Monster (46 page)
Green, yellow, and red.
But red only in one area.
“I think I see it,” said Reed, as he traced it with his finger.
Sing clicked and dragged, enlarging the image until the saw-edge of the individual pixels began to appear.
Jimmy’s eyes narrowed, glued to the screen. “I took this picture?”
They could all see it now: a domed head, a red brow, two amber eyes, and a flat nose—a face peering through the leaves, keeping an eye on all that was happening in the clearing.
“That’s her,” said Reed. “That’s Rachel.”
“Beck needs to see this,” said Cap.
“Where is she, anyway?” Jimmy asked.
Reed put out a hand to calm them down. “Outside.”
“She okay?” they all wondered at once.
Reed nodded. “She’ll be right back. She just needed to say good-bye.”
Beck had not gone far, just enough of a walk up the Lost Creek Trail to stand still and silent among the trees, out of sight of her world, just barely within the boundary of
theirs.
The swelling in her face was nearly gone, reduced to bruised patches of yellow, purple, and blue. Her cuts were healing. Her ankle was back to business as usual.
Her stutter had not returned. She could still lapse into shyness, but for the first time in her and Reed’s marriage, she was answering the phone.
She’d gotten that shower and shampoo she used to dream about the first several nights in the woods—plenty of showers, as a matter of fact. Her skin was bathed, moisturized, and perfumed.
Nevertheless, the Sasquatch stench still lingered—in her memory.
She’d come to this place to wonder, she supposed, just wonder, and for how long, she couldn’t guess. One moment, one night, one lifetime might never be enough to finish what felt so unfinished.
If only . . .
She listened for the voice of the forest. The birds were singing their closing number, but there weren’t too many. A light breeze moved through the treetops, but so gently that other sounds could still be heard.
She didn’t feel foolish when she whistled; she only thought about how to achieve that particular, teakettle-like wavering in the main part and that curious warble at the end. The first attempt was only fair. The second was better. The third was delightful, almost exactly the way Rachel did it.
Then she stood quietly, listening, knowing how unlikely it would be, thinking she would never tell anyone, wondering if her whistle would carry far enough.
The voice of the forest continued to speak, but it had nothing to say to her.
Yes, it was a bit foolish. The mountains were so vast, the forests so deep. The wind could be wrong.
She turned to start back—
Somewhere out there, so far away, a teakettle whistled.
She held so very still, not breathing, straining to hear it again.
The teakettle whistled, wavering in the main part, warbling at the end—and so much better than Beck could do it.
There was nothing after that—only the breeze and the last verse of one bird’s evening song. Beck cried a little, deeply happy and not having to wonder quite so much. She started back down the trail while she still had light to see her way.
It could have been a bird. It could have been the bugle of an elk or the squeaking of one tree swaying against another. She couldn’t be sure.
But it was enough for now, and maybe forever.
Reading Group Guide Available at
www.westbowpress.com
themonsterhunt.com
Now that you’ve read the story,
track the monster yourself!
Continue the adventure at
TheMonsterHunt.com!
To learn more about Frank Peretti,
visit www.perettionline.com
Discover other great novels!
Join the WestBow Press Reader’s Club at
WestBowPress.com
An Interview with Frank Peretti
Q. How did the power of story affect you as a child?
A. It affected me in a special way. I remember watching “The Wonderful World of Disney” on television; the stories and the action were a part of me. It was something I knew immediately I wanted to do—be a part of the story. I knew I was innately made to be a storyteller. Some people read stories as a “receptor.” I read stories as a creator.
Q. How did you start writing? What was your first piece of writing like?
A. I’ve always been a writer. My first piece of writing was a comic strip called Tony the Terrier. I went from there to tapping out stories on my Mom’s portable typewriter. Storytelling was in me, no question. Years later, I made up a story to tell at a junior high Bible camp and it went over so well I actually wrote it all down and submitted it to a publisher. The publisher was Crossway Books, and the story was
The Door in the Dragon’s Throat,
the very first book I ever published.
Q. Why do you write fiction?
A. The best way to convey a spiritual truth is by telling a story because stories work. I started out as a speaker for junior high youth camps years ago. It struck me one day, “You know, we’ve got five days of camp. That's two chapel services. I can give those kids 10 sermons that they're probably not going to remember, or I can give them one big effect that they're going to remember.” So I devised a story with cliffhanger endings that conveyed a spiritual truth. Just one good truth that I wanted to get across for the whole week. I have met some of those kids, who are now grown up with kids of their own, and they remember that camp and remember what they learned.
Q. Why do you think people remember so much more about stories than they do about sermons?
A. Stories are powerful. After that camp I started thinking, “Man, if I want to effect the body of Christ, if I want to reach people, if I want to change their lives, and convey spiritual truth to them, the story is the way to do it.” The goal is always the same. I want to change people's lives and bring them closer to the Lord in a new way. I want to confront them with an issue.
Q. What are some of the different issues you have dealt with in your books?
A. In
This Present Darkness,
it was spiritual warfare and intercessory prayer. In
Piercing the Darkness,
it had to do with the encroachment of neo-paganism into the educational and legal system. And in
Prophet,
it dealt with the Truth and really living by the Truth. In
The Oath,
it was sin depicted as this monster waiting to devour us that we just kind of ignore. In
The Visitation,
it was the false Christ that so many of us are serving. We have our own idea of what Jesus ought to be like. And in Monster— whoooh!—there’s a whole lot of different messages. My first idea was evolution. One of evolution’s best-kept secrets is that mutations don’t work. They’re not beneficial. I believe that if I can just create a story that somehow addresses that one leg of evolution, I can get people thinking. I can’t make a big scientific argument. I can just tell the story. One of the best ways to really combat the fortress of Darwinism is to allow people to wonder about it, to acquaint them with the controversy so that they know there is one.
Q. All of your novels deal with unknown evil—demons, sin, oppression, and now monsters. Why does your writing explore the dark side?
A. I know that I’m a suspense writer. I guess I find those types of stories interesting. But if you don’t have some kind of evil—well, at the least some kind of struggle— then you don't have a story to tell. You’ve got to have something to drive the story. You’ve got to have something to keep the pages turning.
Q. What do you hope readers get out of your novels?
A. It’s surprising to know that a lot of folks—good Christian folks—don’t realize what kind of a box they might be living in. You have to test the truth, but some folks don’t even do that. My role is, believe it or not—are you ready?—I’m a builder. The Lord says, “Frank, you just build. Build the Body of Christ. You equip them. You build them. You help them to think. Help them to see Truth. Help them to walk closer to the Lord. Help them to just, through stories, test ideas, test things that they’re living or believing or doing or teaching or growing in.” That’s what good fiction ought to do—just get you thinking.
Q. Much of Christian fiction is didactic. How do you avoid that in Monster?
A. It is a tightrope to walk. Christian fiction spends a lot of time making its point. But good fiction needs to spend more time making the story work. Yes, I have an idea I am trying to move further in
Monster
. But I don’t want to frame an entire story around an argument.
Q. Your stories have a strong visual element. How do you write for the reader to “see” the story?
A. Classic novels are written for the love of words, the richness of language. And while there is a place for that style of writing, the bulk of today’s readers want a story to create vivid images in the mind. I try to write for our present culture, which is visually-oriented. It is interesting how little you can give a reader and yet he or she will picture it perfectly.
Q. The visual elements of your stories give them an engaging cinematic feel. Which of your novels have been made—or are being made—into movies?
A. So far,
Hangman’s Curse
and
Tilly. The Visitation
is in post-production and should be released soon. We have our sights on
The Oath
and, of course,
This Present Darkness,
but those are going to be huge projects and we’ll be trusting God for the studio, personnel, and money.
Q. What do you like to read? Who are some of your favorite authors?
A. I usually read nonfiction books doing research for my next project, but I love a good novel and try to learn from other authors. I guess I would classify Michael Crichton as my favorite author. I noticed just the other day that I’ve read practically everything he’s written.
Q. Which authors have influenced your writing?
A. No one in particular. I try to learn from everybody. But I learn from movies too. I’m always looking for a good story and trying to analyze just what made a good story good.
Q. What is the process for writing your novels?
A. It is always the same four-step process: brainspilling, outlining, writing, and rewriting. Any novel I write takes a full two years to complete. I outline thoroughly and plan the book carefully before I ever begin to write. I try to put in five hours a day and I use a kitchen timer to keep track of my time. I use a notebook computer, Microsoft Word, and some really cool outlining programs. I’ve had to take special care of my wrists and hands in the past few years, so now I use a voice dictation program part of the time, as well as one of those weird, ergonomic keyboards and a wireless, gyroscopic mouse.
Q. Are any of your characters like you? If so, who?
A. I have a lot in common with Travis Jordan, the lead man in
The Visitation,
but he’s the only character I purposely drew from my own life.
Q. What advice would you offer to aspiring writers?
A. Never stop learning. Learn all you can about the craft. Know what you’re doing. Read books about it, take classes, read other authors, do all you can to develop your skill. Did you notice I didn’t say, Never give up? Persistence comes second to learning. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can persist until you’re dead and never be a writer. I still consider myself a student of writing; I’m still learning.
Q. Do you have a germ of an idea for your next book?
A. I honestly am thinking about doing another Darkness book. I want to get a wider perspective of what’s going on in those stories—what is happening in the world around the characters. If you could make a list of the things that changed after 9-11, it would be huge. I am beginning to think that one of the best ways to explore this phenomenon is through a sequel to
This Present Darkness
.
Q. Can you share a particularly memorable encounter with a fan?
A. There have been a zillion of those, but just to give one example, I think I still have a letter from a high school girl who was scheduled to have an abortion until a friend put a copy of
Tilly
in her locker, she read it, and let her baby live. She sent me a photograph of herself, the baby, and her youth pastor, and told me how reading one of my books saved the life of her little daughter. When I consider testimonies like that, along with all the countless folks who have found Jesus as their Savior as a result of reading my work, well, what could be more rewarding?
April 2005
Also available from Frank Peretti
The Cooper Kids Series
perfect for young readers!
