It’s day 11 of the #RockTheTurvy writing challenge over on Instagram! Yesterday we took a break from the D2D crew’s road trip and I shared a snippet from book one in the Bellerose Witchline series. Today Emily finds an enemy tied to a tree.
What does she do?
To the tune of: Vicarious, by Tool.
On the drive to NYC, Emily rested her head against the SUV’s window as the conversation about hiking the Appalachian Trail faded. Her eyelids fluttered under the flickering sunlight, her mind wandering and landing on familiar worries. Her head bobbed as she flirted with sleep’s pull…
The sun shone through the overhead leaves as Emily hiked the trail. Wearing a small backpack, she ambled along, soaking in the peace. She used her field glasses to focus on a lone deer maneuvering through the underbrush, following it with the binoculars. She stopped when an unexpected figure appeared through the lenses.
Sebastian St. Michel was tied to a tree 30 feet off the trail.
Emily picked her way through the ferns and saplings. Minutes later she stood gaping in front of the black-hearted man. He glared at her, silenced by the cloth gag tied around his head. Arms positioned tight at his sides, a thick, braided rope wrapped his torso, pinning his back to the tree. Rope circled his ankles, further immobilizing him.
Affixed to the rope over his chest was a note from Brown. It read: Present for you in your backpack. Ladder on the other side of the tree. Up to you if you want to remove his gag.
Sebastian watched as Emily pulled battery-operated hair clippers from the backpack. She smiled up at him.
Adjusting the ladder against the tree, Emily climbed and held up the clippers, clicking the ON button. Sebastian turned his head, fixing her with a hateful stare.
“Tell you what, Sebastian,” she said, patting his cheek. “You promise not to run your mouth for once and I’ll remove the gag. Besides, it’ll make it easier to shave your head.”
His muffled response was drowned out as Emily buzzed a trail from his temple back over his ear. Watching the thick dark waves fall past his shoulders to the forest floor, she grinned.
BEEEP! The SUV’s horn blasted, jerking Emily from her slumber. She sat up, shaking off the dream as the SUV pulled into a parking spot at Bear Mountain.
…Tune in tomorrow as it’s New Year’s Eve for Door to Door characters! Who gets kissed at midnight? (Find out here – the post is now available!)
🎶 Listen to Vicarious by Tool on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/h_TUP2vuaDs
Readers – Not on Instagram?
That’s okay! I’ll be sharing my Instagram posts daily here on my blogsite AND daily on Facebook at Writer Tracy Brown so you can read them there, too. Make sure you check for a new story every day in February!
What’s This Mean for Door to Door Characters? I’ll be dropping Emily Swift and crew into a story, a scene, a situation, etc. matching the “prompt of the day” from the challenge. Writing prompts include: finding a dead body, having a house party, celebrating New Year’s Eve, bungee jumping, breaking down on a deserted road, getting a first kiss – and much more!
What makes the #RockTheTurvy extra special is that I’ll also be picking a song to go with the scene.
If you ARE on Instagram, make sure you’re following me at https://www.instagram.com/WriterTracyBrown/ to see the posts there! But again, as long as you check out my blog list or my Writer Tracy Brown page every day, you can read all the short stories without Instagram. 🙂
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