The Rattler (Rattler Trilogy Book 1) by P. A. Fielding

nightmare! What was it the diet leader had told one of her friends – smell all you want, just don’t touch.
    “Rubbish,”
said Zoe, and placed two bags of jam doughnuts into the trolley, followed
quickly by some vanilla slices. “Hm, two for a pound –
heaven!”
    As
she turned towards the checkouts someone bumped into her. It was Hagatha.
“Whoops, sorry,” said Zoe. The old woman, with her matted black and white hair,
stood there. She stared straight into Zoe’s eyes, and then gawped down at the
contents of the trolley. “ Little Miss Piggy ,” she said, loudly. Zoe,
stunned with fear, didn’t know what to do – run? Hide? Or, yell for help? However,
it didn’t take long before everyone in the store stopped what they were doing,
turned around, and joined in, shouting, “ Little Miss Piggy! Little
Miss Piggy!” It got louder and louder. Zoe began to cry. “It’s in the
past,” she sobbed, covering her ears to block out the chants. She collapsed on
the floor, coughing uncontrollably.
    3
    Zoe
woke up from her nightmare, struggling for breath and clutching at her throat.
She jumped out of bed, charged out of the bedroom, and dashed up the stairs to
the bathroom. She came to a stop over the toilet, slumped to the floor, stuck
two fingers down her throat, and made herself sick. “Just a bad dream, just a
bad dream,” she mumbled. Her breathing became a little more controlled and she
got to her feet. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and started to
splash her face with cold water.
    Zoe’s
emotions were everywhere. Her heart was still pounding, and she was sweating
from head to toe. She splashed her face again, and scrubbed her teeth. She
slowly calmed down. As she dried her face, she felt something in her right eye.
She bent down to the washbasin and rinsed her eye with water. Then, as she
looked back in the mirror, there she was – Hagatha, her matted black and white
hair all over the place.
    Zoe
freaked out, screamed, and fell to the floor. Her heart was pounding, and sweat
poured from every pore. She frantically and hysterically looked around the
bathroom. No-one. She was alone. Hagatha had
disappeared. Zoe’s nerves were pushed to the limit; tears ran down her face and
fell onto the floor. “It’s not real, and she’s not real,” she said, shaking her
head. A ghostly voice whispered around the room, “But I am, dear, and I know
you can hear me.” Zoe covered her ears. “I’m not listening! I’m not listening!”
she repeated over and over again. Panic well and truly set in as every part of
her body began to shake. A loud click from behind her made her turn,
horrified. No-one there. But then, unnoticed by Zoe,
the black shadow of a man glided past the door.
    The
atmosphere eventually started to change; there was an air of calm and peace.
Zoe stumbled to her feet, and peered out of the door. She was alone again. She
ran across the landing, down the stairs, pulled the bedroom door closed and
jumped into bed. With the duvet over her head, she willed herself to sleep...
     

14: The day after last night
    1
    Tuesday
morning, 10.30 am. Vana was knocking furiously on the front door. She took out
her phone and dialled Zoe. “Come on, Zoe, where the hell are you? I’ve been
banging on the door for the last ten minutes,” she grumbled, looking around the
house for signs of life.
    Zoe
struggled to wake up, turned towards the musical jangle coming from her phone,
and answered it, drowsily. “Hello, my wake up call.”
    “It’s
me! Come on, open up. I’m freezing my knockers off down here!”
    “Shit!
Sorry hun. I’ll be right down.” Zoe struggled out of bed and went downstairs.
She opened the front door. “Oh, my God!” cried Vana. “What’s happened to you?
You look as if you’ve been on the roofies last night. You remind me of Carla.”
Zoe looked a real mess; her face was pasty white, eyes black and blue, hair all
over the place, and there was a distinctly sweaty smell.