Chapter 99 Chapter 1 – Book Three “Desert King” (Archer’s Story)

Rachel Stevens worked hard all her life. She worked two jobs and was raising her 17-year-old little sister, Anna. It wasn’t easy, but she was doing it.

Their father died in a car accident when Rachel was just 12 and Anna was 7. Their mother died from cancer three years later.

Rachel, at 15, knew that Anna could be taken away and they would be separated in different homes. Their mother left a life insurance policy; it wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to pay the bills, food, and other expenses.

It wasn’t easy, and they had a few close calls when a well-meaning neighbor would start checking things out. Rachel also started to babysit after school in their home for extra money. Soon, though, Rachel realized that they were not going to be able to pay the mortgage on the house much longer.

So Rachel started looking for other places to live. She found a little trailer park just outside of town. It was mostly older people in their retirement years.

Their trailer was a normal size, and they would each have their separate rooms. It wasn’t anything glamorous, but it was clean and affordable. It was also comfortable; they made it their own.

Anna never complained about not having what other kids in her school had. She always told Rachel that being together was far more important.

The fact that there were two other families there with children Anna’s age helped out a lot as well.

They did keep their mom’s car. Rachel could have sold it, but she used it as a cover, to give the look that adults were living with them. She also learned how to drive and got her license. It was mostly, though, for emergencies; they couldn’t afford to have insurance and pay for the gas.

Now that she is older and working two jobs, the car went from emergency use only, to everyday use.

It was a good thing because, at the moment, Rachel had to work two jobs. Her sister, though a major nerd, is still 17 years old, and at that age, they are bound to do a little exploring. She was grateful that Anna turned out so smart and not so wild. Still, Rachel did worry.

She had enough time in her schedule to see her before she got on the bus for school and to pick her up at school. They would have dinner before she had to go to work again. Sleep and repeat.

Her jobs were not glamorous, but they paid the bills, and the second job was going toward Anna’s college fund. During the day, she worked as a maid in a fancy hotel uptown. Her second job was a janitor at night for a trade school.

She only had a GED education; she had to stop school in her last year because she had to get a job. The funds left from her mother’s insurance policy were running out.

There was no other choice. So she did her online school work from the library between taking care of Anna and working.

She promised herself that when Anna was off to college, she would focus on herself and what she wanted to do in the future.

To be honest, she hasn’t had much time to give any real thought as to what she wanted to do with her future. She never had a complete day off work.

She was just getting off from her night job; it was a little after one a.m. She had to walk to the other side of the parking lot to get to her car.

Janitorial staff was not allowed to park in the closer parking spots; they were reserved for students and faculty only.

She hated it because it was always so dark getting to her car, especially since there was an industrial park just on the other side of the campus.

She was just about halfway to her car when she heard a strange noise. It wasn’t very loud; it sounded like a snarl, and then there was a whimper and a moan.

She looked around to see where the sounds were coming from. In the distance, she saw two shadows that appeared to be fighting.

One was a man; the other looked to be a really big animal. It was too dark to tell, though. She was about to shout out to the man to look out when a hand covered her mouth.

She tried to get away, but whoever it was, they were too strong for her to fight. Just as she was about to bite their hand, the person behind her whispered in her ear.

“Be silent. I am going to take you with me back into the shadows so it doesn’t see you.”

She felt shivers going across her skin and heat welling up between her thighs. She had never had this kind of reaction before. She had tingles every place that he touched her.

Rachel went still and let the man take her back toward the campus and into the shadow of some trees.