by Dean M. Cole
Following the incredible events of Solitude, Vaughn and Angela must probe the depths of space and time to unravel and perhaps even reverse the enigma of humanity’s disappearance. But first, they must get past themselves…
Sector 64: Sneak Peek
Sector 64: Box Set
The Complete 2-Book Series
Sandra just discovered she's pregnant, but with humanity on the brink of extinction, this Air Force Captain might be the world's only hope. If you like action-packed, page-turning novels, then you'll love the electrifying action in this apocalyptic thriller.
SECTOR 64: SNEAK PEEK
Captain Sandra Fitzpatrick's steady rhythmic breathing, a technique born through years of cardio training, belied the horror gripping her soul. The teddy bear, oh God, the teddy bear. An image she couldn't shake, the vision would haunt her for the rest of her days.
Earlier, while jogging toward the distant terminal building, Sandy came across a still idling airport transfer bus. Hoping to use it to expedite the crossing, she peered into its closed glass doors. In spite of the eastern glow of the coming sunrise, she couldn't discern details through its dirty windows. However, the bus looked empty.
Jamming her fingers into the rubber gap between the panels, Sandy tried to pry the split glass doors apart. After a fruitless, half-minute struggle, she finally noticed a backlit, recessed emergency-release button left of the door. Activating it, Sandy heard a short blast of compressed air. She jumped as the doors popped two inches out of their opening and then parted, each sliding in opposite directions.
"Hello?"
No reply rose above the bus's droning diesel engine.
She took a tentative step into the opening. "Is anybody in here?"
Standing half in the doorway, Sandy screamed as two strong hands, squeezing from both sides, grasped her shoulders. Another blast of compressed air burped from under the bus, and the door trying to close on her retracted.
"Shit!" Sandy kicked the right panel of the retreating glass door and shook her head. Keep it together, Captain Fitzpatrick. She stepped all the way into the bus, and its doors slid closed. Air-conditioner blower noise replaced the engine's. Getting over her skittishness, she stepped into the driver's compartment. In the dawn's wan light, the seat looked empty. Groping in the darkness, Sandy worked her way closer. A few awkward seconds later, she finally dropped into it.
Something was wrong with the seat. It felt like someone had left a towel or cloth on it. Running her fingers across the material's loose, rippled surface, Sandy froze, remembering what she saw while peering down into the empty F-18's cockpit. An uncomfortable hard object dug into her right thigh. Wide-eyed in the dark, she leaned left and pulled it out from under her leg. Breathlessly holding the object up, she studied its angular silhouette against the deep turquoise hue of the early morning sky. A round ball on one end and a long rod on the other, it felt metallic. With her opposite hand, she blindly searched the instrument panel for a light switch. A huge windshield wiper arm sparked to life, its dry, rubber blade chattering against the dirty glass. Another switch later, the bus's cabin lit up like an exam room. Sandy blinked and squinted as the sudden blast of light burned her dark adapted eyes.
Finally able to see, she squinted at the device in her hand. Struggling not to scream, Sandy dropped the artificial hip. Jumping to her feet, she looked down to see a bus driver's uniform strewn across the compartment. While the driver's shirt was on the floor, the pants, belt still buckled, lay in the seat. She saw several shiny objects littering the interior of the pants. Bending, she looked closer. In a sudden epiphany, she recognized the parts as titanium screws.
What the hell could do that? She looked from the strewn articles, to the screws, and finally to the artificial hip where it had landed next to her right foot. Why isn't there any blood?
Backing away in shocked dismay, Sandy stumbled. Regaining her footing in the bus's central corridor, she looked aft and froze. Visible in the cabin's stark, white light, emptied articles of clothing littered the entire bus.
A glint of light drew her attention to one of the front left seats. A teddy bear's half-open, glass-bead eyes peered from under a vacated toddler's outfit. On the narrow bench, a little girl's tiny white and yellow dress sat between piled clothes of an apparent mother and father. Worn in anticipation of an early morning departure to some exciting destination, the tiny girl's yellow ribbons and pink bows now lay strewn about her emptied clothes.
Sandy had a mental image of the parents casting horrified glances at the monstrosity hovering overhead while they tried to calm their frightened little girl. But in Sandy's vision, she and Jake were the anxious couple. The child between them was the little girl with golden locks that she'd often imagined would grace their future. Unconsciously, her hand drifted to the point where the baby bump would soon show.
As a tear threatened to breach the levee of her lower eyelid, Sandy extended a trembling hand toward the stuffed animal. After a short hesitation, she caressed its furry belly.
The teddy bear's lifeless, doll-like eyes snapped wide open. "Are you my mommy?"
Find out why this happened and what happens next!
Get the Sector 64: Box Set Today!
Thank you for reading Solitude: Dimension Space Book One!
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Solitude. Thanks for riding along with me on this journey.
I appreciate your feedback. Actually, you are the reason I develop these apocalyptic tales. While I work on my next novel, I'd love to hear from you. Tell me what you liked, what you loved, even what you hated. You can write me at [email protected] and visit me on the web at www.deanmcole.com.
Finally, I need to ask a favor. If you're so inclined, I'd truly appreciate a review of Solitude. In this day of e-marketing, you have the power to make or break a book. Please click here (or the Amazon icon below) and then click the "Write a Customer Review" button to share your thoughts by posting a review for Solitude on Amazon.
Thank you so much for reading Solitude: Dimension Space Book One and for being my copilot on this adventure. Don't forget to follow me on your favorite site by clicking the appropriate links on the About the Author page.
Fly safe!
Dean M. Cole
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About the Author
Author, world traveler, and combat pilot turned commercial helicopter pilot Dean M. Cole writes from locales as remote as Equatorial Guinea and as romantic as Paris's Champs-Elysées with his trusty sidekick and beautiful wife, Donna. A combat veteran, he flew Apache Attack Helicopters in the US Army's First Cavalry Division.
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Solitude: Dimension Space Book One
Published by CANDTOR PRESS
All rights reserved. This book was self-published by the author Dean M. Cole under Candtor Press. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without the express permission of the author. This includes reprints, excerpts, photocopying, recording, or any future means of reproducing text.
If you would like to do any of the above, please seek permission by contacting the author at
[email protected]
Solitude: Dimension Space Book One is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Dean M. Cole
All rights reserved.
Cover Art © 2017 Raphael Francavilla
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