I have published a sequel to 'Chained'.
'Chained & Protected'.
38,000+ words. $5.43
https://www.lulu.com/shop/chris-bellows/chained-protected/ebook/product-m2dq64k.html?q=chained&page=1&pageSize=4
Obviously 'Chained' is best read first.
Look for a snippet next week. There will be only one.
Enjoy,
CB
Chained & Protected
Prologue
Escaped patient/inmate John Luther Bates trundles in the deepening snow. He knows not precisely where he is going, his ultimate destination Canada. Yet, with the road sign suggesting the direction is north, in time he will get to the border. The way is secluded, the tire marks few, indicating so far his choice of thoroughfare wise.
Still, it’s cold and the many miles have brought exhaustion. Is the border near?
Absconding the Maine Institute for the Criminally Insane, he is attired in the stolen clothing of the building’s janitor. Dashing nearly two miles, an empty state maintenance truck, parked at a diner, yielded a thick winter jacket and mittens. From there he guessed his way in the direction least likely to be searched... north into the isolation of Maine’s heavy forests... eschewing the more logical southerly direction leading to cities, suburbs and eventually warmer weather.
It dawns that he has miscalculated. Food will be needed to sustain his escape... and warmth... the cold slowly permeating the insulation of his purloined winter gear.
He hears a motor. A car approaches, slowly, the road slippery. John Luther Bates, slips into the woods, not to be seen. Within minutes an SUV passes, the woman driver focused on the snowy passage, a dog of size perched in the passenger seat.
Good news, he has not been spotted. Better news, a home or place of lodging is likely nearby.
Back to the road, he continues. The going is slow. For sure he will need to rest... the snow seeming to be getting heavier. Another half mile... maybe more... the recent tire tracks of the passing SUV veer into a narrow side road, passing through a gate. An aging sign reads ‘Collier Preserve’.
It is a gambit. Certainly the woman must have come from a place of shelter and warmth... women don’t camp in the winter... and the hunting season has passed. Has she left her house empty? For sure it will be warm... certain to have some supply of food.
Wherever the woman is heading it will be a long drive.... slowed by the weather. He will have at least an hour... maybe more.
John Luther Bates convinces himself it is the worth risk. A charge of burglary is meaningless with his multiple convictions of sexual assault. The only drawback... is the house otherwise occupied? He will approach with caution. If there is a husband... a brother, he will need to reconsider. If a child... John Luther Bates will do what his criminal mind commands him to do. Better though... a sister. Yes, his libido is surging, the regimen of medication at the Maine Institute for the Criminally Insane cleverly bypassed.
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