Humanity’s Hope Book 2
Juggernaut
Greg P Ferrell
Copyright © 2017 by Greg P Ferrell
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Editor Rob M. Miller
CoverArt Dane@ebooklaunch
Created with Vellum
This book series would not be here if not for my wife Samantha, who for 24-years has put up with my insanity, until she finally found a place for me to channel it into.
My three children who are the reason I get up every day, instead of living my true dream of being a bedridden Netflix junkie.
My friends who have supported me by allowing me to bounce all the crazy ideas I get off of them; you know you’re one of them if we’re still talking.
My mother in law Brenda, who has been as patient a person as could be while she edited my horrible writing, but is also a true fan of the series every step of the way.
Jamal “Morgue” Luckett for helping spread the word of the series through his various social media sites.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Epilogue 1
Epilogue 2
About the Author
Also From DevilDog Press
Acknowledgments
Zoey “Renee” Ferrell, for the chapter header artwork and technical advisor on the photoshopping of the covers.
Samantha Ferrell, as my listening post to get all the crazy ideas out of my head.
Chapter 1
The stench from the smoldering pit filled the air, exposing everyone within miles to the smell of burning flesh. For days, the pit had been burning around the clock, destroying the bodies of the infected and eliminating any trace of the disease that for the past two years had been plaguing Europe.
Tovas watched as the shabbily-dressed man backed up a cart to the pit and quickly moved to the rear to add four more bodies to the fire, quickly dumping the corpses and standing vigil as the bodies were engulfed in flames.
As the man started away with the cart, Tovas held up a hand. “My dear man, are you okay? You seem to be quite distraught.”
The older gentleman had tears in his eyes. “Thank you for your concern, sir. That was my daughter, son in law, and grandchildren whom I just resigned to the pit. They were lost to us last night from the plague. I’m vexed by this Black Death, though; no plague we have ever faced has been like this. They died, and then, mere hours later, I had to kill them again. It’s not natural.”
“Even though it will not ease your pain, know that even as we speak, a cure is being implemented that will rid our lands of this vile plague.” Tovas placed a comforting hand on the old man’s shoulder. “It won’t bring back your loved ones, but it will prevent anymore from succumbing to their fate.”
“Thank you for the assurance, sir. But, alas, I am the last of my blood. This plague has taken everyone from me. These were the last of my kin, and I had hoped they would be spared this disgraceful end.” The man was about to leave when he stopped and turned to ask one last question. “How is it God has forsaken us so that He is allowing the dead to return?”
“I doubt that the Almighty has anything to do with the affairs of man. But if you would be so kind as to visit with my lady over there before you take your leave, she has something for you.” Tovas gave a wave over to Eva, who was waiting at the exit gate.
“Yes, sir, my lord,” the stranger replied before starting to walk towards Eva. As he made his way up the dirt road, a loud roar was heard in the distance through the trees surrounding the area. The man stopped and listened to the unearthly roar as it continued for longer than any man or beast should’ve been able to produce. As it wound down, he listened to the creature as it rampaged through the forest, making no attempt to hide its march, snapping tree limbs and other brush as it plowed deeper into the woods. He looked upon the awaiting Eva as if she would show him the same fear he was currently experiencing. She didn’t return his look of dread, but, instead, waved him to hurry up and get to her.
Eva’s face displayed her irritation at his slow arrival as she greeted the man. “Follow me now,” she commanded as she led him to a small hut just past the gate. “Go in, and my master will have something for you.” She opened the door for the man.
As Eva made her way back to the gate, she heard a faint cry for help come from the hut before the cry was just as quickly silenced.
After a few minutes, the door to the hut opened, and Kane walked out. Looking around, he saw a single horse-drawn cart just appearing at the end of the road coming towards their location. He wiped away a dribble of blood at the corner of his mouth and walked over to Eva.
“The next one is yours and Tovas’s. I have had my fill tonight.” Kane motioned for Tovas to come over and join them. As Tovas arrived, Kane took one long look around the area to make sure they were alone before he gave them their orders.
“Mercer has unleashed the cure he’s been working on, and has said the infection should be cleared up within days. I’m heading to Paris to meet up with our great leader to discuss our next plan of action. You two will stay here and keep the fires going, and once the bodies of the infected have been dealt with, eliminate all witnesses. Then you will join me in Paris. There’s an upcoming matter that will require the whole of the Neteru to deal with.” Kane looked back at the approaching carriage and saw the star-crest draped over the front. His ride had arrived.
As the carriage pulled up, the door opened and Rowland stepped out, almost awkwardly, with his huge height not looking like he could quite fit through the door before he briskly walked over to Kane. He was greeted with an embrace as he arrived, and then looked over to the two consorts who were both bowing their heads. “I see you have finally broken some of the wild spirit out of this one.” He placed his hand on the back of Eva’s head.
“Yes, she has fire in her, I do admit. But over time, she will prove herself the great asset that she is.” Kane gave Eva a nod of approval as she raised her head.
Rowland gave his own approving nod. “I had it in my mind that if she didn’t show some improvement
tonight, part of our talk on the way to Paris would be about her removal. Yet, here I stand—impressed.”
“Thank you, masters. I had a tough time adapting to my new life, but I promise you’ll not regret bringing me in. I look forward to what you will teach me in the future.” Eva bowed and slowly walked away. “Master, I look forward to when we’ll join you in Paris.”
Kane and Rowland watched as she made her way over to the shed Kane had just emerged from while motioning for Tovas to come join her. As Tovas bowed his head to excuse himself, Kane bid farewell to his two consorts and turned to board the carriage Rowland had arrived in.
“So, my friend, how goes the clean up?” Rowland asked as the carriage lurched forward on its way.
“We have just about cleaned out the whole valley, and now that Mercer’s cure has been activated, the whole region should be sanitized in a matter of days. Have you seen his cure in action yet?” Kane leaned back to make himself more comfortable.
“I have, and I must say it’s most effective. He cleaned out a whole city in the matter of hours using only two specimens. They are most thorough. I am impressed with his creation. His medical knowledge is without equal.” Rowland stretched out his long legs trying to mimic Kane’s comfort.
“I look forward to talking to him when he finishes with the cleanup and finding out how he was able to create such a thing. Now, tell me about our brothers. How are they faring during these dark times?” Kane leaned forward to hear the tales from his friend.
The carriage carried on into the darkness for many hours as the two men continued to swap stories, laughing, recalling, reminiscing. After a time, the driver of the coach interrupted them with a knock on the wall of the cabin. “Sirs, we are approaching the gates to Paris.”
Kane looked out at the grand city before them and noticed a long line of carriages at the gate awaiting entrance to the city. “Driver just go around to the side of them and bypass all this rabble.”
The driver complied and made his way to the entrance on the shoulder of the dirt road until he arrived at the main gate and was stopped. As the guards approached the carriage with arms drawn, one of the sergeants pointed to the crest on the front of the carriage and called them back. Just as quickly, they waved the driver to carry on, and the soldiers watched as he slipped unmolested into the darkened city.
Kane peered out the window and looked around the oil lamp-lit streets. “I tell you, brother, in all my years I have been to many great cities, but this one will always hold a special place in my heart. Is there any city in the world that now or ever will equal Paris?”
Rowland laughed a little at his travel mate’s exuberance. “You’ve always loved being in the middle of whatever culture is at its peak, but just as we have witnessed in the past, like all great civilizations, this one, too, will fall. Humans have a great weakness for forgetting their past, and ultimately, they will overindulge and bring upon themselves a collapse. Rome was supposed to last forever, and yet, you will be hard-pressed to find any alive who will claim they are descended from that failed society. That is why I am happy in Africa. They don’t delude themselves into thinking they need all this extravagance to live. It’s still basic there—primal. They wake up each day and just try to survive. It reminds me of our time when we were brought into our new lives.” Rowland looked out the other window.
Kane sat back down and eyed his brother. “You can keep your mud-huts and dirty water. I will continue to enjoy the finer things in life and watch to see what these humans come up with next. I mean, think about it. It’s 1349, and look at what these people have been able to build so far. In the next hundred years, they might be able to conquer riding the wind. I, myself, am pushing for more in-depth study of the sciences and arts, a great renaissance, if you will, of the human spirit. There is more to this world than even we are aware. Look at us, for example. If not for a great imaginative thinker who challenged the concept of the brevity of life, our kind might not have existed.”
Rowland rolled his eyes. “You will always have the ability to look at the world in a way I never will. I like simplicity and order. You continue pushing your so-called renaissance, and once we have dealt with the wayward members of our group, I will make my way back to my mud-huts and dirty water and none of your modern world problems.”
“Since you brought it up, how’s Benedictus handling the betrayal of his consorts?” Kane asked, changing the tone of the conversation.
“Hasn’t said much to me, but Heng and Christo have spent a lot more time with him. They were there when the traitors were captured and brought back to us for punishment. Apparently, Christo had to restrain Benedictus from exacting their comeuppance en route,” Rowland said as he looked out and found them pulling up to the Notre-Dame Cathedral. “We have arrived.”
As the carriage pulled up, the front doors to the cathedral opened and a trio of greeters emerged. Kane exited the carriage first and waited with open arms as Heng, Xavier, and Christo made their way to meet him.
“My brothers, it is good to see you. It’s been too long.” Kane greeted each of them with an embrace.
Salutations over, the four men started talking as they turned and went back inside the grand cathedral, leaving Rowland behind. He turned and looked out at the great city and scoffed at the extravagance he saw before him. “Such waste,” he said before he, too, turned and walked inside, shutting the doors behind him.
Chapter 2
A deer stood at the edge of the woods grazing on a clump of grass. Its white tail fluttered side to side as it was unaware that it was currently being stalked. A single twig snapped in the distance behind the deer, and it raised its head to see what caused the sound. After not seeing anything, it went back to eating.
Hope leaned out from behind a tree and checked to see if her approach was noticed and found the deer eating. She let out a little sigh before she continued getting herself into position. She silently slipped through the woods trying to avoid making any more sounds as she approached. A few more feet, she thought as she closed the distance between her and the deer. She quietly laid down behind a small bush and took a deep breath as she prepared herself for the end of the hunt. Hope steadied her hand as she reached through the bush, carefully spreading it apart so she could clearly see her target. The rustling of the bush didn’t even warrant the deer’s attention until it was too late. Hope pushed her hand completely through the bush and tapped the deer on its hindquarters as she said tag out loud.
The deer leapt into the air, completely caught off guard. As it hit the ground, it went into a full sprint across the open field and quickly disappeared into the tree line opposite Hope’s side.
“Very nice,” a voice from above announced.
Hope looked up at Renee and smiled at her approval. Renee climbed down out of the hidden tree stand. “I thought you were busted when that twig snapped,” she said on her way down.
“Yeah, me, too. I didn’t see it until my weight was already shifting to that foot. Other than that, though, it went smoothly. Poor Scooby, though, one day he’s gonna drop dead from a heart attack if I keep doing that to him.” Hope came out of the tree line to meet Renee.
“You’ve named him? Named the deer? You shouldn’t do that, because sooner or later he’s going to be needed for a whole other reason.” Renee walked up to her much bigger sister. “How are you handling everything nowadays? You look like you’re accepting your situation better.”
“It was tough at first. I mean, how are you supposed to handle growing eight inches in a few days? Not to mention the increased strength, or the other things I can do now that before would’ve been something out of a comic book. I mean, watch this.” Hope pulled the machete out of the sheath on her hip and walked over to a small pine tree at the edge of the woods.
Renee stood off to the side as Hope reared back, and with one swing of the machete, sliced completely though the tree. As it started to fall, Hope put one hand on it and pushed it to where she wanted it to go. A
fter it landed, Hope reached down and drug the nearly twenty-five-foot tree out into the clearing. “Wow! I mean just wow!” was all Renee could say at that moment.
“See what I mean? This is not something I should be able to do, but here I am doing it.” Hope started clearing away the branches with her machete.
As Renee watched Hope go to work on the tree, she struggled to comprehend the feat she just witnessed. Just a few months ago, she and Hope would get into wrestling matches, and more times than not, Renee would end up on top. But now her sister was so far out of her class size, that Renee felt like a true little sister for the first time in her life.
After a couple of minutes, done with her work on the fallen tree, Hope tossed Renee a long shaft of freshly-carved pine. “Here, this is to replace your bo staff that got left behind at the camp. I made me one, too, so you can teach me how to handle the staff, like you always promised.”
Renee eyed the five-foot-long pole and was amazed how straight it was, being that Hope had just used a machete to carve it out. “You have gotten good with that thing.” She watched Hope twirl her staff around while inspecting it for balance and weight.
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