White Sands
Page 6
“Jeff, grab the rifles and my pack,” Michael said before reaching inside for David. The younger boy pulled away from his touch.
“David, we have to go,” Jeff yelled from the trunk where he was gathering their supplies.
“Help me with him,” Michael said.
Jeff reached inside the backseat and grabbed one of David’s arms while Michael grabbed the other. They carefully pulled him over the seat. When David saw the sand he tried to resist, pulling on their arms. “No,” he screamed. “I don’t want to go out there!”
With his last bit of energy Michael yanked David out of the vehicle. The boy landed on his stomach in the sand. He spat a mouthful of the particles into the air and looked over at his dad.
Michael was lying on his back a few feet away, moaning in pain. Thousands of pieces of sand had found their way into his wounds. He stared into the night sky, blinking. How had it come to this? In less than twelve hours his entire life had changed. He’d lost Paula, and if he didn’t get his ass up, he was going to lose his boys too.
“Help me up,” Michael said. He coughed up a few speckles of blood and quickly wiped them away.
Jeff and David both reached down for his hands. He grabbed them simultaneously. The pain in his back and the morphine had mostly masked the other feelings in his body, but he could still feel the warmth in their small hands. He squeezed them both, closed his eyes, and sat up.
Stars raced across his vision. And something else. Something blue. He blinked once. Twice. Then he saw it. There were four of them.
Spiders.
“Boys. I need you to listen very carefully. Take these two rifles and my pack to the building. I need you to break inside and head into the tunnels. You’ll have to go without me.”
“But Dad,” Jeff protested.
“I love you both very much,” Michael said, pulling the boys close and embracing them in one final hug. “Don’t wait for me!” he yelled, pushing them toward the building.
“Dad, no!” Jeff cried, taking several steps backward. David released a frantic scream, tears raining down his face.
Pushing himself off the ground, Michael grabbed his pulse rifle and limped after the boys. He knew they weren’t going to go willingly. Risking a glance over his shoulder, he saw the Spiders scampering across the sand. Their joints clicked like hungry teeth.
They’re so fast.
When he got to the front of the rusted-out building, Michael fired off a shot at the padlock. The door creaked open. “Get in,” he said, gesturing with his pistol into the darkness.
“You’re coming with, aren’t you?” Jeff choked.
“Yes, I’ll be right behind you,” he lied. “Now go!”
He watched Jeff pull a flashlight out of the pack and usher his younger brother forward. Jeff turned when the two were halfway down the stairs and, for a single second, Michael locked eyes with him. And then he shut the door behind the boys.
In one swift movement, Michael aimed his pulse rifle at the door hardware and fired. With any luck the destroyed lock and warped metal would seal them in.
He turned to face the monsters. The Spiders had already surrounded him, their claws whooshing through the air. Michael closed his eyes.
CHAPTER 10
TWO DAYS LATER
JEFF sat huddled inside the tiny storeroom next to David. They held each other in the darkness, trying to keep their breathing low. The clicking of claws echoed against the concrete as the aliens searched for prey through the hallways. The monsters were getting closer.
Jeff and David had stumbled upon the storage closet within the first few hours after their father had left them. The room had ended up being a goldmine, with a stack of bottled water, a box of MREs, and even a drain they could use as a toilet.
Over the last two days Jeff had plenty of time to think. In fact, it was all he had done. And he’d just come up with a plan. A plan to avenge their dad’s death. A plan to kill those things.
Jeff glanced over at David. His pale face was mostly covered in dirt, except for the streaks where tears had run down his cheeks. “We’re going to be okay,” Jeff said reassuringly. He hugged his little brother and then stood. He paced over to the two rifles their dad had given them.
“Come here,” Jeff said. He grabbed the hunting rifle and checked the safety. Just like his dad had taught him.
“This one is yours,” Jeff said. “I’ll take the assault rifle.”
David looked up at him from the ground. He hadn’t spoken much in the past two days. Jeff knew the boy was beginning to slip away. He needed to find a way to reengage him. He had to if they wanted to survive. They needed to become a team. There was no other option.
“Come on, bud,” Jeff insisted.
David slowly pushed himself off the concrete floor and walked over to Jeff.
“Do you know how we can honor dad?” Jeff asked.
The younger boy shook his head.
“We can honor him by killing those things. But we have to do it together. We have to be a team.”
David’s gaze locked with his older brother’s. There was a spark in the younger boy’s eyes, something Jeff hadn’t seen since before the invasion.
Jeff smiled. “You ready to play a new game?”
David narrowed his eyebrows. “What kind of game?”
“The kind of game where we get to kill monsters.”
After several seconds of consideration, David nodded and reached for the rifle. “I’m ready,” he said pausing. “And I’m going to win.”
“You always win,” Jeff said, grinning.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicholas Sansbury Smith is the author of several post-apocalyptic books and short stories. He worked for the State of Iowa for nearly ten years before switching careers to focus on his one true passion—writing. When he isn’t daydreaming about the apocalypse he’s likely racing in triathlons around the Midwest. He lives in Des Moines, Iowa with his family and several rescued animals. For more information, visit him a NicholasSansbury.com.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
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First Simon451 ebook edition October 2014
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ISBN 978-1-4767-8898-2
Contents
* * *
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
About the Author
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
About the Author
Copyright