be quiet.” Rudy wagged her tail then padded into Sage’s room. She heard the squeak of the springs in Sage’s bed from Rudy jumping up. When she heard nothing but the soft sounds of ‘Blackbird’ humming from the stereo, she returned to her own room.
She crawled back into her bed, smooshing her self as far as she could under her comforter. The curtains were left open and she could see the dark sky filled with pricks of tiny sparks of light over the tops of pine trees. Her chest hurt. Was Sage’s dream a piece of the puzzle? And if it was, how would she fit it in with the other things they know? She didn’t even know where to turn to.
They were getting closer...she felt it. But something ate at her gut. She was scared. Not really of what she’d find out, but more of who was involved.
We’re coming, Mom, she thought, allowing warm tears to fall. Then slowly slipped into a deep sleep.
~~~~~~~
I hope you enjoyed today's sample. Be sure to check out the other writers participating in this week's Sweet Saturday Sample HERE. And, if we don't see you again before the Holidays, I hope you and your family have a wonderful, healthy and festive Season.
See you in the New Year!
5 comments:
I'm loving this story! These characters and their feelings are so real. Great scene.
A very 'immediate' sample, feel I am there with them. Have a great holiday.
Hi guys! Thanks for dropping by! =D
I'm so glad you liked it Sandy. I have become so close to these characters. I love these little intimate family scenes. It reminds readers that there is a 'real' family at the base of all that's going on in the story. So that means alot that you enjoy these characters. Thank you!
@ Sherry. That means so much. <3
See you in the New Year!!
Chynna
Scary stuff! I can feel their fear. Thanks for sharing!
This is getting intense
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