Page 1 of Finders Reapers

Chapter 1

My feet were bare, and the road was hot, but I couldn’t feel the burn.

Orange striped hills poked up from the skyline, boxing in the desert valley. Patchy trees watched from the side of the road, their limbs twisting like reaching limbs. The sky was a clear azure blue, without a cloud in sight.

Living in Las Vegas meant that I was no stranger to the desert—but I knew what it felt like to stand on hot asphalt without shoes.

My feet should have been blistering.

I should have feltpain.

Heatwaves rose off the road in ripples, turning the air to a rainbow shimmer. I was not dressed for hiking through the desert. My dress skimmed my thighs and crossed over like a harness. Enough to know that when I made it home, I would have a weird-ass tan that I would have to explain to my followers.

My dress was too tight for pockets, and I had no purse.

No purse = no phone.

Ineverleft my phone behind.

I was dressed for a party, but I couldn’t remember why. I couldn’t remember much of anything.

No cash. No phone. No car.

A road meant cars. Someone would have to be along soon. Maybe I could use their phone to call someone or hitch a ride back to the city.

My feet lined up with the stripes that ran down the center of the pitch-black road. Steeling myself, I began to walk towards the mountains that edged the road like cupped hands.

I didn’t know how long I walked.

The road continued on and on. The trees all looked the same. I walked the same section of road over and over without getting any closer to the mountains in the distance.

I didn’t tire. I didn’t ache.

Why couldn’t why I was in the desert?

The sun never moved across the sky.

I was ready to give up and sit on the side of the road when I spotted a car in the distance. A red Mustang raced down the curling road, leaving the horizon in its rear view mirror.

Like most people with a vagina, my first reaction to the idea of hitchhiking wasn’t‘oh great! I’m saved!’ but more along the lines of‘fuck, I hope I don’t get raped.’

The car, racing through the desert fast enough to leave a dust cloud in its wake, was coming, and it was my one shot at getting back to civilization.

I had to roll the dice.

I stepped to the edge of the road but didn’t have to wait long before the roaring sound of the mustang’s ignition filled the air.

The car zipped past without stopping.

I cursed and stamped my foot, turning at the waist to follow the car with my eyes.

“Cazzo!” I barked through gritted teeth.

Was I invisible or something?

I wrapped my arms around my chest.

Where was my phone?