THE LODGER
Synopsis:
A woman is left homeless after a fire destroys her apartment building. At the same time, a severe thunderstorm warning is issued. Trying to get out of the city at night in a downpour while caught in heavy traffic she makes a wrong turn. Evelyn finds a farmhouse by accident. About to knock and ask directions, the door creaks open.
Based on the character Evelyn Adrian from Magic Moon, Book #1 in Bad Mojo: The Complete Series.
Excerpt:
The old dark house stood alone on the right side of a dirt road. Power lines came down when severe thunderstorms tore through southern Louisiana earlier in the day. She got a flashlight from the trunk of her car, and climbed the steps to the wraparound porch. A cool breeze rippled her T-shirt. Lightning cast her elongated shadow onto the door. About to knock and ask directions, the door creaked open. Evelyn backed up. A wind gust whipped her long hair in a frenzy. She took a deep breath and quickly exhaled.
“Hello?” she called out in a soft tone, nudging the door open wider with the flashlight.
Standing in the foyer at the foot of the stairs, she cast the beam high and low. On her left was the living room. A hallway separated it from the stairs. She poked her head through the doorless entrance long enough to see that the room was large and partially furnished. The light threw a shadow on a cheap seascape hanging off-kilter on the wall. There are no other doors in the living room. No reason whatsoever to set foot in the unwelcoming space.
A slow and deliberate inspection of the first floor revealed no one lives there anymore.
Or does it just appear that way?
