“Wow!” Rosa said, running her hand along the hood. “That’s a pretty mean looking car, Jack.”

“Don’t tell him that,” Elizaveta said. “It’s older than me. I hate it.”

“Can I give it a spin?” Rosa asked.

“Do you even have a license?”

“Come on, Jack.”

“It’s a manual transmission.”

“So what?”

“That means it has three pedals.”

She held out her hand for the keys.

Shrugging, I tossed them to her.

We got in, Rosa behind the wheel, me in shotgun (somewhat nervous), and Elizaveta in the backseat. Rosa turned the key in the ignition, and the engine gurgled to life.

I said, “Careful not to stall—”

Rosa clutch-shifted to first, rev-matched, and engaged the accelerator, swerving aggressively out of the parking spot onto the street. She upped to second gear, blipping the throttle to match the engine speed to the wheel speed, keeping the engine in the sweet spot of its powerband.

“Not bad,” I said, impressed.

“Like I keep telling you, Jack.” She glanced sidelong at me. “I’m not a little girl anymore.”

“No,” I said, slipping on my Wayfarers to cut the glare of the morning winter light. The sky was streaked with brushstrokes of pink and gray. “I guess you’re not.”

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Thank you for taking the time to read Island of the Dolls. If you enjoyed the story, it would be wonderful if you could leave a review on the product page. Reviews might not matter much to the big-name authors, but they can really help the small guys to grow their readership.

Also, please check out the books in the award-winning “World’s Scariest Places” series below:

BOOK 1: SUICIDE FOREST

SUICIDE FOREST IS REAL - ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK

Just outside of Tokyo lies Aokigahara, a vast forest and one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in Japan...and also the most infamous spot to commit suicide in the world. Legend has it that the spirits of those many suicides are still roaming, haunting deep in the ancient woods.

When bad weather prevents a group of friends from climbing neighboring Mt. Fuji, they decide to spend the night camping in Aokigahara. But they get more than they bargained for when one of them is found hanged in the morning—and they realize there might be some truth to the legends after all.