Nature offers sanctuary for a woman with a violent past. But anything can happen when borderlands are crossed in a short story about the menace next door by a New York Times bestselling author.
Sam has retreated to her late father's rental house, a safe place to commune with the animals in the greenbelt out back, tend to her garden, and keep her secrets. Her sense of security slowly returns-until an aggressive neighbour from the other side of the ravine fells a tree on her property. How little he regards nature. Or understands its darkness. How little he knows Sam.
Jeff VanderMeer's Wildlife is part of Trespass, a collection of wild stories about animal instincts, human folly, and survival from award-winning, bestselling authors. Read or listen to each in a single sitting.
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Avaunt! Sam crept up the slope of the ravine to peer into the back windows of neighbours houses with her night-vision goggles. 0013
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(Amazon Original Stories, 24 February 2022, 57 pages, borrowed from @AmazonKindle, #PrimeReading)
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I've enjoyed other work by the author so expected to enjoy Wildlife. I really enjoyed this. The story is divided into chapters counting backwards from 0013 with each one becoming a little more menacing as Sam continues to feel intruded upon and discovers the darkness that threatens her new life and her determination for peace after her own dark actions. This is a tense, mesmerising tale. I really enjoyed it.