Lost

By Sandra Eagle

Deeper into mystery. Darker into the unknown. 

For Hannah, receiving a pet seems like the worst gift ever – until an unexpected bond grows, transforming reluctance into love. But soon, Hannah, her newfound canine companion, and hundreds of townspeople vanish, whisked away into a surreal distortion of reality.

In this bizarre new world, Hannah confronts intense friendship dilemmas, narrow escapes, and uncharted territories. With every twist and turn, she faces a growing web of mischief and danger. The stakes are high: how can she navigate this strange realm to rescue the lost souls, including her own? And what role will her once-unwanted pet play in this extraordinary journey?

Embark on an epic adventure with Hannah, who has just one friend, one pet, and one chance to save her world. It may sound cliché, but prepare to be utterly lost in a story of bravery, friendship, and the power of unexpected connections.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Feb 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9781035814404

Sandra Eagle

Sandra Eagle was born and raised in a small town, Walthamstow in East London. She started to develop an interest in writing at the early age of six. Sandra’s passion grew into a goal, and during her GCSE and A-level studies, she made it her goal to write a full book and publish it. During this period, Sandra struggled with mental health, but did not allow that to stop her from achieving her goals. At the time of writing, Sandra had a fear of dogs. Now, she can’t stop hugging them!

Book preview

About the Author

Sandra Eagle was born and raised in a small town, Walthamstow in East London. She started to develop an interest in writing at the early age of six. Sandra’s passion grew into a goal, and during her GCSE and A-level studies, she made it her goal to write a full book and publish it. During this period, Sandra struggled with mental health, but did not allow that to stop her from achieving her goals. At the time of writing, Sandra had a fear of dogs. Now, she can’t stop hugging them!

Dedication

To everyone who has supported me so far, and to Charlie and Alex (you know who you are).

Copyright Information ©

Sandra Eagle 2024

The right of Sandra Eagle to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781035814398 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781035814404 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2024

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Acknowledgement

My acknowledgement goes to all the staff, who bought my book when I self-published and who helped promote me at Chingford Foundation and Little Ilford School.

Prologue

They walked deeper and the forest surrounding them got darker. There was no day and there was no night. This was no cliché of a situation. To be honest, they couldn’t tell what time of day it was, if time even existed. It wasn’t that there was light or there was the absence of it.

The leaves on the trees, almost charcoal black in colour, made it difficult to make out figures ahead of them or behind them. If there was a sky above them, it would be black. And if they could see the ground they walked upon, it would be black.

Beyond them was black. Behind them was black. Their left and right were black. Everything was black assuming that what they saw was not a false reality. One thing they knew, though, was the texture of the bark on the trees.

Most people would find that subject excruciatingly boring. However, that was the most prized topic they could feed their minds with to calm down their soaring tensions. They imagined the bark, beautiful, deep brown, almost maroon coloured. It felt like velvet, and it was very smooth.

Occasionally, when they felt the bark, it had a rough edge, but that made the bark so remarkable, so appreciated—if they could appreciate anything at all.

They walked. Twenty minutes before, they had been running from something they couldn’t see. But they heard it and it was coming. It wasn’t going to stop until it reached them.

One of them fell and yelped with pain. The others quickly, yet quietly, helped them get back on their feet.

Keep moving. Keep breathing.

It seemed utterly ridiculous that they had no idea where they were going. But they just had to keep moving. Resting was an omitted option a long while ago. One of them, a tall, well-built person, looked at their wrist before turning to the others and nodding. The others got the silent message.

They were finally there. The one that fell—a chubby average height girl—thought that it would be a good time to take a break, even though they knew that break was not an option. She panted and wheezed.

The other two looked with much trepidation at their panting companion.

It soon dawned on them that they had made a terrible mistake to stop. The thing that could be heard but not seen had caught up with the trio. They all looked up as they heard it coming. Fear quickly painted their faces. Perplexed, they held each other’s hands tightly.

The three of them were in the most danger that they could have ever had been in all their lives. Looming over the pitch black was the thing.

The most dangerous thing. The most unseen thing.

And now, it revealed itself to them.

Eyes as wide as moons, the girl watched as the shadow of the thing grew larger and taller and wider and faster. The shadow moved stealthily towards her. Quickly and confidently, her friend, who was tall and well-built, ushered her and her other friend to move and they ran instinctively.

They continued to run. Abruptly, the girl skidded to a stop. Below her was a gaping hole. The tall well-built one jumped. The other followed. The girl screamed and cried. She knew she couldn’t do it. She was too tired and exhausted.

The shadow caught up once again. It wasn’t over yet.

The other two stared with fearful fascination as they saw what was about to be the final strike. The girl lifted her eyes. Tears streamed down her face, enough to fill the biggest river valley. Her lips wracked, strong enough to create an earthquake. The shadow of the thing was only a few centimetres away.

‘Just jump,’ she thought. But she knew well in her heart that her legs could not give that last leap. And beyond her was the hole. The hole of hope. The hole of freedom.

Freedom of which she would never reach. No words.

No goodbye.

Her lips were sealed shut.

Surrendering, she nodded to her companions and blew a kiss of goodbye as the thing’s shadow loomed under her.

And then, she was gone.

No sound, it was the most silent and deadliest way to die—worse than anything imaginable.

She was only eighteen.

Her companions couldn’t tell what had exactly happened to her. That was the problem with the darkness—they couldn’t see. But the shadow could be seen through the darkness. And they saw it turn.

It turned. The hole.

The last two ran. They had to get there.

They had to outrun the shadow. The shadow moved fast, and they had to be faster; there was no room for exceptions or negotiations.

The tall, well-built one led the way by only a metre, not daring to look back but only making sure that his younger twin, also tall but lean, was right behind him. The tall, well-built one got through the hole and immediately turned around to see if his brother had followed and made it through.

He was nearly there. His brother reached out to him.

But the shadow got to him faster. His twin yelped.

He yelled.

The hole closed.

The room got brighter.

And his whole body cascaded into a kaleidoscope of darkness.

1

‘Hannah,’ she called, ‘I’ve got a very special surprise for you!’

Hannah came down the stairs. She looked like a princess. Hannah had long, black, silky, soft hair that came down to her thighs. Her sapphire eyes were so shiny they looked like they would light up the world at any moment. Hannah’s rose cheeks could easily blend into scarlet roses. Hannah was a dove that swiftly glided down the luxurious (again rose red) steps.

She was wearing a purple shirt which had on it just one pure white rose. She wore sky blue jeans. She was an eighteen-year-old intelligent geek and top in class for maths with an IQ of one-hundred-and-sixty. And yet, everyone wanted to be her friend.

The thing was, Hannah didn’t like making friends. She only had one because she didn’t want to be by herself—Daisy.

‘What’s the surprise, Mum?’ Hannah asked.

‘Guess!’ Her mum urged.

‘Samsung S360?’

‘No!’

‘Box of chocolates?’

‘NO!’ Her mum laughed.

‘What is it then?’ Hannah sighed.

Hannah’s mum opened the plastic box to reveal the cutest puppy ever.

Hannah looked at her new pet in disgust.

Hannah despised animals with all her heart. In fact, she hated them with all her life. The thing was she hadn’t told her mum that she hated animals, it had only been something secret to her. It was all her fault and now she couldn’t say no to her present. She knew the look that would be on her mum’s face and she didn’t want to see it.

‘Um…thanks Mum.’

‘Now, I have some pet food you can give her—oh! You can give her a name as well,’ her mum exclaimed whilst ignoring Hannah’s now obvious scowl.

Hannah took the box that held the puppy, trudged upstairs and went to her room. As soon as her door closed, her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a message.

‘Oh great! It’s Daisy,’ she grumbled to herself. The puppy looked at her. Hannah didn’t even concentrate on the puppy; she just took out her phone and sighed. The message read:

R U COMING OUT 2 MY HOUSE LATER ON! I’VE GOT MY COUSINS OVER IF THAT IS OK WITH U. C U!

‘Oh, double great! Now I can’t go because of this animal.’ The scornful look on Hannah’s face was enough to make one flee.

Exasperated, Hannah decided to text back.

SOZ MATE CAN’T COME! GOT 2 LOOK AFTER NEW PUP…

A few seconds later, Hannah’s phone once again vibrated.

ABSOLUTELY FINE! BY THE WAY, CONGRATS!

‘Oh, triple great! Even my best friend loves the fact I’ve got a pet.’ Peeved, Hannah threw her phone onto her bed. Annoyed, she dropped the puppy on the floor and left her room, closing the door with her new pet inside. She strode into the kitchen attempting to avoid her mum when her mum unluckily caught her with the corner of her eye.

‘Have you fed your puppy?’ Her mum casually asked, her eyes glued onto the TV screen.

Hannah cursed silently. ‘Yes.’ She smirked at how good she sounded when she lied.

‘Go and wash her, then go to the fridge!’ Commanded her mother, sensing that she had just been lied to but could not be bothered to argue blindly with an eighteen-year-old.

Groaning, Hannah turned away from the kitchen, painting a defeated look on her face as she reluctantly went back to her room. What was she going to do? As she entered her room, she surprisingly saw the puppy munching happily—hang on, where did she get the food?—not even bothering to regard Hannah, on her food.

‘I think I’m going to end up liking you or my mum will kill me.’ Hannah sighed. ‘The puppy looked up at her as if it was about to open its mouth and say something. Hannah’s eyes narrowed slightly. She looked at her pet with suspicion. ’I’m going to name you Dorothy.’ Hannah looked at Dorothy curiously. Did she just see the puppy smile? Could animals even smile?

‘If you can feed yourself, that just means you can also wash yourself. Even better, become a cat. Saves me some stress.’

Every weekend after, Hannah took Dorothy out for walks in the park, and fed it, groomed it and gradually,