Stone Maidens

Content Warning: This section of the novel contains depictions of violence and gore.

In the height of summer, an unnamed teenage boy (later revealed to be Earl Avery) is baling hay when he sees the daughter of a neighboring farmer walking by in a flowered sundress. He stops his work and begins to follow her from a distance as she walks into a nearby cornfield. He feels compelled to follow her, as if she is leading him on a leash. After several minutes, he begins to feel intoxicated by her presence and falls to the ground. He loses consciousness for a few moments. When he awakes, he is filled with a new, unnamed craving.

Missy Hooper is disappointed to learn that her friend Glenna can’t meet her at an amusement park, as they had planned. When a handsome stranger offers to win her a carnival prize to cheer her up, she reluctantly accepts. The young man introduces himself as Jasper and offers to drive her home. On the drive, he suggests they take a detour to a nearby swimming hole. Flattered by his attention and believing that they went to high school together, she agrees. When they arrive at an isolated ravine, Jasper begins a game of hide and seek, and Missy runs deeper into the forest, still delighted by his attention.