Outcasts

by Craig MacLachlan

  OUTCASTS

  Book One in the Feral Girls Series

  Craig Maclachlan

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Coming Soon

  About the Author

  Published in the United States

  Published by Creepy Christina Publishing

  Copyright © 2018 Craig MacLachlan

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

  All rights reserved. With the exception of excerpts for review purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced or copied in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise transmitted without express permission from the author. Brief quotations may be embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  For my wife

  Christina

  Until we are together again my love

  Chapter One

  Three dirty and naked ten-year-old girls crouched on all fours amongst the forest foliage somewhere in the Cabinet Mountains that surround Tamarack Falls, Montana. They sniffed the air and bared their yellow-stained teeth. Craning their necks as far as they would stretch, the three girls looked in the same direction.

  Faint barking echoed in the distance, becoming louder by the moment.

  The girls looked to each other and grunted several times. They turned and faced opposite directions in a triangle formation. A girl with green eyes and long brown hair pushed a girl with brown eyes and shorter brown hair. The green-eyed girl scratched the ground with her jagged fingernails.

  Both girls petted the head of the girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes.

  The blonde grunted loudly, flailed her arms about, and received grunts of acknowledgment from the others. The two brown-haired girls each placed their head on opposite shoulders of the blonde as she tilted her head side to side, rubbing it against the other girl’s in a loving manner.

  Bounding from her position, the blonde girl ran off on all four limbs. Briefly, she sprung into a leg-only run to gain momentum before returning to her original posture.

  The green-eyed girl pushed the brown-eyed girl who ran in a different direction.

  The barking became viciously loud.

  “Over here!” A man’s voice boomed. “I see one!”

  “Here goes one!” A woman yelled.

  The green-eyed girl walked in a circle while surveying the area. A woman wearing a fancy suite entered the girl’s vision and was accompanied by a well-dressed man. He held onto three barking and growling dogs he tied to a tree.

  The girl’s eyes widened. She crouched into a defensive stance and let out a low growl of warning. The dogs whined and sat quietly.

  “Incredible,” the woman said. “It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you.”

  “Talking is no use, Debra,” the man stated.

  “Yes, it is, Jake.”

  Crouching, Debra became at eye level with the girl and she motioned for Jake to follow her lead.

  “Kind of like calming a dog,” Jake chuckled, and Debra gave him a frown.

  The girl backed away from the oncoming couple. Drool dripped from her lips and her growling intensified.

  “Sweetie, we’re here to help.”

  A screeching howl rang through the forest. The girl sprang to her feet, letting out an even louder ear-piercing scream.

  A voice spoke through Jake’s radio, “We have one sir and she’s wild for sure!”

  “Restrain her and don’t harm her,” Jake demanded.

  “Yes sir.”

  Debra reached out to the girl who looked quizzically at the gesture and inched cautiously forward.

  “That’s it. You can do it. You can trust me,” Debra’s voice was soothing.

  The girl reached out and touched Debra’s fingertips. In an instant, the girl scooped debris into her hand and threw it at Debra.

  “You little. . .” Jake began, but Debra shook her head.

  The girl let out another howl and turned to escape, but she had no chance. A cushioned collar attached to a pole slipped over her head and tightened around her neck.

  “I’ve got her!” A man hollered.

  “Be careful!” Debra rushed to help as the girl violently flung about.

  Debra and Jake grabbed the girl. She scratched and clawed at them with her fingernails and toenails. A straitjacket was tossed to them. Debra and Jake struggled with the fighting girl but finally secured it onto her.

  “That’ll do,” Jake said.

  “She won’t come easily, none of them will,” Debra said.

  Two men emerged through the trees. They carried the short brown-haired girl, bound in a straightjacket. She was kicking and trying to bite them but was unable.

  The long brown-haired girl grunted and the other girl grunted back. They both relaxed their shoulders and began letting out long, mournful sounding calls.

  “They can communicate?” Jake asked.

  “It appears so,” Debra replied.

  “What’s their age look to be?”

  “Eight to ten years old I would guess?” Debra remarked.

  “It’s them. It has to be,” Jake nodded.

  “Yes, and living feral in these mountains for who knows how long,” Debra sighed.

  A man and woman came into view.

  “She got away. We can’t find her anywhere,” a female said when a distant animal call rang throughout the forest.

  The two girls fell silent.

  “Let’s go. She’ll be looking for these two soon enough,” Jake paused. “We’ll come back in a few hours and take her in as well.”

  Without making another sound, the two girls were taken from the mountains they called home for most of their lives.

  They would be transformed, against their will, into functioning members of society.

  You belong to me my wild one.

  Skylar sat in her car and salivated as she sniffed the scent from the words written in chipmunk blood, her favorite meal when she was feral. She stuck out her tongue, touched the tip of it to the blood. A craving hunger filled her. Drool ran down her chin and dripped onto her shirt. Her mind urged her to rip the clothing from her body and run into the nearby mountains.

  Tears swelled in Skylar’s eyes. She took deep breaths, relaxed, and the wildness within her retreated into dormancy once again.

  Using her shirt, Skylar soaked up the saliva from her face. She folded the blood letter and slipped it into the envelope, Skylar Colt, written on the front in red ink. She slid it underneath the seat and bit her lower lip.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks, mixing with makeup. She reached behind the passenger seat for some tissues. In the mirror, Skylar dabbed the colored streaks dry.

  Looking out the window, her best friend Haley clutched a backpack tightly to her chest as she sulked toward Skylar’s car. Nora, Haley’s mom, stood in the entryway of the home with an uneasy
smile and waved.

  Today would be the first time Skylar and Haley attended public school, or any real school for that matter. Being homeschooled was dull. It took Skylar years of pleading and manipulation, but she finally convinced her parents to allow her to attend public school.

  Haley and her parents had been even harder to win over.

  Haley entered the car and stared out the window. Skylar revved the engine several times before Haley looked at her.

  “Ready?”

  Haley shook her head. “I think this is a bad idea, Skye.”

  “You’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. I won’t let anything happen, okay?” Skylar grinned and started driving.

  “You’ve promised that before,” Haley said and retrieved a novel from her backpack.

  Skylar wasn’t sure what Haley’s comment meant, but what she did know was that her friend was obsessed with reading.

  They drove in silence and Skylar couldn’t get the letter out of her mind. She hated being reminded of a life she wanted erased from her memory. She hoped meeting other teenagers would help them both become more normal, especially Haley.

  Unfortunately, Haley still yearned for their old lives in the woods, an attachment Skylar was determined to break.

  “What’s that smell?” Haley sniffed the air. “It’s so familiar?”

  “Smell?” Skylar gently pushed her left heel against the bottom of the seat in case the envelope had slid out from. “Just the new air freshener.” she grabbed the peach-shaped object from the mirror and held it to Haley’s nose.

  “No, it’s not. Peaches, I love peaches.” Haley snatched the air freshener and breathed in the fragrance.

  Skylar pushed the controls for the electric windows and rolled them down. It helped sweep out the small aroma of chipmunk. She needed to hide the letter somewhere safe, somewhere Haley would never find it.

  Haley lowered the peach air freshener. “Can we go home?”

  “Nope,” she replied, a bit unsure of what home Haley meant. Skylar grabbed the air freshener from Haley’s grasp and dropped it between her legs. “I want a new smell. Any ideas?”

  “Pine!” Haley demanded, but Skylar wanted anything but the smell of forest inside her car.

  The high school came into view and they both went silent. Skylar hoped they were ready for their new adventure and that they had prepared themselves enough for it.

  But she wasn’t sure about anything yet.

  The student parking lot was already near capacity as she turned in. Skylar weaved the car up and down the lanes hoping for a close spot.

  “Skye, watch out!” Haley screamed.

  But it was too late.

  The boy jumped a moment before impact and landed on the hood. He slid on his stomach to the windshield and hopped onto all fours as the car came to a stop. He glared intensely at Skylar with charcoal eyes before he leapt from the hood. The boy walked away among the cars and out of her sight.

  “That scared me Skye.”

  “Same here. That was a close one.”

  Haley, with her mouth wide-open, pointed to an open parking spot to Skylar’s left. Slowly, Skylar pulled into it and shut off the engine. In the rear-view mirror, she spotted a small group of students who were pointing in their direction.

  She needed to be careful not to expose herself to anyone or allow Haley to do the same. The crowd of students waited behind the car.

  “They like your car I think.”

  “That’s right!” Skylar lied to herself. “Let’s do this,” she said, her confidence returning since she hadn’t just killed someone. They exited the car and Skylar set the alarm. She looped her arm with Haley’s and they approached the group. The students whispered and pointed.

  “Sweet wheels,” said a handsome blonde boy stepping from the group.

  “Yes, she is.” She liked to think of her car as a girlfriend.

  “Learn to drive!” Another boy shouted.

  A girl wearing shorts to her crotch, and a shirt so thin she looked naked, joined the blonde boy and blocked their path. “You’re both too clean to be pigs.”

  “Huh?” Haley said.

  “There are plenty of mud pits up in the mountains. Go find one and take a bath.”

  “Excuse me?” Skylar asked.

  “Just drop it, Samantha. They’re too primitive to understand,” the blonde boy said.

  “Shut up Brad!” Samantha glared at him and returned the same look to them.

  The pig comments were true, yet a lie at the same time. According to their doctored official records, she and Haley had both lived in a tiny community known for its overpopulation of wild pigs.

  Somehow, their false residence had been leaked.

  “Oink-oink, do you have mud in your ears? I said get out of here, out of my face and out of my school!” Samantha commanded, and the other students joined making pig sounds.

  “Stop it!” Haley screamed, cupped her hands over her ears, and hid behind Skylar.

  “Back off!” Skylar roared, stepping toward Samantha.

  “Let’s go.”

  Skylar wheeled around and almost tripped. It was the same boy she had almost run down.

  “This is none of your business, ingrate. Leave before—”

  “Before what, Samantha? You’ll have your boyfriend frame me again? Have your circle of idiots play more hideous pranks on me? Beat me up? Whatever.” The boy placed his warm hand on Skylar’s shoulder.

  They walked past the students and she gave Haley’s arm a reassuring squeeze.

  “That’s right, waddle off swine! I ain’t done with either of you yet!” Samantha said.

  “You made a big mistake sticking your nose in our business, slackjaw!” Brad said.

  A chorus of oink-oink and squeal-squeal started and followed them until Skylar pushed a button on her keychain that set off the car’s alarm. The students jumped in shock.

  Skylar again set the alarm.

  Reaching the front doors of the school, he removed his hand from her shoulder and looked away. “You’re welcome,” he said coldly and left.

  “What’s your name?” She called out, but he didn’t respond or look back. “Sorry for . . .” Skylar froze as the wind carried a scent into her nostrils, and she sniffed it.

  “Skye? Hey, are you okay?” Haley’s voice was a distant echo in Skylar’s mind.

  She deeply inhaled as much of the odor as she could, but it was evaporating around her as quickly as it had arrived.

  The boy.

  Skylar watched him round the corner of the school and out of sight and his familiar scent left with him.

  “Hello?” Haley said and shook Skylar.

  “I’m fine, let’s go.”

  Skylar led Haley into the school and to their first period English class.

  “Trevor.”

  “Huh? What?” Skylar asked.

  “His name is Trevor.”

  “How do you know that?” She asked as they sat at desks across from each other in the back of the classroom.

  Haley leaned herself across the small space. “I heard a girl whisper his name.”

  “When?”

  “When they were making fun of us,” Haley moved back into a sitting position and started reading her book.

  Skylar was going to ask Haley how she heard Trevor’s name, but she already knew the answer. Rehabilitation had failed to tame them. Their senses and behaviors were merely suppressed, ready to ignite at any moment. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

  Skylar smelled her own fear and shut her eyes.

  Chapter Two

  Skylar printed her name on the sign-up sheet for the yearbook club on the bulletin board. She almost signed Haley’s name as well but thought better of it.

  With a bubbly attitude, she walked off and joined Haley at the table. Lunch consisted of chocolate pudding with raisins, wrinkled corn, fries, and a slice of pepperoni pizza. She gave Haley her chocolate milk, preferring water.

  “This for sure isn’t mom’s
cooking,” Skylar poked the food with a fork, deciding if she truly wanted to subject herself to eat it.

  “Who are you abandoning me for?” Haley asked and placed one of her many plastic containers of ranch dressing next to Skylar’s tray.

  Haley’s pizza and fries swam in an ocean of the white goo.

  “Does it taste better?” She raised her eyebrows and Haley nodded. “I’m joining the yearbook club. We need to fit in. Be normal. You know, make friends.”

  Following Haley’s lead, Skylar dipped a fry into the ranch. Her taste buds lit up, so she tried the pizza with the same result. She snatched two more dressing cups and poured them over everything on the tray. Even the corn tasted like a rare delicacy.

  “Hey,” Haley said, placing a protective arm around her remaining ranch. “I’m not friend enough for you?”

  “You were right.” Skylar stuffed the last bit of pizza into her mouth. “Ranch makes everything taste better.” But looking at the white covered pudding with raisins, she pushed the tray away. “Of course you are. You will always be my Hales so stop worrying.”

  Haley snatched the tray and gobbled the pudding, causing Skylar’s stomach to churn. She turned to the swarm of chattering teenagers. At the far corner of the cafeteria, Trevor stood alone, looking directly at her with a ridged look and crossed arms.

  How long had he been watching her?

  The moment Skylar stood, Trevor turned down the hallway. A pair of hands grasped her shoulders and she was forced into a chair, Samantha and her clique surrounding them.

  “Feeding time at the trough, girls?” Samantha dug her nails into Skylar’s shoulders and released her grip.

  “Just leave us alone.” Skylar watched Haley slouch and look to the floor.