by C. C. Bolick
FEAR
TOMORROW
The Fear Chronicles Book 4
C.C. Bolick
FEAR TOMORROW
Copyright © 2020 by C.C. Bolick
Dirt Road Books
All Rights Reserved
ISBN 978-1-946-08923-6
Cover Design by Fiona Jayde Media
Edited by EbookEditingPro
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Books by C.C. Bolick:
Leftover Girl Series:
Leftover Girl
Secrets Return
Prison of Lies
Illusion of Truth
Fate of War
The Agency Series:
Run Don’t Think
Love Don’t Wait
Fight Don’t Fear
Heart of a Traitor
The Fear Chronicles:
Fear Justice
Fear Power
Fear Darkness
Fear Tomorrow
Fear Tomorrow
For the first time in his life, Travis Payne doesn’t want to be an agent. He can’t focus beyond his grief at the thought of losing Rena. The clock ticks as everyone knows his powers will soon return, and those who betrayed Travis could face his deadly touch.
Rena Mason never imagined life would change this drastically. She also never thought her own parents would betray her. Now she’s faced with only one choice—strengthen her powers while turning her back on the future she’d planned with Travis.
In twenty-four hours, two planets will be destroyed. Can Rena and Travis work together to save everyone they care about?
Table of Contents
Characters
Twelve Hours Ago
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
Characters
Regina (Rena) Mason - Recent recruit to Earth Under Fire, has the power to start or stop a nuclear explosion, daughter of Agent Donald Mason, who worked for the agency before retiring to raise her
Travis Payne - Agent with four powers: can teleport, see the future, cause an earthquake by slamming his hands together, and burn a person’s skin with his touch
Earth Under Fire - U.S. agency that started as a Department of Defense project and now has bases worldwide. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, it was created to monitor humans with powers and protect the masses from those ‘gifted’ people with hostile intentions. Also monitors alien activity and keeps the public blissfully unaware of threats from space, specifically from a planet called Golvern.
Donald Mason - Rena’s dad and agent, left the agency for twelve years before returning to his job, has no powers
Alfie Mason - Rena’s eight-year-old brother
Rosanna Castillo - Rena’s mom, died three years ago in a car wreck, had nuclear powers like Rena, worked for the agency for a brief time before she disappeared eighteen years ago, only Donald Mason knew where she was
Louis Castillo - Rosanna’s husband at the time she disappeared eighteen years ago, is searching for Rosanna and determined to claim Rena as his daughter, obsessed with using nuclear bombs to keep governments of the world in check
Skip Greene - Agent with the ability to go into a ‘power-up’ mode where his brain acts like a computer allowing him to fight and react faster than normal humans, also has a photographic memory
Sylvia Greene - Director of the agency, Skip’s grandmother, has same power as Skip
Angel Greene (Lockhart) - Married to Skip, known as a vampire because of her power to control people, super-strength, ability to heal fast, and need to drink blood
Dr. Joel Greene - Skip’s father and psychologist for the agency, helps people with powers deal with their gifts
Jon Lockhart - Angel’s adopted dad, has power to erase memories and bring them back
Noah Payne - Travis’s father and Donald Mason’s old partner, disappeared twelve years ago, has power to teleport and see the future
Erin Watts - Doctor from Chicago, came to the agency to interview for job of genetics specialist
Tyler Greene - Skip’s older brother; has same power as Skip, forced to leave Earth after betraying the agency during a gold heist
Rachelle Whitman - Grew up with Angel, has power to raise and lower the temperature, was sent to base at South Pole after freezing Atlanta and surrounding areas
Senator Jeffrey McCall - U.S. Senator who ensures funding is appropriated for the agency, currently running for president
Agent Dallas - Previously an Air Force pilot, went to South Pole to help Rachelle deal with her power
Charlene Sanders - Forced to work as an agent at fifteen, has power to shoot with precision, lived as a human before being kidnapped and taken to Golvern more than twenty years before
Pade Sanders - Charlene’s son, has her power to shoot with precision
Van Jauler - Commander of the prison on Golvern, wants to kill Noah Payne
For Sherri,
You’ve been my sounding board since day one
Through fourteen books and counting… thanks for listening
Twelve Hours Ago
Angel watched as Travis ran to the elevator. His determination to see Rena brought a smile to her face. For months she’d worried her brother would never give a woman a second look. His life was dedicated to being the best agent possible. That and finding out what happened to his missing dad.
She wanted nothing more than for him to find the same happiness she’d found with Skip. After being forced to deal with a power that meant he couldn’t touch another person, he deserved happiness, even if it wouldn’t last forever. If only she could see Rena’s face when she opened her door and realized Travis had returned.
The vial of serum in his hand would wipe away his powers for the night. He’d get the chance to be normal. Angel laughed to herself—not many people longed to be normal as she did. She truly understood his need, though she worried what he’d agreed to in exchange for this serum.
Travis had made a deal with the queen of Golvern. Another taste of the serum in exchange for forgiveness.
But forgiveness for what?
What about Sylvia? Would the agency’s director lock Travis back in a room on the isolation floor? Would she consider putting him in a coma again for the safety of everyone at the underground base?
She shook away her worries as Skip started toward the elevator. Pade followed and they talked about old times. They had grown up together, but now the distance between them made the air thick with hostility.
Not to mention apprehension. Someone had to stand before the director and explain how Pade gained entry to the secure base. That conversation would quickly escalate when Sylvia realized who brought him in.
Angel followed as she considered what the director would say about Travis bringing Pade to the base. Pade wasn’t part of the agency, though his mother had been a respected agent wielding the power to shoot with precision, back in the days before Sylvia became director.
Skip hit the button next to the elevator and the doors opened. “How did you get back to Earth?”
Pade lowered his voice. “On a spaceship.”
“Just you?” Skip a
sked.
“Your brother came with me.”
Skip punched the wall as his anger overflowed. “All this time I thought they were holding you hostage.”
“No one held me hostage.”
They stepped on the elevator in silence. The doors slid shut. “I’m glad you’re back, man,” Skip said with sarcasm. “I’ve been wondering why you haven’t answered my calls for the past year.”
“You called me for a whole year?” Pade looked at him with shock. “I’ve been on another planet.”
“We know,” Angel said. “How is your sister?”
“She’s fine.”
Skip punched the buttons for the floor to Sylvia’s office and the elevator rose. “You could give us more.”
“I told you she’s fine.”
Angel hit the button to stop the elevator. “You’ve been gone for a year. Short answers aren’t going to work.”
“What do you want to know?” Pade asked with a hint of guilt.
“Why did you leave?” Angel crossed her arms over her chest. “If you left the planet, you should have found a way to tell us.”
“I didn’t know about this agency. Hell, I had no idea the two of you had powers. My mom forced me to go to Golvern to live with my dad. Forced, as in I didn’t have a choice. Turns out Pade isn’t even my real name.” He glared at her. “If you don’t believe me, use that fancy power of yours to make sure I’m telling the truth.”
Angel hesitated. Sure, she had the power to control Pade and know what he was thinking. Using that power wasn’t her favorite part of being an agent. “Do you have any reason to lie?”
“No,” he said.
“What do you plan to say to Sylvia?” Skip asked. “I don’t know what she’ll do when she finds out you broke into the base.”
“She won’t be surprised to see me.”
“What’s going on?” Angel asked. “You disappear for a year and now you have the nerve to show up at a government base. Why are you here?”
“After my mother left the agency, she and Sylvia stayed in contact,” Pade said. “They’ve been sharing information ever since.”
“She’s not asking about your mom,” Skip said. “We want to know why you’ve stayed gone all this time. Don’t say it’s complicated.”
“It’s simple, actually.” Pade lifted the gun from the holster at his side. Not a laser like the other aliens carried but a gun with bullets. “It started when I found out I inherited my mom’s power to shoot. Then I landed the awesome job as leader of a resistance group that wanted to take down Golvern’s government.” He pointed the gun at Angel. “Tyler said you couldn’t die.”
Angel shook her head. “Testing that theory would create a huge mess I don’t feel like cleaning up right now.”
Pade put the gun away. “You asked why I stayed on Golvern. I had work to do that wouldn’t let me leave.”
“Taking down the government,” Skip said as if he didn’t believe a word. “You were never a fighter. What happened to that girl you were so hot over? She disappeared the same night you did.”
“Can we get moving?” Pade asked. “We’ve got a lot of work to do in the next thirty-six hours.”
Angel restarted the elevator. “Jes was my friend. At least tell me she’s okay.”
Nodding, Pade looked at the ceiling. The images of all three reflected on the smooth metal surface. “Turns out she wasn’t who we thought either.”
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Skip stepped off the elevator and led them to Sylvia’s door. He glanced into the empty office. “The door to her conference room is closed. She’s probably in a top-secret meeting.”
“Maybe we should wait,” Angel said, “especially if she’s meeting with the senator. If I see him again, I might kill him after what happened to Rachelle.”
“Rachelle?” Pade asked.
Angel put a hand on his arm. “She used her power to save lives and now the doctors can’t bring her back. It destroyed her mind.”
Pade put his hand over hers. “I’m sorry, but we can’t think about her right now. There’s so much more…” He sighed. “When we walk into that room, everything will change. Whatever happens, just know I’m sorry.”
Skip hesitated as he reached for the conference room door. “Who’s in there?”
Instead of answering, Pade grabbed the handle and opened the door. Inside sat a man at one end of the long table with Sylvia to his left and Tyler to his right. Angel put a hand over her mouth. The man looked older than the pictures from his file but she had no doubt he was Agent Noah Payne, Travis’s father.
Pade drew his gun and approached him. “You lied to us.”
Noah sat still as he watched Pade. “I never lied.”
“You said you were here to save the planet, not for your personal agenda.”
Sylvia raked her eyes over all three of them. “Sit down.”
Skip took the seat next to Tyler and Angel sat to his other side. Pade stood by the door.
Angel couldn’t take her eyes off of Travis’s dad. “Does Travis know you’re here?”
“No, but he will,” Noah said. “Soon.”
At the sound of muffled words, Angel glanced down the table. At the other end sat a chair with its high back facing them.
“You never told me why you were helping us,” Pade said.
“To save Golvern and Earth,” Noah said. “I didn’t lie about my agenda.”
“That’s what you said, but I never believed you.” Pade stood as still as a statue with his gun trained on Noah. “Travis told me about your wife. Why didn’t you tell us Paleris was holding her to force your hand?”
Angel looked at Noah. “You remarried?”
Noah shook his head. “When Emily was dying, the vampire venom had damaged her organs beyond repair, but I couldn’t let her go. A man on Golvern developed an advanced method of cryogenics. Stole it actually, but that’s another story. In exchange for my help over the last eighteen years, he kept her body preserved until a time when technology provided us a way to save her.”
“You’re saying…” Angel’s voice hit a high note. “My mother is frozen somewhere waiting for technology to catch up?”
“I wasn’t waiting for technology.” Noah smiled. “Emily would have died shortly after you were born. Instead, she’s spent the last eighteen years waiting for you to come into your power. You, Angel, are the only one with the power to save her.”
Angel’s hands shook. “That’s impossible.”
“Your blood has healing capabilities that eclipse any technology.”
“I don’t believe—” Angel started.
“If you don’t believe me, ask Travis. He saw her frozen in that steel cylinder. He knows you have the ability to save her.”
“Is that why you came back?” she asked.
“One man holds the key to opening the cylinder. You can help us by forcing him to give up that information. With your power of control—”
“How do you know so much about my powers?”
“Gabriel Decker killed thousands to feed his lust for blood. He attacked your mother and stole her from me.”
Angel’s eyes glowed purple with anger. “You had alien technology. You could have saved her.”
“There was no way to save her once he trapped her.” Noah leaned back in his chair. “The hardest part of being able to see the future is knowing when I can fight and when it’s useless. I knew there was no way to save her then. After you were born, the entire landscape of the future changed.”
“You must hate me,” Angel said. “Like I hated Decker.”
“Not even close,” Noah said. “You’re an important person, Angel. Because of you, we all have hope.”
Angel looked around the table, at everyone except for the person who sat facing the wall. “Why does this feel like you’re about to reveal another mission to save the world?”
“Not just our world,” Sylvia said. “Noah believes one of Golvern’s suns will collapse and
destroy that planet. The star will then expand through their gateway to destroy our solar system.”
“Everyone will die.” Pade put his gun in the holster. “People I care about on both planets. When Agent Payne told us about his vision, we had no choice but to follow his plan.”
Hearing Travis’s dad referred to as Agent Payne felt surreal. “What plan?” Angel asked.
When Noah hesitated, she glared at him and called upon all of her strength. The same power that allowed Decker to control people raced through her veins. She focused that power like a razor-sharp blade, piercing Noah until he gripped the handles of his chair and squeezed his eyes shut.
Angel felt a mixture of emotions from him including one so strong she could taste the sweetness. Fear. Noah Payne feared the future he’d seen, but there was more. He feared this next move, the purpose of their meeting. If she could have walked away in that moment, disgusted by his fear and the agony of what he wanted, she would have.
No, she had a duty to this job, to this agency. The people in this room she cared about.
After an intense moment where the only sounds were his groans of gut-wrenching pain, Angel released him. “You’re telling the truth. You believe we’re all going to die and there’s no other way to save Earth.” She put her head in her hands. “If you say I’m just like Decker, you’d be right.”
“You’re nothing like him.” Noah watched her for several seconds before continuing. “I’m sorry, but seeing you… I can’t help but think of your mother.” He cleared his throat. “Our mission is to save Golvern and Earth.”
Skip reached for her hand. “We’re listening.”
“We stop the sun from collapsing. This agency now has access to all of Golvern’s technology. We’ll work together in our efforts to save both planets.”
“Is this why Golvern’s queen sent Travis the serum?” When no one spoke, Angel glanced up. “How can you be sure your queen’s on board with this plan?”
