DESCENDANT: THE PROTECTOR
A Novel by Daniel W. Koch
Copyright© 2010 by Daniel W. Koch
www.TheDescendantSeries.com
All rights reserved. Published by Lost Pond Publishing.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, except by express permission in writing from the publisher.
Lost Pond Publishing
www.lostpondpublishing.com
Edited by Lynn O’Dell
www.redadeptreviews.com
Cover Art by Gabe Maupin
www.gabrielmaupin.com
Printed in the United States of America
Second Edition (March 2011)
To my amazing parents, for all their love, help, and support with this novel, and everything else in my life. I love you both.
Contents
Prologue
BOOK ONE: JASON
Chapter 1: Broken World
Chapter 2: Stalker
Chapter 3: Preservation
Chapter 4: The Protector
Chapter 5: The Peacekeepers
Chapter 6: Sterk
BOOK TWO: DAHMSHED
Chapter 7: Discovered
Chapter 8: Escape
Chapter 9: Simms Hill
Chapter 10: Visitors
Chapter 11: Angels and Demons
Chapter 12: Treachery
Chapter 13: Full Moon
Chapter 14: Pulse
Chapter 15: Lair
Chapter 16: Parallel
Chapter 17: Delusions
Chapter 18: The Hunted
Epilogue
Prologue
Lightning cracked all around Chandler Richards as he sprinted through the rain to his house. He had missed the last bus from school, and his parents wouldn’t answer the phone. It was now getting dark, and Chandler refused to get stuck outside at night, so he decided to try to make it home on his own. The uphill run on his street was the last leg of his dash, but Chandler was already out of breath, and his legs burned. He didn’t stop though; the fear of the creatures catching him was too unbearable. The attacks had been increasing in the past couple of weeks, and people were fleeing Daly City. Even Chandler’s best friend had left in hope of finding a safer place.
Finally, after his uphill battle, Chandler made it to the front door of his home. His parents’ cars were in the driveway, but when he hammered his fists on the locked door, no one came to his aid. After only a few seconds, Chandler stopped knocking and fumbled for the key that was hidden under a small rock next to the stoop. It was rusted from previous rainstorms, so Chandler had a tough time shoving it into the keyhole. As he twisted the key back and forth, trying to figure out which way would unlock the door, he turned around to make sure he was still alone. Only twenty feet from his house, a figure stood in the street. He froze in fear as he stared at the monster, but when he blinked, it was gone. He shook himself out of his momentary shock and was finally able to open the door. He sprinted into the house, locking the door carefully behind himself.
“Mom, Dad!” he screamed, his voice trembling.
No answer.
Chandler ran through the house in search of them. He found nothing but signs that indicated they should have been home. The TV was on, as well as all of the lights, and in the kitchen, water was still running over the dirty dishes in the sink. The last place to check was the basement, but as he went to open the basement door, every light in the house shut off with a loud zap, casting Chandler into total darkness. Then, he heard a bloodcurdling scream that seemed to come from the basement. He backed away from the door so quickly that he tripped over a chair from the kitchen table and landed on the floor with a thud.
He almost stayed there, but a loud hiss emanating from the other side of the basement door caused him to scramble back onto his feet. His heart was pounding in his throat, but he tried to calm himself. The creatures loved to make their prey suffer in fear before ultimately killing them, and Chandler wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction. He decided that since he was going to die anyway, he would die fighting. Grabbing a long, serrated knife from the sink, he made his way back to the basement door. Before he could lose his nerve, he snatched the door open and charged down the stairs into the darkness. He stopped when he reached the cement floor and looked around, but he could see nothing.
All courage seeped out of his body, and he dropped the knife to the floor. Tears welled up in his eyes as he backed into a corner and slid down the wall until he sat on the floor. He clasped his hands over his face trying to hide the tears from the creatures that he knew were watching him. Then, a loud cackle broke out in the center of the room. It sounded like a woman. Chandler moved his hands from his face and attempted to focus. He would have been blind if it weren’t for the short flashes of lightning that shone through the open door at the top of the basement steps.
As he stared harder into the room, he could see two figures approaching him. One monster still cackled as it came closer, but then the other spoke.
“Shush up, my darling,” he said. “Fear is of the essence.” The cackling immediately ceased. Chandler began sobbing uncontrollably, unable to keep his brave front up. The creatures were getting exactly what they wanted from him.
Suddenly, a cold, bone-crushing hand grabbed Chandler around the neck and lifted him into the air. He started to choke, but the creature threw him straight up the stairs and back into the kitchen. A few seconds after he hit the floor, he tried to get up and run, but the monster was already on him, grasping at his neck again. This time, all the monster did was stand him on his feet. Chandler kept his eyes glued shut, hoping that he wouldn’t have to look into the horrible black eyes of the creature.
“Where is he?” the creature asked.
“Where is who?”
“He was your friend, was he not? The boy that moved away from here last week?” The monster’s deep voice pulsed down over Chandler. He did not want to give up his friend, but he thought his life might be spared if he did.
“New York,” Chandler said slowly.
“We know that already, you senseless fool!” the creature’s voice boomed. Chandler tried to shrink back, but the monster pulled him forward and slapped him across the face. “Where exactly is he?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“You lie!” the monster hissed. “Tell me now, or you and your parents will die!”
“They’re still alive?”
“Perhaps,” was all the monster gave.
“He’s in North Salem!” Chandler yelled quickly. “North Salem, New York!” The second he finished talking, the creature pushed him over. He hit something hard that grabbed him tightly. It was the other monster. “My parents! Where are they?!” Chandler screamed as he struggled to pull from her unbreakable grip.
“You’ll be with them soon,” said the female creature. She leaned in toward the back of his neck and sniffed it madly. Then, she threw her head back and snarled before tearing into his jugular.
BOOK ONE:
JASON
Chapter 1
Broken World
November 16, 2033
“Jason Hook?” my new English teacher called out to the class. I raised my hand as I shrank back into my seat, hoping that I wouldn’t draw too much attention to myself as the new student. Unfortunately, my hopes were crushed as Mrs. Sherwood continued.
“Ah, there you are. Everyone, please welcome Jason on his first day at North Salem High. He has come all the way from Daly City, California.” She didn’t ask me about my previous school. I could tell she thought that it might be a touchy subject for me. The entire west coast began evacuation at the end of September because it was deemed hazardous to live there. I had spent all of my eighteen years in the northwest area of Daly City by the Thornton Beach State Park and never saw a single reason to leave. However, my family, which consisted of my parents, my brother, Billy, and me, were among the first to leave. My parents knew that once people started to move, it would be nearly impossible to get a plane, and driving across the country meant certain death. Once we had moved, I had heard them talking about increased attacks on the human population. I didn’t think anything of it until I heard that my best friend, Chandler, had been killed.
That was when I fully realized the reason for the quarantine. The Order had finally decided to round up all of the humans who were scattered around the U.S., and even in other countries, and bring them all to one area so they would be easier to protect from the creatures. In America, that area was the upper east coast, mostly around New York City; major cities were guarded more than most places. In Europe, it was England and Ireland; both were surrounded by water and easy to defend. Most of eastern Russia was taken, and the rest of the people were being quarantined in Moscow. Many countries without strong governments fell to the creatures before The Order was formed by President Nat Reven in 2018, to ensure that those who survived were well protected.
It took about a month for us to settle down in North Salem, New York, which was only an hour from the city. My parents said it was heavily guarded and the twentieth safest town in the country; most of the safer ones were packed with people. Around the whole town was a large perimeter fence with guard posts every ten feet. The fence itself was almost thirty feet high and five feet thick, with the exception of the gates that needed to be able to swing open and closed easily. Although it did a good job of preventing attacks, they still seemed to happen almost every other day. The guards could never figure out how the creatures did it, but they were always able to slip past. Many of the kids liked to say that they burrowed underground, but I always believed the humans underestimated them and that they were just walking in right under our noses.
Even though North Salem was safe, it still had a low population. This could have been for a number of reasons, but I pinned it to the fact that it seemed to be very secluded, and to get food and supplies, people had to leave the perimeter fence. I didn’t hate it there, but I would have given anything to return to Daly City.
Mrs. Sherwood started her lecture soon after she had introduced me. Halfway through class, I was hit in the back of the head with a crumpled piece of paper. I turned quickly to see two guys laughing quietly. The one that seemed to have thrown it had very short blonde hair and prominent facial features. His forehead extended over his eyes and the bridge of his nose was wider than anyone’s I had ever seen. Next to him was a round-faced boy with brown hair that reached almost to the bottom of his neck. I gave them a sour look and turned to stare blankly at the front of the room.
I spent the rest of class daydreaming about being able to leave this town and return to Daly City. I wanted so badly to hang out on the beach with Chandler and the other guys, but the little voice in the back of my mind reminded me it would never happen. I would never see any of my old friends again. The world was in turmoil, and I’d be lucky if I lived to be twenty-five.
When the bell rang, I grabbed my backpack and swiftly rushed out of the room into the bustling hallway. There were only about seven hundred kids in the entire high school, but the halls still seemed to be jam-packed with no way around the traffic. As I tried to slip between a group of gossiping girls, someone grabbed my backpack and pulled me to the side of the hallway. I was slammed into the lockers that lined the wall.
“Monsters have you running scared?” the brown-haired boy from English sneered. He had a low-set jaw that hung open as he waited for me to respond.
“Lay off.” I pushed him aside and tried to walk down the hall again, but he grabbed my arm and spun me around. I glared into his eyes with a threatening look. He dropped my arm but still went on.
“Why don’t you go back to California and get eaten? We don’t need any more people to attract those beasts here.” If everyone in North Salem was like this kid, I could tell why it kept a low population. I was about to threaten him when the second boy from class walked up, causing me to take an unintentional step back. I looked around for help but the rest of the students had made it to their classes by now, and the halls were almost empty.
“Why don’t you just leave me alone, and I’ll try to stay out of your way. Okay?” I said while trying to back away without them noticing. They both threw their heads back and laughed. I wouldn’t be getting out of this too easily. I only had two choices; run, or stand my ground. If I ran, they’d beat me harder when they finally caught me. If I stood my ground, I might have a fighting chance, but a very slim one.
“I don’t think so,” the brown-haired boy said. “Where should we bring him, Kyle?” He turned to the boy behind him. Kyle stared me down with menacingly dark brown eyes. When he spoke, his voice was deep and a little unclear.
“Let’s take him to the cross country track in the woods. No one should see us there.” He stepped around his friend and reached for my arm, but I pulled back at the last second. I wouldn’t stand a chance in the woods. At least in the hall we might be seen by a passing teacher, and the fight would break up. “Looks like we’ll have a bit of a struggle with this one, Jay.”
“We can handle it,” Jay snickered as he lunged at me. He covered my mouth with one hand and pushed me toward Kyle with the other. Kyle gripped my arm tightly and started to drag me to the door just a few feet down the hall. They held me awkwardly as I tried to fight my way out, with no luck at all. They were both bigger than me; Kyle was very muscular and Jay, although not as muscular, was very stocky and could probably have taken me out on his own. Just as Kyle reached to push the door open, they both quickly released me and pushed me aside. I was about to make a break for it when I heard a voice down the hall.
“What are you boys up to?” an older man said. He was bald and wore a stern look on his wrinkled face. “Get to class before I bring you down to the office.” He stood with his hands on his hips until Jay answered him with a smirk.
“Sorry, Mr. Dawning,” he started, then pointed at me. “He’s new here, and we were just showing him around a little bit.” Mr. Dawning lifted an eyebrow. “We’ll get right to class.” He and Kyle both hurried down the hall past Mr. Dawning.
“You, too. Come on, let’s go,” Mr. Dawning said as he pointed in the direction the two boys had fled. Before I could tell him what had really happened, he turned and went down another hall to his left. I half ran to my next class, expecting Kyle and Jay to pop out around every corner.
When I entered my history class, the teacher glared at me, but didn’t say a word. I grabbed an empty seat in the back corner of the room that looked like it was surrounded by nice enough people. They all quietly greeted me as I took my seat. The teacher, Mr. Valentine, continued his lecture and, to my relief, did not give me a public introduction. I tried to pay attention, but the brown-haired girl sitting to my left distracted me. She was beautiful, with piercing hazel eyes and silky, flowing hair. I could see out of the corner of my eye that she kept glancing at me, always smiling with pearly white teeth.
Mr. Valentine finished his lesson early and gave us about ten minutes at the end of class to hang out. I had planned to keep quiet in my corner, but the brown-haired girl came over to me. Her eyes were mesmerizing up close, and I found it hard to look away.
“Hi!” she said happily. “I’m April.” I smiled at her. It was nice to finally meet someone who didn’t appear to want to hurt me.
“I’m Jason. Jason Hook.” She put out her hand, and I shoo
k it. She seemed very pleased with herself for greeting me. “It’s nice to meet you,” I added. Her smile widened, and she pulled up a chair close to my seat.
“Are you having a good first day?” she asked. I could tell that she actually wanted to know the answer and wasn’t just being polite.
“Not really,” I sighed. “I’m pretty sure I came close to being killed last period.” Her smile disappeared and a worried look crossed her face.
“What happened?” She seemed very concerned.
“A couple of guys tried to pull me out into the woods.” After saying that, I wished I had just said I was having a good day. It was embarrassing to not have been able to defend myself. The worried look April had on her face was quickly replaced by an angry one.
“Kyle,” she said flatly. “I’m so sorry; he’s such a jerk. He thinks every new kid brings a load of…monsters with him.” I noticed how she almost said the real word before replacing it with “monsters.” Most people, including me, hated the real word for the creatures. It was just a reminder of how critical a situation the world was in, and how much danger my friends and family were in every second of every day.
“Thanks for not saying the name. I can’t stand it.” She smiled at me reassuringly. Then I changed the subject back to Kyle. “Why does he have such a vendetta against new kids?”
“Well, his brother was killed by a…you know. It was all because a new family moved into town and two…” she couldn’t seem to think of a word that she knew wouldn’t offend me so she skipped it and went on, “…were after the family. Kyle’s brother became friends with the new family and was at their house when they were attacked. Ever since then, Kyle and his cousin Jay have hated new families in town. They may be angry at you now but by third quarter they should be fine.” Third quarter was in five months. They most certainly would have killed me by then.
Descendant: The Protector (The Descendant Series) Page 1
