WidowMaker

by

Cristyn West and Elena Gray

* * * * *

Early praise for
Widowmaker
…

“
Widowmaker
is horror at its best. Fun, clever, and SCARY. The suspense is unrelenting, and the action, punctuated by humor, holds you in its grip for the entire ride that is
Widowmaker
.”

YourNeedToRead

Book Reviewer

“
From the first page to the last,
Widowmaker
rocks, out loud. Part thriller, part horror, and completely awesome,
Widowmaker
is filled with great characters and situations that are just impossible enough to believe. You can’t find a better read for Halloween.”

ThrillersRockT

Book Reviewer

“
A film that kills people? Yep, we were right there for it. And how West and Gray weave such a great suspense tale amongst all the carnage is truly brilliant. And of course, we appreciated the sexual tension between the FBI agent and his ex-fiancée. I have no idea how you could create a sequel, but we want one!”

ParaYourNormal

Book Reviewer

“
I had to stop reading in parts. It was just too scary! Of course, two minutes later, my nose was back into my Kindle, reading more. I had to know the end. I love it when I can’t put a book down, no matter how much I want to!”

RachelintheOC

Author

A Walk in the Snark

“
Gritty, creepy, and horrifying, all in one book. That pretty much sums up
Widowmaker
. It has been a long time since I read a book that made me jump at every little noise in the house, but this one did. Great job, West and Gray!”

Amber Scott

Author

Fierce Dawn

* * * * *

Start Reading

About the Authors

More From Cristyn West and Elena Gray

Other Works by Cristyn West, aka Carolyn McCray

Copyright Information

Contact Information

Table of Contents

* * * * *

PROLOGUE

What a dump,
Jake thought as his eyes followed the snapping sound of a weathered banner, that read: “SMACKDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: Sundance’s ugly little sister.” Graffitied across the bottom were the words, “But damn, the bitch gives great head.”

Nice.

Jake stomped his feet to get the blood flowing to his toes. He flipped up the collar on his black trench coat, jamming his hands into the pockets. A light snow dusted his shoulders. He shivered, looking around him. Dozens waited in a line that wrapped around the corner of the squat building. Smackdance prided itself on “underground” films, but did they really have to show it in a freaking basement?

But not even below-zero temperatures could keep these crazed horror fans away. As the snowflakes became fatter and wetter, Jake wished he hadn’t listened to Drew, who insisted that they “represent” Kevin Smith style. No, Jake wished he’d worn his nice, thick, and warm ski jacket instead of this thin trench coat. Drew owed him his left nut for dragging him out tonight. And not a hot chick in sight. No movie “experience” was worth freezing his ass over.

Shoving his hand deeper in his pocket, he found a crumpled yellow flyer. The damn thing that started all of this. He pulled the flyer out and waved it in Drew’s face.

“It’s all hype, I tell ya. Garbage,” Jake stated.

“But it’s got great buzz. Look at the line,” Drew replied, gesturing to the crowd of people in front of him and the now-growing line that trailed past the liquor store and Laundromat. Yeah, this wasn’t exactly the Sundance side of town.

Jake rubbed his already-numb hands together. “A freakin’ two-hour wait for this schlock movie? And to watch it in an unheated basement? This is so damn lame! I say we forget the buzz and go get buzzed.”

“Lame? This could be the film that changes our lives!” his friend stated enthusiastically. No, no, no. It could change the entire world’s view of horror!”

Others in the crowd nodded in agreement. Like he needed them to encourage Drew. The wall of the building next to them shook. With that much bass, the movie must be reaching the “darkest hour.” The streetlight next to them flickered, and then blew out. Jake wondered if the producers had paid for that effect as well to get the crowd in the mood.

Ooh, now it’s all dark and scary. Right.

As tinny screams echoed from the movie, a geeky kid with a “Team Edward” T-shirt got down on his mittened hands and tried to see in the basement window, but it was blacked out. Probably so no one could see how incredibly bad the special effects were before they paid their money.

Jake read the flyer aloud. “
Terror in the Trees
, a docu-horror film.” He glanced up at Drew. “First of all, what the hell does that mean? Docu-horror?”

Crushing the flyer into a ball, he chucked it at Drew. It hit him square in the nose before fluttering to the ground.

“Jesus, Jake! It just means that it’s a freakin’ scary documentary,” Drew said as he bent over and rescued the flyer from the snow-encrusted sidewalk. His friend straightened the paper almost reverentially. “And, this could be worth a lot someday.”

“Right,” Jake sneered. “And scary? This plot’s been done a hundred times before. I mean how many coeds can you watch get sliced and diced? That’s not horror.”

“Excuse me? Are you trying to tell me that
Sorority Slaughter
was highbrow?” Drew asked, his eyebrow arched as though he were Spock or something.

“All right, I concede on that one small point ...” Jake held his hands up in surrender. “But come
on
. Ashley Blake ran around half naked for most of the movie.” Oh yeah, Ashley definitely made that movie worth watching a few dozen times.

“And the first time you saw
Alien vs. Predator
?” Drew asked.

“Scott’s original
Alien
was better,” Jake quickly retorted, getting in his classic horror props as he dodged a weak attempt by Drew to punch him in the arm. “Okay ... okay ... I give
AvP
props for the gore factor.”

Gore was right. It had been the first R-rated film Jake’d ever seen. Not because he was even close to seventeen, but because he stole a bottle of whiskey from his dad and used it to pay a senior to take him to the movie. It was
Alien
vs. Predator,
for God’s sake! Jake couldn’t wait two years for it come out on DVD.

“I remember waiting in line, ya know, trying to act all cool, and a chick came running out into the lobby,” Jake reminisced. “She puked all over the floor. Popcorn and Milk Duds. I can still smell it. At that moment, I knew I was in good hands.”

Drew bounced on the balls of his toes, excitement radiating from him. “Exactly! Visceral horror.” This time, his attempted punch to Jake’s arm was successful. “Fear that has a physical effect. That’s what I’m looking for here.”

Jake rubbed his arm, staring at Drew in disbelief. Both at the punch that landed and his friend’s naïveté. “In a movie titled
Terror in the Trees
?”

Drew couldn’t honestly believe this crap, could he? Clearly, the gazillion trailers he watched on YouTube had fried his brain. It was all a gimmick to get lame-os like Drew to spend their cash, watching a film over and over again until their eyes bled.

Jake was about to say so when a window shattered at Drew’s feet. Before his friend could jump out of the way, a hand latched onto his ankle. Manicured nails dug into Drew’s flesh. Bright red drops splattered against the snowy ground. Drew screamed like a little girl as he flailed and kicked, trying to shake the hand off.

Others in the crowd grabbed Drew and finally wrenched him from the attacking hand.

“Help us!” screamed a voice from the basement, as the music cranked to full throttle.

“Holy crap, did you see that? Did you
see
that?” Drew panted, staring at the bloody fingerprints on his ripped jeans. “Did. You. See. That?”

Jake tried. He really tried not to laugh, but with the look on Drew’s pasty-ass face as he probed the red welts on his ankle, Jake just couldn’t help himself. Bursting out laughing, Jake bent over, clutching his stomach. His body was shaking so hard that he feared he’d go into a convulsion.