Two Footsteps: The Game of Life Series, #2

By Belle Brooks

"My life is in the Wolf's hands."

 

He is the Wolf. I am his Red. The game has begun and he wants me dead.

But who is the Wolf?
And why has he chosen me?

 

He whistles a tune that's haunting. He glares at me through eyes that are vacant. I feel his heart beating, yet I know he has no soul. He moves like the wind...I can't hear his footsteps. I want this to end. He's playing with my mind. He branded me with ink. He wants to destroy me.

 

"I, Reid, take thee, Morgan, to be my wife. To have and to hold, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part..."

 

I have a reason to keep running.
There's no time to blink.
Don't look back. Don't make a sound.
I know he's behind me.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Belle Brooks
• Release date: Sep 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386310129

Belle Brooks

Born in Australia, Belle Brooks has always had a passion for books and creative writing. She loves exploring the different ways stories can be told through the use of text and in-depth characters. Since she was a child her strong talent and interest in creative writing was evident, explaining that her favourite class in school was English. Despite her love for all things books, she decided the world of advertising and marketing was where she could put her talents to use in the business realm, well that is until now. Belle enjoys creative writing and creating fictional stories that leave a valued message inside the pages.

Book preview

Table of Contents

A NOTE TO THE READER

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Published 2017

ISBN - 9780648126331

Two Footsteps

©2017 by Belle Brooks

Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilisation of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the permission of the publisher, Obie Books, Po Box 2302, Yeppoon QLD Australia 4703.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

All rights are reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in past in any form. This edition is published in arrangement with Obie Books Q.L.D.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Published by

Obie Books

Po Box 2302

Yeppoon Qld 4701

AUSTRALIA

Cover design by Tracey (Soxie) Weston.

Editing and Proofreading by Karen Harper

Formatting by Jaye Cox @ Formatting the affordable way

For Donna Martin, Cheryl Riddell and Sarah Pilcher.

A week of sun, relaxation and Bahama Mama’s on the beach = future goals.

Thank you for being you. You three mean the world to me.

Love ya faces, Belle

A NOTE TO THE READER

The Game of Life Novella Series is comprised of five parts. To enjoy this highly suspenseful psychological thriller, it’s advised that you read each book in the correct order as shown below.

Book One – One Fear

Book Two – Two Footsteps

Book Three – Three Breaths

Book Four – Four Hearts

Book Five – Five Fights

These books have been written using UK English and contain euphemisms and slang words that form part of the Australian spoken word, which is the basis of this book’s writing style.

Please remember that the words are not misspelled. They are slang terms and form part of everyday Australian vernacular.

Morgan

Drip, drip, drip.

The sound of water droplets that ting against metal, have my eyelashes fluttering open as I lay outstretched on my back. The sound of a newborn infant crying, dances around my throbbing head.

Where am I? Whose baby is that?

It’s a boy. Morgan, we have a son, I have a son. Reid is sobbing and laughing at the same time.

Reid, I choke out through a thick throat as I stare at a blurred white panel.

Mummy, mummy, did you see me twirl? Aleeha’s happiness echoes around me.

I think you are the prettiest ballerina. I can hear my voice, but I’m not speaking.

Aleeha laughs. It’s truly the sweetest sound.

Mum, where are you? Why did you leave us?

Brax, I breathe.

Why would you hurt us like this? His voice trembles with heartbreak.

I didn’t leave you. I’m desperate as I bolt into an upright position, clasping my hands momentarily on either side of my head, hoping to limit the constant thrumming plaguing me.

I know what you did, Morgan. I thought you loved me? Reid’s words are laced with disgust.

Reid. I do. I love you. What did I do? I’m confused as my eyes dart from left to right. My sight remains blurred and my surroundings flash by as if I’m in a car hurtling through a dark tunnel with limited lighting.

There’s silence.

Drip, drip, drip.

I blink furiously as I hunch my body into a tight ball and wrap my arms around my knees. I’m frightened. My body is aching all over, and I’m nauseous.

I hear a newborn infant crying, and this sound causes my heart to sprint and my tears to spill.

We have our girl, Morgan. She’s beautiful. I can hear the pride in Reid’s shaking voice, just as I did on the day of our daughter’s birth. Today is not that day. I’m not sure what is happening to me, but I have enough sense to know ten years have passed since her arrival into this world. I shiver as my breathing becomes rapid. Help me, I whisper, fearing for my own sanity.

The room grows quiet again, apart from the sound of my heartbeat pounding in my ears, and a whistling noise coming from my nose as I take quick and short breaths. A flicker of light grows brighter, and with its presence, my fuzzy vision becomes slightly clearer.

Hello, I shudder.

There’s no reply.

Rectangular concrete blocks, the colour of a silver bullet, hold me in a stare. I watch as they zoom in and out with my strained sight. Where am I?

Drip, drip, drip.

I rotate my head over my shoulder and stop when I locate a metal sink with a rusty tap. Every drop of clear water leaking from the spout has me hypnotised. I’m thirsty, so very thirsty that I run my tongue over my bottom lip and swing my legs off what I now realise is a navy stretcher, but I stop myself midway and place my feet firmly back from where I removed them.

I’m scared.

Scanning the concrete floor, I settle my vision on four thick wooden legs. I swallow hard through my dry throat as I close my eyes and reopen them only after I tilt my chin slightly upwards. A table. It’s not bare, in fact it looks cluttered.

I see the drugs have worn off. His voice is calm. The voice of my captor.

I close my eyes once more.

Red, welcome to your room. You won’t be here long, but we have work to do before we get back to our game.

I want to go home, I whisper.

Well I want to fucking kill you, but I have to be patient, so how about we focus on one thing at a time?

Why? I cry out hoarse.

He laughs. Look at me, Red. Go on. Can you see a wolf?

Slowly, I fold back my eyelids and shift my head towards the sound of his voice. I’m halted by a projection screen taking up a large space, covering the concrete blocks at the foot of the bed. Azure blue eyes and full lips are the only features I can see of the man who has taken me, the one who proclaims himself to be the wolf, as his top half fills the screen. A black mask covers the remainder of his face, head and neck, and black clothing keeps his identity hidden.

What did I do that could make you want to hurt me so bad? I stare deep into his eyes, wondering how they can look so beautiful, yet be filled with a murderous hate.

I don’t want to hurt you, Red. I want to kill you. He throws back his head with his chuckle. When he regains his composure, he glares at me again through the screen. But, it wouldn’t be fun for me if we didn’t play a little cat and mouse chase first.

Please, I beg.

Begging gets you nowhere, Red. You never heard the pleas of others, so why should I hear yours? His tone is eerily calm, not ferocious like someone teeming with hate would normally react.

I gulp, hoping to swallow my fear. It doesn’t work, because my fear is not only clawing up my airway, it’s swirling in my stomach and filling my blood with each pulsation of my erratic heartbeat.

Here’s your instructions, Red. Listen carefully.

Let me go home.

Shut up, he barks. He’s instantly angry, and it’s as if someone flipped a switch and his previous composure is torn away from him.

I pinch my swollen lips tight together.

You have one hour. The backpack I put together for you is sitting on the barrel beside the table.

Flicking my eyes from the screen I