The Powers That Be: Unnatural Selection, #1

By S. J. Vogt

Kat comes from the big city, settling down in Castle, Kansas. Living in a small town and working in the local diner is a quiet life, but a dull one. Then one late night Gloria shows up bloodied, beaten, and in dire need of help. When Chet appears shortly after, Kat knows she must defend the woman dying in her arms. In doing so, she discovers a secret, one unknown to anyone, including herself.  She has powers. Powers beyond her wildest imagination.

Meanwhile, a murderer resurfaces, killing seemingly innocent people, and brutally murdering in ways that could only live up to his name -- Pain.

Follow Kat as she struggles to come to grips with her newly found powers, flees the worst of killers, and longs for the life she’s forced to leave behind. All the while, trying to save Los Angeles from certain destruction.

Book one of the Unnatural Selection series.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: S. J. Vogt
• Release date: Oct 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781540116505

S. J. Vogt

S. J. Vogt was born in Dunellen, N.J. and raised in Glendale, Arizona. Always a writer at heart, he penned poetry at a young age, but has always searched for just the right thing to write about. He loves entertaining people and hopes that you enjoy the stories that he has to tell.

Book preview

For Mom and Dad. Without your help and encouragement, this would never have come to fruition.

Shelley, I can’t even begin to describe how much I’ve learned from you.

And thanks to those that probably got sick of me throwing ideas at them, but still listened to me rant. Mom, Dad, Sarah, Hailey, Angie, Ren, and everyone else that I’ve missed.

In memory of Umma

CHAPTER ONE

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THE VERY LOUD AND VERY overcrowded state fair was alive with the sounds of screams, grinding machinery, and whistles. They sent Mary's nerves bouncing. She felt like a pinball flying off bumpers. She twisted and turned and heard bells from winners in the background, making her believe that she really was that pinball. Ding. Ding. Ding.

Mary watched as children went crazy over the stuffed animals, asking, even begging their parents to win one for them. Sometimes she cringed as tantrums were thrown when the kids didn't get what they wanted, and on some occasions, spankings were forced as a response from the frustrated parents. I said no! and Do you want to go home? were constantly repeated as if they were mantras.

Mary rolled her eyes. She knew the big stuffed animals and oversized dogs would be precisely placed upon couches and beds, the glassy eyes following every movement. The biggest were the ones everyone seemed to go for, but Mary knew they could go untouched for years.

Mary saw in a number of parents’ eyes that they had a grand time. But she noticed in the occasional passing glance, their eyes seemed to scream for help. Mary knew some people wouldn't have gone even if they were asked by a friend, and they wouldn't have wasted their time going on their own. She knew they agreed to suffer just for their kids’ sake. She watched as the parents went through the robotic routine and won their little ones prizes as the children clinched their winnings with their small hands. Their arms were tucked tightly into their chest as if someone would walk up to them and rip the toy right out of their white knuckles.

For the most part, Mary and her two friends, Tom and Carol, had stuck together. They occasionally drifted apart, but never out of each other's eyesight. Mostly. They didn't want to go through having to find each other, searching around for hours. They were on their weekend, having just gotten off work, and they wanted to have fun.

Tom towered over Carol, standing a full foot taller than her five-foot-three dainty frame. As they walked around the fair, Mary could see it in both of their eyes. They were madly in love with each other.

Mary only wished she could find that kind of true happiness at some point in her life. Not that she hadn't tried. Like everyone else in the world, she'd been through her ups and downs with relationships, all resulting in an inevitable breakup. Mary had referred to whatever boyfriend she had at the time as her future ex because she knew exactly how the game turned out. She thought maybe she could be too picky. Being only twenty-two-years-old, she realized it a sad state to be in. So sad indeed.

They passed an attraction called Bigfoot, which seemed to be the main draw at the fair. It went faster and faster in circles, all the while lifting higher and higher until the passengers spun upside down. Mary hoped no one had eaten prior to the ride.

Children as well as adults screamed with each revolution. This didn't entice Mary to participate at all. Not in the slightest.

Mary wasn't much of a ride person, and she had let it be known, mostly because her friends adored the rides. Rides usually scared her just watching them. Mary was more of a games person. She had a collection of stuffed bears and painted mirrors from previous State Fairs and didn't plan on stopping there. All of them sat untouched in her bedroom. As a result, Tom and Carol called Mary a hoarder. Unfortunately, Mary didn't have a single prize in her arms yet, but she planned to change that and gather more for her collection as soon as her friends finished their heart-pounding rides.

Tom and Carol insisted on riding Bigfoot, saying they'd heard a lot about it and it looked awesome. We're gonna stand in line, they told Mary.

Mary watched the ride come to a halt, and the more than pleased passengers wobble off, picking up their purses and personal belongings along the way. She'd have some time before Tom and Carol had their turn at the ride. The line grew so long it would take at least another round or two for them to even discover what all the buzz was about.

I'm going to get some cotton candy. Mary yelled over the crowd walking between them. She looked over at the building - more like a modified shack - selling the fluffy treat. Not a soul stood in line for the sugary snack. That can't be a good sign, she thought to herself. But her craving for the spun flavored sugar grew with each second, so being the closest building, she proceeded to the window.

I'll have some cotton candy, please. She handed the scruffy man behind the counter her money and without a word, he dropped her change into her hand. One dollar change from a Lincoln. Seriously? Four dollars for cotton candy? What had the world come to? It seemed the fair and their attractions had grabbed her by the ankles and shook her until her pockets were empty. She slowly tore the web-like laces from the top of her treat as she watched her friends get closer and closer in line for their thrill ride.

Mommy? A voice whispered, sounding alone and confused. She quickly turned around and saw nothing.

Mommy?

That time it sounded as if it came from the dark gap between the food stands and the exhibition hall. It was an area that didn't have much light, being blocked by the snack shacks.

She heard the little boy again off to her left and whipped toward the voice. Where are you, sweetie? Come here. Are you lost? I'll help you find your mommy. As she attempted to determine exactly where the voice originated from, she followed it farther and farther into the darkness. Not feeling comfortable being alone in such a dark area, she still called out to the boy several times. Each call went unanswered. Separation from one’s family at such a young age hit her a little too close to home, so she continued to call out.

That was until she realized she wasn't at the State Fair any longer.

Mary opened her eyes, only to find herself surrounded by complete darkness. She felt comforted for a brief moment, then scared. It was even more dark than it had been when she was behind the food stands.

She was lying down, her arms at her sides. Her head ached as if she had a hangover. She glanced around in all directions. Not even a small drizzle of light surrounded her. Her friends were nowhere in sight. In fact, there wasn't a thing in sight. Not a thing. The moon didn't exist in whatever or wherever she was. Where is this? What is this? She couldn't hear a thing other than her own breathing and there was something hard and solid beneath her.

Mary was groggy, and she found it difficult to breathe.

She moved her arms just a couple of inches, only to be stopped by some sort of immovable object. Attempting to sit up, she smacked her head hard on something solid. Her breathing became erratic. She couldn't seem to get enough oxygen. She kicked her legs into the air, but made contact with something solid again. Thrusting her arms upwards, Mary attempted to push off whatever hovered over her. Hearing just an eerie creak, she pulled her hand back quickly as a splinter poked through the skin of her index finger. Dirt sprinkled on her face and into her mouth and on her lips. She tried blowing it off her lips with a phbbbbbbt sound, but to no avail. The dirt kept falling and creeping in.

Mary could only assume she'd been trying to escape a wooden coffin.

A stuffed animal of some sort—one that she hadn't won at the fair—was sitting on her chest. She frantically swatted it off so it laid at her feet.

Another puff of dirt fell through the cracks in the wood and into her mouth and eyes after she kicked again. She kept trying to spit it out, but it was useless as the grit worked its way into her throat. Her mental state continued to diminish and her breathing became more difficult. She gasped for air and felt the tears run down her cheeks.

Mary pulled out her cell phone. Good, she thought. She had few applications on her phone, and she saw her battery was at eighty-two percent. Unfortunately, good news can also come with bad news. She noticed there was no reception. No calling for help.

She opened the flashlight application and flicked it on. The room became bright, almost too bright. But it wasn't a room at all. She was, in fact, in a makeshift casket. Wood surrounded her on all sides and dirt - although she wasn't kicking - still seeped through from the cracks above. She was buried alive.

Sheer panic overtook her. Her breathing became more labored. She called out to her friends, crying,