Read Kniam: A Terraneu Novel Online
Authors: Stormy McKnight
Kniam: A Terraneu Novel
Copyright pending , Stormy McKnight
Cover Art by Brandi Doane McCann
Published by Stormy McKnight
Kniam is a work of fiction and the characters, events and
dialogue found within the story are of the author’s imagination and are not to
be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, either
living or deceased, is completely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to
digital copying, file sharing, audio recording, email and printing without the
permission in writing from the author.
Amber was on a “happy to be divorced vacation”. She had taken her share
of the equity in the house, various accounts and had decided to do something
totally crazy! It had taken her a year, but she had planned the perfect trip to
Scotland. She had always wanted to visit. So she decided to throw caution, and
some of her savings, to the wind and just do it. Maybe in her wildest fantasy
she was here during the warmer months, but let’s not get carried away. All the
money that she was saving by traveling during December was the best decision.
Being solo, she was the only one with a say. She got to choose each stop and
how she was going to get from point A to point B. For now it would be just
Amber, having the time of her life…at least that had been her plan. What went
wrong? Well to answer that we need to take a closer look at that last stop in
Scotland.
She was at the perfect little Bed
and Breakfast. Right by the most picturesque countryside the Scottish Highlands
offered. She had checked in last night, gotten a chance to talk to the owner,
and then headed for bed…exhausted. At forty-six she wasn’t
that
old, but
she certainly felt old! In her humble opinion, she was a typical woman. Maybe
she had put on a “few” pounds and gotten more lines around the eyes and mouth.
Who hasn’t dammit? Working long hours and stress take their toll on everyone.
If she could afford Botox, HgH or a tummy tuck, and liposuction that all the
celebrities swear by…then maybe she wouldn’t have been in Scotland alone! Ha!
It would take a lot more than that to fix this American diet disaster! Her
blond hair from youth had turned mousy and thinned over the years. Her perfect
38DD breasts had turned to 38DD long…make that extra long! Gravity is such a
relentless bitch! She was 5’ 6” of…plump perfection. Yeah, she would go with
that.
So here she was in the gorgeous little B&B, and if she hurried she
could catch the sunrise from the little knoll she had spotted on the way in.
She put on her winter hoodie, one of those animal ones with the long
attachments to tuck your hands into at the bottom. Her coat was next…a “have a
great trip in the Highlands” gift from her best-friend Jennifer. They had been
sitting around chatting the night before she was to depart, talking about…well
talking about what best friends talk about. With a flourish Jen had presented
her with a box, then had jokingly said her gift went with her animal hoodie!
With avid curiosity she had opened the box. Inside was a muddy brown, faux fur
monstrosity of a coat, with matching boots! She was sure that this ensemble
looked great on the runway…on her it looked ridiculous. With warm hugs, and
happy “man hunting”, which she had protested wasn’t happening on this trip, she
had said good-bye to Jen.
“I really wish you could come with me Jen. It would be great for you to
get away.”
Jen had sighed, “Then who would take care of the apartment complex while
I was gone? You know I can’t afford to pay someone to take over, and before you
offer again…No, you won’t help me pay for it.”
Amber had just opened her mouth to do just that, so gave Jen a rueful
look. “Ok. I get it. I know you want to try to make this place profitable…but
you don’t have to work your life away. You know you are getting old!” This was
a common joke between them, since Jen was a few years younger than she was.
“I am positively ancient!” Jen shot back, her blue eyes sparkling with
amusement, “You go and have fun on your trip. Meet some hot guy, and have wild
sex all over Scotland!”
Amber laughed at the memory as she secured the scarf around her neck. She
grabbed mittens in case the hoodie wasn’t enough and stuffed her feet into the
big thick snow boots. She was finally ready. She lumbered down the stairs,
laughing as she passed a mirror! Holy crap! She looked like a tundra yeti that
had rolled in mud! She would not be attracting tons of men in this outfit!
The owner of the B&B, Mr.
McPherson spotted her heading out and called out a warning, “
Dornt be lang Amber lass.
There’s a wee nip in th’ air
.” She had met him last night when she had
checked in. He reminded her of Sean Connery, only with more inactivity and good
food around the middle. He was a really nice, grandfatherly type of guy. His
wife had passed away, and his only surviving relative was a granddaughter. They
had only been able to have the one child for medical reasons, and that daughter
had only had the one daughter too. Mr. McPherson’s wife and daughter had both
passed away a long time ago, Amber hadn’t wanted to pry so didn’t ask what had
happened. His granddaughter was all he talked about though. He was very proud
of her and went on and on about Mairi. She had been in America for the longest time,
and had returned a few years ago. However, now Mairi was ill from some type of
cancer and the prognosis wasn’t good. Mr. McPherson had gotten very sad when
talking about his granddaughter’s current health, Amber had offered her
sympathies and they had kept talking well into the night.
He was a likeable person, and she
found they had a lot in common. She hoped that things looked up for him soon,
since tourism was down in the area. He had told her he was thinking about
selling off and moving him and Mairi to a smaller place. She was in assisted
living, but he wanted to try hospice. That way when her health took a turn for
the worse, he could be there for her. He was very devoted to his granddaughter
and Amber had felt a huge sense of melancholy at the whole situation. If she
had the money she would think about buying this place, it was amazing. She knew
that she didn’t have near enough! Mr. McPherson owned everything from, “
haur tae thaur
!”
which she took to mean “a lot!”
As if sensing her turn into depression,
and being a good host Mr. McPherson had switched the topic over to her.
What
did she do for a living
? She was an office clerk.
What were her hobbies
?
Gardening but since she lived in an apartment now, it was mostly house plants.
Did
she have any family
? No, her parents had passed, no other family.
Did
she have pets
? No, again. Apartment living and working had kept her from
getting another pet. Maybe when she got back from this trip she should think
about going to a shelter and get a rescue pet.
Did she have many friends
?
A few…
A boyfriend
? No. Even though the marriage was dead long before the
divorce, no new boyfriend, hook-up, one night stand…nothing in over a year now.
She was happy with her single status, yeah she would keep telling herself that.
On into the night they had talked until Amber with a huge yawn had excused
herself to get some sleep.
She shook her head to break herself out of last
nights memories, smiled at him as she passed, “I won’t be very long Mr.
McPherson. I just want to watch the rest of the sunrise on the knoll, I am all
bundled up like a tundra yeti. I think I’ll be safe from the cold, it’s those
fairies I need to watch out for!” She waved cheerily at him, and strode
outside. She wondered what he would consider a “wee nip” right after she had
that thought, she shivered. The wind was biting! If this was a “wee nip” she
didn’t want to see what he considered “cold!” Shaking her head she realized she
was going to need these mittens! With a determined bounce in her step she
headed off.
She had been admiring the Highland surroundings,
when she came to a fork in the path and had to make a decision. Right would
take her to straight ground, maybe a soft spot to watch the sunrise. Left would
take her to higher ground. Her ex-jerk’s voice spoke in her head, “Maybe if you
got off your fat ass and exercised once in awhile, we could do things
together." Well that settles it, just to spite her ex-husband, to the left
and higher ground it is!
Amber labored along for a while until with a frown she glanced around.
The path was growing more and more narrow. Not to mention, the snow was getting
deeper and the air more frigid. Darn it all, if the light that was filtering
through the trees was any indication, she had missed the sunrise. Turning
around to head back was the best idea. She turned on the spot and had taken a
few steps forward when she suddenly slipped on ice. In normal circumstance she
would have been fine. She was no ballerina, but she wasn’t a total klutz
either. In this instance her left foot went forward, her right foot went back.
Her arms were waving in the air. She tried to adjust her balance, and just
ended up with her left foot back, and her right foot forward. Again and again,
she did a little dance on the ice, her feet slipping this way and that her arms
rolling around like she was swimming in air. Then with a final pirouette, she
slid right off the side of the path. This wouldn’t have been a problem if she
had landed on a flat surface, but she hadn’t. She flopped into a pile of snow
on her stomach and then continued right down the side of the hill. She was
cutting a wide path down the knoll the snow, leaves, sticks and muck all stuck
to her as she went. The vocabulary coming out of her mouth decidedly R-rated.
After a small drop and crack! She slid to a stop on what seemed to be a
small frozen pond on her stomach? It wasn’t very large, from what she could see
on her belly, was actually only about 6 ft. wide. She did a quick inventory of
her aches and pains. She was surprisingly undamaged, her clothes were rumpled
and a complete mess, but not ripped where she could tell. Her hands stung, from
injuries or the cold she wasn’t sure, but she didn’t think anything that
required a doctor or stitches. Her mittens had gone flying, but she still had
the rest of her winter gear. She placed her hands on the “ice” to push herself
up, but ended up slipping even more. Cursing, she rolled onto her back and with
a grunt got up into a sitting position. Whew! Using her hands braced next to
her hips she was getting ready to push herself to her knees, when there was a
sudden eerie fluorescent glow from under her bottom. She tried to turn around
to look down and felt what can only be described as a “flushing” sensation.
It was what she imagined being sucked through a straw would feel like.
She had seen enough wormholes on television and movies, to compare what she saw
flashing past her to that. She couldn’t feel herself moving, and at the same
time lights were flying by way too fast. She felt the pressure building in her
head until a welcome blackness engulfed her.