Page 9 of Echo
At least the honest reaction got a chuckle out of her. “Reach out to us. The community will help.”
“Why?”
“Because we all thrive when we all thrive.” Sallie Mae gave a small smile. “We operate off barter. If your bees all die, no one gets honey. If Aaron’s cows die, no one has beef. You understand?”
“I guess so.” The mindset was so different and refreshing. “I like the concept. That’s not how things worked back home.”
“Well here, we help our own.” Sallie Mae beamed with pride. “Pearl may have kept to herself, but we’ve saved each other’s bacon on countless occasions.”
“Anything I have to know about being out here before I dive into the unknown?”
“Respect the mountains,” she answered seriously. “This isn’t the city. It’s easy to get in over your head, if you aren’t prepared.”
“It’s easy to get in over your head no matter where you go.” Or maybe that was just me.
Maybe my family did make a deal with Lucifer and that’s why I ended up with a bad man.
“I’m sure.” She forced a smile. “Look, here’s what you need to know. Don’t go chasing after anything and starting a fight you can’t finish. Make sure you're inside at night, with your doors and windows closed and locked at all times. No matter what, don't open them.”
“And keep them curtains closed too,” Hilda pipped in, reminding me of the giant blackout curtains over the glass back door.
My heart dropped to my stomach. “Is there some kind of axe murderer in the forest I don’t know about?”
“Best practice says to pretend there is.” Sallie Mae chuckled, but it was strained.
Leave.What could be out in those woods that demanded these basic tips be stated out loud? Every muscle in my body tensed with the knowledge that something wasn’t right here.
I cleared my voice to make sure it didn’t break. “I appreciate the advice. I clearly need to do a more thorough search of the house before I buy anything. I’ll see you around. Have a good day.”
I wish I’d thought of that before wasting a gallon of gas to get here and back. What an idiot, I’d been looking at the chicken coop earlier. I really wasn’t thinking things through. I was too jittery.
I went to walk out the door, but Hilda grabbed my arm. “Wait.”
This place was fucking weird, and I wanted out. I jerked my arm away from her, ready to lay into her, when she pointed to the glass pane on the door.
A huge wild cat was prowling around the little parking lot, rubbing up against my car. My eyes grew wide.
“Make sure you always know what’s going on around you.”
Maddie, you are not in Miami anymore.
Chapter 4:
Theclosestlivingrelativeto a T-Rex is a chicken, and I was pretty sure that chicken lived in my Great Aunt Pearl’s coop. Behind this giant red dick of a rooster was a plethora of colorful eggs begging to feed me.
If the asshole would let me get close, that is.
“Look, man, I think I’m supposed to gather those eggs. What do you say? Let me get all that out of your way?” I opened the door to the coop for this monstrosity to let out a war squawk worthy of a viking cock and run at me, like I would personally escort him to Valhalla.
I screamed, closing the coop door. Not giving any fucks that his head almost got shut into it too. The fucker pecked at my hands, while I secured the latch.
“I will personally hire some giant, burly mountain man to behead you. And I’ll pay him with fried chicken that I’ll make from your corpse.” Yelling at a chicken was cheaper than a therapist, so I figured letting the chicken bear the bulk of my latest frustration was a healthy enough outlet.
Yeah right.
Despite this place being a ‘farm’ I hadn’t found shit, except this cock blocking rooster that didn’t want me touching his bitches’ eggs. And all I wanted was to eat at some point today.
I sat on the ground, outside the door, wondering how delicious those eggs were. An omelet would hit the spot after a bullshit day to top off an even worse month.
