Falling Darkness Series - A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller - Books 1-3

by Kellee L. Greene

  Ethan took Kate’s hand into his. He looked down at her dirty fingers, but the darkness masked just how badly they needed to be washed.

  “All I know is that I’ll go where you want to go. When you want to go.” Ethan swallowed before looking up into her eyes. “Whatever you choose, I just want to be there with you.”

  Kate opened her mouth, but she didn’t know what to say. Heat rolled out of his hand and into hers causing her body to tingle.

  Ethan leaned closer, slowly moving toward her. Her muscles tensed as he brought his face inches from hers.

  “Kate, I just, uh—”

  Distant shouting interrupted his train of thought. Relief at ending the conversation didn’t wash over Kate as she pushed past him and grabbed her knife.

  “What was that?” she said, her voice sharp.

  “No idea,” Ethan said backing away. When she turned toward him again, he was holding his knife. “The wind?”

  Kate shook her head. “Then why are you holding your knife?”

  Before he could answer, whoever was out there, shouted again. Terror infused the sounds. Whoever was out there couldn’t be far.

  Chapter 7

  Ethan stood at the front window barely blinking as he stared out into the darkness. Kate held her knife so tightly her fingers felt numb and her hand shook.

  It was so quiet Kate could hear the crickets and the leaves rustling outside in the light breeze. The living room was so dark she could barely make out the shapes in the room. She couldn’t shake the feeling of something creeping up behind her even though she knew nothing was there.

  An icy chill moved up her spine when the sounds of the crickets stopped. She looked over her shoulder before she started inching closer to Ethan.

  He turned back to look in her direction when the floor creaked. The front door rattled hard when something big slammed into it.

  Ethan pushed Kate behind him, keeping a hand on her as he held his knife in the other, ready to attack anything that managed to break through the door.

  The doorknob jiggled vigorously. They both jumped when what sounded like a fist was thrown against the door.

  Silence filled the room once again, but the crickets did not pick up where they’d left off in their symphony. It was less than a minute later when there was a pounding at the door at the back of the house.

  Ethan grabbed Kate, pulling her to the back of the house. They stood around the corner, Ethan positioned himself in front of Kate protectively.

  The doorknob rattled, and the door shook. Then, there was a knock.

  “I don’t know who’s in there but let me in!” a man’s voice said. “They’re coming! Please don’t let me die out here.”

  Ethan looked at Kate.

  She wondered how the man would know that someone was inside. Why wouldn’t he just assume it was a home and the doors were locked? Unless, of course, he was familiar with the home.

  “Please! Let me in,” he said knocking more urgently. “I see them now. Oh, shit!”

  Kate could hear his heavy, panicked breathing through the door.

  “If you don’t let me in, we’re all screwed,” the man said.

  Ethan shook his head. The man outside was definitely screwed, but they’d be fine unless of course, The Unholy discovered they were inside. A small group they’d take out, but a large mob, that could be a different story.

  “Fuck,” Ethan said running his hand through his hair.

  He held up his blade as he walked over to the door. His fingers twitched as he reached for the deadbolt. Kate swallowed as he pulled open the door, and grabbed the man outside, jerking him into the kitchen.

  Ethan wrapped his arm around the man’s neck, and Kate lurched forward to the lock the door. She peeked out of the window and moved back out of sight when she saw the approaching Unholy.

  “Who are you?” Ethan hissed.

  Kate couldn’t be sure how many of those things were out there. There were so many shadows, but only one that she was absolutely certain was an Unholy.

  “I’m the owner of this home, who the hell are you?” the man said trying to look over his shoulder at Ethan.

  Ethan didn’t relax his grip. Kate’s eyes were wide as she stared at the man. It was dark in the room, but not so much so that she could mistake what the black stains on his tan jacket were from. He’d been fighting The Unholy, and the acrid smell of them that emanated from him was simply another clue. The man’s black as night hair was a wavy mess on the top of his head, and his blue eyes were like glowing orbs of light piercing through the darkness.

  His eyes locked onto Kate. “This is my house, and I’d appreciate it if you loosened your grip so I could catch my breath.”

  “Why should I?” Ethan growled.

  “I don’t know? Maybe you shouldn’t but shit… I’m not very good at this. Can’t say I’ve run into this type of thing before and I’m not really sure how to convince you. I’m not off to a good start though, am I?”

  The man chuckled before he slowly raised his empty hands.

  “Let me start over. I’m Will Swanson. There is a hunting knife at my hip, but other than that I am not armed. This has been my home for about two years now, and I just want to hide from those things,” he said, his eyes jerking toward the door when something scratched at the window. He lowered his voice. “Shit.”

  Kate adjusted her grip as she stared at the door. She glanced at Will, he wasn’t even trying to hide the panic from his eyes.

  “How many?” Ethan asked in a voice quieter than a whisper.

  The rate of the scratching increased. Kate stepped closer to Ethan and Will when something tapped on the outside wall near where she’d been standing.

  “Fifty?” Will said mostly mouthing the word. He swallowed hard. “More?”

  Kate shifted her eyes toward Ethan. They’d never face a group that large on their own and Kate knew no matter how good they were, that was a battle they couldn’t win.

  Ethan let go of Will. They eyed each other for a moment before Ethan pointed toward the front door.

  The three of them stepped into the living room, looking from window to window even though the curtains were closed.

  “We could run,” Ethan whispered.

  But before either Kate or Will could respond, the tapping and scratching moved around the sides of the house, until they were at the front door. They were surrounded.

  “They’ll forget about us,” Will mumbled. “It happens every time.”

  “Why do you keep leading them here?” Ethan asked narrowing his eyes.

  “It’s not on purpose.” Will shook his head. “Anyway, the quieter we are, the sooner they’ll leave. They are very forgetful creatures.”

  Kate and Ethan exchanged a glance.

  “You already knew that. Right,” Will said sitting down on the recliner. When it squeaked, the scratches outside the door increased. Kate’s shoulders rose with a deep inhale. Will looked at her and scrunched up his face. “Sorry about this.”

  Kate and Ethan sat down on the squishy sofa next to each other trying to ignore that tapping noises on the wall behind them. The groans and moans from The Unholy seeped in through the cracks, chilling Kate’s already aching bones.

  The sounds didn’t seem to be letting up if anything, they seemed to be increasing. Ethan abruptly stood, and Kate’s eyes locked on to him as he walked over to the front window.

  He didn’t move the curtain as he peered out into the night.

  “Jesus Christ,” Ethan whispered, looking over his shoulder at Kate.

  “Try not to worry,” Will said stretching his arms toward the ceiling before crossing them behind his head. “This isn’t the first time. And with my luck, it won’t be the last time either.”

  Both Kate and Ethan looked in Will’s direction. His eyes were closed, and he appeared relaxed even though it sounded as though the walls were going to cave in on them at any second.

  The door rattled loudly, and a cracking sound cut throug
h the air like a razor. Will’s eyes popped open.

  “Oh-oh,” he said looking at the door.

  The door seemed to bulge inward slightly.

  “What is it?” Ethan growled as he stepped back and grabbed Kate’s arm.

  “Doesn’t seem as though my fix is going to hold,” Will said.

  Kate shook her head. “Your fix?”

  “The door broke last time. We should probably go upstairs, you know, just in case,” Will said rocking forward out of the chair and onto his feet. He walked over to the stairs and placed his hand on the handrail.

  “Upstairs? Are you kidding?” Ethan said with a huff. “Maybe I should just open the door and politely ask them to leave.”

  Will smiled as he shook his head. “No, I know it seems like the wrong way to go, but I have another way out… an emergency exit if you will.”

  Kate and Ethan eyed him but quickly turned when a panel of the front door popped inward. Gray, spider-vein covered arms stretched into the house trying to reach them even though they were several feet away.

  “What are your choices here?” Will asked. He was already halfway up the stairs. Apparently, he was going with or without them.

  Ethan ran his hand through his hair before turning to look into Kate’s eyes. She could tell he was trying to think of their options.

  “Fuck it,” Ethan said taking Kate’s hand as the door cracked again.

  Kate looked over her shoulder. As she climbed the stairs, she watched one of The Unholy crawl in through the hole in the door. It instantly looked at her through the darkness and got itself onto its feet.

  “This is a terrible idea,” Ethan muttered as he moved Kate in front of him. She stumbled as she attempted to place her foot on the top step but managed to not-so-gracefully recover.

  The Unholy crawled in one after the other and started to make their way up the stairs. Kate hated how they looked at her. The blank expression, but with an insatiable evil spewing out of their eyes. Not a single care in the world for shelter, food or water. Their only thoughts and desires were how badly they wanted to dig their teeth into raw, human flesh.

  “In here,” Will said, pushing open the door at the end of the hallway. The groans and moans from The Unholy almost completely blocked out his voice.

  Ethan and Kate followed him inside what had once been a child’s bedroom. They looked around with panic filled eyes as Will closed and locked the door behind them. The room wouldn’t be safe.

  Will tapped his index finger to his lips as the first Unholy that had been leading the others up the stairs knocked at the door. Kate’s legs felt weak.

  Will pointed at the window as he walked across the floor stepping over the scattered toys. He soundlessly pulled it open and gestured at Kate.

  She turned to Ethan, her eyes practically bulging out of their sockets as Will’s movements because more intense. Ethan walked with Kate but didn’t let go of her arm.

  Will leaned close to Kate, setting his lips next to her ear. “Treehouse.”

  She nodded and whispered the same thing to Ethan. He swallowed as his eyes settled on the branch just outside the window.

  Kate crawled through the window and placed her hand on the rough bark. She tried not to look down at the clueless herd of Unholy below. Kate bit her lip and crawled across the wide branch.

  The second she was inside the single room treehouse, Ethan was crawling out of the window. He kept his eyes on her as he made his way across.

  When he was inside the treehouse, he placed his hands on his knees and leaned forward. He exhaled and straightened his spine, pushing away whatever it was he was feeling.

  Kate could hear the pounding against the bedroom door as Will closed the curtains. He held onto the house as he closed the window. Will turned and moved agilely across the branch as if he’d done it hundreds of times.

  When his feet touched the treehouse floor, he smiled at Kate. He closed the treehouse curtain and sat on the floor.

  “Now what?” Ethan whispered.

  “Oh, now we wait in here,” Will said with a barely noticeable shrug.

  Kate peeked through the slit between the curtains watching the shadows move around. They’d gotten inside the child’s bedroom.

  “Don’t worry,” Will said. “They can’t open the window.”

  Kate turned and looked at him. She didn’t blink.

  “You already knew that too,” Will said, looking down at his feet. He cleared his throat, and after a beat, he looked back up at her. “So… what were you guys doing in my house?”

  Chapter 8

  After they introduced themselves to Will, Ethan eased himself to the floor crossing his ankles.

  “Lovely meeting you,” Will said with a half-smile. “But again, what are you doing here?”

  “It’s a long story,” Ethan said.

  “We don’t have anything but time,” Will said raising his brow. As if cued to react, The Unholy below moaned louder.

  “It’d just bore you,” Ethan said.

  “Something tells me it wouldn’t. Besides, I’m easily entertained. How about this,” Will said leaning forward, “you tell me the condensed version? Then we can all be happy. I just want to make sure you two aren’t serial killers or something.”

  Kate chuckled.

  “If we were, why would we have let you in the house?” Ethan asked, cocking his head to the side.

  “Because you wanted me all for yourself,” Will said crossing his arms. “In all seriousness, what brings you out here. I don’t see many people, in fact, you two are probably the first in months.”

  Ethan looked at Kate as if waiting for guidance. Kate shrugged, and he let out a long sigh.

  “We were out looking for something when we got… stuck out here, now we’re trying to get back home,” Ethan said.

  “No doubt in my mind that’s the super condensed version,” Will said. “So… where’s home?”

  “Hmm, it doesn’t work that way. Now it’s your turn to answer a question,” Ethan said tightening his fists.

  Will laughed. “Oh, please, it’s my home. I’ll ask all the questions.”

  He looked back and forth between Kate and Ethan before waving his hand in the air.

  “Nah, I’m just fucking with you guys. I don’t have anything to hide.”

  “What are you doing out here?” Ethan asked.

  “Before the disease, my wife and I had just gotten divorced. I moved out here for work. I needed peace and quiet.” Will shook his head slowly side to side. “I got like two days of peace and quiet before those things flooded my property.”

  “You lived out here alone?” Kate asked thinking about the child’s room they’d walked through. She was afraid it would be rude to ask directly.

  Will tipped his head forward. “I did. Twice a month, my son came to visit for a few days. He wasn’t here when… I don’t know what happened to either of them, but my ex can rot in hell for all I care.”

  Will looked down and picked at his fingers. Something told her that there was at least a small part of him that cared.

  “How about you two? What’s your story,” Will said glancing at Kate. “Or is it like super top-secret?”

  “It’s super top-secret,” Ethan responded so fast his words had bumped into Will’s.

  “We’re from a town to the east of here. We’ll get out of your hair as soon as these things let us leave,” Kate said.

  Will stared at Kate for a moment. “You got a story? Mine wasn’t all that great.”

  “Mine is worse,” Kate said as she leaned back against the wall.

  “There has to be something you can tell me,” Will asked pointing his chin at Ethan. “You look like you’re a barrel of fun.”

  Ethan’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at Will. “Damn you ask a lot of questions.”

  “Right? It’s like weird I wonder why there are strangers hanging out in my house.” Will gave a dismissive wave. “Whatever. If you don’t want to talk, then don’t talk.
”

  The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes before Will shifted his weight. He turned to Kate.

  “What’s in that town of yours?” Will asked.

  “Thought we weren’t going to talk?” Ethan grumbled.

  “I said if you didn’t want to talk you didn’t have to, never said I wasn’t going to talk.” Will smirked.

  They eyed each other for a moment before Ethan looked away. Will cleared his throat.

  “Is there anything you can tell me about the town?” he asked.

  “Well,” Kate said rubbing her hands together, “it’s a fenced in community of folks working together to survive all this chaos.”

  “Fenced in, huh?” Will asked with curiosity bubbling out of his eyes.

  Kate nodded.

  “Are there lots of people?” he asked.

  “A decent amount.” Kate scratched the back of her neck.

  “Food?” Will asked.

  Kate chewed her cheek and avoided Ethan’s gaze. She could feel it burning into the side of her head.

  “Again, a decent amount,” she said cocking her head to the side.

  Will raked his hands through his hair. “How does one get invited into this sanctuary? Things are getting mighty grim around these parts, and well you saw what my front door looks like now.”

  “You fixed it once before,” Ethan said biting his fingernail. “You could probably do it again.”

  Will chuckled. “Okay, okay I get it.”

  “Are you willing to give up the hunting knife?” Kate asked gesturing toward Will’s hip.

  “Kate,” Ethan said between his teeth. “We don’t know anything about him.”

  “We don’t know anything about ninety percent of the people there,” Kate countered.

  Will massaged the back of his neck. “Maybe I don’t want to go after all.”

  “Problem solved.” Ethan held his palms up and smirked.

  “Up to you,” Kate said ignoring Ethan. “But if you do want to join us, we have the space.”

  Ethan rolled his eyes so hard his head hit the wall behind him.