The Van Helsing Conjecture – Excerpt No. 174

It seemed that God saw fit to relieve her from the burden of having too many options. The first of which was to head home and await further judgement… He’ll be careful next time we meet…

There was always the possibility of making a run for it. That might have been a viable plan had she been able to hop on a train. Had she been able to afford the fare, Clara could have reached the city and disappeared… I won’t make it far on foot…

“Sanctum,” Clara whispered…

That word resonated within the depths of her mind, Clara smiled.

“It’s the best option I have…”

a moody, atmospheric photograph of a distressed woman with rich, chestnut-brown hair and piercing grey eyes, wearing a long, earth-toned, high-neckline dress with a fitted waist and a full, flowing skirt, reminiscent of the styles popular in 1915, as she rushes through the worn, wooden train car, her clothes disheveled and her face set in a determined expression, with a group of rough-looking men in worn, workman's attire, their faces twisted in anger and desperation, chasing after her, their arms outstretched, amidst the clutter of old trunks, worn leather suitcases, and rusty mining equipment, with the misty, rugged coastline of a 1915 Canadian mining town blurred in the background, captured in a cinematic, warm-toned color palette with deep shadows and soft, golden light.

Disclaimer: This novel is an work in progress and readers may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Please view this a draft and not a published work.