Blood Run (55 page)
Authors: Christine Dougherty
Maggie dragged her mind away from resenting
Flyboy
and put it back on task. She was being a real bitch today–if not outside, then certainly inside. She needed rest and time alone: a bath, a drink, a magazine that hadn’t been looked at eighteen times already. All of those things were near impossibilities in their new world.
She got a firmer grip on the fishing net and scanned the floor of the rowboat. Two fingers lay under the seat and she scooped them up and over the side, her face set in lines of disgusted determination. She had to hunt for the third; it had made it to the front of the little boat. She was reminded of snakes and chickens, both purported to ‘live’ quite some time after being divided from their heads.
She shuddered, hoping it wouldn’t twitch when she touched the net to it. That grossed her out. She finally got up enough nerve to reach forward and with one smooth movement, flung it up and over the side. It made a little ‘plip’ sound when it hit the water. She sighed and sank down onto the middle seat, blowing out a held breath.
She scanned the horizon, as had become habit, her eyes skimming from beach to road to the little motel and its surrounding cabins. They hadn’t seen any new survivors for weeks now. But you never knew.
“Maggie?”
She jumped and turned, her heart racing, but it was only Babygirl. She stood at the edge of the deck and looked at Maggie with worried eyes. “Did you get rid of them fingers?”
Maggie nodded and smiled. “All gone, Babygirl.” She scrambled up onto the deck and took Babygirl’s hand. “Want to eat?”
But Baby’s eyes went past Maggie and her face clouded. “What man is that?” she asked.
“Man?” Maggie echoed, confused, then turned to the starboard side. A yellow life raft floated twenty-five feet out. A man lay spread-eagled in the center, unconscious or sleeping–Maggie couldn’t tell which–but she could see that he was covered in blood.
The preceding was the beginning of:
The Boat
By Christine Dougherty
Available now!
Click here to preview and buy on Amazon
About the Author
Christine Dougherty is a native of South Jersey where she lives with her husband, dog, and two cats. She has been published in The Absent Willow Review, Niteblade, Necrotic Tissue, and Fiction at Work.
She draws heavily from the landscape she knows and many of her works have at least some element of South Jersey and the Tri-State area, meshed with a dark imagination that has plagued her since before she can remember.
A graduate of Hussian School of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Christine has made her career as a graphic artist, art director and writer.
Christine’s greatest influences are Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Anne Tyler, Dean Koontz, Wally Lamb and a fascination with the scarier aspects of life, be they paranormal or criminal.
She writes in the genres of horror, paranormal, and psychological thriller and is never happier than when she is tackling the undead, the walking dead, werewolves, vampires, zombies, ghosts, aliens, spooky scenes, scary characters, psychics, demons, devils, and quirky heroes and heroines.
Visit Christine at:
www.christinedoughertybooks.com
Table of Contents
Also by Christine Dougherty
Dedications
Book One ~ First Promise
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Book Two ~ Two Riders
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Book Three ~ Last Chance
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Excerpt from The Boat
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
About the Author