Feeding Fersia

by L. S. O'Dea

  Her claw slid down his cheek but didn’t cut. He scooted forward and her leg—the bristly hair, softer than it looked—caressed his face. He put his hand over her leg, holding it against his cheek. She stilled for a moment and then relaxed. “I’m so sorry. I’m so terribly sorry.”

  She pulled free and slashed out with her claw, slicing his jaw just a little – a hairline cut, like the claws a Servant would give - and then she moved back to the corner of her cell.

  McBrid lowered his head again and cried harder because they were both stuck here, stuck by the fate of their choices.

  Thanks for reading Feeding Fersia: Chimera Chronicles Volume 2. I hope you enjoyed the story.

  Can’t get enough of the world of the Lake of Sins? Continue reading the next Chimera Chronicles – Breaking the Brush Men (an excerpt is below).

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  Breaking the Brush Men

  CHAPTER 1: Glick

  Glick took short, little breaths, trying to conserve the oxygen as he pushed at the membrane surrounding him. He scratched at the material that had once been filled with life giving mucus but now was thin and brittle. His claw cracked the shell and he tore at the opening. He inhaled deeply, his heartbeat slowing. It was a reprieve but he wasn’t safe yet. This air would run out too. He chipped away at the shell until there was a big enough opening for him to crawl through.

  It was dark and damp, the small bits of soil that slipped through the clutch burning his skin. He jumped, bumping into another egg. “Sorry.”

  The inhabitant was shriveled and dark, his claws pressed against the shell, his eyes unseeing. Glick stumbled backward and there was another egg and another. A few had broken free like him, but none had survived. He clawed through the carcasses. Some hung partway out of their eggs, bent at the torso. Others were prone in the soil, their skin dry and white from the earth’s poison. He couldn’t be the only one left. Someone else had to be alive. There’d been hundreds in his clutch.

  He called out for someone, anyone, as he crawled through them, their white skin flaking onto him. He burst through the last line of eggs and into the soil. It burned his skin and his eyes watered from the toxic fumes, but he couldn’t go back.

  There was movement behind him and above. Others had hatched and were climbing to the surface. He followed their path, the dirt peppering him and eating into his skin. He couldn’t keep going. It hurt too bad, his nerves tingling and itching from the toxic soil. He stopped, unable to do anything but scratch at his arms.

  “Keep going.” Someone shoved him from behind. “We have to keep moving.” The other survivor grabbed a smaller companion, tucking her to his side as he pushed past.

  “Where are we going?” Glick crawled after them, trying to ignore the pain. If the other guy could do this, so could he.

  “Out of here,” said the larger Brush-Man as he kept moving.

  Glick followed. It seemed like the entire world was shifting around him. All surviving hatchlings were crawling for the surface. Clicks and chirps of pain created an haunting song that vibrated through the earth.

  He tried to stay on the path his larger companion made—less dirt meant less pain—but the other guy was moving fast. Glick stumbled, catching himself seconds before his face landed on the ground. He was tired and he hurt – everywhere. He stopped next to another hatchling.

  “Keep up,” yelled his larger companion from above.

  “I need to rest.”

  “You need to move.” The larger hatchling looked back at him over his shoulder. “Or you’ll die. Your choice.”

  “Bumpers. Help him,” said the small female in his arms.

  “As soon as I get you to safety, Flea.” Bumpers tightened his grip on his little friend’s hand and kept moving.

  “What does he know? He’s a hatchling just like us.” He turned to his companion.

  The other Brush-Man’s eyes and mouth were open. His skin, which had been dark brown, almost black, was starting to turn white.

  “You okay?” He poked the guy’s shoulder and the other hatchling’s arm snapped in two. He stumbled backward. He couldn’t stay here. He’d end up like that.“Wait for me. I’m coming.”

  He hurried upward, ignoring the pain from the soil, ignoring the cries for help and cries of agony from those he passed. He kept moving forward. He clawed at the dirt and more of his skin turned white. He didn’t want to die. He’d just hatched. He wanted to live. He moved faster. The tip of one of his fingers snapped off, sending shooting pain through his arm. He wanted to tuck his hand into his body but that’d slow him down and then he’d die. He moved faster and faster, his legs unsteady as the burning became more intense. He glanced down. His feet were turning white. He’d lose them soon. His legs too. Without them, he’d never make it to the surface. He was going to die, just like the others.

  The earth around him no longer moved as in a wave but in tiny ripples of motion. Only a few hatchlings still fighting to the surface.

  He could smell something different. Fresher. Cleaner. Not damp. He raced toward the scent, his hand raking through the dirt. Another tip of a finger broke off. It was white. He pushed and his hand hit air. Real air. Not earth-air.

  He shoved upward, his head breaking out of the ground. He inhaled his first deep breath as he emerged from the earth.

  “Look out,” yelled someone.

  A huge creature stomped closer. Its feet at least twenty times the size of him.

  Find out what happens next. https://www.books2read.com/u/mVB5y2

  Free Lake of Sins: Escape

  CHAPTER 1

  Trinity trudged through the forest. The sun’s strong rays blinded her as she walked and her feet ached. Her stomach rumbled. She’d eat when she stopped for the night. Hunger was nothing new to her. She shifted the backpack on her shoulders and trudged around a bend. A flash caught her eye. Something silver glistened on the rocks, sparkling like ice crystals in the sunshine. It was partially submerged in the water. She cautiously approached, ready to run into the forest at any sign of danger. It was similar to her in size and shape except instead of feet and hands this creature had flippers and a long, thick tail. Its skin was silver-gray and scaly. It was hairless and lying on its side with its head in the water. There were four slits along its rib cage.

  “Hey, are you all right?” She took a couple of steps back in case it was just sleeping.

  The creature didn’t move. She should just go. She didn’t have time for this, but she’d never seen anything like it. She crept closer, her heart beating faster with each step. Her feet were in the water now. She was only a few feet away. She nudged it with the bottom of the stick and jumped back. It remained still, lifeless. She moved farther into the water and poked it again, harder this time. There was still no reaction. It was dead. Poor, ugly thing. What had happened to it? Had it drowned? It kind of looked like a fish. Maybe, it suffocated, stuck on the rocks and unable to get to the water. That would be sad, being that close to what it needed to live and unable to reach it.

  She bent and peered at its face. It certainly was gross. Its large black eyes stared straight ahead. She jerked back. She could have sworn its eyes had adjusted but there were no wh
ites just pupil so it was hard to tell. She stood still for several minutes but the creature didn’t move. It must have been her imagination; it was certainly running wild today. She leaned in closer. Its mouth was wide open and filled with rows of long, sharp teeth. It smelled briny like the lake. Its lips quivered slightly and she jerked upright, stumbling backward and falling right next to it, within reach of its long arms.

  She dropped the stick as she scrambled backward out of the water and sat panting on shore. It was alive. She was such an idiot to get so close. It lay half-in and half-out of the water, its head angled in an uncomfortable looking position. Was it in pain? She shook her head. What did that matter? She needed to go and this thing was not her problem. She stood and started to walk away. She sighed. If it was a bird or squirrel, even a mouse or rat, she’d help it without thinking twice. It wasn’t the creature’s fault that it was hairless and nasty looking and stinky.

  She turned around and trudged over to it. If it were going to attack her it would have done it by now. She studied it closely. Two of the four slits on its side were moving a little. It was more of a slight tremble than an actual movement. The other two were stuck firmly together. As the side slits shivered, the creature’s bottom jaw moved forward and back. It was like the face Adam, her baby brother, had made once when he’d swallowed too much bread. That was it! The creature was choking. She quickly filled her bottle from the river. A fish couldn’t breathe air. She dumped the water over its head and chest.

  The fish-man made a slight coughing sound. She jerked upright but forced herself to stay put. It still was not moving. She wasn’t in any danger. She filled up her jug again and poured it on the creature. It made another gasping sound.

  She had to get it back into the water. She wrinkled her nose and placed both hands on its torso and shoved, trying to push it into the river without going any deeper into the water herself. It was cold to the touch and heavy. She tried again but it didn’t budge. Maybe, she could give it enough water so that it could get a deep breath and move itself. She filled up her bottle again, emptying the contents over the gills. She continued this for several minutes, but the creature remained still. This obviously wasn’t working.

  The creature raised its arm, hitting her thigh. She flew out of the water, screeching. She shivered as she stood on the shore wiping at her leg to remove the memory of its clammy touch. Then its arm flapped again landing on its neck. Her face heated in embarrassment. It hadn’t been reaching for her. She straightened her shoulders, took a deep breath and tromped back into the river. No matter what, she was going to help this thing.

  The hand that had landed on its neck moved in a grasping fashion. She bit her lip and cautiously lifted the flipper between the tips of her fingers and moved it out of the way. There were two slashes on the creature’s neck. They looked like the ones on its side except these were clogged full of...something. She grimaced as she dug her finger into a slit, pulling out mud and gunk. The foul stench of rotten vegetation and feces seeped out from the slime. She flung it into the water. She turned her head to the side, took a deep breath and held it. She dug into the second slit. When it was cleared a sharp intake of raspy breath came from the fish-man and then another.

  She frowned. It was breathing air, but that didn’t make sense. Fish breathed underwater. She dumped water on the two slits that she’d cleared. The creature choked and gasped. It rolled away from her and clambered onto its knees. It seemed larger and more dangerous now that it was mobile. She scurried back to the safety of the shore. The fish-man took several deep breaths and then slowly dragged itself back into the water, disappearing under the waves.

  She stared at the surface, her heart racing. There was no sign of it. The river flowed without a ripple of disturbance aside from the motion of the water itself. The fish-man was gone. She smiled and began to walk again, her step a little lighter. She had saved its life. She glanced warily back at the water. She and Travis used to play in the river. She wouldn’t be doing that again. If there were one of those things in there, there were more.

  There was a slight rustle in the brush to her left. She jumped, turning to face the forest when a splash from the river drew her gaze. A flipper dipped under the water. Her shoulders sagged. Great. Now, I’m being hunted by land and sea. She moved a little away from the river but not too close to the forest. It was the best that she could do.

  She continued on for another hour without a sound from the river or forest, which was encouraging. It was getting late. She was going to have to find somewhere to camp for the night. She shaded her eyes from the setting sun and groaned. She was an idiot. She’d been heading west. She should have been heading east. She must have gotten turned around in the thick underbrush. She started back the way she’d come. All this time had been wasted. An entire day was gone.

  A mournful howling broke the silence of the forest. A shiver danced down her spine, raising the hair on her back. A cacophony of screeches and chirps echoed from the brush. Then there was silence, not a chirp or rustle to be heard. She swallowed around a lump in her throat. Whatever made that sound was close.

  There was no movement or eyes shining back at her from the brush. She hurried along. A sharp yell pierced the air. She stumbled to a halt, tipping her head to better catch the sound. There was another shout. Guards on scent. Had the Almightys discovered her escape? No, that was impossible. It was probably just some Guards out hunting, but that didn’t solve her problem. If she were caught, she would be in deep trouble.

  She had to get out of there, but which way? To her left was the river. She swallowed. She hadn’t seen the fish-man for a while, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t lurking nearby. To her right were the woods. If something were following her, it was hiding in there. She glanced back and forth, undecided. The Guards might scare away the forest predator. She bolted into the trees. There was no way she was going to outrun them, so she had to hide.

  She ran blindly away from the sound of the Guards, her backpack slamming against her spine with each stride. If they catch my scent, they will find me. She skidded to a stop. The forest had ended. A rock wall loomed in front of her, stretching to both sides as far as she could see. Little crevices and divots peppered the wall, but it was too steep to climb. She had to make a choice. The wrong one would cost her freedom, maybe her life.

  The trees rustled behind her. Too late. They found me. This had all been for nothing. Now, the best she could hope for was to be taken with the others. Her chest tightened. She had to make sure that her mom and Remy weren’t punished because she escaped. She raised her hands to her shoulders and slowly turned. Her breath caught in her throat. A Tracker, the deadliest of predators, stood on its back two legs, towering above her, front legs hanging down like arms. Brindle fur covered its body and its eyes glowed yellow in the shadowed forest. Its tongue lolled out the side of its mouth, exposing a row of sharp teeth on the other side. Someone should tell it that they no longer exist in the wild.

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  The World of the Lake of Sins

  If you haven’t read any of the other books this will give you a general overview of the world.

  This story takes place hundreds of years after the Great Death devastated the earth, killing most humans, all domestic animals and all wild animals larger than a turkey. Those who survived were left with the task of rebuilding society.

  The new social structure is based on a class system. The classes important to this story are the Almightys, Guards and House Servants.

  Almightys, the only direct descendants of the human race, rule the other classes. They are generally between five and six
feet tall with pale, alabaster skin.

  Guards belong to the Almightys and are used for hunting or for protection. They are between four and six feet tall and their hair color varies. Their eyes are usually brown and they have a light coating of hair on their bodies. Most males wear facial hair. They have large canine teeth used for biting and tearing. They are strong, fast and heal quickly. Their senses of hearing, smell and night vision are superior to Almightys.

  House Servants also belong to the Almightys but their role in this society is to manage the households and businesses of the Almightys. They are slender in build and between four and five feet tall. They have a light coating of hair covering their bodies and have both claws and fangs. The males are usually clean shaven and. Their eyes are usually a vibrant hue and their senses of night vision, hearing and smell are superior to the Guards’.

  Characters

  Ableson: An Almighty scientist who worked for Professor Conguise on Level Five. He was a friend of McBrid’s and worked with the River Man (Chimera Chronicles: Rise of the River Man)

  Almightys: The ruling class. They are between five and six feet tall.

  Araldo: Their god.

  Aranea18: Creature created on Level Five. Spider-like creature. Female. Deadly.

  Barney: An elderly, male House Servant. He works for Professor Conguise

  Brush-Men: also called Phasmatodeas. A creature created in Level Five that resembles sticks and hunts in packs. (Lake of Sins: Betrayed)