The hunter, p.1
The Hunter, page 1
The Hunter
Eloise Hogan
Austin Macauley Publishers
The Hunter
About the Author
Copyright Information ©
Acknowledgements
Preface
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Epilogue
About the Author
Eloise Hogan, born in Melbourne in 1996, is an Australian author. Her creativity was evident from a young age, having tried her hand at baking, painting, piano, dancing, and pottery. She currently runs her own business as a makeup artist. An average day could find Eloise on set at an editorial photoshoot, getting a bride glammed up for her big day or behind the scenes of a short film applying special makeup effects.
Eloise is a lifelong reader, book lover, and bibliophile. She
reads voraciously and stacks her bookshelves with
everything from Stephen King and F Scott Fitzgerald to
Diana Gabaldon and JK Rowling.
The Hunter is her debut novel.
Copyright Information ©
Eloise Hogan 2022
The right of Eloise Hogan to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781398460713 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781398460720 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published 2022
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®
1 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5AA
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my parents Anne and John Hogan for raising me to be an avid reader and for always nurturing my creativity. Thank you for always supporting me in every endeavour and special thanks to Mum for being a fresh set of eyes for every draft of The Hunter, I couldn’t have done this without you.
Thank you to my sister, Laura Hogan for helping to proof-read the final draft and for picking up on many a punctuation error. I am so grateful and truly blessed to have the most supportive family in the world.
I owe a lot of thanks to Christopher Allen for inspiring me to write. His thrilling, adventure-packed stories sparked my love of creative writing from a young age and encouraged my wild imagination.
Thank you also to Sharyn Crick for fuelling my book addiction and for introducing me to the mystery genre through Nancy Drew and Two Minute Mysteries.
Finally, thank you to the team at Austin Macauley for giving me this incredible opportunity and for seeing potential in The Hunter. I am so appreciative to be able to see my work in print and to have reached this milestone.
Preface
I pushed my body, moving faster and faster through the wide expanse of trees. The thin, finger-like branches of passing trees grabbed at my hair, broke my skin and latched onto my clothes, like hundreds of frail hands trying to hold me back. I was running as fast as I could, stumbling over the vast forest before me. I could feel the pain of the pine needles and jagged rocks which left my feet stripped raw and bleeding but – I had to keep going; keep pushing forward.
Chapter One
The windows were frozen solid. Rain pelted hard against the windscreen as I drove at a snail’s pace, navigating my way through the storm and the thick forest of trees. I had never been a confident driver, and the long, winding road ahead of me did nothing to calm my nerves. Kenzie Thompson, age 24, was reported missing one week ago after she failed to return home from work. Police are asking anyone with leads or possible information…I shut off the radio, glad to have a moment’s break from the shrill, abrasive voice of the radio presenter. Ordinarily, I would have been intrigued by the announcement. I love listening to true crime podcasts and watching serial killer documentaries, but given my current surroundings, I was definitely not in the mood. With the looming forest, desolate winding road and tumultuous storm; I felt like I was about to star in my own real-life horror movie. Trees towered over me in all directions like leering giants, waiting patiently for my attention to waver when they would come to life and snatch me up.
I was driving through the Dandenong Ranges, a national wildlife park about an hour from Melbourne’s CBD. I had always loved the area, with its lush rainforest of trees, winding roads and gorgeous views from lookouts high up on the side of the mountains. For a local, the twisty gravel roads were easily navigated and could be driven at quite some speed. For visitors to the area, however, the winding roads proved dangerous and must be approached with caution. Countless tourists to the area lose their lives every year due to the rough driving conditions, the slick twisting roads and the steep declines down the side of certain stretches of the mountain.
I was on my way to my first date in almost a year. Most girls driving to a date would be excited; their greatest concern would be their outfit or whether they’d straightened the back of their hair properly, but I found myself trying to come up with any excuse to turn back. A thin layer of sweat had broken out over my forehead, and my hands trembled as I gripped the wheel, steering my car through the rain. As I drove, I ran my tongue over the scar on my lip, a nervous tick that had developed into a bad habit.
Luke and I had first met while I was out at a bottomless brunch at The Tortoise and the Hare for my friend Simone’s birthday. The Tortoise and the Hare was an up-and-coming restaurant and bar where Luke worked as a bartender. When I’d gone up to the bar to ask for another drink, one thing led to another and we ended up talking for the rest of the morning. There was a spark between us immediately. Since then, we had been texting nonstop, so by the time he finally asked me to have dinner with him at his house, I, of course, accepted immediately. It had been over six months since I’d met Luke that day at the bar, and part of me wondered if he was actually interested in me. Why had he waited so long to meet up with me? I shook the thought from my mind. He probably just had a busy schedule, or maybe wasn’t the kind of guy who was used to making the first move.
Despite the attempt to reassure myself, a panicky feeling was beginning to well up inside me. Is this too good to be true? When it came to dating, I didn’t have the best track record. I was a pathological overthinker and my mind was reeling with self-doubt as I thought back over my previous relationship. To say that things had ended badly with Mark would be a monumental understatement; but then again, things between us had never been healthy, even at the best of times. I glanced at the dashboard, it was already 7:20. I had told Luke I’d meet him at his house at 7:30 and I absolutely hated being late. The dense forest surrounding me was reduced to a blur as I fed my car more gas, pushing it faster down the winding dirt road.
I must be getting close. I couldn’t for the life of me remember the street name of the next turn. Reaching for my phone on the passenger’s seat, I let my attention drift from the road for a split second to check Google Maps. I hadn’t even straightened back up before a flash of movement darted through my peripheral vision. I reacted instantly, jerking the steering wheel violently to the left. I barely had time to register the sound of gravel crunching under my tyres before I crashed headfirst into the thick trunk of a mountain ash tree. The side of my head connected with the steering wheel and a searing pain broke out all over my skull. I felt the tender bruise forming on my temple, relieved to see that I wasn’t bleeding. I took in the smoke rising from my car and a weak groan escaped my lips. Leaning forward to peer over the dashboard, I saw the front hood of my car was now dented and billowing with steam. I took a deep breath and pulled the gear stick into reverse, applying my foot tenderly to the accelerator. The tyres spun hopelessly in the mud and the engine sputtered for a few seconds before the car turned off completely and a cloud of smoke was sent flying out of the bonnet. It wasn’t looking great, but it could easily have been a lot worse if I had missed the tree altogether and gone off the side of the mountain. Do cars really explode like they do in movies? I sat for a few seconds longer, contemplating my next move. I was pretty sure my car wouldn’t explode; the only thing I was sure of was that I am not a mechanic.
Deciding not to take the risk, I grabbed my keys and pushed my shoulder against the car door. The car door budged with a high-pitched metallic shriek, which cut through the quiet night. The noise was akin to nails on a chalkboard and sent an involuntary shudder through my body. I eventually managed to hoist myself up out of my seat and into the freezing night air. I covered the throbbing pain in my head with both hands and stumbled out further up the embankment away from my car. I flashed the light from my phone over the road but there was no sign of what had run out in front of me. There was, however, a boulder the size of one of my tyres planted right in the middle of the lane. In a way, it was a good thing I’d swerved to avoid whatever it was on the road because if I’d collided with this boulder there was no way I would have gotten back out of my car. It took about ten minutes and all of my remaining energy but eventually; I managed to drag the huge rock over to the side of the road, where it sat innocently as if it wasn’t capable of any such damage.
I pulled my eyes away from it, deciding, for now, to put it out of my mind as much as possible. What had run out in front of my car? I’d passed a kangaroo crossing sign a few kilometres back, maybe that’s what it was? Or maybe it had been a fox? Whatever it was, had gotten away and hopefully wasn’t injured. I wish I could say the same for myself. The throbbing pain in my head had partly subsided and was now just a dull ache. Realising my phone was on 5% battery; I forced my frozen, aching fingers to type a message out to Luke.
I crashed my car just up the road from your house, can you come and get me?
I stared at the message for a few seconds before tacking, I’m okay though, onto the end. I hit send once again and blew out a frustrated sigh. At least now someone knew where I was. I sat down on the side of the road trying to focus on anything other than the chill working its way deeper and deeper into my body. The cold and wet was seeping through my clothes and my skin was quickly turning a particularly ghastly shade somewhere between grey and blue.
I glanced back at my car, feeling a jab of pain at its mangled front end. It would need a tow truck and God only knows how much in mechanics bills. No new messages. The screen of my phone, now displaying 1% battery, flickered before draining completely of colour. I was plunged into a sudden darkness. My eyes swept over the expansive forest of trees around me and a tremor rippled through my body. I couldn’t escape the feeling that I was not alone. Don’t be stupid. I’ve just crashed my car in a dark forest with no way of contacting anyone…of course, my mind is playing tricks on me. I was just freaked out because of the storm. I tried to convince myself that this was all it was, but the shadows were closing in all around me and I could have sworn I saw a human-shaped shadow watching me from the other side of the road. My eyes locked onto the figure and I was momentarily rooted to the spot. The figure shifted forwards and my breath caught in my throat. I was still trying to convince myself that there was nothing to worry about when something else caught my eye. Although it was dark and the figure was obscured by the trees and thick sheets of rain, there was no mistaking the glint of shiny metal: a hunting knife protruding from his left hand. My body jolted backwards involuntarily as if I’d been slapped. The cold wind swept through my body and my legs were jelly as I unsteadily got to my feet. I searched frantically for an escape route but was surrounded by nothing but a wide stretch of forest and the same desolate dirt road that I had just come down. My car wasn’t going to be of much help to me and I certainly wouldn’t get far on foot. There was no sign of civilisation for miles and the chances were slim that a car would drive by to discover me just in time. I was alone. Well, almost alone.
I glanced back to where the figure had stood, but the small opening between the trees was now completely empty. My eyes focused as I strained to penetrate the shadows and the thick trees. A violent chill that had nothing to do with the weather rippled through my body. Had I imagined seeing the figure? I was already on edge after crashing my car and I had been thinking about how eerily similar my drive through the woods was to the beginning of a horror movie. Had the darkness and the storm played tricks on my mind? I sat back down on the side of the road, shivering from the cold. Roughly ten minutes had passed since I’d seen the figure in the woods, my eyes never straying from the clearing in amongst the trees. If there really was some maniac out here with a hunting knife, surely something would have happened by now. I must have imagined seeing him. It had just seemed so real…before I could contemplate any longer, a car rounded the corner and I was bathed in the bright lights of a sleek black Range Rover. The tyres splashed through the deep puddles pooling in the road, sending murky brown water high into the air. Luke pulled the car to a stop and stuck his head out the window and relief flooded my body.
“Need a ride?” He flashed me a perfect smile and my heart skipped a beat. I crawled into the front seat and immediately dripped mud and rainwater onto the floor beneath me. He smelled like aftershave and peppermint chewing gum. I took in his muscular arms and dark messy hair, which was lightly speckled with drops of rain. I was suddenly aware of how pathetic and drenched I must look. My teeth were chattering and my body trembled uncontrollably. I turned one of the air vents towards me and was greeted with a gentle blast of warm air.
“Ali, you look freezing! Why didn’t you stay in your car?”
I didn’t want to explain to him that I had thought my car would explode, so instead, I said, “I wasn’t out there for that long, thanks for coming to get me.” I ran my fingers through my hair, attempting to appear unbothered. Luke adjusted one of the dials on the dashboard and a wave of hot air erupted from the heat vents, enveloping my body in warmth. Luke peered through the windscreen. Looking out at my car, he let out a low whistle.
“That’ll definitely need a tow truck. One of my friends is a mechanic. I’ll give him a call as soon as we get back to my house, he owes me one anyway. I should have warned you about the roads up here; they can be a bit of a death trap if you’re not used to them.” His engine purred and we began to wind our way back down the road. I glanced back at the foreboding stretch of trees I had sat across from only a few moments earlier. In the safety and warmth of Luke’s car, I felt completely at ease. The chill was rapidly evaporating from my body and the hot air hitting me was beginning to dry my hair and thaw my frozen skin. But I couldn’t completely shake the image of the figure in the trees. A chill rippled through my body once again, despite the powerful heater. I conjured up the memory of the man in the shadows and the way he had stared at me from across the street. What did he want? I told myself to calm down. I was safe now, and the man was probably just a figment of my imagination. But as we sped off down the winding dirt road, I fixed my gaze out the tinted windows, unable to escape the memory of the shadowy figure and the glinting metal of his hunting knife.
Chapter Two
“I’m surprised your text came through, there’s not usually a lot of reception out here.” Luke looked away from the road briefly to glance in my direction, slowing his car to a crawl as the ground became exceedingly rough. The tyres creaked as we bounced over bumps on the road and dipped into potholes, the car lurching violently, making my stomach churn.
“It’s probably a good thing I didn’t try to drive over this road, I doubt my car would have made it.” I thought about my car, left abandoned and broken on the side of the road, and hoped that it wasn’t a total write-off. My car was my baby; it wasn’t fancy or particularly fast or attractive but it was mine and I loved it. It had taken me nearly a year to save up for that car and I didn’t even want to think about how much the repairs would cost.
“Yeah, sorry I probably should have warned you, the roads can get pretty rough around here.” Luke pulled into the driveway of an enormous log cabin style house, secluded and hidden away from the main road, framed by an abundance of trees. His was the only house for quite a few kilometres, and he had the massive property all to himself. Living out this far from the rest of the population had always intrigued me. On one hand, you had your privacy, no prying neighbours checking in on you whenever they wanted and no noisy traffic to keep you up at all hours of the night. But on the other hand, living here alone could be dangerous. What would happen if you fell down the stairs and couldn’t reach your phone? You might not be found for days if not weeks. The house was barely visible from the street; you wouldn’t know it was here unless you were specifically looking for it. This point left my mind as we crawled closer to the house. I gasped under my breath and subconsciously leant forward in my seat. The entire exterior was covered in a rustic timber façade and gigantic floor to ceiling glass windows. Delicate branches of ivy wove their way over sections of the house like intricate spider webs spun from lush green vines. I was at a total loss for words.
