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Rendezvous
by D.M. Slate

A slow, laborious breath escaped Raquel’s blood-stained lips.

Sprawled on the dirt near the water’s edge, her paralyzed limbs lay limply next to her body. With her head kinked motionless to the side, Raquel’s dilated eyes absorbed the tangerine hues of the Rocky Mountain sunset.

Deprived of oxygen, her body spasmed again, causing another quick inhalation.

Raquel knew that death would welcome her soon, and she yearned to feel its touch.

A crunch of dry grass broke her thoughts.

The puma’s massive paw depressed the marshy soil in front of her face, blocking her view of the horizon. She could feel the beast’s warm breath as it lowered its head, licking the gaping wound on the back of her neck with its sandpaper tongue.

Stars danced before her eyes.

The cat shifted its weight again, moving its paw to the other side of her body.

As her vision faded Raquel caught a glimpse of the tiny rowboat approaching. Her final hope was that her lover would not be joining her in death at their secret rendezvous.

Fiction © Copyright D.M. Slate
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from D.M. Slate:

Roots of Deceit

Fueled by the underlying currents of her daughter’s death, Gianna vows to unravel the mystery surrounding the foreboding apparition who keeps making appearances in her new home, but she’s not prepared for the grisly trail of clues that’ll unfold before her; testing not only her sanity, but her guilty conscience as well.

Zack and Gianna call on a team of paranormal investigators to start them in the right direction, and after the initial terror of the ghost’s presence begins to dull, Gianna finds herself sucked into a web of deception, lies and murder, as the ultimate questions are posed: who is the terrifying pale-faced ghost, and what does she want? As the secrets of the past reach their gnarled fingers out beyond the grave, grasping firmly onto Gianna’s soul, she starts to suspect her only neighbor, old farmer Peterson, of committing the unthinkable crime.

But finding evidence to prove a twenty-three year old murder is more difficult than Gianna anticipated, and when the ghost gets tired of waiting, she takes matters into her own hands; at which time the distinction between the two women begins to blur…

Available on Amazon!