by Morgan Rice
So they crept along as best they could, trying to keep as many trees as possible between them and the people there. Kevin kept his head low, trying to keep out of sight. He saw people slowly turning to stare at him through the trees, and he knew that their efforts to stay out of sight hadn’t worked.
“Run!” he called to Luna.
They ran, while the group of those by the lake started forward as one, moving at no more than a walking pace, but looking as though they wouldn’t stop for anything. Kevin and Luna rushed through the trees, heading deeper out of sight.
“There,” Luna whispered, pointing.
Kevin sighed with relief. She was right. They’d found it.
The entrance to the bunker was camouflaged with green and gray, moss and small plants. The entrance looked like a small hollow in the ground from a distance, but closer to it, it was possible to see the steps leading down. There was a door there closed by an old-fashioned round handle, like a ship’s wheel, or a safe. A keyhole sat at the center. Kevin just hoped that Phil had been right about the same keys working everywhere.
“Quickly,” Luna said.
Kevin could hear the crashing behind them now of the alien-controlled people closing in. The two of them rushed for the door. Kevin set the key into the lock, and so slowly that it terrified him, the wheel started to turn.
The door came open just in time.
He and Luna dove inside, slamming it behind them and winding the locking mechanism shut. Something slammed into it from the other side, but the door held.
“Beginning decontamination procedure,” an electronic voice said. Water came down in a swift burst that drenched them both like a heavy storm. Right then, Kevin didn’t even mind.
“We did it,” he said. “We’re safe.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
To Kevin’s surprise, the bunker was empty, no one left in it, despite whatever precautions must have been in place. It felt strange being trapped in there with only Luna for company.
The bunker had an operations center with screens bigger than they were. Kevin pushed a button and was relieved to see the bunker’s systems let them patch into TV and the Internet, satellite images and more. There were even things that looked as though they would access military communications channels, although Kevin hadn’t figured out how to work those yet.
“Is there anyone left?” Luna asked.
Kevin wasn’t sure how to answer that. “There are broadcasts and things,” he said, “so there must be someone.”
There didn’t seem to be many people, though. From the sealed off interior of the bunker, Kevin and Luna watched the world change. There was news out there on the Internet, talking about the people being transformed. It wasn’t just America now, and it was spreading too fast to contain. Perhaps if people had managed to close their borders in time, they might have stopped it, but even then, what could they do about a vapor carried on the wind?
“What do you think our parents are doing now?” Luna asked.
“I don’t know,” Kevin admitted. It was a strange, wrenching feeling not knowing like that. Would his mother be out there with the others, just staring? Would the people like that eat or drink, remember to sleep? Or would they just stand there until they fell from exhaustion?
“There are still some people trying to show what’s happening,” Luna said. She showed Kevin images of a TV station where they were trying to map it all in front of what looked like a weather map, and an Internet site where someone had managed to tap into a bunch of cameras around the world.
“London, Paris, Beijing,” Kevin said, reading from the captions. They were hard to tell apart, because each one showed almost the same scene, with people just standing there. Then it got worse, because on the screens, the images started to shift, showing people staring up at the sky now, coming out into the streets in hundreds, in thousands, gathering together to look up.
It took a moment to work out what they were looking at.
Kevin watched the screen, and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He saw the people staring up at the sky, and he saw the shadow that started to pass over them, too sudden to be anything natural.
And too big, by far, to be anything built by human hands.
NOW AVAILABLE!
ARRIVAL
(The Invasion Chronicles—Book Two)
From #1 worldwide bestselling fantasy author Morgan Rice comes a long-anticipated science fiction series. SETI has received a signal from an alien civilization. Is there time to save the world?
“A great plot, the kind of book you will have trouble putting down at night. The ending was a cliffhanger so spectacular that you will immediately want to buy the next book just to see what happens.”
–The Dallas Examiner (regarding Loved)
“Another brilliant series, immersing us in a fantasy of honor, courage, magic and faith in your destiny..…Recommended for the permanent library of all readers that love a well-written fantasy.”
–Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos, re Rise of the Dragons
“A quick and easy read…you have to read what happens next and you don’t want to put it down.”
–FantasyOnline.net, re A Quest of Heroes
In the aftermath of SETI’s receiving the signal, 13 year old Kevin realizes: he is the only one who can save the world. But is there time? What must he do?
And what do the aliens plan next?
“Action-packed …. Rice’s writing is solid and the premise intriguing.”
–Publishers Weekly, re A Quest of Heroes
“A superior fantasy… A recommended winner for any who enjoy epic fantasy writing fueled by powerful, believable young adult protagonists.”
–Midwest Book Review, re Rise of the Dragons
“An action packed fantasy sure to please fans of Morgan Rice’s previous novels, along with fans of works such as THE INHERITANCE CYCLE by Christopher Paolini…. Fans of Young Adult Fiction will devour this latest work by Rice and beg for more.”
–The Wanderer, A Literary Journal (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
Book #3 in the series is also now available!
Also available are Morgan Rice’s many series in the fantasy genre, including A QUEST OF HEROES (BOOK #1 IN THE SORCERER’S RING), a free download with over 1,300 five star reviews!
ARRIVAL
(The Invasion Chronicles—Book Two)
Did you know that I've written multiple series? If you haven't read all my series, click the image below to download a series starter!
Books by Morgan Rice
THE INVASION CHRONICLES
TRANSMISSION (Book #1)
ARRIVAL (Book #2)
ASCENT (Book #3)
THE WAY OF STEEL
ONLY THE WORTHY (Book #1)
A THRONE FOR SISTERS
A THRONE FOR SISTERS (Book #1)
A COURT FOR THIEVES (Book #2)
A SONG FOR ORPHANS (Book #3)
A DIRGE FOR PRINCES (Book #4)
A JEWEL FOR ROYALS (BOOK #5)
A KISS FOR QUEENS (BOOK #6)
A CROWN FOR ASSASSINS (Book #7)
OF CROWNS AND GLORY
SLAVE, WARRIOR, QUEEN (Book #1)
ROGUE, PRISONER, PRINCESS (Book #2)
KNIGHT, HEIR, PRINCE (Book #3)
REBEL, PAWN, KING (Book #4)
SOLDIER, BROTHER, SORCERER (Book #5)
HERO, TRAITOR, DAUGHTER (Book #6)
RULER, RIVAL, EXILE (Book #7)
VICTOR, VANQUISHED, SON (Book #8)
KINGS AND SORCERERS
RISE OF THE DRAGONS (Book #1)
RISE OF THE VALIANT (Book #2)
THE WEIGHT OF HONOR (Book #3)
A FORGE OF VALOR (Book #4)
A REALM OF SHADOWS (Book #5)
NIGHT OF THE BOLD (Book #6)
THE SORCERER’S RING
A QUEST OF HEROES (Book #1)
A MARCH OF KINGS (Book #2)
A FATE OF DRAGONS (Book #3)
A CRY OF HONOR
(Book #4)
A VOW OF GLORY (Book #5)
A CHARGE OF VALOR (Book #6)
A RITE OF SWORDS (Book #7)
A GRANT OF ARMS (Book #8)
A SKY OF SPELLS (Book #9)
A SEA OF SHIELDS (Book #10)
A REIGN OF STEEL (Book #11)
A LAND OF FIRE (Book #12)
A RULE OF QUEENS (Book #13)
AN OATH OF BROTHERS (Book #14)
A DREAM OF MORTALS (Book #15)
A JOUST OF KNIGHTS (Book #16)
THE GIFT OF BATTLE (Book #17)
THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY
ARENA ONE: SLAVERSUNNERS (Book #1)
ARENA TWO (Book #2)
ARENA THREE (Book #3)
VAMPIRE, FALLEN
BEFORE DAWN (Book #1)
THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS
TURNED (Book #1)
LOVED (Book #2)
BETRAYED (Book #3)
DESTINED (Book #4)
DESIRED (Book #5)
BETROTHED (Book #6)
VOWED (Book #7)
FOUND (Book #8)
RESURRECTED (Book #9)
CRAVED (Book #10)
FATED (Book #11)
OBSESSED (Book #12)
About Morgan Rice
Morgan Rice is the #1 bestselling and USA Today bestselling author of the epic fantasy series THE SORCERER’S RING, comprising seventeen books; of the #1 bestselling series THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS, comprising twelve books; of the #1 bestselling series THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY, a post-apocalyptic thriller comprising three books; of the epic fantasy series KINGS AND SORCERERS, comprising six books; of the epic fantasy series OF CROWNS AND GLORY, comprising eight books; of the epic fantasy series A THRONE FOR SISTERS, comprising eight books (and counting); and of the new science fiction series THE INVASION CHRONICLES, comprising three books (and counting). Morgan’s books are available in audio and print editions, and translations are available in over 25 languages.
TURNED (Book #1 in the Vampire Journals) ARENA ONE (Book #1 of the Survival Trilogy) and A QUEST OF HEROES (Book #1 in the Sorcerer’s Ring), RISE OF THE DRAGONS (Kings and Sorcerers—Book #1), and A THRONE FOR SISTERS (Book #1) are each available as a free download on Kobo!
Morgan loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.morganricebooks.com to join the email list, receive a free book, receive free giveaways, download the free app, get the latest exclusive news, connect on Facebook and Twitter, and stay in touch!
