Chapter 1: Welcome Home
Sadie Callahan breathed in the calm and cool West Virginia Autumn air as her boots landed on the gravel driveway. She had just moved back home after finishing college in California. With her were her two loyal companions, Shadow, her calm, sweet, but cautious Black Labrador Retriever and Bruno, her rowdy, friendly, but fiercely protective Bernese Mountain Dog.
The front door of her father's house opened and two fast sprinting dogs bounced down the steps.
“Lucky! Ernie!” Sadie exclaimed, as the two dogs knocked her to the ground.
Lucky was an excited and loveable Tibetan Terrier who loved licking the inside of people's ears. Ernie was a Vizsla who had a “Don't mess with me attitude” and typically wanted nothing to do with people he didn't know.
“Boys! Get off of her.” A charismatic voice rang out.
It was Travis, Sadie's father. He gently pulled Lucky and Ernie off Sadie and helped her up. He hugged her so tight she had to tap his shoulder.
“Dad, you can release the bear hug now.” Sadie softly said.
“Sorry, baby girl. I'm just so glad you're home. Your long brown hair and gorgeous brown eyes still shine in the sun, as always!” Travis replied, as he stared into her eyes.
Sadie smiled proudly.
“And look at you! You haven't aged a day. Your short sandy blond hair and blue eyes still make women's hearts melt, I reckon.” Sadie remarked, ruffling Travis's hair.
Travis helped Sadie unpack her Ford truck. The dogs sort of helped…more like sniffing every box as it was placed in the living room. After the last box was brought in, Sadie plopped onto the couch and was immediately swarmed by the dogs.
“So, where's Jesse and Tyler?” She asked, looking at the picture of her and her brothers.
“Oh, they should be pulling up any second with your welcome home gift.” Travis said, as he handed Sadie a turkey sandwich with a glass of lemonade.
“This neighborhood still feels the same. It gives off the rural vibe but it's not rural.” Sadie admitted.
Travis laughed a bit as he pulled up the blinds.
“Yeah, living in a country town will do that to you. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins still live on Willow Brook Drive. They recently welcomed a fourteenth grandchild.”
“Mrs. Jenkins made the second best pumpkin pie when I was growing up. Mama always made the absolute best pie of any kind.” Sadie said, devouring the last piece of sandwich.
The front door opened and Jesse poked his head in, his ear length brown hair catching the sunlight just right. His blue eyes were shining.
“There's my little sister! Hey girl! Do me a favor and close your eyes.” His voice sounded like he wanted to reveal the surprise but knew he couldn't.
Sadie rolled her eyes but closed them anyway.
“Alright Tyler, bring it in.” Jesse whispered.
“Okay, Sadie. Open them!” Tyler said, sounding very excited.
When Sadie opened her eyes, Tyler placed a small Bloodhound puppy in her lap. A big goofy smile stretched across his face.
“Awwww! It's so cute!” Sadie squealed.
Tyler ran a hand through his short blond hair.
“Yeah, Farmer Bob’s dog Sugar had a litter of eight but no one wanted the runt. But Bob knew you were coming home and offered to give him to you for free.”
Sadie looked into the puppy's eyes, then looked at Tyler.
“Hey, Tyler. Do you remember when I was younger and I couldn't pronounce the color green every time I tried describing your eye color? So I would just say you had Rusty eyes? I'm naming this little fella Rusty.”
“That's a fitting name for a dog who's probably going to grow up howling all the time. Green was always just a hard word for you to pronounce back then. I still wonder why.” Tyler replied, looking at the now sleeping pup.
“I have no idea. All I know is that I want to watch a horror movie.” Sadie said, as she made her way to the movie stand.
“Of course you do.” Travis smiled
Sadie was hoping for her life to go back to normal- seeing familiar faces, catching up with old friends and hiking. But her town had other plans that would plunge her into her own horror story.
