Free Sneak Peak

One free chapter of my debut novel Erza for my wonderful readers.

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Have you ever wondered how you would handle yourself in a life or death situation? Would you fight to save another or run in order to insure your own survival?

                        

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                              Chapter 1



Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sudden knock on her door jars Ariana awake. She rolls over to look at her phone on the nightstand, 7:07 AM. “Who in the world could that be at this hour?” she thinks out loud.

Ariana pushes herself off the bed as she tries to shake off the morning stiffness. Quickly, she glances in her vanity mirror as she grabs her robe and walks out of the bedroom. The sound of her feet echoes through the hallway as she moves across the hardwood floor. She peeks between the slit of the light blue curtains on the window next to the front door.
There stood a decent-looking man in his mid-thirties with a concerned look on his face. “Can I help you?” She asked the stranger.
“Good morning Ma’am. My name is Adrian”, He replies. “I’m so sorry to bother you so early on a Saturday, but it seems I have hit your vehicle.”

Anger and confusion boil within her. “The only driveway for miles and you hit my car. How could he have possibly hit my car? He has no business being out on this road.” She thinks to herself.
Ariana takes a deep breath and sighs. “I’ll be out in a minute,?” she answers. “Okay, good. I am terribly sorry.”

Ariana wants to scream and shout at the man, call him stupid for allowing such a thing to happen. Instead, she slowly turns around and walks towards the kitchen. With no haste in her
steps, she grabs her favorite purple coffee mug from the cabinet and starts the Keurig. She takes a seat at the kitchen table and checks the notifications on her phone as the aroma of black coffee fills the room. No new messages, no new notifications. Her phone is just a reminder of friends that she has lost contact with and family she no longer talks to. Every day running together into a blur of mistakes and misfortune. Each day, simply no different from the last.

The stiffness that dwells so deep in her bones reminds Ariana again as she rises from the chair. Mornings are always a struggle. She grabs her steaming cup of coffee and returns to her chair. In a state of detachment, she sips and breathes in the warming aroma. She reached for her phone once more, as if there is not a stranger standing in her lawn expecting her return any moment now. As if her life was everything she had hoped it would be. As If she was not a breath away from a psychotic breakdown.

She casually finishes her coffee as she checks on the weather forecast for the day. Once
satisfied, she rinses out her cup and places it on the drying mat next to the sink. Frozen in place, she watches as the last few droplets of water stream down the sink and disappear as they fall over

the edge of the drain. The ever-present dread washes over her body as she can no longer avoid the elephant in the room, rather should she say, the buffoon in her driveway.

Ariel heads off to the bedroom to slip on a slightly more decent attire. She opts for a pair of
comfy spandex pants with a colorful t-shirt and walks into her sandals as she leaves the room. She faces the door, with knob in hand, trying to mentally prepare herself for the social interaction that awaits on the other side. With a deep breath, she turns the knob and pushes her way through.

Then and there, she sees just how bad off her car really is. The car’s driver side door is
completely smashed and won’t work again. The proportion of the dent, much larger than the tire itself that lies many feet away. Glass sprinkles the gravel below with various pieces scattered inside. Her mirror somewhere in the next universe or presumedly blown to smithereens.

After a few moments of speaking to Adrean, Ariana’s anger and disbelief are replaced with compassion and understanding. His luck might just be worse than hers. He had booked a
vacation where his flight was delayed, the airline lost his luggage, he became lost after taking a wrong turn and lo-and-behold, the wheel became detached from his car. The tire spins off, all
wild and crazy, and smacks right into the side of her car. Ariana giggles to herself over the irony of the whole situation. Out of all the roads he could have been on, it had to be hers. Out of all the possible things the tire could have hit, it had to be her car.

They exchange insurance information as Adrean continues to apologize for the damages. She politely reassures him it’s alright and expresses her relief that he isn’t hurt. He further explains a tow truck would come to retrieve both vehicles along with a delivery for a rental car until hers is fixed. Ariana thanks him for taking care of everything and wishes him a more pleasant trip. She quickly retreats to the safety and comfort of her home. With a huge sigh of relief, she locks the door behind her, happy the forced meeting has finally come to an end.

She slumps on the soft oversized couch while she enjoys the surrounding silence. Loneliness
whispers to her heart, but she forces the thoughts away. The rest of her weekend finishes with no more disasters. She is thankful for the momentary pause in her misfortune. She spends the rest of Saturday catching up on the chores around the house. Dishes washed and put away, laundry folded and hung up, bills paid, floors swept and moped. At the end of the day, she looks around at her accomplishments, satisfied at the level of cleanliness she achieved. Tired and beyond in need of a break, she grabs a bottle of wine, the book she recently started, and retreats to the bathroom suite.

As she crosses the threshold, the smell of sweet lavender fills the air. The huge bear claw bathroom becomes the main focal point of the room. The light blue and brown flowered shower curtain caresses the tub, matching the rest of the decor. A large oak vanity sits in the corner with

various make ups and lotions on the top. Floor length mirrors line the walls to the right, followed by a modest toilet and sink to the left. Ariana bends down and turns the hot knob on all the way. Steam and the sound of cascading water begin filling the room. Ariel steps out of her clothes, leaving each item lay wherever they may fall. She slowly dips one foot in the water as pins and needles dance across her skin.

Hesitantly, she lifts her other foot and plunges it into the steaming water. She swiftly places the rest of her body into the water. For a split second, the overwhelming pain of intense heat becomes unbearable. Sharp pins and needles sting every inch of her skin and seem to intensify
around her sensitive areas. She watches as her skin turns to a bright red hue, the pain dissipating more and more by the second. At last she breathes a sigh of relief as her body becomes
acclimated to the hot water.



She reaches for the bottle of wine and pours herself a glass. Quickly she drinks all the contents
and pours another. Deciding it was more convenient to drink from the bottle, she places the glass on the floor. A few drinks later and she can feel the tension escaping her body, as if the alcohol was pushing it from her bones, dissolving into the hot liquid that surrounds her.

Ariana reaches for her phone and feels her head swim as the last few drinks take effect.
Alternatively, she scoots further into the water, allowing her head to rest on the back of the tub. Instantly, her thoughts run through everything that has happened in the last few months.

Her father’s sudden passing from heart failure. Her best friend Olivia moving to California. Her mother refuses to speak to her because Ariana will not allow her to control her life. Her boyfriend of 7 years waking up one day and deciding he was not ready for that much of a
commitment. She had suspected any day now he would pop the question. She would say yes, of course, and soon would follow a new house and the starting of a family. Her family, where she wouldn’t feel like a black sheep. Her career shattered in less than 24 hours.

Her dream was to become a baker. She wanted to be a well-known name in town for her sweets. A schedule so full she can narrowly manage them. With clients of the highest social status. After Lori died in a tragic accident, the promises of becoming a partner and promoting her recipes quickly died as well. The imminence, aggravation, failure, heartache, and struggles over the past few months shatter her. She just wants a break. A few simple days where something didn’t go
wrong, or she didn’t have to suppress the need to cry.

A few more drinks and her thoughts become fuzzy and a little more happy. She haphazardly
stands up, leaning on the wall heavily to keep her balance. On the third attempt, she throws her

leg over the tub and plant both feet firmly on the floor. She grips the side of the tub as she fights to gain control of her equilibrium. Ariana staggers out of the bathroom, each step calling for twice as much effort as normal. She successfully makes it to the foot of the bed and stumbles on top. Seconds later she is passed out, butt naked, still dripping wet.

Ariana jerks herself awake, freeing herself from the hold of the dream. Gasping for air, fist
clenched around the covers, sweat covering her body. The line between reality and what is only in her head blurs. She focuses on the image of the girl in her mind. Once she reads, a person can not create a new face in their dream. If you dream of a person, you must have seen them in real life, even if only in passing. She had never believed that theory, even more now, as she sees nothing familiar in the girl’s face.



She tried g to recount every detail, hoping somehow to make sense of the dream, all the emotions and understand what her subconscious has conjured up. She switches on her night lamp and grabs her dream journal. At first, the details are abstract, one frame jumping to the next. She cannot grasp the story line or remember anything really, only the heavy emotions remained true. So heavy, it felt as though someone was sitting on her chest. Everything inside of her wants to scream, to run away, to cry. She wants to give up. Then, suddenly, everything becomes clear. Like focusing a projector lens, the picture in her mind’s eye becomes clear. The entire dream plays out before her eyes.

Ariana is sitting in the middle of a room. Heavy, dark drapes cover both of the windows, blocking any natural light from penetrating through. Tall ceiling makes the room feel larger than it is, with walls covered with textured, floral wallpaper that has begun to peel. The room is
completely empty except for a tattered blanket and a bucket pushed to the corner. Padlocks firmly seal the door shut. Beside her lies a small child that appears to be somewhere around 11 years old. Her pitch black hair partially covers her face as it cascades to the floor. Even in the low light, the bloodstains on her shirt and countless bruises on her body are clearly visible. Her left eye has a huge gash across the top of it and the remnant of a black eye still colors the left.

Ariana peers down at the girl. She watches her chest, trying to see any type of movement, any sign of life, but she sees nothing. Fear of knowing the truth prevents her from touching her.
Instead, she scans the room again, hoping to see something familiar. The sound of approaching footsteps cut her search short.

Suddenly, the girl jumps to her feet and scurries to the furthest corner. Uncertain and fearful,
Ariana follows. The girl pulls her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around them. She pushes herself harder into the corner, as if she’s trying to become part of the wall. Her eyes, wide

and white with fear, stay glued to the door. Ariana notices the pain in every inch of her body. Every slight movement causes a new location of pain to come to light. Her stomach aches from emptiness, a pain that is not familiar. Just holding her head up and breathing required more
strength and energy than she currently possesses.

One lock, two locks, three locks. Ariana counts each one as they slide to their unlocked positions. Ariana glances at the girl just as she buries her face in her knees. An overwhelming dread and incapacitating fear takes hold of her body. Her mind races through the possibilities of what could be standing on the other side of the door. Or even worse, what could happen once it came through the door. Ariana cringes as the door swings open and cries silent, hopeless tears as her body trembles with fear. She can hear the rattle of the doorknob as it is being turned. The
sound of the aged wood cracking and popping and the squeak of the old hinges. Very white bright light clamps her eyes shut as it fills the room. Any feature or identifying clue blocked out by her eyes inability to adjust to the changing light.

Ariana’s mind spins over the whole situation. She struggles to grasp reality as she rises from the bed. Her covers are thoroughly wet, the darker hue almost perfectly tracing the outline of where her body used to be. Her pillow stained with tears, the corners bunched together, still formed to the shape of her fists. She forces herself to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, breathing a sigh of relief that it was only a dream.

If you have caught your attention and tingled your senses, follow the link below to purchase the complete book. https://a.co/d/ivtayif

As always thanks for reading. Have a great day and God bless.