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As Submitted - Final Version May
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Chapter Three
Walking the third floor hallway,
Melinda heard the grandfather clock chime downstairs. Standing before a door
with a soft yellow glow around the doorframe, she knocked several times but no
one answered. As the last strikes echoed through the house, the door swung open.
In the silence that followed, Melinda entered the brightly lit room. Here she
found signs of life: clothes lying on a chair next to the antique four-poster
bed, books piled on a nightstand, and a tower of CDs beside a stereo across the
room. Examining the bathroom, she found it empty but cluttered as well.
Back in the hallway, she closed the
door behind her and said, “Well, that was anticlimactic.” Laughing to herself,
she decided to take the clothes downstairs and go home. She could honestly claim
no one was home when she came to deliver the clothes. No reason the owner should
know she strolled around his house.
From behind her, growling shattered the
quiet night. Turning toward the noise, she gasped at the sight of a large gray
wolf standing at the end of the hallway. He stalked towards her, his large teeth
bared in a snarl. She inched toward the stairs hoping to beat him there. Just
before she would have reached them, the wolf leapt at her. Swinging the clothes
bag with all her might, she slammed the animal into the wall but lost her grip
on the bag as the plastic became entangled in its feet.
The hairs on the back of her neck
prickled as she dashed down the stairs. Her only thought—to find a chair to beat
the thing off. Reaching the bottom floor she turned the corner toward the back
of the house where the kitchen and dining room were located. Then remembered
there were no stools at the bar so she quickly moved to the dining room.
“Crap!”
Stopping in the center of the room, she
looked around in disbelief. Earlier on her tour, there had been a dark walnut
table large enough to seat eight people. Now the room stood empty. Even the
matching china cabinet and buffet table were gone. She had to escape.
Moving toward the opposite entrance,
she stopped when growling once again came from behind her. Turning slowly,
beautiful, glowing milk chocolate eyes captured her gaze. Those luminous eyes
terrified, and restrained her. At its mercy, Melinda had nothing but her hands
to defend herself and no hope of out running the wild animal. She screamed as
the wolf leapt on her sinking its teeth into her shoulder and clawing her belly.
Thankfully when they hit the hardwood floor, she hit her head and blacked out.
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