Passing Through

Let this winter pass on by.

Little do they all know, a horrible murderer has escaped from prison just as the small town is about to get hit with a record blizzard. But the trusting innocence of these small-town people will prove to be their undoing, for they cannot conceive the likes of the stranger they are helping on that snowy night.

Rick and Donna Welk are a young married couple who are looking to start life anew after suffering a tragedy. That restart they are after soon comes in the form of a cabin resort up for sale near the Appalachian Traila chance to turn a love of nature and hiking into a career, a chance to meet all sorts of interesting people from around the country and the world, and a chance to leave their old, painful life behind.

Specifically, Thompson Trails, Virginia, is a lovely little-town out in the foothills that make up one of the bookends of the Appalachian Trail, a quaint country burg full of friendly faces, fine food, and scenery that seemed to fall straight off a postcard on every street corner.

Rick and Donna love Thompson Trails, and Thompson Trails loves them back, immediately taking a shine to the sweet couple that took over the old cabin resort on the edge of town. The Welks are welcomed not only by the townsfolk but the lodgers as well, with regular renters loving the energy the young marrieds brought to the place and the town as a whole.

Then came the blizzard.

Big storms tend to bring winds of changesometimes for better, sometimes for worse.

This record snowfall for Thompson Trails blew something very, very bad into town.

Rick and Donna had just finished prepping the cabins when one more guest managed to make it into the main lodge before the storm. This gentleman didn't have a reservation, didn't have any plans for hiking or skiing, and had no interests in seeing the sightsthose with dark, sharp eyes that seem to burn a hole through your soul never do. Despite Donna insisting Rick not judge a book by its cover, Rick can't shake the feeling that something isn't right with their guest, something keeps bugging him about the guy.

No need to worry about the weirdo. He's just passing through.

www.rwkclark.com