OUTCASTS
Craig MacLachlan
(Independently published, Feb. 19, 2019)
Three young girls are kidnapped with no clues as to who took them or why. Six years later, they’re finally found, living naked and feral in the wilderness. Two of the girls are recovered by authorities, but the third escapes. After years of emotional and physical rehabilitation, sixteen-year-olds Skylar and Haley are ready to rejoin society and enter high school. But, when Skylar begins receiving threatening letters written in animal blood, she realizes that the normal life they’ve been constructing is about to fall apart around them.Skylar quickly joins the yearbook club and begins learning how to navigate the complex social hierarchy of teenagers, but Haley remains reclusive and withdrawn. Haley dreads that if they interact and get too close to their peers, someone will eventually uncover their past. A life Haley still misses, but Skylar doesn’t.Skylar becomes attracted to Trevor, the fallen school heartthrob, after she discovers his scent is strangely familiar to her. But Trevor shows no interest in Skylar despite her flirtatious and often animalistic advances. As the blood letters escalate in intensity and an unforeseen obstacle creates even more confusion, Skylar must risk exposing their past – and her own buried, horrible secret – to uncover the stalker before it’s too late.A secret that can turn her back into the feral creature she once was and loathes.