Sunday Snippet: A Quiet Hell

As usual, the weather in Ohio is all over the map. A balmy fifty degrees one day and single digits the next. It's crazy.

I'm working my way through my binge watch of Hawaii Five-0. I'm currently in season 4 at the halfway mark. I'm rather happy with the continuity to this point. When shows play with their history and / or rewrite it, I get a little cranky. (I'm looking at you NCIS: LA)

Need to catch up on The Librarians and Teen Wolf. Definitely looking forward to the return of my regular shows later this month.

Tonight's post is from A Quiet Hell, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of getting help or going to counseling.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Mattox Lang lives in a quiet hell, seeing and sensing paranormal activity. Bruce Wendelson has haunting dreams that linger, but he can never recall the details. Mattox understands Bruce's torment and hopes to ease her own by helping him deal with the nightmares.

And a preview snippet…

Bruce dropped to Mattox's side. "Hey, are you okay?" He checked for a pulse and breathed easier when he found one.

Marie cleared the room, ushering the other group members out.

She returned and placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder. "Can you help get her up? We can get her settled on the sofa over here." Waving a hand, she indicated the couch she had in mind.

Bruce didn't argue, he swept his arm under her legs and gathered Mattox close. "I got her." He deposited her on the cushions and sat beside her.

Her reaction to meeting him had him perplexed. Yet, she drew him in, even in her unconscious state. Something about Mattox called to him on a deep level.

And the idea freaked him out.

Marie placed a cool washcloth over Mattox's forehead. Bruce didn't even know the counselor had left to get one. Definitely off his game right now.

He glanced up. "Does this happen often?" Marie mentioned Mattox had some kind of psychic attunement thing—the reason she wanted to introduce them.

Bruce didn't know if he believed in abilities of that nature, but he'd reached his limit and decided meeting her couldn't hurt anything.

Never occurred she might be the one to suffer.

Marie shook her head. "No, never. Mattox is one of the strongest women I know." She pulled a chair around and sat beside the couch.

Bruce went to stand, but Mattox started coming around.  Her eyes blinked open and went wide. She flung her arm across her line of sight and eased to a sitting position.

Bruce moved to the other end of the cushions, giving her some space.

She kept her gaze averted. "Sorry about that." She looked in Marie's direction. "I don't usually faint when I meet new people." Her head angled toward Bruce, but her hair kept her eyes hidden from his view. "This will sound insane, but if I'm going to work with you, we need to keep some distance." She paused a moment. "At least until I get a handle on things."

Bruce frowned. "Things? We barely met before you dropped like a stone." He scooted a little further away.

Mattox let out a garbled laugh. "Yeah, well, I don't know how else to describe what happened. I looked into your eyes and everything went black." She lifted a shoulder. "I'm assuming that means there's a super strong connection. Whatever vibes you're giving off are powerful." She glanced at Marie. "As much as I hate to even think this, group sessions probably won't work here."

Bruce sat up. "Hold up. You're not suggesting something one on one, are you?" He got up and paced back and forth. "Because you just said you passed out because you looked me in the eyes. How can we accomplish anything if you're unconscious?" He glared in Marie's direction. "You know what? Thanks for the effort, but I'm done here." He started for the exit.

"You'll never sleep again if you don't face the demons in your dreams."

Mattox's words stopped him cold.

He turned and carefully avoided her gaze. "How do you know?"

Mattox got up, swaying slightly. "Because I see what's in your head and I can help you find out what they want."

I love the paranormal flavor in this one. Not exactly standard fare but lots of fun to write.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye