Saga of a New World - (Audiobook Available)

7. The Farm

"So, you and your family are farmers?" she asks him.

Fynn scowls as though he took the question as some sort of personal attack. "Yes. My parents are farmers. Why?"

Before Astrid can answer, the Sheriff hisses, "Shut up, you two. And keep your eyes open."

The rest of Fynn's farm shows no signs of life. The compound is deathly silent as they approach.

They hear a creaking sound. Lukas looks around and grabs his gun from his back.

Suddenly someone yells, "Hello. I'm unarmed."

Even though the voice is anything but hostile, Lukas, Noah and the Sheriff instinctively swing their weapons to point at its source.

It's a black-haired woman, wearing a dirty pantsuit with white sneakers, that comes around the corner to meet them. The Sheriff slowly holsters her weapon. "Madam Mayor?!" she more states than asks.

The woman quickly nods and waves for them to follow her. "I saw you coming from the forest. Quick, come inside. It's not safe out here." Her voice sounds hoarse like she has a cold or has gargled sand.

Astrid sees a gray shape come around the corner. Her heart skips a beat as the massive wolf runs towards them at full speed. Everyone raises their weapons, but by the time they react, the overgrown canine has already reached them.

Astrid barely manages a yelp before the dog charges past her and straight at Fynn. His eyes widen. The animal jumps, but not at him. Around him.

The others lower their weapons.

"Oskar? Is that you?" Fynn asks.

The wolf looks up at him and tilts his head, his tail wagging like crazy.

"I thought you were killed, but you came got back here faster than I did. God, you have grown quite a bit."

Astrid doesn't know what kind of dog Oskar used to be, but this thing is no longer a dog. He has gray-brown fur and standing on all fours basically reaches Fynn's stomach.

"You have a dog?" Astrid asks him. For some reason, she didn't expect him to be a dog person.

Fynn smiles. "Of course. This is Oskar. Oskar, say hi." Oskar looks at all of them in turn.

With a frown on her face, the Mayor clears her throat. "Hmhm. You can play with the wolf later. Come inside."

She turns and jogs towards the building with the smoking chimney. The others hurry after her. Oskar follows them to the doorstep, then stops and stares after them as they enter.

The inside of the building is dark, and when the Mayor closes the door, it plunges them into twilight. The small hallway has no windows and all the doors leading out of it are closed. The only light comes from up the stairs at the side of the hall.

"I see you're wearing a police uniform. Did you see the Sheriff?" the Mayor asks the Sheriff as soon as they're all inside.

The elf clenches her teeth, then says, "I'm Sheriff Winkler."

The Mayor looks taken aback for a moment, then a smile creeps across her face. "Ah. I see. Well, it's good you're here, Mrs. Winkler. Or is it Miss now? You are still married, aren't you?"

Astrid has no idea why the Mayor would ask that or why the Sheriff looks like she's about to explode. Before Astrid or anyone else can say anything, Noah clears his throat and asks the Mayor, "Ms. Pilinger, why are you here instead of in town?"

The Mayor's smile fades. In a quiet, solemn tone she says, "Something is terribly wrong with High Rock. There is this fog hanging over it. I have no idea what in God's name it is, but it... it does something to you."