Elephant Pocketbook

After I started working at the zoo, I was added to a group chat called “A Hundred Ways to Kill a Human.” Every member had an animal as their profile picture. At first, I thought it was some quirky staff group. I even found it kind of cute. That was, until I realized they were discussing how to eat me. Pedro the Parrot: [The new human has beautiful eyes. I can’t wait till Christmas. I want to peck them out right now!] George the Gorilla: [Relax. There’ll be many visitors during Christmas. We’ll have more eyeballs than we can eat! Also, I’m calling dibs on her thigh.] Thor the Tiger: [Nobody’s taking her head, right? That’s mine.] Tucker the Elephant: [I’m a vegetarian, but I can crush her bones to dust.]

Barry Ocason, extreme sportsman and outdoor travel writer, receives a magazine in his mailbox and opens to an ad for an adventure in the Bavarian Alps. Initially dismissing the invitation, which seems to have been meant specifically for him, he soon finds himself involved in a larger plot and seeking answers to why an individual known only as the elephant man is terrorizing his family. Barry and his daughter Kristen, who survived a twin sister taken from the family at a young age, travel from Juneau, Alaska to the sinister Spider Festival in Rio Tago, Brazil, before he ultimately answers the call to Bavaria, where the puzzle begins to come together. Amid tribulation, death, madness, and institutionalization, a document emerges describing a scientist’s bloody bid to breed a theoretical “third twin,” which is believed to have the potential, through its connection with its siblings, to bridge the gulf between life and afterlife. The godlike creature that soon emerges turns out to be Barry’s own offspring, and she has dark plans for the world of her conception that neither her father nor any other mortal can stop. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Nakilala ni Angela Bautista ang dalagang mahilig sa pocketbook na si Heart Del Rio. Bitbit nito ang mga libro nito nang lumapit ito sa kaniya at binago ang takbo ng kaniyang mundo. Simula noon ay naging anino na niya ang dalaga. Naging maayos naman ang pagkakaibigan nila, ang kaso, pumasok sa eksena ang walang modo nitong kapatid na si Brian Del Rio. Inutusan siya ni Brian na layuan niya ang kapatid nito sa hindi niya maintindihan na dahilan. Kahit labag sa kaniyang loob ay sinunod niya ang binata at doon nagsimula ang kalbaryo ng buhay niya. Naging mas makulit pa si Heart at panay padala ito sa kaniya ng kung ano-ano na naging dahilan bakit na-chismis sila sa campus. Brian Del Rio to the rescue. Nagpanggap ang binata na ito ang nanliligaw sa kaniya para lang matabunan ang issue nila ng kapatid nito. Isang pagpapanggap na hindi dapat siya sumang-ayon. Maraming binitawan ang binata na mga pangako sa kaniya, but promises are meant to be broken. Hindi natupad dahil bigla na lang itong nawala at hindi na muling nagpakita pa sa kaniya. Dapat pa ba siyang maghintay? O dapat na siyang mag-move on dahil pagpapanggap lang talaga ang lahat?

“You’re trembling, Zarelia,” he murmured, his breath fanning my face. I hate this—how my body reacted to this monster. “I’m not. I hate you!” “Hate?” He chuckled, his eyes caressing my body. “You say one thing and your body says another.” My breath hitched. “You’re crazy.” “For your body? Yes, Zarelia. I am.” ~ ~ ~ What's worse than being branded as an adulteress, rejected by your mate and stripped of your title as Luna? Death? Wrong answer. Worse is being offered as a tribute to HIM. Kaelric Ashvyr Greythorne III The King of Alphas. A monster feared by all and hated by many. No one dared cross his path. Many hadn't seen his face but there were rumors. Some said he was half-human, half-beast. Others say he was the devil himself, with horns, and fangs long enough to drain an elephant in seconds. He'd killed an army of rebels by himself. Captured the Orc King himself… They say his immense strength and dark powers comes from the heart of people he eats every fortnight. Others say it is from eating the virgin womb of young maidens. I want nothing to do with him. I'd rather die. But my life was no longer in my hands. I must submit to survive this demon king. Only… submitting isn't easy. Not when he HATES the very sight of me. The feeling is mutual. And yet, behind those cold, hateful eyes… is a secret I was never meant to find out.