LYNX...The Beginning

By L.S. Yannachione

She woke with a start. Everything was pitch-black. So begins the incredible journey of Lynx, an unforgettable woman who wears the mantle of warrior, fighter, heroine, comrade.

Along with a bawdy and colorful band of brothers, she finds herself in a dangerous world where myth tangles with nature and faith is challenged at every step of a routine mission gone hopelessly awry. From the eerie shadows of a cellar where she is held captive to the comfort of a room where she is coaxed back to health to an assignation at the base of Devil's Tower, Lynx grapples with an unknown and unrelenting enemy that stalks her at every step of a treacherous climb. Accompanying her are her loyal friends and unit: the witty and charming Will, the smoldering Sebastian, the steady Braxton, and the stealthy Wolf.

But all are not what they seem, and betrayal befalls her in a series of jarring events. As the scrappy team confronts a series of terrors including a threatening spirit bear, strange marksmen, and hostile terrain, two doctors who tend the unit look on remotely from the safety of their home base. Helpless before the unfolding scene, they watch Lynx wrestle with an ever-present danger.

Who is after her? Why is she a target? What is her fate? Lynx…The Beginning is an unforgettable saga of a woman who valiantly faces an ever-changing world in which nightmares and fears are transformed into confusing realities. And that is only The Beginning.

Patti Ross

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781636924564

Book preview

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LYNX...The Beginning

L.S. Yannachione

Copyright © 2021 L.S. Yannachione

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2021

ISBN 978-1-63692-454-0 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63692-455-7 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-63692-456-4 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

To the real Braxton Stone and Sebastian Case. You two have brought me so much joy and laughter. I’m glad you are mine.

To the real Will Vinson, my best friend since the fifth grade. School wouldn’t have been the same without you.

To my mum who would read to me every time that it stormed, giving me my love for reading, and my dad for encouraging me to go for more after reading Lynx for the first time.

To my sisters and my friends for being my first readers and uplifting me through it all.

And of course, to God for always leading me in the directions that I need to go.

To you, my new reader, enjoy the journey.

Chapter 1

She woke with a start. Everything was pitch black. Her head was pounding, or was it her heart beating, racing in her chest? She wasn’t sure. The smell in the air was burning her nostrils and filling her with anxiety. Natural gas from where? Where was she? She needed to get a hold of herself and her emotions if she was ever going to figure this out. In through your nose, out through your mouth, she told herself. This always worked when she needed to calm down or get a grip on what was troubling her.

The smell, the gas smell, was getting stronger. Her eyes were beginning to water. She could now see darker tones of gray. Good, her eyes were adjusting. Where am I? she thought, somewhat calmer than moments before. She sat up only to see flashes in front of her eyes—no real lights, just a flash of pain in her head. She grabbed her head in reaction to the pain. It was warm and wet with blood. Great! Just what I wanted, at least I can’t see it.

She doesn’t like the sight of blood, but the gas smell was bothering her much more at the moment. She could feel the damp floor beneath her as well as crumbling dirt and cement. A basement, but where? She couldn’t remember anything leading her to this point in time. In the distance she could hear voices, anxious voices. They were getting louder and closer. Were they the reason she was here?

She began scanning the room for a place to hide—a window to escape, a door to stand behind—but it was still too dark for her to see, and the pain in her head was maddening. She got to her knees and slowly crawled until she was stopped by a solid cold wall. She felt the wall, and it was smooth but it had a small chair rail at the center. She was risking it, but she didn’t have a choice. She quickly stood, and as soon as she gripped the chair rail with the toe of her shoe, a door from somewhere behind her began to shake with pounding and yelling. And suddenly they were in.

Lynx! Lynx, where are you? We gotta get you out of here now! Lynx, answer me!

She didn’t move. Actually that was an understatement; she wasn’t even breathing. That voice, she didn’t know it. Who was he talking to? Who was he looking for? She didn’t know him but she could smell him or what he was wearing. It was familiar. It was calming, but all she could see were dark gray images from below her. She was on the ceiling jammed between the exposed beams.

Captain, there is blood over here. A lot of blood. The silence was deafening; even her heart stopped its interrupting banter. She could feel anxiety coming from those below, a sickening sadness suddenly pushed aside with rage.

Is it—hers? The man crouching over the dark puddle on the floor had something in his hand. He put it low to the ground, and she saw a bright tiny dot and heard a small hum and then saw a green light.

And the man said, Yes, Captain, it is hers. Just then the captain seemed to stumble, a stumble so unnoticeable it could have been mistaken for an adjusted step.

How old is it? asked the captain.

With a few more blinking lights and hums he said, Within the hour. With that, she felt dizzy and tired. The discussion of her own blood sickened her, and her grip on the ceiling beams faltered. The men all looked up at the sound her foot made as she tried to jam it into the ledge one more time.

Guns cocked and pointed, the captain’s voice whispered, Yes! and everything went black.

Chapter 2

Lynx. Lynx. Can she hear me?

I believe so.

Lynx, you’re okay. We got you out of there. Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.

She opened her eyes slowly not sure