by Timothy Cox
He saw a glimpse of his destination through the slits of leaves. There were a lot of people running. Something didn’t seem right. They looked like they were…
‘Packing up, what the hell.’ Raccoon said. He swam through the remaining branches and saw that he was right. Personnel were running in every direction; all with the same facial expression. A few men came out of camouflage and ran past like they didn’t even notice him. They spat words of retreat. A woman in the distance ran out a house holding several boxes; paper spilling from the top.
‘What’s wrong?’ Jack asked when four men passed. They didn’t even look. Engines roared in the distance and headlights came on. One by one they drove away. He stumbled forward with aching stomach, hating the way he was feeling. He hated when he couldn’t understand what was going on; he would usually sit down and figure things out, even if that meant analyzing each puzzle piece. But this was different, there seemed to be a time limit on everything, as if everyone was–
‘Run!’ A voice screamed.
Raccoon looked. He saw. He ran. But not far; he tripped over a rock and landed on his face. He turned himself around and gazed at the approaching wave of insects. If there was a moon in the sky, Raccoon was sure that the swarm would block it out. The wave shot up into the air – looking for a place to land.
Raccoon felt his body jerk up. He saw a black man pulling him up, his gun holstered on his back. ‘We need to go now’ he said, and pointed at a car.
The screams were terrible and quick. It felt safe in the car – but it felt fragile. The wheels flung gravel and sped off into the alien night sky.
(18)
‘Thank you for saving me.’ Raccoon said.
The man waved it away and touched his head. ‘HQ I’m heading towards the rendezvous. ETA ten minutes. I have a kid with me.’
Raccoon looked at the rear view mirror and saw the camp disappear behind trees. He looked at the man next to him and felt a sense of debt to be paid; gratitude was the word that came to mind. But he didn’t like how the man looked around – as if something was going to tip the car over any second.
‘What was that back there?’ The man was too occupied looking around; his forehead sweating. But Raccoon tried again. ‘What was that back there?’
He looked at Raccoon like he just appeared from thin air. He shook his head and bit his lip. ‘Not supposed to tell you but it doesn’t matter – we might not even make it. The life form on this planet turned hostile an hour ago, we do not know why but we have a pretty good idea.’ Soil scraping the car made him look in the rear view mirror. ‘It all started when we…took something.’
‘What?’
‘A strange glowing object.’
‘What you mean this?’ He took it out from his pocket.
The car stopped so abruptly that Raccoon hit his head on the dashboard. If he didn’t have his seatbelt on – he would have dived through the windscreen.
‘Where the fuck did you get that!’
‘I-I-I.’
‘Throw that thing out the window!’
The rock wobbled in his hands and fell out the window. The car sped off.
‘I should fucking leave you back there with it–’
‘Why I don’t understand.’
‘We don’t know what it is but we think it’s an egg. And we think–’ he looked at his hands. ‘It leaves a mark like some scent.’
‘Some…scent?’
‘Just shut up and keep your head down.’ He touched his ear. ‘HQ ETA five. Please have contamination room aboard ship ready for use.’
He bit his tongue down and released it – he had to know. ‘What do you mean by ship?’
‘We’re getting off this fucking planet.’
(19)
There were so many soldiers stationed on the wall that everything felt like it was going to be just fine. When they drove into the complex – it was only then that Raccoon saw how many guns were actually pointing up. He breathed in deep, relieved. But then they came. The sky lit up like it was New Year’s Eve.
It was hard to say how many people they left behind and too painful to count. But they made it onboard.
‘Hold your hands up.’ The woman said wearing protective gear.
Raccoon held his arms up. The water spilling on him was cold.
Part two out on Amazon: US / UK
Intercom: ENTERING SPACE IN:
5…
4…
3…
2…
1…
Intercom: CRITCAL ERROR.
The only thing worse than being trapped on an alien planet is not having a working ship. While engineers work on a solution, the people that just boarded the ship goes through a contamination check-up. It doesn’t take long for the engines to come back online. Everything seems just fine. So they thought.
Part one out on Amazon US / UK
Society had enough; people aren't stupid.
The rich get richer and the poor poorer. This is what happens when you stretch the temperament too far. Deep down they've had enough of running the hamster wheel. All they needed was a spark for everything to kick off: the stock market crash of 2015.
Things didn’t stop there; people wiping themselves out weren’t enough. It was as if Mother Nature wanted the job done. There's a disease on the loose. If you catch it, you have six months to live. Except...if you can find the cure.
We follow the story of Clinton Filosy: just a normal man with a heart-breaking past. And things, are only getting worse...
Part one out on Amazon US / UK
When you're homeless, hungry, and cold, willpower goes out the window. This is the life of Jacob, a man that once had everything: youth, a car, and even a girlfriend. But when the job market went sideways, he spiralled from everything to nothing. He now begs for money on streets to keep himself alive.
Then somebody appeared, not to give him change for food, but something else. Something that promised a hell of a good night.
When mother said: "Don’t take stuff from strangers." She was right.
