The Hybrid Princess

CHAPTER ONE

I named my new Jeep Baby Blue. She rides great! The radio and the bass sound awesome when I crank up my favorite Country Music!

I am not very used to driving, so I have to stop frequently. But that’s fine. I am not in a hurry and can take my time. The scenery is boring till I get to the East side of Arkansas. Then finally there are interesting things to see.

When I reach Tennessee, I stop at the welcome center, and get all kinds of brochures and maps. Once in the Jeep I start looking at the maps. Looks like about twenty miles outside of Knoxville I will have to get on little back roads. They were not kidding when they said there was one way into Sandersville. I almost did not even find it on the map!

I stop and do a lot of touristy things along the way. A couple days later I turned off onto the back roads. Good thing I got a jeep!

The day is nice and sunny so I pull over and take the top down.

A couple hours later as I am expecting to enter my new town, I come to a road block. Two very large muscle men who could not be popping out of their uniforms more without busting the seams come out of a guard shack.

Hello Miss. May I ask where you are headed? Not many travel this road. Are you lost? He asks very nicely. He smells like a moss covered wet dog.

Hi! I do not think I am lost. I inherited my uncle's cottage. Here is the address, and directions, This town coming up is the last one I go through. The cottage is about ten miles past the other end of the town.

The other officer is looking in the jeep, and smiling at Mr. Blackie.

The talker takes the papers and looks at them. What is your name? What was your uncle's name?

Josie Dodson. My uncle was Robert Gettingson.

Ok. Just a moment. They walk back to what seems to be a permanent guard shack. I see the talker is on the phone. After about five minutes he comes back, and says I am clear to pass.

Can you tell me why there’s a road check here?

We are a private town. This road is the only way into private land just past your land. We just want to keep everyone safe. It is very unusual to have people come out this way.

Is there going to be any problems with me living here?

Oh no not at all! You are very welcome here. We knew in advance that one day you would come here. Just give the town people some time to get to know you! Start with the diner! See you around little wolf!

He smiles and waves his hand at the other guy and he opens the bar blocking the road. Then I smile back and drive through.

The town is cute! It looks like one of those tiny Swedish towns with all the buildings all squished together! One thing I notice very fast is there’s only one diner in town. There’s no fast food at all!

There is a tiny grocery store. I guess I am going to be learning how to cook or becoming very friendly with that diner!

There’s some clothing shops, a bakery, a coffee place, a huge hardware store, a gas station, thankfully a bookstore, and a small hotel that looks like perhaps six rooms at the most!

Every shop / building looks to have an apartment on top of it. If I can figure out the food problem, I think I can make this work.

I better, since everything is free!

Not too far out of the other side of town, I find my driveway. It is a little overgrown dirt driveway.

There are huge trees that line both sides, I always loved driveways that had trees down both sides in pictures I saw.

About 500 feet up the driveway there is a solid gate. When I push a button it opens. Just being able to push any button does not sound safe to me.

I continue up the driveway that seems to go on forever! Finally I come to a clearing that is also overgrown that has a nice looking little house with a wrap around porch that is screened in. Pale yellow siding that screams for a touch of paint.

Green vines with purple little flowers are growing in the walls of the house.

Out front is a red beat up Ford F150 pickup truck. Next to it is a Black SUV that looks a lot like the lawyer's SUV. Standing next to the suv is a man.

As I come to a stop the man walks up.

Hi! I am Dennis Townsand! I have been keeping an eye on the place for you!

Hi Dennis! I am Josie! Thank you for watching it.

I just dropped off a box inside on the kitchen table for you, from your uncle. It explains all the extras that are in and around the house and how security works. My cards on top with my number if you have any questions or problems, just give me a call.

Ok Thanks!

I like your stuffed animal! He looks like my wolf Blackie.

Ok, well here are your keys, and the gate closes on its own.

Thank you Dennis!

Your welcome little wolf!

He gets in the SUV and leaves.

I get out and slowly walk up to the porch. Taking in all the beauty of the wild nature around me.

The porch is cute with a couple of old rocking chairs with a small table sitting between them.

When I enter the house I easily see the box that Dennis was talking about.

In the box are floor plans for the house.

The house is two stories, with a hidden basement.

As you walk in there is a kitchen on the left, stairs going up. On the right is a nice sitting room, with a wood burning, red brick fireplace that takes up a full wall, there are built-in shelves on each side. There’s a nice sofa, and two recliners.

Behind the sitting room is a bedroom with a king size dark wood four poster frame. A bathroom with two sinks, toilet and a tub/shower.

Upstairs has three bedrooms that match the one downstairs and a linen closet.

The kitchen has dark wood cabinets. Granite countertops with an island with two bar stools. In the back by the back door is a dark wood dining table that sits eight, next to the table is a huge hutch filled with mixed sets of dishes. Then a good size room with a washer and dryer.

Under the stairs is a built-in pantry. If you pull out the middle section, behind it is a door. When you open the door there is a small platform big enough to stand on to close the pantry up, and a switch that when you flip it, it lights up what’s down the stairs.

Down the stairs on the right is a large built in cell block cage. Made of center block and concrete with silver pole reinforcements. The cage inside is painted to look like mud dirt walls.

The front of the cage are bars that are silver outlined with iron. There is a face recognition panel on the inside and the outside. Inside the cage is a twin size bed with an unopened set of sheets and comforter and a new pillow still in the bag, a bedside table, a small refrigerator, and a sawdust toilet ( one that you use and cover your goings with sawdust ).

To the left is a massive king size bed. With again unopened sheets and comforter, and unopened pillows. There are beautifully carved head and foot boards that have different scenes of wolves in the wild.

There is a large walk in closet. On the same wall as the door to the bathroom. There are built-in shelves between the two doors.

The bathroom is unbelievable! There are two sinks, a toilet, a walk in shower that is huge, a massive whirlpool garden tub, and a sauna.

Underneath the stairs is a built-in cabinet that opens to a twenty screen security computer system. The views are obviously from security cameras around the land, fence, the gate, and the two doors. On the computer table there are several binders and folders and storage drives.

This is obviously a wolf's den, and my Clara is in love!

Also in the box on the table is the layout of the land. Shows the borders, the fence, where each camera is.

The fence is electric and is ten foot high with barbed wire rings on top. It completely circles the land with the automatic gate as the conductor.

The gate has face recognition and a button for a visitor to push to be let in, with a two way speaker. There is also a remote control to carry upstairs to push a button to open the gate.

The house has a lock down system. Basically my uncle says: in the gate before the sun sets. In the front door before 9 pm, Downstairs before midnight. I am not sure what this means but I guess I will find out tonight.

The security around this property is way over the top! But I do not know shifter life, so this might be normal. I am sure that he felt the need to set things up like this for a reason.

I go bring the rest of my stuff inside. It is getting late so I am glad I got two pizzas last night! That gives me one for tonight.

Everything I brought with me goes downstairs. I’ll get it set up later tonight.

The gate beeps. So I push the button.

Hello?

Hey it’s Dennis! I did not know if you had food so I brought you some for tonight from the diner!

I buzz him in and head upstairs.

I meet him on the porch and he hands me a container and a soda. I set it all on the table outside. Then go in to get one of my bottled waters.

Thank you very much! I was going to eat leftover pizza!

Oh, do you like pizza a lot?

No, not really but I bought a lot last night.

You don’t drink soda?

No. I only drink bottled water, and it has to stay unopened till I open it.

Why? Did something happen?

No, I do not think so. I think it is just a little quirk of mine.

Oh ok. I’ll remember that in the future.

These burgers are from the diner. I’ll take you there for dinner, if you like tomorrow, to let you meet everyone. I figure you will still be reading all the security stuff all day tomorrow.

Robert was over the top but he had his reasons. You will need to change face recognition and pass codes tomorrow also, if not tonight. But don’t change the lockdown times just yet. If he does not have that information for you around, and I am sure he does, then I’ll explain that tomorrow.

Ok. Thank you!

Well I’ll leave you alone. The gate does complete lockdown in about ten minutes. Remember to be inside the front door by 9 pm. I’ll leave a card on this table here in case something happens and you get locked out. Have a good night!

Oh. Ok. Thanks again!

No problem at all!

Dennis waves again as he leaves out.

I take everything in the house. I come back out and walk around the porch a bit. There are two screened in doors so I make sure both are latched, then head in the house.

It is about seven thirty. So I take the box of information downstairs then come back up to put food away and do some cleaning. I wipe down everything in the kitchen and the sitting room. I closed off the bedroom. While I am wiping down the staircase, a loud clicking noise starts in the walls.

Then all the locks on the doors slam shut. And metal comes down over all the windows. When I go up and check the metal is also over the upstairs windows. Ok! It must be nine pm! Wow!

Since I am done wiping things down upstairs I go downstairs. I start putting my things up and making beds. I am getting tired so I just move all the information to the security desk. I sit for a while and watch nothing out of the cameras.

Then I hear the door to the basement close it’s locks. So that’s midnight. Now that I know each lock down. It is time for me to get some rest!