She Returns from War

EPILOGUE



Early morning sunlight streamed through the windows, making Victoria's eyes sparkle like a mountain lake in summer. She rested her head against the glass, watching the distant mesas march past beneath the empty sky. The train swayed gently as it clacked and clamored along its route. Victoria could feel sleep coming for her, peering into each row as it stalked up the aisle, eager to cover her in its warm embrace.

Somewhere behind her, another car followed hers over the winding steel rails. Inside, her luggage was doubtlessly bouncing and thumping in time to the clacking and swaying. Beside it sat an ordinary coffin, unadorned and simple. Victoria never imagined herself traveling with such a thing, but she would not refuse Cora her dying wish to be buried next to her husband. Sheriff Morgan had offered little resistance, saying that Victoria was as close to kin as the old hunter had. He seemed eager to rid himself of the whole affair, and Victoria didn't blame him for it. Only a few short months ago, she would have felt the same.

Her thoughts drifted far away from the desert, lingering in a moonlit spring night, one that seemed so long ago now. Instead of the hulking shapes and burning yellow eyes of the hounds, she remembered the fine cut of her father's overcoat and the way her mother's hat seemed to forever teeter on the verge of slipping off. In her drowsy haze, Victoria could almost feel the soft scratching of her favorite scarf, and a dreamy smile spread beneath her tired eyes.

Around her, other passengers spoke in hushed tones, trading gossip and rumors like currency. Sunlight flashed and jumped along the windows, sending brilliant spears dancing through their hair and across their faces. Oblivious to them, the young woman slept, lulled by the gentle rocking of the train as it carried her out of the unforgiving wilderness and back toward the green fields and quiet rivers of her home.





About the Author


Lee Collins has spent his entire life in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. Despite this (or perhaps because of it), he generally prefers to stay indoors reading and playing video games. As a child, he never realized that he could create video games for a living, so he chose to study creative writing at Colorado State University. Upon graduation, he worked as an editorial intern for a local magazine before securing a desk job with his alma mater.

Lee's short fiction has appeared in Ensorcelled and Morpheus Tales, the latter of which awarded him second place in a flash fiction contest. In 2009, a friend challenged him to participate in National Novel Writing Month, and the resulting manuscript became his debut novel, The Dead of Winter.

In his spare minutes between writing and shepherding graduate students at his day job, Lee still indulges in his oldest passions: books and video games. He and his girlfriend live in Colorado with their imaginary corgi Fubsy Bumble.

leecollinsfiction.com

@leecollinsfict





Acknowledgments

Thanks always to my constant companion and best friend Tori for standing strong against my legions of writing grumps. Thanks to my wonderful beta readers for their donations of time and invaluable advice, to my editors Lee and Marc for their keen eyes and keener cuts, and to Darren and Mike for their fantastic work. Thanks to everyone at ChiCon 7 for making my first official convention such a lovely experience. Finally, thanks to my brother Joe for his enthusiasm, support, and generous gifts of alcohol.