She couldn’t stop thinking about her father. She missed him so terribly and knew he would be so worried, so completely out of it. It pained her to think about it.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I am so, so sorry, Daddy.”
She tried to remember him, imagine his face and recall his voice, but it was getting harder and harder. If it was this hard after only several weeks, how much worse was it going to be years from now?
“I love you, Daddy. I really do. Please, don’t be sad. Please don’t cry over me. I am fine.”
But she knew it was a lie. She wasn’t fine. The question was if she ever would be. Would she be able to live with herself, knowing she hadn’t even tried to go back? Hadn’t even given it a shot?
She shook her head. No, it was too dangerous. Too much at stake. She reminded herself of the many months she had been away from her grandmother and Lucas. It had been absolutely awful. She never wanted to miss them like that again; she never wanted to be this devastated, thinking she was never going to see them again.
But that was exactly how it was now, wasn’t it? She was missing her dad in the exact same way and the thought of never seeing him again, and knowing how he must feel, was crushing her heart. It was no better, was it?
Why did it have to be so hard? Being a traveler was supposed to be a gift, not a curse. Now she was wishing she had never been born with it in the first place.
But there is a way and you know it.
“No. No. No. Never,” she said to get rid of the thought. It wasn’t the first time it had occurred, but it was getting stronger, more persuasive.
Aren’t you the least bit curious?
Anna shook her head. “No. I don’t want to.”
Being able to see again.
“No.”
To be able to find your way.
“No.”
To see the blue sky again. To see the flowers in spring.
“No. Go away.”
To see the ocean and the shells in the sand.
“No.”
To see your dad again. To see his face.
Anna was crying helplessly now. She lifted her head and faced the window where she knew he was standing. The sound of his heartbeat was like drums in her ears. Like drums warning of an upcoming attack
BUM-BUM-BUMBUM-BUM, BUM-BUM-BUMBUM-BUM, BUM-BUM-BUMBUM-BUM.
She started to shake. Her hands first, then her entire body was trembling, a river of tears gushing from her treacherous eyes.
“Please,” she muttered. “Please, just...”
To look into his eyes. To see the happiness in his eyes again when he looks at you. To see his smile.
“I can’t…I can’t.”
Just let me in. Let me in.
CHAPTER 94
ORLANDO, NOVEMBER 2016
A ndrew couldn’t cry anymore. It had been almost a month since Anna had been awake and every day he cursed himself for letting her come with them to Whispering Pines, and for not at least keeping a better eye on her to make sure she didn’t fall asleep. He looked at her as she was lying in that hospital bed that had been her home for weeks now. He had barely been sleeping himself, only sitting in that chair, his head bent over her, hoping, praying to the gods of his ancestors that she would wake up.
Why did we even have to come to Bushlake in the first place? Why was I so stupid to say yes to that?
“Here you go.”
Andrew lifted his head and looked into Stephanie’s eyes. She had been there every day, bringing him coffee and food, forcing him to eat. Some days she brought her grandmother, but today she wasn’t feeling well enough to go anywhere. The doctor had said it was only a matter of weeks now when they had come in for their last visit a few days ago. Stephanie had told him about it and cried on his shoulder on one of the long days they had spent together in the hospital room.
Andrew felt bad for depriving Stephanie of the last time with her grandmother, but she wouldn’t hear of it when he told her to go home. He even tried telling her that he didn’t need her.
“No one should be alone in a situation like this,” she kept saying, and that was the end of that.
He was glad she was stubborn and stayed by his side. It would have been too hard to do this on his own.
“Thanks,” Andrew said and took the plastic cup. Andrew sipped his drink, then made a grimace. The coffee in this place was awful. Yet, he drank it anyway.
“Looks like it’s about to rain,” Stephanie said.
Andrew looked out the window. A thick black storm was approaching. He could hear the thunder already.
“Looks like a bad one,” Stephanie said. “It has been unusually hot for the season.”
She was trying to make small-talk, it was sweet, but Andrew was never very good at it and especially not now. He answered with a nod.
Anna grunted something and he looked at her. She did that every now and then. In the beginning, he had thought it meant she was waking up, but he had learned that it wasn’t the case. She was still completely unresponsive.
The doctors had run every test in the world, still they found no explanation why she wouldn’t wake up. She wasn’t hurt in any way. There was no swelling on her brain or any internal bleeding or infections causing this. They were simply unable to figure out what was wrong with her.
“It’s like she simply refuses to wake up,” one doctor had said.
He had also said that they were going to transfer her to an institution soon, and given him some choices, among them, ironically, was Whispering Pines, a place that had had patients like this before and had great results, according to the doctor. Andrew had kept wondering what counted as great results when the patient was in a coma. Had they woken up? No, the doctor had said, but the care had been good.
Andrew had decided he was going to take care of her himself. He knew everyone on the reservation would be there to help him and that was better than any institution. Family was always better. That much he had learned from all this.
“You wanna read for her?” Stephanie asked and handed him the book he had been reading for Anna for the past week. The doctor had said it was good for her to hear his voice and maybe that would help her pull out of the coma. So he had been reading to her every day.
He shook his head and sipped his coffee.
“It’s no use. It doesn’t help anything.”
Stephanie put the book back with a shrug. “Maybe later then.”
He nodded and looked at his daughter. “Maybe.”
CHAPTER 95
ORLANDO, NOVEMBER 2016
He had fallen asleep when it happened. Andrew was sitting in the chair, his head leaned on the wall behind him, mouth open, snoring lightly, when the moaning woke him up.
“What?”
He saw Stephanie on the other side of the bed. She looked startled. “Something is happening. I…I don’t know what’s going on.”
Immediately, fear and panic shot through Andrew’s body. Was she getting worse? Was she dying? The doctor had said it could happen. Even though she was on life-support, her body could still give up suddenly.
“What’s happening?”
“She just started moaning. A lot. Not like the grunting we’ve heard before, but this is different. Look at her eyes, they’re moving from side to side.”
Andrew stared. It looked like Anna was dreaming, actually like she was having a nightmare of some sort. The moaning was intensified and became louder, until suddenly Anna sat up with a loud gasp, calling out:
“DAAAD!”
Andrew’s heart stopped. He hurried to her and grabbed her hand in his, gasping for air, wondering what to think, what to believe. So many nights and days he had thought she would wake up, but then been disappointed. But this was different. Could it be? Could it really be?
“Anna,” he said, half choked. “Anna. I’m here. I’m right here.”
And that was when it happened. Anna turned her head, then opened her eyes and looked directly at him.
“
ANNA?” he almost screamed. “Your…your…” he looked at Stephanie to be sure she saw what he saw.
Anna blinked her eyes like they were adjusting to the light, then looked at her dad once again, tears rolling from them.
“Anna…can you…can you…see?”
She nodded.
He looked at Stephanie again, who also had tears in her eyes. Stephanie shook her head and clasped her mouth.
“But…how? How?”
Anna shrugged. “Does it matter?”
Andrew shook his head. “No, sweetie. Of course it doesn’t.”
Anna looked at Stephanie, then smiled. “You’re alive.”
Stephanie nodded, half choked in tears. “Yes,” she said. “Your dad woke me up just in time. Mandy is too. Went home a week ago. In recovery, but very much alive. She can’t wait to see you again.”
“Wow,” Andrew said, staring at his daughter’s eyes. He grabbed her face between his hands, then kissed her forehead.
He stared into his daughter’s eyes so deeply he suddenly reacted.
“What?” Anna asked. “What’s wrong, Dad?”
He shook his head. A nervous chuckle followed. “Nothing. I thought I saw something in your eyes, but it’s gone now. I’m probably just seeing things. I haven’t slept in a very long time.” He sighed, joy filling his heart. “But now I will. Now that the love of my life is back with me, I am going to sleep like a baby.”
THE END
AFTERWORD
Dear Reader:
Thank you for purchasing Blackbird Fly (Umbrella Man Book 2). I loved writing this book and digging deeper into Anna’s story. I wrote this book because I was curious after writing Umbrella Man. I wanted to know more about Anna and her life before she arrived in Bushlake in Book 1. It was truly a journey to unveil her story.
If you haven’t already read the first book, then I strongly suggest you do. That’s where you get Stephanie’s story and the story of the citizens of Bushlake and Gubba’s entire story, why he became the way he is.
If you have already read it, then I hope this book gave you a little more insight and answers to the questions you were left with in Umbrella Man. Now, naturally, the story doesn’t end here, so let’s see what happens in the third book.
On a funnier note, there is actually a story of a man claiming he is in possession of a tape by the Beatles, of songs written in a parallel universe where the Beatles never broke up. You can read his story here and hear the songs.
http://thebeatlesneverbrokeup.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=53
The world is a strange and wondrous place, isn’t it? (Or should I say worlds?)
Anyway, leave a review if you can and put a smile on my face.
Take care,
Willow
BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
Mystery/Horror Novels:
WHAT HURTS THE HOST (7th Street Crew #1) - Grab your copy today
YOU CAN RUN (7th Street Crew #2) - Grab your copy today
YOU CAN’T HIDE (7th Street Crew #3) - Grab your copy today
CAREFULL LITTLE EYES (7th Street Crew #4) - Grab your copy today
HIT THE ROAD JACK (Jack Ryder #1) - Grab your copy today
SLIP OUT THE BACK JACK (Jack Ryder #2) - Grab your copy today
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT (Jack Ryder #3) - Grab your copy today
BLACK JACK (Jack Ryder #4) - Grab your copy today
ONE, TWO... HE IS COMING FOR YOU (Rebekka Franck #1) - Grab your copy today
THREE, FOUR ... BETTER LOCK YOUR DOOR (Rebekka Franck #2) - Grab your copy today
FIVE, SIX ... GRAB YOUR CRUCIFIX (Rebekka Franck #3) - Grab your copy today
SEVEN, EIGHT... GONNA STAY UP LATE (Rebekka Franck #4) - Grab your copy today
NINE, TEN... NEVER SLEEP AGAIN (Rebekka Franck #5) -Grab your copy today
ELEVEN, TWELVE... DIG AND DELVE (Rebekka Franck #6) - Grab your copy today
THIRTEEN, FOURTEEN... LITTLE BOY UNSEEN (Rebekka Franck #7) - Grab your copy today
EDWINA - Grab your copy today
TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET - Grab your copy today
ITSY BITSY SPIDER (Emma Frost #1) - Grab your copy today
MISS POLLY HAD A DOLLY (Emma Frost #2)- Grab your copy today
RUN, RUN, AS FAST AS YOU CAN (Emma Frost #3) - Grab your copy today
CROSS YOUR HEART AND HOPE TO DIE (Emma Frost #4) - Grab your copy today
PEEK A BOO I SEE YOU (Emma Frost #5) - Grab your copy today
TWEEDLEDUM AND TWEEDLEDEE (Emma Frost #6) - Grab your copy today
EASY AS ONE TWO THREE (Emma Frost #7) - Grab your copy today
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME (Emma Frost #8) - Grab your copy today
SLENDERMAN (Emma Frost #9) - Grab your copy today
WHERE THE WILD ROSES GROW (Emma Frost #10) - Grab your copy today
Horror Short Stories:
EENIE, MEENIE - Grab your copy today
ROCK-A-BYE BABY - Grab your copy today
NIBBLE, NIBBLE, CRUNCH - Grab your copy today
HUMPTY, DUMPTY - Grab your copy today
CHAIN LETTER - Grab your copy today
BETTER WATCH OUT - Grab your copy today
MOMMY DEAREST - Grab your copy today
Paranormal Romance/Suspense/Fantasy Novels:
BEYOND (Afterlife #1) - Grab your copy today
SERENITY (Afterlife #2) - Grab your copy today
ENDURANCE (Afterlife #3) - Grab your copy today
COURAGEOUS (Afterlife #4) - Grab your copy today
SAVAGE (Daughters of the Jaguar #1) - Grab your copy today
BROKEN (Daughters of the Jaguar #2) - Grab your copy today
SONG FOR A GYPSY (The Eye of the Crystal Ball -The Wolfboy Chronicles) - Grab your copy today
I AM WOLF (The Wolfboy Chronicles) - Grab your copy today
Box Sets:
JACK RYDER MYSTERY SERIES BOX SET: VOL 1-3 - Grab your copy today
REBEKKA FRANCK SERIES VOL 1-3 - Grab your copy today
REBEKKA FRANCK SERIES VOL 4-6 - Grab your copy today
REBEKKA FRANCK SERIES VOL 1-5 - Grab your copy today
EMMA FROST MYSTERY SERIES VOL 1-3 - Grab your copy today
EMMA FROST MYSTERY SERIES VOL 4-6 - Grab your copy today
EMMA FROST MYSTERY SERIES VOL 7-9 - Grab your copy today
EMMA FROST MYSTERY SERIES VOL 1-5 - Grab your copy today
DAUGHTERS OF THE JAGUAR BOX SET - Grab your copy today
THE AFTERLIFE SERIES (BOOKS 1-3)- Grab your copy today
HORROR STORIES FROM DENMARK - Grab your copy today
THE WOLFBOY CHRONICLES - Grab your copy today
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Queen of Scream aka Willow Rose is a #1 Amazon Best-selling Author and an Amazon ALL-star Author of more than 40 novels. She writes Mystery, Suspense, Horror, Supernatural thrillers, and Fantasy.
She lives on Florida's Space Coast with her husband and two daughters. When she is not writing or reading, you will find her surfing and watch the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
Willow's books are fast-paced, nail-biting pageturners. Several of her books have reached the Kindle top 20 of ALL books in the US, UK, and Canada.
She has sold more than two million books.
Connect with Willow online:
willow-rose.net
[email protected] IN ONE FELL SWOOP - EXCERPT
For a special sneak peak of Willow Rose's Bestselling super natural suspense novel In One Fell Swoop, turn to the next page.
PROLOGUE
THE ONE WITH THE NOT SO HAPPY CAMPER
Somewhere in the Green Swamps, also known as the liquid heart of Florida, on a Saturday in June, at the crack of dawn…
CHAPTER FOUR
Sam McGee was not enjoying himself. Not at this moment, not before this moment, not earlier today or even yesterday. He wasn't enjoying any of this, because—let's face it—camping sucked, especially when you were fourt
een and you were with your dad and his friend and this friend's very lame third and fourth-grade kids. And on top of it all, they had to get up before sunrise. Who in their right mind got up this early in their summer break?
So far, this summer break was a total bummer. It didn't matter how many popsicles Sam's dad gave him. They were hardly tasty enough to warrant the mosquitos that came with them.
Sam sighed and longed to be back in his house, in his room. He had been looking forward to spending summer break trapped inside with his newest Japanese manga series, The Death Note, on his iPad. Inside. As in, indoors. As in, where no one forced him to wear shorts. But then his dad had called and asked his mom if he could take the boy away for a few days of fun.
This was hardly Sam's idea of fun.
"Come on, Sam. Don't sit there and sulk," his dad, Greg, yelled while pulling out his equipment from the back of his truck. He threw a set of waders at Sam. They smelled old and nasty. Sam felt the rubber and wondered who had used them last. Then he threw the thought away because it was simply too nasty.
Sam wrinkled his nose while his dad was humming. He pulled out more stuff for them to carry. Sam had no idea what most of it was. They were going out in the swamps today with John and his kids.
Doin' some gator huntin'.
The idea was petrifying for Sam.
John was Sam's dad's friend and co-worker at the sawmill. They were equally rowdy and equally fond of drinking beers and hunting gators in the swamps.
"Look at this mother f… that I caught last year," John said and pushed his phone in front of Sam so he could see the picture of him with the big gator. "Twelve darn feet. I tell ya' ain't no one caught as big a mother f… as this one around here for years, is what they say. Ain't no one done that yet, no siree. Fought that bastard for more than two hours before it gave in."