Wynonna Earp - The Book

Chapter 1 - Purgatory

A loud bang from the coach brought the woman reeling back to reality. "Oh, Christ!" the coach driver muttered to himself as he shifted the gear stick, ready to pull over and inspect the problem.
"That's it," Kiersten said, bring the woman's focus over to her, "I'm going to burst." As she began to get up to use the coach toilet, a tall woman walked past her and proceeded to enter it.
"No!" Kiersten sighed, slumping back down in her chair dejectedly. "Time to introduce Chestnut Latte to the Badlands." As Kiersten got up and began to walk to the front of the coach, the woman finally spoke.
"Kiersten... don't go out there." She stopped walking to turn and look at the woman.
"Why?" she asked, slightly confused.
The woman knew the one rule when travelling through the Badlands and surviving; don't get off the coach. "It's dark," she said, looking out of the window.
"Pretty and smart," Kiersten stated jokingly, "We're gonna get along just fine!" With that, Kiersten proceeded down the aisle and followed the driver off of the coach. The woman sat back in her seat.
As Kiersten proceeded toward the shelter of the terrifying trees, the driver stayed within the safety of the coach's light. He knelt down next the front tire, using the tire iron as support as he lowered himself. Cautiously, he reached in-between the framework and the tire to see what had pierced it, causing them to stop. As his hand retracted, he found a blade. It had been lodged into the wheel in such an awkward position that it must have been put there by hand and not just lying on the road. Behind him, he heard the sudden sound of rustling leaves followed by a guttural growl. This sudden movement, along with the suspicious flat tire, made the driver want to get out of the Badlands as soon as possible.
Inside the bus, the passengers began to chatter. After hearing the gut-wrenching screech, the woman turned her head to see what was going on.
"Did you hear that?" asked one passenger.
"Yeah!" another replied.
Everyone on the left side of the bus got up and moved to the right side to look out of the window to try and decipher their current situation.
Another terrifying scream was heard.
Further in the woods, Kiersten was busy trying to find her way out of the place. She stopped suddenly when she heard the first growl. "Hello?" she asked as she unintentionally ventured further into the wooded area. With each step she took, the leaves crunched. A second scream was heard. Kiersten stopped in her tracks. Fear had infiltrated her mind, body and soul. Slowly, she retreated backwards, her breath heavy.
A third and final shriek was heard. This was the last straw for the driver. He ran back onto the bus and closed the doors.
"What's going on?" the woman asked. She needed someone to rationalise the situation for her.
"Sit down. Everyone sit down." The coach driver stuttered. "We're leaving." Another hair-raising wail was heard. Everyone turned their head towards the source of the sound.
"I've heard this before," the woman said, backing away from the window.
"Wolves?" someone asked her.
"Something's outside," the driver stated.
The woman snapped back to reality and turned to face the driver. "Yeah, a passenger!" she stormed down the aisle and towards the driver.
Meanwhile, Kiersten had suddenly been knocked over by a hidden force. She dropped to the ground, her knees in pain. That same force began to drag her body backwards. She tried to stop moving by grabbing the ground but failed. Through a mixture of fear and anger, she screamed as loud as her lungs would allow it.
Back on the bus, the passengers heard Kiersten's scream. "We have to do something," the woman said to the driver.
"Yeah, drive!" a passenger said. The driver was conflicted. Should he save the girl, or save himself?
"Come on, we can't just leave her!" the woman said in disbelief. She couldn't believe that they wanted to leave the girl to possibly die!
"You'd have to be nuts to go out there," the driver said, making up his mind. The rest of the passengers' mutter in agreement and encourage the driver to leave. The woman gave them all one last look of disbelief. She shook her head, then grabbed the tire iron and pulled open the doors.
As she ventured into the forest, she began to regret her decision. The only comfort she held was the knowledge that it was the right one. Before she had even ventured further than 15 feet away from the coach, she heard the engine restart and begin to drive off. "Assholes!" she said to herself as she continued to walk further into the darkness of the woods. "Hey!" she shouted as she ducked under a fallen tree branch, "If you hurt her, I'll kill you!"
Another guttural scream was heard. "Kiersten?" The woman shouted over the terrifying sound. She was eager to get Kiersten and leave the Badlands. The further into the forest she went, the more she felt as if it were pointless. "Let her go! We're armed!" she shouted at Kiersten's unknown captor. "Badly," she muttered to herself, ducking under another fallen tree trunk. She continued to walk until she spotted a parting in the leaves. It looked as if someone had been dragged along the floor. She followed the trail with her eyes until she saw it. "Oh, my God!" she muttered. Kiersten's severed head sat on a makeshift pyre, her eyes glazed over and cloudy.
A shriek originating from a mound of branches grabbed the woman's attention. A pair of piercing red eyes were all that could be seen in the darkness of the night. The woman stumbled back into the leaves, her heart pounding in her chest. The sight of Kiersten's head had sickened her to her very core. Suddenly she was violently pulled back by her feet and tossed against an old oak tree. A short scream of fear escaped her lips. She stood up, panting and stumbled over to where she had dropped the tire iron. As if he had super speed, a man came running towards her, swiping at her face. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!" she screamed in anger. Another scream followed by a swipe at her face caused her to get knocked down to the ground once again. A noise from her phone grabbed her attention. The 'Happy Birthday' jingle played. As she looked up to the sky, she felt a weird feeling encompass her. It felt as if she had the strength, power and confidence of 10,000 warriors. A small smile appeared on her face as she sat up. She was ready for whatever faced her next. "Head rush!" she said as she breathed deeply.
She looked up to see a man in a denim jacket racing towards her. She swiped in a circular motion with the tire iron and hit him square in the jaw. After throwing a mean right hook and powerful kick straight to the chest, the man was on the ground and writhing in pain. She screamed and dove at him. Skilfully, she plunged the tire iron into his left eye. He grabbed the makeshift weapon and tried to pull it out of his eye. He got up and crouched on a pile of twigs, smiling gleefully at the woman, his red eye glowing in the darkness. He pulled and pulled at the tire iron, finally pulling it out his eye, a small squirt of blood splattering on the leaves below. He turned and smiled at the woman, growling like an animal. A glowing symbol appeared on the side of his face. It looked like it had been etched into his skin with a knife of some type and was on fire all at the same time. He suddenly jumped up and seemed to disappear.
The woman's phone began to ring again. She regained her focus and pulled it out of her pocket, her breathing heavy. It was a message from her sister which read; 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY! xx'
She walked back to the cobbled road. By this time, the sun had begun to rise, turning the sky into a light green. The woman walked along the road, the dirt crunching under every step. "Welcome home, Wynonna," she muttered to herself as she passed a sign. 'Welcome To PURGATORY. Only 7 miles away. You'll Never Want to Leave!'