RE: 'Your Story' - Steemit Story Chain #20 Where You Write the Story and 100 Whaleshares for the Winner

Part One

Sarah Jensen's jogging routine was as sporadic as a tropical weather; sunny now, rainy next.

As a forty year old, Sarah's busy life as a mother and a store owner took up most of her time. And yet, she found time today to engage in her favorite pastime.

Geared up in her running costume with a bottle of water in hand, she started her journey with her dog, Joey, by her side.
Many shops were closing up, the number of people who thronged them receded only to a handful. It was the way of life of the townsfolk; they put in a hard day's work, but the evenings were for their families.

She ran three blocks east toward Harper road, the main street through Ambience. Then she turned uphill toward Lake Charles, which formed part of the forestry reserve. Lake although it was called, Charles was a small brackish body of water surrounded by trees. It was more of a fish pond than a lake, and served as a fishing site for the men in Ambience.

She passed the rows of shops which littered the central business district of Ambience. A bakery, a hardware store and a few others. The sweet aroma of cakes assaulted her senses. Sarah wished she had money to treat herself to a cupcake after her jog.

She picked up speed, the thud-thud of her running shoes absorbed by the soft grass. Overhead, the sun slowly sank beyond the horizon, the vestiges of its rays falling on the trees and casting shadows on the ground. The skies belched out lightning and rumbled with thunder, suggesting imminent rainfall.

Uphill, the town was spread before her like a meal. On the farthest left, Mount Anya, the highest point of elevation at 215 feet stood erect, covered by a serpentine fog which cast its grey shadow on it. The St. Cyprian's Library sat squarely in the middle of the town, its black, gleaming gates firmly closed after 5pm.

Sarah meandered her way through trees, roots and twigs with Joey ahead of her, his delight evident in his wagging tail. The animal, enjoying the freedom and the air let out a sigh of canine contentment. He chased any organism he could find in the woods, until Sarah lost sight of him.
Her muscles protested and she halted, resting her back against a tree.

She struggled to catch her breath. It came out in spurts, her heaving chest a testament to the physical exertion. She took a long gulp of water, sliding down the stem to sit on its roots. Pellets of rain hit her skin. A strong wind which came in gusts harrassed her hair, lifting the trendrils from her hairline, threatening to remove her headband. It cleared all leaves in its path. The earthy scent of moist soil tickled her nose as the rains hit it. Suddenly fearful, Sarah called out for her dog.

“Joey?”

The groans and moans of the tree branches made it hard for Sarah's voice to have maximum impact. She called out again.

“Joey!”

When the canine did not respond with his familiar bark, a sense of foreboding gripped Sarah. On their own accord her feet moved. She picked up her discarded water bottle, her eyes combing the empty area for a sight of Joey's brown fur.
She journeyed around rotting leaves and creeping roots, her vision almost blocked by the darkness.

She berated herself for her lack of insight, going out for a jog in such a weather, and abandoning her dog. Her fingers squeezed her water bottle, and she forced herself to relax.

Sarah's movement halted the minute she sighted Joey's brown fur. He was hunched over a section of the soil, his paws busily scraping the earth.

A skull came into view.

Oxygen fled her brain, and her skin drained of blood. Her hands wrapped around her mouth as if to hold in the petrified scream that escaped anyway.

What was a skull doing in the woods?
Who had put it there? Whose head had it once been?

The questions flooded her brain as she stood, rendered immobile.

“Joey, heel.” The animal upon hearing Sarah's command moved to where she stood. His mouth had picked a dirtied paper from the soil, his saliva dripping onto it and blotting the ink. It contained a single message which chilled Sarah to the bone:

Call the cops.

Hello, this is my entry for the ‘Your Story' contest.