Alone (33 page)

S
ometimes, you had to learn to be your own
happy ending. Sometimes, she realized, it was okay to be
alone.

~*~

Please continue to read for the
Prologue of the sequel, Buried (
Book two in the ‘Serenity’ series) which
is now available to buy.

BURIED

Book Two in the ‘Serenity’ Series

Prologue

It woke to the sense
of drowning; of
lungs so full it was unable to take a breath. It woke to
claustrophobia; compressed on every side. It woke to panic and
fear.

Though
the creature’s eyes were wide open, only darkness filled its sight.
Its natural instinct was to take a breath, feel its chest rise and
fall, but despite its struggle, nothing happened.

Its mind
was a blur—a mess of darkness, pain and anger. It had no idea who
it was or what had happened. Negative emotions filled the creature;
fury, fear and an overwhelming desire.

Something was wrong.

The
creature opened its mouth to roar in frustration and fear, but dirt
poured into its gaping maw. The grainy taste of earth filled its
mouth and the particles crunched between its teeth, clogging its
throat.

Panic
took hold and it fought against the confines. It clawed and
scratched, pushed and fought until something above gave
way.

With
increased vigour, it burst from the earthen tomb. Dirt flew upward,
spattering around in clods, as though an explosion had occurred
beneath the ground.

The
thing sat up, the last of the earth falling from its body, and it
blinked against the sudden light. For a few moments it sat, waiting
for the burst of fire in front of its eyeballs to subside, waiting
to adjust. Soon enough, they did and the creature looked around
with wary curiosity.

Trees
towered above, creating a canopy of dappled green light. Lifting
its dirt encrusted fingers, the creature shielded its eyes again,
seeing none of the beauty. All around was silence. No birds sang,
no insects buzzed in the air, even the wind seemed to pause in the
leaves, holding its breath against the horror beneath.

Pain
ripped through its body, and the thing shrieked, curling over upon
itself. Every nerve ending burned. It wanted to rip the flesh from
its own body, tear at itself with its teeth.

A need
overwhelmed it, a thirst, something that would stop the pain. With
wild eyes, the creature lifted its face to the sky and sniffed the
air. What it needed was out there; it smelled it on the air like
smoke from a bonfire on an autumn day. Though the thing’s muscles
burned in agony, they also twitched with strength, an energy
needing to be used, and it itched to get moving.

The
creature unfurled from the earthen hole that had been its resting
place and stretched, flexing stiff muscles. Clothes hung from its
limbs in tattered pieces; the years spent buried beneath the earth
decomposing them beyond recognition.

As it
took the first tentative steps, flashes of thought jolted its mind
like lightning strikes, memories of a life once lived. The thing
stopped in its tracks, clutching at its head, confused.

But need
drove it on.

Pushing
its way through trees and bushes, it paid no attention to the
branches whipping at its head or the brambles hooking its flesh.
External pain meant nothing.

The
flashes came again and it screamed at the thoughts, battering at
its head with its hands, trying to drive away the images. Nothing
could keep it from what it needed.

As it
pushed its way through more undergrowth, the scent became
overwhelming. Ahead, the thing noticed two figures, one larger than
the other, both with bags strapped to their backs.

Out of
an instinct coming from somewhere ancient and dark, it went for the
larger one first, knowing the smaller one would do little to defend
itself or its mate. The larger one—the male—didn’t even have time
to scream

Sharp
teeth sank into the male’s throat, tearing and biting and
devouring. Overcome in its frenzy to feed, not only on the blood,
but on the flesh and the fear, the creature forgot the pain for a
moment. The smaller one, a female, screamed in a pitch that hurt
its ears and it turned to see her eyes wide with fear.

Filled
with its own sense of power and strength, its face and chest
covered in warm blood, it lifted its head to the sky and
roared.

The
smaller one turned and ran.

The
creature leaped, soaring through the air, landing directly on the
smaller one’s back, knocking her to the ground. The air crushed
from the female’s lungs and she didn’t get the chance to take
another breath. The thing buried its face in the sweet warmth of
her throat and slowly sank its teeth in, relishing every moment as
she lay beneath it, defenceless and fragile as a bird. The blood
came in like mother’s milk and it fed—tearing, lapping and
swallowing, until only a carcass was left.

It
lifted its head and sniffed the air. It could kill again if it
wanted, but for the moment it needed to rest.

Something beyond the trees drew it—the noise of the city in
the distance—but it would wait. It needed to grow strong, and so
needed to go back beneath the ground. Using its bare hands, the
creature dug its way back into the comfort of the earth, pulling
the dirt back in over itself. Despite its earlier panic, the cool
dark of the ground now offered peace.

As it
lay down to rest, one name formed in the thing’s deranged
mind.

Serenity.

~*~

About the Author

Marissa Farrar is a multi-published horror and paranormal
author. She was
born in Devon, England,
loves to travel and has lived in both Australia and Spain. She now
resides in Devon with her husband, two children, a crazy Spanish
rescue dog and four hens. She has a degree in Zoology, but her true
love has always been writing.

Her dark take on a vampire romance,
Alone
, was first published in 2009
and has now been re-launched. The second book in the series,
Buried
, is now available
to buy. The third title,
Captured
, will be published March
2012. She is also the author of the horror novel,
The Dark Road
, and two
short story collections.

Her short stories have been accepted for a number of
anthologies including,
Their Dark
Masters,
Red Skies Press,
Masters of Horror: Damned If You Don’t,
Triskaideka Books; and
2013: The Aftermath,
Pill Hill
Press.

If you want to know more about Marissa, then please visit her
website at
www.marissa-farrar.blogspot.com
. You can also find her at her facebook page,
www.facebook.com/marissa.farrar.author
or follow her on twitter
@marissafarrar.

She
loves to hear from readers and can be emailed at
[email protected].

Also by Marissa Farrar

Buried
(Book Two in the ‘Serenity
Series)

The Dark Road

The Company of the Dead

Where the Dead Live

The Body Farm

Coming March 2012...
Captured
(Book Three in the ‘Serenity’ Series)