Horror in the Woods

by Mountford, Lee

  And when she was certain, absolutely positive, that he was dead, she finally removed her foot from the blazing bookshelf. She had cut it fine, too, as the material of her hiking trousers had started to melt and smoulder.

  The heat and smoke in the room was becoming unbearable and, now that Tim was finally dead, she needed to turn her attention back on herself.

  Back to survival.

  She looked once more upon Tim's fire ravaged-body, then vaulted through the window to the porch outside.

  The air felt fresh and clean, causing a coughing fit.

  Ashley grabbed the book she'd dropped earlier, after Tim had struck her, and ran off into the woods.

  40

  Ashley's journey back through the woods was a long one.

  She followed the trail back the way they had come in; on guard and fully aware that, somewhere out here, Tim's bitch sister and faceless brother, were lurking.

  During her trek, she fully expected them to show up, to ruin her escape, but that didn't happen. Perhaps they had scuttled off somewhere to try and recover from their wounds, or had taken a different route back to the house. If so, she hoped they found nothing but a blazing inferno and were helpless to do anything other than watch their home burn.

  As Ashley walked, a new morning finally broke through the darkness. Shortly after, she finally passed out of the woods and into the open fields.

  Back to the wilderness.

  Once free of those cursed woods, she kept going for over an hour straight, making sure she put plenty of distance behind her.

  Then she finally stopped, collapsed to the floor, and wept.

  It was as if a switch had been flipped. Every feeling of sadness and loss and anger that had been pushed beneath the surface finally got release, and erupted from her in a wave.

  She cried and cried, loudly and desperately.

  She remembered Kim, and Craig, and what had become of them. She remembered the pain and terror she had to endure.

  She remembered it all.

  But it would not ruin her, it would not define her.

  She wouldn't let it.

  Dealing with what had happened would take time, and a lot of tears.

  But she would deal with it all.

  Ashley gave herself a few more moments, then got back to her feet, holding the book close to her. She had no idea what was written inside of it, but was certain it would read like the ramblings of a madman.

  The thing was, she knew it was true. All of it. Hopefully, this book would explain the things she'd faced out here, and help her to come to terms with what had happened.

  Then again, maybe knowing the truth behind all of this wasn't something she needed in her life.

  But she could make that decision herself, in time.

  Ashley dug her hand into her pocket, felt the cold metal of Kim's lighter, safe with her, and pressed on.

  She had no idea how she would explain things, or what lay ahead for her.

  There was still a hell trek to overcome before she reached anything approaching civilisation, and she had no supplies other than the clothes on her back.

  No food, no water, no shelter.

  Nothing.

  After everything she'd been through, Ashley realised something as simple as Mother Nature could actually be the death of her.

  But she wouldn't allow that to happen.

  She wasn't the same person as the one who had walked into those woods the day before.

  She would make it, and she would survive.

  Of that, Ashley had no doubt.

  THE END

  Also by Lee Mountford

  The Demonic

  Years ago Danni Morgan ran away from her childhood home and vowed never to go back. It was a place of fear, pain and misery at the hands of an abusive father.

  But now Danni's father is dead and she is forced to break her vow and return home—to lay his body to rest and face up to the ghosts of her past.

  But Danni is about to realise that some ghosts are more real than others. And something beyond her understanding is waiting for her there, lurking in the shadows. An evil that intends to kill her family and claim her very soul.

  Experience supernatural horror in the vein of THE CONJURING, INSIDIOUS and the legendary GHOSTWATCH. THE DEMONIC will get under your skin, send chills down your spine and have you sleeping with the lights on!

  The Demonic

  Author Plea

  I sincerely hope you enjoyed this book, and if you did I would like to ask a quick favour.

  If you would be so kind, it would be hugely appreciated if you could leave a review on Amazon for me. Reviews help independent authors more than you would imagine, so if you have the time and inclination, telling others your thoughts on this book would be immensely helpful.

  And if you do, I’ll thank you in advance for being such a superstar. You’re awesome!

  The Hobbes Hall Diaries

  Liked Horror in the Woods? It was just the start.

  A seemingly unrelated event took place in 2014. This diary is proof of that.

  But is there more to all of this than we realise? Sinister beings exist in a place beyond our understanding. And worse - they have turned their attention on us…

  Sign up to my mailing list to get your FREE BOOK!

  About the Author

  Lee Mountford was born and raised in the North East of England, in the small town of Ferryhill. Not much happens there, but it has a surprisingly dark history (seriously, just Google the Brass Farm Murders!).

  He is an emerging author with a huge passion for horror, and Horror in the Woods is his first novel.

  He still lives in in the North East of England, with his amazing wife, Michelle. They are currently expecting their first child.

  For more information

  www.leemountford.com

  leemountford01@googlemail.com

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks first and foremost to my editor, Josiah Davis (http://www.jdbookservices.com), for such an amazing job. If anything is wrong with this book, that’s on me. If anything is good with it, I’ll only take half credit! The rest is down to him.

  I’d also like to thank Dave Kawamoto, who kindly offered his services as a Beta-Reader. He offered up some fantastic suggestions that greatly helped the book.

  The cover, which I’m thrilled with, was supplied by Debbie at The Cover Collection (http://www.thecovercollection.com).

  Thanks as well to fellow author, and guru extraordinaire, Iain Rob Wright, for all of his fantastic advice and guidance. If you don’t know who Iain is, remedy that now: http://www.iainrobwright.com

  And the last thank you is the most important - to my amazing wife, Michelle. You are my world. Thank you for everything.

  Copyright © 2017 by Lee Mountford

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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