by Eddie Patin
He felt a sudden flash of hot pain. Jason grimaced and growled at the creature. On the ends of its spindly, insectoid arms were large hands protected by an exoskeleton with blade-like fingers, and the bastard had just cut the side of his face!
"Stupid human! Human scum!" the creature spat, its vocal chords struggling to create words as it belched and thrashed at Jason. Jason realized that the bug was probably trying to cut up his back, but he was saved by his jacket. "I've got you now! I ack ack ack kill you this time!"
This time? Jason thought, his body flooding with adrenaline, fear, and rage.
He pulled his arms and elbows into his face as the spindly, spiky bug-man with its soft torso and potato-shaped head laid into him. Jason tried to protect the exposed skin of his face and neck as those thresher-like fingers slashed at him and the Nothrix grunted and belched and clicked, pushing in at him, trying to force his arms away.
Soon, they were rolling around in the sand and Jason caught a glimpse of a single limp wing on the creature's back flopping around like a fleshy fern frond. This Nothrix seemed to have only one wing.
Ghrag? Jason thought. The leader of the Nothrix Reapers that had tried to kill them?!
The last time Jason had seen Ghrag Chaukchew, he'd blown one of the bastard's wings off with his Rigby Magnum Mauser.
Anger flooded Jason's exhausted body. He gasped at the recognition, then his face was promptly smashed into the sandy ground. The impact felt like it made Jason's brain skip like a jolted CD player. He tasted blood and sand. Grunting, pushing against the ground and the writhing creature, Jason spun the Nothrix around and landed on top of him, making the bastard let out a flappy whoof sound.
"Ghrag?!" Jason blurted with lips numb from hitting the ground with his face.
The burning glare from the Nothrix's weird, segmented eyes and the mangled wing-stump waving over the creature's left shoulder told Jason what he needed to know.
He found himself full of rage. He burned like a bonfire on the inside. This shithead should have never fucked with him again. Because of Ghrag, Riley almost died and Gliath was terribly wounded. That bastard had killed Riley's friends. If it wasn't for that stupid fucking fight between Riley and Ghrag, the minotaur would have never charged into Jason's world! Jason 1241's neighbors and Jason 1241 himself would still be alive!
Jason suddenly realized that he was straddling Ghrag. The foul creature was whipping his bladed arms and legs around under him—shoving, slicing—and Jason's thumbs were pressing into the asshole's multifaceted eyes...
Jason was roaring in anger.
Then a river of fear flushed through him. Don't fight in the Market.
Shit! Jason thought. Don't fight! Don't fight in the Market!
But it was too late.
A sudden brilliant pink shimmering flashed at the edge of Jason's vision.
Less than a second later, after Jason had realized his error—after he snapped back to reality from a fiery moment of losing control—he felt his stomach flying up into his throat. His ears were filled with a fluttering sound so loud that his new, synthetic eardrums vibrated. His night vision was dazzled by the brilliant light of another world appearing around him! Jason was surrounded by blinding colors of green, amber, and pale earthen shades. His senses were immediately assaulted with a roaring, blustering wind and a massive, all-encompassing cacophony of violent bubbling. Jason's nose was filled with a pungent odor of yeast and fermentation that reminded him of brewing beer...
Ghrag was with him, clutching onto Jason with sharp claws. Jason's thumbs were still pressing into the bastard's eyes, and he heard the belching and clicking sounds coming from the fucker that he remembered from Maze World.
The crippled Nothrix leader ... was laughing!
And Jason was falling...
THE END.
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading this book! Jason, Riley, Gliath, and now Morgana will be back in the next book, "The Giants of Shattered Swamp"!
Don't stop turning the pages yet. Details about the next book, an excerpt from another book, and Author's Notes are still ahead!
Sincerely,
Eddie Patin
Special Offer - Want a Free Book Related to this Series?
Join my Fiction Mailing List, and I’ll send you a FREE NOVELLA related to the Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit series—something not sold in bookstores and only available to my fans! As a member of my mailing list, you’ll receive occasional updates about upcoming books and you’ll probably get more free goodies from time to time. No spam—I promise.
“A Bond Between Man and Monster”
How did Riley Wyatt the cybernetic gunslinger meet Gliath Voidheart the Deathhand, the Krulax leopardwere?
While on a particularly horrific bounty to assassinate a pair of Night Hag sisters on a lightless, obsidian world, the Reality Rifters--led by Jason Leaper 47 at the time--are beset by disaster! Afterward, back home and trying to figure out what to do about Jason 47's crippled condition, Riley regales the group (upon request) with the story of how he first met Gliath and how their unique relationship was forged...
There was a time when Riley Wyatt was a mercenary in a prestigious outfit called the Ninth Fists. After working with the company for just over a year, Riley was deployed with Third Squad to a strange world full of sentient, shapeshifting animals. Their aim was to forcibly acquire something specific and unique, but Intel was bad, and the squad was thrust into the middle of a chaotic war between the Krulax people and the dreaded shadowstriders. After what was to be his last mission with the Ninth Fists, Riley left Gliath's homeworld as the sole survivor of Third Squad ... but he didn't leave alone...
This story within a story is a special treat JUST FOR FANS, going into some exciting and bizarre backstory of the Reality Rifters and the cyborg/beast-man duo that rescued Jason Leaper 934 in "The Wyvern in the Wilderlands". This novella is not available in stores—it's a FREE GIFT for anyone who enjoys the "Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit" series and signs up for the Eddie Patin Fiction mailing list. Go to EddiePatin.com/monster-hunter-free-book to download your copy, or click below for a direct link.
Click Here to Download “A Bond Between Man and Monster”
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So What Happens Next?
Continue to the Next Book in the Series!
"The Giants of Shattered Swamp"
"Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit" Book 4
Explore other Universes.
Hunt Deadly Monsters.
Make a Profit.
When things go wrong on a world of giants, they go wrong in a big way...
Jason 934 and his Reality Rifters (including Morgana!) are enjoying some serious rest and relaxation after that gruesome gargoyle bounty. When the team rifts to the Market to identify their magical loot from the necromancer's tower, Jason signs them up for a quick 'exclusive' job to collect a troll's head from a swamp-world of giants.
It should be an easy job, then more R&R. In and out, right?
But when the 'shattered swamp' turns out to be under the dominion of a mysterious, invincible, and totally insane primordial giant who captures most of the Reality Rifters to become 'pets' in his sky castle, Jason is in for the trial of his life to save them! Wounded and alone, Jason must use his wits and rifting knowledge--and some new tricks up his sleeve--to rescue his friends before they're killed by the giant's split and raging mind...
The Giants of Shattered Swamp is a fast-paced adventure story and is the fourth book in the "Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit" series about Jason Leaper 9
34 and his planeswalking Reality Rifters, Monster Hunters for hire. If you love books about guns, survival, vicious and terrible mythical monsters, cosmic horror, time travel, DINOSAURS, and exploring strange new worlds ... read this today!
Click HERE to find Book 4
About Eddie Patin
Eddie writes cosmic horror, grim sci-fi, and dark fantasy. His books are full of adventure, guns, monsters, and weird places. When not writing, Eddie either is playing with firearms, swords and other pointy things, or enjoying craft beer, a good smoke, and maybe some scotch. He might also be fighting zombies, or contemplating other dimensions.
Born in south Louisiana, Eddie Patin has lived in Colorado for most of his life with a short stint in Vegas as a professional poker player--back before it was cool. He's a musician, an artist, and has worked as a marketing consultant and graphic designer. His books are mainly a gritty, fast-paced blend of 60% science fiction and 40% fantasy with a dark, swirling tinge of terror and the bizarre shit that the tiny human mind cannot fully comprehend...
Follow Eddie Patin on:
amazon.com/author/eddiepatin
facebook.com/eddiepatin
bookbub.com/authors/eddie-patin
twitter.com/eddiepatin
Or on his website & Blog - http://EddiePatin.com
Join the Eddie Patin Fiction mailing list to get FREE BOOKS and updates. (EddiePatin.com)
More Books from Eddie Patin
Fiction
The “Apocalypse Gate” Series
An 'End of the World' Horror Survival Story with EMP's and monsters
Portal Zero – “Apocalypse Gate” Book 1
Worlds Merge – “Apocalypse Gate” Book 2
Ruin Prevails – “Apocalypse Gate” Book 3
The Sniper and the World Eaters – “Apocalypse Gate” Bonus Feature
The “Apocalypse Gate” Full Trilogy Box Set
MALADY – "Apocalypse Gate" Related
The “Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit” Series
Weird Fantasy / Sci-fi Exploration, Adventure & Action – Guns, gold, and monsters
The Wyvern in the Wildlands – Book 1
The Minotaurs of Maze World – Book 2
The Heart of a Necromancer – Book 3
The Giants of Shattered Swamp – Book 4
The Manticores of Pristalline Paradise – Book 5
A Bond of Man and Monster – Special Bonus Feature
The Helion Depths – Related Short
Goran the Slayer – Related Short
Other Fiction Books
The Halls of the Shadowmancer – From “The Chronicles of Alex Varia”
Dust in Darkness – A Short Story Collection
NonFiction
Curb Painting – Little Books of Extra Cash Volume 1
Declutter Magic – Organized for Life Series Book 1
Declutter Magic 2 – Organized for Life Series Book 2
Children's Books
(Being Updated—Click Here to Check it Out)
MORE COMING SOON!!
Keep up with my Website for New Titles (Click Here!)
Enjoy this Excerpt from “Portal Zero”
“Portal Zero” - Apocalypse Gate - Book 1
EMP Survival – Post-Apocalyptic Dark Sci-fi, Cosmic Horror
Where were you when the lights went out and the monsters came?
In the near future, a government experiment out of control opens gateways to other worlds and dimensions all over planet Earth, plunging everyday people into a nightmare of grim survival against the horrific and bizarre...
Portal Zero. The beginning of the end.
- In Colorado Springs, CO, young family-man Arthur can't find his wife and young sons when all electronics and vehicles in the city are disabled. But the EMP is the least of his worries. When the city quickly turns to looting and anarchy, he sees much darker dangers in the shadows with glowing blue eyes...
- In Geneva, Switzerland, Chad is a naive cameraman working for a news network filming the opening of Portal Zero, mankind's first experiment with 'Dimension Drive'--an attempt at inter-space travel. Barely out of his internship, Chad is forced to survive the terrifying creatures that emerge from the gateway when everything goes wrong. When the slaughter in the deep-underground lab begins, how will he survive, trapped and isolated from the surface?
- Meanwhile, in Zion National Park, UT, Megan is a fit and self-made woman on vacation with her boyfriend when a mysterious thunderclap kills all of the electronics in the park. When a strange, golden obelisk appears in the middle of the park, a mysterious and unseen force begins transforming the tourists around her.
- Harvey is an alcoholic, disgraced police officer in Las Vegas, NV, recently imprisoned after failing at his spree of vigilante justice on the unpunished. But when the city's power fails and the precinct over his cell is breeched by an army of nightmares, it seems that Hell itself is invading the city of sin, and the Strip is burning.
- Kayleen is a young college student and art major at PSU in Portland, OR. She doesn't really care about much more than Veganism and the boy she secretly has a crush on. But when a weird, alien environment follows an EMP-induced city-wide blackout one night while she's at an off-campus party, what will Kayleen find out about her values when everyone's focus turns to survival?
- Tommy and Jody are two young children in Flagstaff, AZ, living with their mom and dad and enjoying a stable childhood, when a town-wide power outage becomes a call for concern when it's not fixed by the next morning. When the family hears the police fighting against invading monsters in the business district nearby, and they are all forced to evacuate their home because of a spreading wildfire, the children have no idea that their lives are about to change forever...
In a year much sooner than you think, while scientists and politicians argue about global warming and lack of resources, the United Nations has reorganized itself into the UEA, the first serious attempt at a world government. “Dimension Drive” is being developed for wormhole-based space travel in Europe by the UEA to expand human civilization into the stars. But the UEA development team responsible for Dim Drive has no idea that they’re about to lose control of the portal they’re trying to harness because of a massive, unforeseen EMP, ushering in the end of the world as we know it.
In America, one of the last superpowers holding out against joining the United Earth Alliance, several individuals across the country are going about their lives, unaware that UEA scientists are quietly conducting the first real test of their new Dimension Drive technology that will change everything...
Do you love guns, tactical realism, and monsters? Are you a fan of cosmic horror and dark fantasy / sci-fi? Love the Mist? Lovecraft? Doom? Stranger Things? EMP and Prepper Survival? This story is full of terror, suspense, and bad language. If you can dig it, strap in for a ride to Hell!
(Read on for a preview)
1 - Chad Murray
UEA Science Research Lab, Geneva, Switzerland
Portal Zero sat pristine and dormant before the team of UEA scientists, soldiers, and an international news crew. No one had no idea that everything they perceived as reality was about to be mangled and turned upside down by the infinite horrors of the cosmic unknown...
“So we’re not actually doing it live,” Chad said, tightening the pivot points of the tripod.
Looking at the bright digital display, he tilted and pitched the camera little by little until the composition was just right. Melinda adjusted her shirt, her bra, and the lapel microphone tucked into her bright red blazer. She moved a strand of medium-length dark hair out of her face, back to the side where the makeup team intended it to stay.
“No, Chad. This is for later.” She pressed her ruby red lips together and glared at him. The anchorwoman gave him that look—the look he’d seen plenty in these last two months that spoke volumes of resentment and annoyance.
Too young, her eyes said. Just a dumb kid. A skinny little hipster playing with the big dogs. Eve
n though Melinda had known Chad for several years when he was in high school and throughout college, even though she was a family friend, the young man couldn’t shake the feeling that she hated him for getting a hand-up in the network. It wasn’t his fault that she'd agreed to take him on when his uncle asked her to.
Melinda could have said no. Chad would have understood and started as an intern like everyone else.
There were no other twenty-two year old technicians working for senior anchors, after all.
Later, looking back on this moment as he sat on the irradiated ground of the California wasteland, Chad would laugh at how none of it mattered; how his worrisome little house of cards would soon be ripped to pieces like the rest of the world...
