Contents
A Town Called Nowhere—2
Dedication—2
Chapter One—2
Chapter Two—3
Chapter Three—5
Chapter Four—7
Chapter Five—9
Chapter Six—11
Chapter Seven—13
Chapter Eight—16
Chapter Nine—19
Chapter Ten—21
Chapter Eleven—26
Chapter Twelve—28
Chapter Thirteen—32
Chapter Fourteen—33
Chapter Fifteen—35
Chapter Sixteen—39
Chapter Seventeen—42
Chapter Eighteen—44
Chapter Nineteen—46
Chapter Twenty—48
Chapter Twenty One—50
Chapter Twenty Two—52
Chapter Twenty Three—54
Chapter Twenty Four—56
Chapter Twenty Five—59
Chapter Twenty Six—60
Chapter Twenty Seven—63
Chapter Twenty Eight—64
Chapter Twenty Nine—66
Chapter Thirty—67
Chapter Thirty One—69
Check Out Another Vk Tritschler Story!—69
Check Out Another Vk Tritschler Story!—70
About The Author—71
A Town CaLLed NowHere
VK Tritschler
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, places, or events is coincidental and not intended by the author.
If you purchase this book without a cover you should be aware that this book may have been stolen property and reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher. In such case the author has not received any payment for this “stripped book.”
A Town CaLLed NowHere
Copyright © 2021 VK Tritschler
All rights reserved.
ISBN: (ebook) 978-0-6483835-2-9
ISBN: (print) 978-0-6483835-3-6
Praelectus Publishing
Port Lincoln, SA 5606
Australia
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all the big cat enthusiasts in Australia. Keep believing – you never know what might happen.
.
#
CHapTEr oNe
It had been a bad idea. He had known it the moment he had started the affair, but with the way she twirled her long blonde hair through her fingertips when she talked to him and the small crease of a smile that played on her firm, plump lips made her impossible to ignore. When she leaned forward during their counselling session and patted him tenderly on the leg he had known what would happen. His fiancée, sitting beside him, had turned her body away as she recognised the signs herself.
Now, the road lay out in front of him, twisting its way into the hinterland of Australia like the skin of a snake. The scorching, late afternoon sun poured through the windscreen turning the inside of the car into an oven. The numbers ticked over on the odometer, and country tunes floated through the stereo. As the sky lit into a red and yellow plumage, he saw a tattered white sign.
Welcome to Nowhere. Population 0. Turn right 500 metres.
The sign originally read ‘Population ten’, but someone had crossed out the one, and added a sad face symbol in spattered spray ink to the inner circle of the zero. It looked like he had finally found a place to rest his head for the night. He turned off into the scrub-edged road that led to the dead-end town. Shadows crept out along the asphalt, throwing shapes and movement across the road. He slowed down, years of racing experience telling him that with roads like this, speed was the biggest threat. A movement in the bush startled him and he planted his foot on the brakes, which screeched grievously. A small face appeared in the tree-line, its lips twitching before deciding to hop across in a flurry to the other side.
Continuing his journey, the road delivered him to a hollowed-out township. Long ago, former residents had boarded the wooden buildings up and left them empty. Ghostly remnants of its former glamour still clung to the visages, the tiny details such as the gold trimming which reflected in the headlights. Paint peeled from the houses like gum bark. In the centre lay a large brick building, one wall collapsed in on itself, exposing its insides like intestines. He surveyed for the best place to hole up for the night. As the darkness crept along the street ahead of him, he needed to decide quickly. Picking the ramshackle wooden building across the road that might once have been a bed-and-breakfast or lodge, he stopped the engine and stepped out into the silence.
#
CHapTEr Two
With her head plunged under the bath water, there was no sound except the soft thump of her heartbeat in her ears. She yearned to be able to bring more of this tranquillity into her everyday life, but it was a joy just to be able to grab even ten minutes of silence. She was temporarily free of the noise from her work. The constant clink of the cutlery, nor the sharp scrape of ceramics grinding on each other she carried them through to be cleaned. Nor were there the voices of her internal shifter pack dialogue, mostly scolding her for her life choices. There was just a quietness in the water that calmed her and made her relax. It was rare for a panther-shifter to love water like she did.
She had been working at the House of Crepes for two years. Its floral wallpaper, once bright, bold and inviting, was now faded and pasty. The owners, a French-Canadian beaver-shifter couple who had migrated to Australia many years ago, had since given up on the business and each other. Now they turned up separately to criticise the other behind their back, calculate profits and remind staff of their own self-importance.
Nicci had long ago given up any hope of rising higher in either the panther ranks or in her job. As a wolf beholden to beavers, which was against the essential order of things, they were particularly and regularly cruel to her. Under them she would never make the illustrious ranks of a Beta or Alpha, and she knew it. Being one of the few shapeshifters she knew, she was excited when they hired her as a dishwasher. They promised her greater things and a chance to be part of a pack for the first time in her life. She knew now, as obviously as the watermarked lines in her hands, that this was now a permanent position and rank.
Getting out of the bath, she towelled herself dry, and found some black slacks and white shirt for work. Normally she would not bother with such niceties. Neither the other staff nor customers ever seemed to pay any attention to the people hidden away in the kitchen, but with the auspicious nature of the night ahead she thought maybe someone would. An offer on the business was in the works, and the potential new owner was holding a party for his friends to see how the restaurant performed. She arrived at work exactly five minutes early, the first time she had done so in many months. When she entered the kitchen, it was already overflowing with food, plates, chefs, waiters and two very pale and gaunt looking men in business suits huddled beside each other making notes on their portable devices with a demure expression. She smiled to them quickly and set about her tasks.
The evening had started well, with entrees flowing into the dining room quickly and the guests showing signs of enjoyment via their scraped plates. Before the rush of the main course, she decided she would step outside and rest her feet and enjoy a smoke with the other staff. Sebastian was there already, hunched over beside the dumpster. He was barely hiding his bear form from the naked eye. He held his cigarette in his mouth, his hands wrapped around it like a barrier to help encourage the flame to take. His gaze lifted at her arrival, h
is head nodding momentarily in acknowledgement. As the flame struck, he took the cigarette from his lips and offered it to Nicci. She took it with a smile, and watched as he pulled out another and repeated the process for himself. She leaned back into wall, the cool night air nipping at her skin. Her exhaled smoke spread outward into the darkness like a fog.
‘Bit mad in there,’ Sebastian stated, his stark white chef outfit reflecting light from the nearby lamp post. ‘I hope they aren’t planning on making every night this busy.’
‘Yeah,’ she agreed, taking another drag. ‘That’s if they decide to keep us as staff.’
A frown crossed the big bear’s face, and he looked down at the ground.
‘They’d better.’ His voice was a low gravelly growl. She smiled. Sebastian had been one of the few shifters she had befriended since she was a kid, since normally shifters stuck to their own packs for companionship. He had taken a while to warm up to, but now she could recognise that his grumpy exterior was just his way of keeping unwanted attention away from himself. A few years in prison for assault on another bear-shifter in his younger years had made him wary of others, especially his own kind. Still the beavers had overlooked his record in order to secure his protection for the restaurant, and his cooking was superb.
As the last of her cigarette died, she put it under foot and smashed it down. Sebastian nodded again in her direction, and she returned to her station. The night continued, busy with the sounds, smells and the hustle of the kitchen. As the evening grew softer, the staff, including Sebastian, all disappeared. Nicci did one last round of the now empty restaurant to ensure that all the dishes were collected. A quick check might save her grief and work the next night.
As she scanned the last of the tables, she noticed a small blue oblong box tucked in behind a salt shaker. Tugging it from its resting place, she lifted the lid to see the soft glow of a golden necklace on its bed of cream velvet. The sparkle of the three adjacent light blue gems that looked like a strange type of diamond gleamed back at her. It was so beautiful her breath caught in her throat, and her finger softly stroked along it. She knew it was worth a fortune without even having to ask.
For one moment she imagined what it would be like to be presented with a gift as glamorous as the one she now held. What her life would be if she had a job where she could afford pretty things. For years she had slaved here and never received even so much as a Christmas bonus or a small tip. She popped the necklace into her pocket and went to find one of the owners to hand it in.
Jean-Luc had been drinking all night with the potential purchasers, and the sweet, stale smell of wine clung to the room when she found him slouched over his desk in the back office. His fingers were still clasped around a glass stem as his eyes rolled upward from the sheet he was reading when she entered.
‘Are you still here?’ he slurred, leaning back in his chair. ‘I thought everyone had gone already.’
‘I was just finishing up,’ she murmured, her eyes narrowing as she saw his hand try to bury the paper underneath something else. She swallowed, shuffling on the spot. ‘I was just wondering if we still had jobs because ...’
A lean, hard smirk crossed his face, and he narrowed his eyes. ‘I already told them that my staff are all casual hires. They decided last week on making full redundancies and bringing in their own staff. Guess they don’t want to pay for convicts and runaways like we did.’ His tongue darted across his lips and she felt heat in her cheeks. Her fingernails dug into her palms. ‘But you told us that they were going to do the assessment tonight! You said we might get to keep our jobs! I worked really hard!’ She could feel the sharp sting of tears tugging at her eyes. ‘We all did!’
Jean-Luc’s eyes rolled a fraction, and he slammed a hand down on his desk, a frown on his brow. ‘Enough! You’re not my problem any longer. Get out!’ he snarled, pointing to the door, before picking up the wine again. There was no point in getting angry with him, she told herself. She didn’t want to end up with a record like Sebastian. She left the room feeling hot tears rolling down her cheeks. She shoved her hands into her pockets, her fingers closing around the box that she had forgotten to hand in.
They owed her. They owed all of them. But Sebastian had already gone, and she didn’t have his contact details outside of work. She didn’t have anyone she could talk to about it. There was nothing holding her to them, or the restaurant any longer.
She was free and the necklace would get her enough money to never have to work for people like them again. To have a fresh start. And with that thought held tight in her mind, she walked straight out of the restaurant, got into her car, and headed to nowhere.
#
CHapTEr THree
Dru couldn’t sleep. With each creak and groan from the boards in the run-down house, his skin prickled. He pulled the sleeping bag tighter, but it didn’t help. Giving up in frustration, he clambered out and kicked it into the corner of the room.
The only light was the soft glow from his mobile phone, which had been flickering on and off all evening. He refused to look down at the screen. He knew what it would be. People wanting to know where he was, and he wasn’t ready to be found just yet. Maybe his fiancée would feel something other than disgust for him long enough to get worried, but it was doubtful.
Sighing, he grabbed his cigarettes and lighter and shoved them into the back pockets of his jeans. With the light from the screen disappearing, the room was temporarily thrown into darkness.
He paused, his eyes easily adjusting to the shadows before he picked his way across the buckled floor and out into the cool night air. He tapped the bottom of the cigarette pack, knocking a single white stick forward which he drew out with his teeth. Retrieving the lighter, he flicked it on, the glow from the flame throwing a dim sphere around his face. As he took in a deep breath of the toxin, it swirled down into his lungs and his shoulders relaxed.
Despite the disrepair, Nowhere was in its own way pretty, he mused. There were the old, twisted spines of gum trees that lined the main road and the overgrown beds of the few remaining front gardens. They would have once been grand floral beauties but now were weed filled patches. The silence was occasionally broken by the flutter of the wings of bats, or the call of an owl in the distance. Even in the late spring air, there was a heaviness in the night air. He wondered if this would be another year of bush-fires. The place was ripe for the wisp of a flame and was surprising that the buildings had remained largely intact for so long.
As he stood there, he heard a car engine approaching along the deserted road. The low growl of an older style car, which was picking its way slowly along the road. He stepped back under a tree and snubbed his cigarette out on the bark so he could watch the newcomer’s approach undisturbed.
It was an old Ford, the bonnet sun-bleached and battered, the muted yellow it once was unnoticeable in the full moonlight. The glare from the headlights made him squint and he could not tell who was driving it, but he wondered if it his father sent someone to follow him. Or perhaps it was one of the myriad of journalists who constantly stalked his every move.
With a final splutter, the car died in the middle of the road immediately in front of him. He could hear a woman’s loud expletive as the door swung open. A small, dark-haired girl stood up and surveyed the area. Light from the interior was enough to note that her hair was long, and tied back at the nape. She was wearing a crisp white shirt, as if she had just stepped out of a fancy restaurant’s kitchen. Certainly, she didn’t look like a journalist. Wondering whether to announce himself, he paused and considered her reaction. Had it been a bloke, he would not have hesitated, but a woman alone in a ghost town might not be so pleased to have the help of a shirtless man in the dark. Especially one who couldn’t always control his transformations.
‘Hello?’ she called out, her voice reverberating off the slabs of buildings that remained in the area. ‘Is anyone out here?’
‘Aw fuck,’ she cursed, kicking the car tyre. He heard her sigh, and watched as she bent down to release the latch on the bonnet. The whoosh of smoke released from the engine bay confirmed his suspicions. She had fried the engine. Probably forgot to top up the oil, he mused. He leaned back against the tree and watched her prod the components. He could feel the rough push of bark digging into his naked back down to the start of his jeans. Without getting closer he knew that the car wasn’t going anywhere ever again. He enjoyed seeing the outline of her slim hips and tight shirt as her shadow cut through the headlights. Pulling another cigarette out of his back pocket, he drew it to his mouth and lit it.
‘Do you need some help?’ he offered the shadowed figure. He watched amused as she stood frozen, like a statue, dipstick in hand, and then turned in his direction.
‘Hello?’ Her voice wobbled at the end.
‘Hi,’ he stepped forward towards the light, his eyes flinching. ‘Did you want some help?’
In the half glare, he saw her eyes narrow as she took in his attire, while he felt the fresh flush of his desire increase his heart rate unexpectedly.
‘No thank you, I’m fine.’
She bent over the engine bay again. It was only the small shaking in her hands that gave her nerves away. He could only just scent the fear on her skin from the distance, but it blended with something else. Something he struggled to recognise, though it was familiar.
‘I’m a mechanic,’ he offered. ‘Are you sure?’
She turned and stiffened her shoulders. ‘Right. You’re a mechanic. And this is Wonderland and I’m Alice. Look around dude. This is some shady shit hole that I’ve stumbled into and you’re probably some serial mass murderer. I think I’m good. You stay there, and I promise not to kick you in the balls.’
A chuckle escaped his lips. She was small, but she was fierce. He tried to get a better look at her features, but the headlights threw shadows around her face. What he could see was a small, pert nose, large, rounded eyes and her firm round lips were pulled tight. ‘Fine, fine...’ He lifted his hands in mock defence. ‘I’ll stay here, minding my own business, and you can get back to not fixing that car.’
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