| Fantasy Fiction posted October 29, 2023 | Chapters: |
...10 11 -12- 13... 
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Echo leaves her old life behind as she escapes danger.
A chapter in the book Return To Concorde Valley
Georgios
by davisr (Rhonda)
The author has placed a warning on this post for violence.
| Background Years after a fire took her parents lives and devastated her home, Echo works at a small town newspaper as an investigative reporter. Her past and present intermingle as she tries to escape danger. |
Summary of the book so far:
Young Echo Jones is overlooked by First Responders as she hides in a wheat field during a house fire. Both parents killed in the fire, she escapes into an ancient forest behind her home. Alone and afraid, she meets up with a young boy, Theo, from mysterious origins that tends to her while searching for help.
20 years later, Echo is working for a newspaper called the Taylorville Sun. Among other duties, she investigates a serial killer who has now struck in her small town, and covers the opening of a new mega-store, Super Handyman.
After gathering all she needs on the store opening, she meets up with Bessie, an elderly columnist from the Sun who has an inside scoop on the death of the woman killed in their town. Bessie tells what she knows about the night of the murder, and sends Echo off to go back to work.
Echo arrives at the Newspaper, where the Christmas party has already begun. Before going in, she finds an envelop addressed to her. In it are pictures of the dead woman and Echo. The newest member of the police department, Tony Bradley, shows up to take her statement. He is, immediately, suspected of being the serial killer Echo is investigating.
At the end of the party, a parade of her friends set out to follow her home and keep her safe. After a series of unfortunate events, she ends up fleeing across ice and snow to trees she hopes to keep her safe. She's confronted by Specters who try and take her hostage. Theo, her childhood acquaintance, shows up to save the day.
End of last chapter:
With a wistful glance around the apartment, Echo bid it, and her belongings, good-bye. She then slipped into the fray, the sound of crashing glass reverberating in her ears.
New Chapter:
Was it her window smashing, or her past that Echo heard shatter? How many times would she have to lose everything she owned to start anew? She drew in a deep breath and looked ahead.
Before her eyes could adjust to the soft glow of the mist, a flood of odors overwhelmed her. The heavy air seemed infused with sea scent. She felt as though she was standing on a pier overlooking a foggy ocean. The sounds of battle became the crashing waves.
Also evident, was a sort of damp earthiness like the smell of something you might find buried in your backyard. It wasn't an unpleasant odor, just reminiscent of something else, something normal but otherworldly at the same time.
All of these individual aromas were infused with something less pleasant, something stomach wrenching. It was the stench of blood, sweat and metal.
After her eyes began to adjust to the green glow, figures took shape like images in a Rembrandt painting. She tried to find Theo in the mix, but there was just too much going on for much clarity. She would have to head for the closest trees, hoping to climb her way to freedom. She knew Theo would find her as soon as he was able.
She reached out and touched the railing for balance, then took a step. Before her foot landed on the wooden plank, a face came into focus inches from hers, causing her to reel in surprise.
"Junior! What are you doing here?" Echo's grip on the railing tightened as she tried to regain composure. Not at all who she wanted to greet her as soon as she left her apartment.
"I came to check on you," he explained. "You really should get somewhere safe."
The Junior looking at her was not the one with red, angry eyes she had last seen, but the handsome guy from the office party. He looked hurt, almost vulnerable. His hazel eyes were probing hers as though looking for compassion and companionship. For one brief second, she hesitated.
"Come with me to my father's," he said. His enticing voice was an invitation to safety, acceptance, maybe even pleasure.
Echo's head began to swim. What should she do? Had she been wrong about Junior? Was Theo the real interloper? He was, after all, making her leave her home and job.
Then, she remembered the sound of smashing glass, first in the car she'd rolled over in, and then in her apartment. She remembered, also, a child barely older than herself cooking her fish in the forest. A warm glow surrounded her that cast off doubt.
She looked Junior straight in the eyes. "Please move."
Junior returned her intense gaze, his deep eyes ripe with apparent concern. "You really don't know why we want you, do you?"
Echo refused to take the bait. "I know you're in my way."
She put out an arm to brush him aside. Confusion and doubt were the tools of the enemy.
Young Echo Jones is overlooked by First Responders as she hides in a wheat field during a house fire. Both parents killed in the fire, she escapes into an ancient forest behind her home. Alone and afraid, she meets up with a young boy, Theo, from mysterious origins that tends to her while searching for help.
20 years later, Echo is working for a newspaper called the Taylorville Sun. Among other duties, she investigates a serial killer who has now struck in her small town, and covers the opening of a new mega-store, Super Handyman.
After gathering all she needs on the store opening, she meets up with Bessie, an elderly columnist from the Sun who has an inside scoop on the death of the woman killed in their town. Bessie tells what she knows about the night of the murder, and sends Echo off to go back to work.
Echo arrives at the Newspaper, where the Christmas party has already begun. Before going in, she finds an envelop addressed to her. In it are pictures of the dead woman and Echo. The newest member of the police department, Tony Bradley, shows up to take her statement. He is, immediately, suspected of being the serial killer Echo is investigating.
At the end of the party, a parade of her friends set out to follow her home and keep her safe. After a series of unfortunate events, she ends up fleeing across ice and snow to trees she hopes to keep her safe. She's confronted by Specters who try and take her hostage. Theo, her childhood acquaintance, shows up to save the day.
End of last chapter:
With a wistful glance around the apartment, Echo bid it, and her belongings, good-bye. She then slipped into the fray, the sound of crashing glass reverberating in her ears.
New Chapter:
Was it her window smashing, or her past that Echo heard shatter? How many times would she have to lose everything she owned to start anew? She drew in a deep breath and looked ahead.
Before her eyes could adjust to the soft glow of the mist, a flood of odors overwhelmed her. The heavy air seemed infused with sea scent. She felt as though she was standing on a pier overlooking a foggy ocean. The sounds of battle became the crashing waves.
Also evident, was a sort of damp earthiness like the smell of something you might find buried in your backyard. It wasn't an unpleasant odor, just reminiscent of something else, something normal but otherworldly at the same time.
All of these individual aromas were infused with something less pleasant, something stomach wrenching. It was the stench of blood, sweat and metal.
After her eyes began to adjust to the green glow, figures took shape like images in a Rembrandt painting. She tried to find Theo in the mix, but there was just too much going on for much clarity. She would have to head for the closest trees, hoping to climb her way to freedom. She knew Theo would find her as soon as he was able.
She reached out and touched the railing for balance, then took a step. Before her foot landed on the wooden plank, a face came into focus inches from hers, causing her to reel in surprise.
"Junior! What are you doing here?" Echo's grip on the railing tightened as she tried to regain composure. Not at all who she wanted to greet her as soon as she left her apartment.
"I came to check on you," he explained. "You really should get somewhere safe."
The Junior looking at her was not the one with red, angry eyes she had last seen, but the handsome guy from the office party. He looked hurt, almost vulnerable. His hazel eyes were probing hers as though looking for compassion and companionship. For one brief second, she hesitated.
"Come with me to my father's," he said. His enticing voice was an invitation to safety, acceptance, maybe even pleasure.
Echo's head began to swim. What should she do? Had she been wrong about Junior? Was Theo the real interloper? He was, after all, making her leave her home and job.
Then, she remembered the sound of smashing glass, first in the car she'd rolled over in, and then in her apartment. She remembered, also, a child barely older than herself cooking her fish in the forest. A warm glow surrounded her that cast off doubt.
She looked Junior straight in the eyes. "Please move."
Junior returned her intense gaze, his deep eyes ripe with apparent concern. "You really don't know why we want you, do you?"
Echo refused to take the bait. "I know you're in my way."
She put out an arm to brush him aside. Confusion and doubt were the tools of the enemy.
Quick as a feral cat, he grabbed her wrist. With a dizzying twirl, he spun her around and pinned her arm painfully behind her. Gone was the facade of the rejected lover. She could feel his muscular body press against her back and his putrid breath ooze down her neck.
Whispering in her ear, he said. "You're coming with me and, maybe, just maybe, we can both earn the respect of my father."
Before Echo had a chance to respond, she heard a whistling sound followed by a thud. Junior's hand and body fell away from hers as he was thrust to the ground. She could see an arrow sticking out of his shoulder, effectively pinning him to the wooden step. He turned and glared, obviously still alive.
"Echo, jump!" She heard a deep voice cry out beside the staircase. The shadows were too dark for her to see who it was, but she could tell it wasn't Theo.
Echo leaned over the edge of the railing, her blue eyes trying to pierce the shadows. She could barely make out a head of dark hair, an enormous chest covered in a sort of silvery mail, and a horse beneath.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"A friend of Theo's." The man reached his arms upwards and repeated, "Jump!"
Echo heard Junior cursing and trying to pull away from the wooden step. She figured arrows didn't kill Specters, either, and so she jumped, cat and all, into the arms of a stranger.
"Where's Theo?" she asked as those strong arms encircled her.
"He's across the field keeping the Specters busy."
The man indicated the direction with a flick of his head. He lowered her to straddle the horse just in front of him. She could feel the rough, sweaty skin of a muscular steed and smell its distinctive horse odor. She adjusted her backpack with Sunny inside to where it sat in her lap. She heard a reasuring mew from within.
"My cat," Echo said by way of explanation. The man gave a soft grunt, a sound somewhere between a horse's whinny and a cat's purr.
"Is Theo okay?" Echo asked. Her heart was beating rapidly from exertion and stress.
"He's doing fine. He's the one who nailed Junior with the arrow. He sends his regards, but asked me to get you out of here."
"And you are?"
"Is Theo okay?" Echo asked. Her heart was beating rapidly from exertion and stress.
"He's doing fine. He's the one who nailed Junior with the arrow. He sends his regards, but asked me to get you out of here."
"And you are?"
"One of his captains, Georgios."
"Thank you for helping me, Georgios."
"You're welcome. Look, I'm sorry you're having to leave this way, but we don't know if the enemy is planning on sending bigger weapons than these guys."
"He has more than Specters working for him?"
"A host of others. We might have to face them someday, but now is not the time for that battle."
Echo nodded. She was convinced battlefields were not her thing, but she had a feeling Theo and her rescuer were well versed in combat. It was no chance shot that had taken Junior down. She couldn't help but wonder what Theo's life was like in his own world. She had an idea he wasn't a rookie cop.
As though in tune with her emotions, the large man turned his horse and thundered away.
He quickly closed the distance to the edge of the woods on the left of the apartment building. A group of horsemen stood as sentinels over Echo's escape route, guaranteeing her safe passage.
Georgios stopped just within the forest's edge. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to leave you here. Theo says you can walk in trees."
"Yes, I can. I had a great teacher."
Georgios gave her a knowing wink, then lifted her upwards as easily as she would have Sunny.
"Georgios?" Echo looked down at her new friend. He looked back with golden brown eyes that seemed to look through you, rather than at you. His face, which she could now see distinctly, didn't seem quite human. She started to ask him what he was, but decided against it. Whatever he was, it was obvious human had the upper part.
Georgios smiled knowingly. "I'm Theo's half-brother on our father's side.Try not to let all of this get to you, okay? Trust Theo. He'll get you through this alive, and he'll explain it all in good time."
Echo nodded as she rose to her feet on the solid limb, carefully slinging her backpack, with her precious kitty inside, firmly onto her back. She patted him reassuringly through the fabric. "Yeah, I keep hearing that."
Georgios patted her on the foot and looked at her with affection. "Fly, little sparrow. I'll see you on the other side. Theo will see you sooner." Then, the mail clad warrior slipped off into the mist.
With the sounds of war in the background, Echo did what her strange, new friend asked. She flew from branch to branch by what moonlight managed to filter through the great trees of the ancient forest. Carefully, she listened for signs of friend or foe as she sought to distance herself from the battle. Theo, she knew, would be along soon. When she felt safe enough, she and Sunny would sit and wait.
Book of the Month contest entry
 Recognized |
A special thanks for the excellent artwork, Kirth Ninoxis by Elena Whittaker on FanArtReview
Echo Jones: Young girl left stranded by a fire that took her home and parents in the first part of the book, then as an adult, she's an investigative reporter for a small town newspaper.
Her main assignment is to look into a serial killer that has struck in their small town in Georgia, just out of Atlanta.
A side assignment is to cover the opening of a fancy hardware store in Taylorville, Georgia.
Claude Baker: Editor of the newspaper, Taylorville Sun. Younger brother of Frankie, one of the editors.
Brian Baker: Claude's adult son who works at the newspaper as a typesetter and photographer
Frankie Lawrence: Claude's older sister and co-owner of the newspaper
Sara Beth: Works at the newspaper as a columnist. She specializes in fashion and gossip and is Echo's nemesis.
Bessie Johnson: 83-year-old columnist that works for the Sun and gathers ads from local venders. She has knowledge of the attack on the local woman killed by the serial killer.
Sherry Roe: A local victim of the serial killer Echo has been writing a series on.
Officer Tony Bradly: Rookie officer for the Taylorville Police Department. He's the one who found Sherry Roe's body after the murder. Also, the man Bessie feels is the killer.
Junior: Frankie's neighbor who comes by the office Christmas party. Found to be a Specter, or minion of the enemy.
Specters/men in dark clothing: Minions of the Enemy. Have eyes that turn red when they're angry. Can appear as normal humans, serve the Enemy.
Kitty Sunshine, aka Sunny: Echo's Russian Blue cat
Theo, A nickname for Anthos: An 8-year-old, of mysterious origins, who finds young Echo in the forest and tends to her needs. We see him later as a grown man who rescues Echo once again.
Georgios: One of Theo's Captains, and Echo's rescuer.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Echo Jones: Young girl left stranded by a fire that took her home and parents in the first part of the book, then as an adult, she's an investigative reporter for a small town newspaper.
Her main assignment is to look into a serial killer that has struck in their small town in Georgia, just out of Atlanta.
A side assignment is to cover the opening of a fancy hardware store in Taylorville, Georgia.
Claude Baker: Editor of the newspaper, Taylorville Sun. Younger brother of Frankie, one of the editors.
Brian Baker: Claude's adult son who works at the newspaper as a typesetter and photographer
Frankie Lawrence: Claude's older sister and co-owner of the newspaper
Sara Beth: Works at the newspaper as a columnist. She specializes in fashion and gossip and is Echo's nemesis.
Bessie Johnson: 83-year-old columnist that works for the Sun and gathers ads from local venders. She has knowledge of the attack on the local woman killed by the serial killer.
Sherry Roe: A local victim of the serial killer Echo has been writing a series on.
Officer Tony Bradly: Rookie officer for the Taylorville Police Department. He's the one who found Sherry Roe's body after the murder. Also, the man Bessie feels is the killer.
Junior: Frankie's neighbor who comes by the office Christmas party. Found to be a Specter, or minion of the enemy.
Specters/men in dark clothing: Minions of the Enemy. Have eyes that turn red when they're angry. Can appear as normal humans, serve the Enemy.
Kitty Sunshine, aka Sunny: Echo's Russian Blue cat
Theo, A nickname for Anthos: An 8-year-old, of mysterious origins, who finds young Echo in the forest and tends to her needs. We see him later as a grown man who rescues Echo once again.
Georgios: One of Theo's Captains, and Echo's rescuer.
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