Prophecy Girl (Lacuna Valley #1)

Chapter One

Of all the things Sam's mother had done to her, moving her to Lacuna Valley was definitely one of the hardest for her to understand.

She had tried to tell herself that moving to a town with a western theme was going to be hysterical. She'd go to rodeos, sing that Will Smith song, and make fun of all the people in cowboy hats at the local saloon. The truth was, she hadn't seen the town. She'd seen no people, and no cowboy hats. She'd seen dead grass, experienced true stillness, and come to understand the meaning of the word surreal.

At one point, when a rare breeze blew through, she witnessed a real tumbleweed blow across the road. She probably would have died laughing if she could have gotten over the shock of that really happening.

The gold colored grass felt foreign. Her skin was dry. The heat was stifling, and she felt like she was drowning in it. How could you drown in a place that was so dry?

She placed the plastic chair under the tree and sat in it, staring at the hole. This was what she had now, a great big hole with dead grass, that she supposed had once grown in it. No television, no swimming pool, no leaving the house because there was nowhere to go—just, a hole—and someday she knew she wouldn't have that, either.

She sat there for hours. Earlier she sat on the swing and dug the toe of her shoe in the dirt. She moved throughout the day in an attempt to avoid the sun, but as the sun went away the need to move did too.

The clouds didn't move. The grass didn't move. She didn't move. They were all stuck in this together.

It was one of the first things she noticed after the move. The stillness.

She had never seen anywhere as still as Lacuna Valley. If the sun hadn't continued moving through the sky she'd have thought time had stopped altogether.

Sometimes, despite the sun, she was convinced it had anyway.

Violet tip toed through the tall grass behind her older sister and stifled a giggle. Sam heard her stuffed doll dragging through the dirt, but didn't let her know that.

“Boo!” Violet screamed.

Sam jumped and gasped. “You shouldn't do that to people, you could have scared me to death.” Sam gave Vi her best teasing glare before staring back out at the hills in the distance. Trees lined the base of them, and though she never actually saw anything, she always felt like someone was watching her from the woods.

Violet placed Sara at the foot of the apple tree, carefully positioning her legs so she didn't tip over.

“Would you like to ride bikes? It's almost time for Sara's nap.” Violet pulled some of the dead grass out of the ground and tried to twist it together into a bracelet, but it kept cracking. The doll was already slumped over next to the tree.

“I'm good. Thanks. Sara is looking pretty tired—you might want to put her down early.”

Violet looked up at her sister and rolled her eyes. “This place sucks! Penguin and Sara both hate it.”

“I'm sure your rat will adjust, and your doll always has an attitude, doesn't she?” Sam tried to force a smile, but couldn't remember how. It had been too long since she'd made the effort. Luckily Violet was too annoyed to notice.

“How would you know?! You don't spend any time with any of us.” Violet folded her arms and glared at the hole. “Do you want to play Littlest Pet Shop? You can have the turtle.” Violet tilted her head to the side with a small hopeful smile.

Sam cringed and sunk down further in her chair. “Not today, kid.”

“You suck. You're no fun at all anymore.” Violet kicked the pile of dead grass. “I bet you'd come inside and play if it rained,” she pouted.