The Van Helsing Conjecture – Excerpt No. 258

“Yep,” Julia said. “Like I said before, your scent is camouflaged. I just followed any smell that makes me think of home… with mom…”

Clara went to reach out, but the werewolf raised her hand to stop her. Julia took several breaths and went on.

“After The Grand,” Julia began. “I tracked you down to three potential locations.”

That statement made no sense until she realised that any modern version of Clara would be an angel as well… two doppelgangers…

“In these I awoke in my body,” Julia said. “In two cases, it took me days to reach you or…”

“Evelyn,” Clara finished.

“Yeah,” Julia said. “I hedged my bets, moving from one reality to another every couple of days… Until I realised that I could stand just outside a bubble to make a call….”

That explained why Evelyn said that Julia went out for errands. The werewolf had been out doing her rounds, hoping for an update.

A moody, cinematic photograph capturing a modern, raven-haired young woman, with a subtle, enigmatic smile, wearing fitted blue jeans, a worn, dark brown leather jacket, and a vibrant, cherry-red backpack, slung casually over her right shoulder, as she strides purposefully along the desolate, winding road, her eyes fixed on the horizon, with a subtle, golden glow of warm sunlight casting a long shadow behind her, as she approaches a weathered, rectangular road sign, with bold, white lettering on a faded blue background, indicating that the next city lies 200 kilometers ahead, set against a backdrop of rolling hills, scattered with withered trees, and a vast, cloud-dotted sky, with a sense of nostalgia and freedom.

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.