Snapshots

An Unexpected Gift

GENRE: Young Adult/Paranormal, suitable of 13 and up

When Parker and her mother move to a small town in Georgia they discover that an evil presence is upon it. Unbeknownst to them, that evil will trigger a long dormant 'gift' within Parker, something that will allow her to not only detect evil in its many forms but combat it as well.

This is an excerpt from the upcoming book, An Unexpected Gift, by Tawa Witko & Deanna Milda

Prologue

"Hello?"

"Dr. Mathewson, your 4:00 is here."

"Thank you, Carol. I'll be right up."

She took a calming breath and then headed up the flight of stairs at the end of the long hallway. When she reached the door to the waiting room she took one more cleansing breath before stepping through it. She glanced around the near empty space and saw Brody immediately. He had his head down and was mumbling and shaking his head. That was not a good sign. Samantha cleared her throat and smiled when Brody looked up at her.

"Hello, Brody. Come on down."

He rose and followed her, not making a sound, which was definitely not his typical behavior. He was usually a chatterbox and wanted to tell her everything going on around him. She smiled once again at him as she got to her office and opened the door, allowing him to step inside as she followed behind him. He took his usual seat except this time he sat straight up, watching as she sat down.

"How are you feeling today, Brody?"

"Are you a Christian, Dr. Mathewson?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Are you a Christian?"

"I was raised Lutheran but I don't really practice anymore, why?"

He was silent for a long moment as he contemplated her answer. He had never asked her about her spiritual preferences before and she generally didn't talk about things like that in session, but she needed to know what was going on, and if answering a few personal questions allowed him to open up then she would do it. Samantha continued to stare at him, paying close attention to his body language. He seemed uncharacteristically stiff in his chair.

"I can't talk to you anymore."

"And why's that, Brody."

"Because I was told that I can only talk to Christians."

"Well, I may not practice my faith as much as I used to but I don't remember reading anything in the bible that says only Christians can talk to Christians. I thought we were supposed to love one another as God loves us." At the mention of God she saw him visibly shake. "You know, I remember hearing in many of the bible stories that the devil would often disguise himself as an angel to trick people. Do you know any of these stories, Brody?"

His brows scrunched together tightly and he looked confused. Samantha wasn't sure what was bothering him, but after her experience on Monday night, she knew something was going on. In fact, she was witnessing something happening right before her eyes. The way Brody was acting and talking was unusual to say the least and he now appeared to be listening to someone.

"Brody, are you hearing something right now?"

He nodded.

"What are you hearing?"

His face paled for a moment. "He's saying that you're a bad person and that you're trying to stop me from doing God's work."

"I'm not a bad person, Brody. You've known me for a long time. I care about you and your well-being. I want to help you."