Cursed Ground

Below you can read the first 19 pages of Cursed Ground or download the ebook and read it using Adobe Reader. This isn’t a polished copy so minor details are subject to change from time to time. Ultimately, once the book is finished it will be available on the site for purchase. I will try to have the book done as soon as possible.

Beatrice Sumner was about to die.

It was right behind her. She was several yards ahead, but it was much faster, stronger and her legs could only take her but so far. It was only a matter of time before the distance closed in on her.

She ran into the woods, leaving the small cabin behind, and the horror that happened there. Tossing a quick, panicked glance backward she saw the animal in its entirety. It was large, and nothing like any animal she’d ever seen before. Likely nothing like any animal anyone had seen before. Even in the dark she knew that much.

She didn’t have to see the razor sharp claws, ferocious canines or eyes that devoured prey with one look long before it sunk its teeth in into tender chunky flesh to be convinced. The vicious growl spoke volumes. The heavy leaden feet hitting the ground as it charged toward her at an alarming rate made it even clearer. The fear that it evoked in her was yet another clue. But mostly, it was the dark threatening silhouette that haunted her vision that left no doubt.

The lungs in her chest burned, but she knew it was nothing compared to the pain that was yet to come. It was a mere prelude to an inevitable end. The ground she covered in five steps it covered in one. She knew she would die tonight—a horrible, painful, agonizing death.

She would die screaming.

“Somebody help me!” Tears stung her face, blurred her vision but she kept moving. Her pants were getting heavier and it was getting harder to breathe. Her legs were so tired that she could only feel shots of pain thrum through them with every step that she took, but she willed herself to keep pace. Large steps were gaining on her and she couldn’t afford to let her exhaustion grant her a quick death. Behind her, she heard tree limbs crack, fall and smash under heavy fearless stomps. They were going down like bowling pins and grounded out like sawdust.

This is what it would be like for her. It would stomp her out like a tiny flame. Her flesh would tear and her bones would crush and crack under the pressure of relentless claws and teeth.