I’m in the final edit of my debut novel, “The Echo.” I’ve been posting alot about my short stories, but so far, nothing about the novel. So, without further adieu, here is short scene:

Kimberly stood in a field clad in her white nightdress. Her feet were bare and small blades of grass stuck out from between her toes. A gentle breeze caressed her hair. A full moon hung in the clear night sky.

An odor caught Kimberly’s attention but when she tried to discern its source it faded.

Smoke?

Up ahead, lights were burning in a charming Tudor home.

She had to get to it.

The house began to move, pulling away as though being sucked through a straw.

Now, instead of being a few hundred feet down the hill from her, it was all the way across town.

Kimberly blinked.

She stood in Madam Roberta’s tent. The black cat slinked out from under the table, its tail twitching as it walked.

Velvet.

“Your daughter’s soul is very twinned.”

Madam Roberta spoke from her place behind the crystal ball. Her ruby red lips opened and closed but the words didn’t match their movements.

“You must listen to your daughter. She is not sick.”

The voice pounded in her ears. Kimberly squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She felt lightheaded.

When she opened her eyes, Kimberly stood in the same field. A fierce wind blew at her back, pushing her from behind. She glanced down the hill and gasped.

The little house was on fire!

The acrid smell of smoke stung her nostrils. Her eyes watered.
A distorted cry pierced through her, traveling up her spine like an ice pick. Kimberly recoiled when she saw the black cat.

As the animal drew near, Kimberly could see it was a black cat but this was not the sleek animal that belonged to Madam Roberta.

The creature dragged itself toward her, its body jerking in spasms as plaintive cries ripped themselves from its throat.

As though the fast-forward button had been pushed on a DVD, the creature rushed forward, its jerking gait made more terrifying by its impossible speed.

Kimberly tumbled backward, her skin crawling.

The animal at her feet was horribly mangled. Its black fur was singed and patches of pink skin showed through.
 
It lifted what was left of its face, one yellow eye burning silent accusations.

The creature opened up a wide mouth and the sound that erupted, something between human and animal, caused Kimberly’s blood to freeze in her veins.

She screamed, hands flying to her cover her face.

Her stomach flopped. She now stood on the roof of the burning house. Her arm shot out to keep her balance and she found herself peering into an upstairs window.

A little girl stood in a bedroom, her small body engulfed in flames.

Lynn!

“Listen to what she is telling you. LISTEN!”

She watched, helpless as her child’s nightgown caught fire.

No!

Closing her eyes, she rushed the window, bracing herself for an impact that never came.

She opened her eyes. She was back on the ground.

Heart pounding, mind whirling, Kimberly looked up to see the house was no longer on fire.

It was no longer the same house.

A giggle made her turn.

Lynn stood in the backyard, waving.

Kimberly raised her arm to return the wave but Lynn looked past her.

In a flurry of movement, Lynn ran from the front yard into the back.

Disoriented, Kimberly turned to follow just as she disappeared around the back of the house.

How did she do that?

Kimberly broke into a run, chasing her daughter around the house.

Lynn headed toward a tire swing in back.

Just as Lynn made a leap for the swing, Kimberly reached out, her fingers brushing a few strands of hair before Lynn disappeared, fading out of sight like a ghost.

She was seized by a sickening panic. “Lynn?”

Kimberly’s voice sounded strange to her. As though it were coming from far away.

A thud behind her made her jump and whirl.

She faced a large, cellar window.

Still panting, she squatted down and peered into the glass.

It was pitch black. Not even the light from the moon reflected off of it.

She moved closer. “Lynn?”

Why did she think Lynn was going to be in a basement?

She hadn’t seen her go in.

A deafening silence hung in the air.

She peered at the glass again. Why did she feel so drawn to it?

She reached out a hand to caress its smooth surface.

Did something just move?

She peered closer. If only she could see inside…

SLAM!

Two small pale hands slammed into the window with bone-shattering force.

Something dark appeared between them. The head turned revealing a face twisted in terror. Two steel eyes locked onto Kimberly. The mouth opened and an ear-piercing shriek cut the night.