The Hidden (sample)

Prologue

Copyright © 2012 by K.R. Martin

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. 

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Prologue- Thomas

June 1st, Thirteen Years Ago

Potomac Ridge, VA

Fasterfasterfaster. C’mon, move, goddamn it!

My feet barely skimmed the forest floor. Low-hanging branches swayed as I darted past, and an occasional patch of sunlight filtered through the leaves to warm my shoulders. I pumped my legs harder, feeling even less dirt under my toes.

My stupid and pointless goal for the day? Run without leaving footprints.

So far, I’d had zero luck.

I’d just cleared a small creek when a faint but familiar scent hit me, making my head whip back in its direction. My foot caught something and I stumbled, careening face-first into a puddle. I pushed myself up and wiped the mud from my eyes as I listened for the owner of the scent.

I heard nothing but babbling water and animal chatter.

Jogging at a human pace, I circled back to where I’d caught the scent. A hint of it still lingered in the air, faint but unmistakable–the scent of a female from my species.

What the hell is she doing all the way out here?

As far as I knew, I was the only one of my kind around for miles. We preferred big cities with large populations of our race. I was the exception to that rule, instead living by myself in the forest, away from others of my kind. And away from humans, as well.

I followed the scent, the forest thinning out the closer I got to human habitation. Cars zoomed by on a nearby highway and children squealed as they played outside.

I inhaled again, and frowned. The scent was still faint, like I was no closer now than I’d been half a mile into the woods.

The scent was probably old, I realized. Whomever left it was surely long gone by now.

I turned to head back when a twig snapped some fifty feet behind me. I paused, hearing…feet shuffling? It was too light for a human male, yet it also sounded too light for a female. I turned once more and silently padded towards the noise, freezing when a small figure came into view.

It was a child–a little girl–and she appeared to be looking for something, if her tiny furrowed brows and wandering eyes were any indication. I moved behind the closest tree, positioning myself so I could watch her.

“Marmalade!” the little girl called out.

Marmalade? Why was she looking for preserve all the way out–

Something licked my calf, and I froze. Peering over my shoulder, I saw a small black dog, not unlike Toto. It tilted its head to the side and barked an annoying little yip.