The Storm Within: The Dark Queen, #1.2

By Michelle Mackenzie

(Dialled Down Edition for 12+)

 

A high school reunion was meant to bring closure and opportunities to make new friends.

When Vicky was betrayed by her closest friend, something inside her snapped.

 

Filled with rage and humiliation, what started as a friendly gathering turned into a rage fuelled massacre.

With her former friend running for her life, she thought of nothing short of killing her.

Hunted by the police, and having her face all over the news, escaping was going to be near impossible.

But as they close in on her, it quickly became clear her capture wasn't the only thing she was running from...


 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Reflective Line Publishing
• Release date: May 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201819903

Michelle Mackenzie

Michelle Mackenzie is the writer and author of the published novel, The Dark Queen series (Book 1): The Storm Within.  Encouraged by the sucess of her book, she is continuing to her career as a thriller and suspense writer.

Book preview

Dedication:

To my husband: Thank you for pushing me to write when my motivation was lacking. I love you loads!

To, Natasha-Rose, Jessica-Louise and Spencer: You mean the world to me. I love you all!

CopyRight Information

Published by Reflective Line Publishing 2022

Copyright © Michelle Mackenzie 2022

All rights reserved

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction . Any names, people, or situations described in this novel are purely coincidental. No real people were hurt in the making of this story.

The Dark Queen

The Storm Within

(Dialled down edition)

Written by

Michelle Mackenzie

Chapter 1

Vicky walked out of the room, red-faced, as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

You’ve done well, the therapist told her with a smile. We really made a breakthrough today.

Vicky smiled back at her and fastened the buttons on her coat. She counted the six white buttons, making sure that she didn’t miss a single one. Having a button without a hole on the top, only happened once, and she had no intention of making the same mistake twice. Vicky ran her fingers through her thick black hair, and straightened her rose-gold glasses, before pushing it up the bridge of her nose. She wasn’t particularly tall, but she was slim. Beneath her white coat, she wore a blue sleeveless shirt, with a white jeans.

Her therapist, on the other hand, always seemed to be dressed with no sign of a wardrobe malfunction. Her cardigan was free of creases, her skirt neatly pressed, and her shoes didn’t have a single scratch on the toes.

Vicky smiled, raising her hood.

They said goodbye and walked out of the building, closing her eyes. It was an intense session and talking about the past was hard. There were a lot of traumatic events and not a lot of happy memories. She thought back about the last comment she made before that door opened.

Forgive them. It will do you a world of good.

She scoffed. Forgiving the people that tortured her for several years? Was that possible? Some of the things, she supposed, were forgivable. At least, in her opinion. But the others, she knew, wouldn’t be so easily persuaded. They bullied Vicky relentlessly for years. And that was just school. Kids being stupid kids, as they do. But the others? Her home life wasn’t too great either.

Every day was the same. Wake up, go to school, be bullied by almost everyone, return home, go to bed, and then wake up with the whole cycle starting over. It was endless. She had lost count of how many times she had wanted to end it all. Then, one day, someone else betrayed her. Someone else that she was close to. Someone she trusted. And Vicky snapped. Something inside her broke. Then a year later, someone else did the same. Betraying her was far worse than any of the other kids had. And then Vicky began to experience time lapses, with no clue what was happening or why. But within the deep reaches of her mind, she could feel herself being yanked violently to the back, like someone was grabbing her by the collar and pulling her, forcing her away. Then, nothing.

She was tired and didn’t want to think about the past anymore. She didn’t want to remember the pain of betrayal. It was all too much. Something on her shoulder twitched, as if someone had placed a gentle hand on her.

Vicky arrived home and began to prepare the house for the day. She poured herself a chamomile tea, lit a candle above the fireplace and sat down with a smile. Gentle violin music filled the room, from the speakers on the window ledge, where she has her favourite playlist set on loop. Her body was already feeling the exhaustion from the morning’s therapy, yet, the day barely started. With only an hour to breathe, before having to prepare her lunch at noon, she closed her eyes to meditate for five minutes before eating. If she could help it, nothing was going to come between her and her grilled-cheese sandwich, her favourite mid-day snack.

She took the time to look around at her surroundings. She could see the flame on the candle was low, giving very little light to the room. She considered using the fireplace, but that hadn’t been used in months. She shuddered at the thought of how much smoke it would produce. Was it worth it? She didn’t think so. Then there were the curtains on the windows. They were closed and let in almost no light from the outside. The dark green curtains matched the colouring of the living room carpet, and the deep brown sofa matched the mahogany dining table at the end of the room. Everything was as it should be. At least, almost everything. The only thing that was out of place, was the ornament on the window ledge. It was a small white owl, given to her by her grandmother. Unfortunately, she was no longer around, and it was the only thing left to remember her by. It didn’t match any of her furniture, but she loved it just the same. She tilted her head and smiled. She has always liked owls.

She finished her herbal tea and made her way back towards the kitchen. The bread was already on top of the kitchen unit, and she only needed to get the cheese out of the fridge. It took mere minutes, before the grilled cheese sandwich was finally ready. As she sat down to take a bite, her phone began to ring in the other room. She cursed quietly, placing the plate on the kitchen countertop and went to pick up the phone. It was her best friend, Delia, who she had known since high school. She sighed and answered the call.

Hey, Delia. How are you?

I’m fine...

Vicky frowned. She didn’t sound like she was fine. She knew Delia enough to know when something was going on.

What’s wrong?

What makes you think something is wrong? Can’t I just call to say hello?

She shook her head, sighing. You can. But I can hear the hesitation in your voice. So, tell me. What is really going on?

All right. Fine. I just received an invitation.

That sounded like a good thing. OK. So, what’s the problem?

It’s for a High School reunion. Vicks, I can’t go! Remember how they treated us?

Why can’t you go? I mean, it isn’t like they’re going to remember everything they did. For all we know, they might actually be sorry for how they were. On the other hand, if they behave like dicks, we’re old enough to beat the dicks out of them.

You have a good point... But still... I don’t know if I’m ready to forgive them.

Vicky nodded. She agreed on that much at least. You don’t have to forgive them. You just have to face them. Tell them they were assholes for it—get it off your chest and get closure.

I’ll think about it..., she sighed heavily. If I do decide to go, you’ll be coming with me, right? I can’t go without my best friend there.

I tell you what. You go to the Reunion, and I’ll go with you.

Chapter 2

W hat was all that about ?

Delia spun around to face her husband with a sheet of paper scrunched up in her hand. Her lips pressed tightly together as she handed him the note.

It’s an invitation, she told him.

An invitation? He opened the ball of paper until the invitation was spread out flat.

To the High School reunion.

Are you thinking of going? he asked, handing it back to her.

She sighed. I don’t know. I guess? But, it’s been a long time. I’m all up for meeting old friends, but I was told that some of the others will be there too.

Others?

She closed her eyes, bracing herself. Bullies.

Well, how long has it been?

Twenty years? she guessed. She wasn’t certain.

And you don’t think they would have grown in the twenty years of being adults? That’s a little naive.

She nodded. I know. But it’s still a worry. People don’t change that much.

Then don’t go, he told her, shrugging his shoulders. He ran his fingers