A dozen paces from where she found the casing, she spotted black tire marks. They were thick nearer to town and dissipated as they travelled in away from it. While a guess, she figured they were headed deeper into the woods.

“Wherever they’re going it’s not well travelled,” Julia said.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from Dark Hearts is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.

Then paces away she caught the glint of blue light from under a bush. Julia took a knee and noticed the saw surface of a phone. The blue light was for notifications, and when she picked up the phone, the black and white screen lit up…  Shit! This thing is about to give out.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from Dark Hearts is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.

“You went off course,” Julia said.

The tree canopy here was thick, Kaylee would have had a hard time spotting any stars, let alone Mercury.

Kaylee lost her way until she reached a clearing. She immediately changed course, and cut straight through an open field. Luckily no one was watching…

Disclaimer: This excerpt from Dark Hearts is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.

“Well, hello there…” Julia said after picking up the shell casing. “Hmmm, a nine-millimetre round.”

The casing was shiny and still had the stench of being fired. Both of which were signs that someone pulled the trigger recently.

“This is how they got the upper hand,” Julia said.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from Dark Hearts is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.

“What the,” Julia said after catching a glint of blue light from under a bush.

Julia took a knee and noticed the reflective surface of a phone. There were notifications, and when she picked up the phone, the screen lit up in black and white… Shit! This thing is about to die.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from Dark Hearts is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.

She imagined Kaylee, travelling with almost no ambient light, and reached the water. Based on the flattened grass behind her, Kaylee took a direct route, but something spooked her. Imagine being mid-way through the water and seeing a pair of glowing eyes staring back at you…

Disclaimer: This excerpt from Dark Hearts is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.