This Fallen World, page 25
part #1 of Fallen World Series
The first sniper sailed out the window he had been shooting out of, and I rose from cover, firing into the running crowd. Then Jimmy followed the sniper out the window and landed on top of a car with a crash as the windows shattered.
I was walking straight for the gunmen, and they had no idea what was amongst them. Pop kept up a cover fire from the corner of the alley, and Grady made it to a spot where he could fire. When the full automatic opened up, the gunmen broke. They had pistols and a couple of rifles. Grady was shooting one of the Teledyne rifles.
I ejected the mag in my pistol and slammed the next one in. They had reversed course and were running back toward the vans, which were much closer. I could see Lassiter close to the rear van screaming at the running men. Then he saw me. He turned to say something to his men just as Pop fired. His bullet went through the spot Lassiter’s head had just been as he dove to the side.
“Damn!”
Lassiter ran behind the van.
“Let’s move in,” I said and started walking forward. Then three kids ran out from behind the van.
Lassiter ran down the street toward their headquarters and was out of sight in moments.
Another form staggered from behind the van with two others helping to hold him up. Pete looked like he was in rough shape but I only had eyes for the form on his right. Her hair was all tangled, her clothes were ragged, and her shirt was bloody, but she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
I strode toward her and saw her face light up as she saw me. Then men came around the corner from Lassiter’s zone. I dived behind a car as they opened fire toward me. But I popped right back up and returned fire. More men fell.
Then the kids were behind the car.
I kept firing and drew my second Colt.
Pete fell behind the car, and I turned to find myself staring right into her blue eyes. Why was she just standing there? Something was wrong. Then the blood on her chest registered. It wasn’t a stain, it was growing. She toppled forward into my arms. Dropping the pistols, I caught her and we sank down to the pavement.
“No… No…”
“Zee!” I heard Pete’s voice and it seemed so far away.
My hand came from behind her and it was wet with blood.
“No…”
“I’m sorry…” she gasped.
“Zeeee!” Pete’s voice was almost a wail.
As I watched the light drain from her eyes, I felt like a weight had settled on my chest, and I couldn’t breathe. The part of me she had taught to be Human slid away. I had come from the wars a killer. She had taught me how to be more than that. That veneer slid away as I pulled her closer.
“They didn’t deserve her.” I muttered.
“Zeeee! Oh God!” Pete was trying to pull himself closer.
I held her to my chest. “Her light… her kindness…”
I eased her down to the ground with tears in my eyes.
“Zeeee! Nooooo!”
I picked up the pistols.
“They deserve me,” I said through gritted teeth. There was a rage in me like nothing I had ever felt before. We never would have even pursued them if they hadn’t taken Neave and the others. With them freed, we would have retreated and left them be.
“Get them to safety, Jimmy.”
He nodded, and I stood again. This time I strode down the center of the street with both guns spitting fire and lead. Bullets whizzed by my head. I could feel tugs on the long coat I wore. I didn’t care. When the left hand pistol was empty, I dropped it and pulled a mag for the other. They charged forward toward me and I emptied the Colt again.
They were too close for the guns so I pulled the knives from sheathes at my back and charged into their midst. Then Jimmy plowed into them from my right side and bodies began to fly out of the group. He would punch and the man would sail backwards. I saw his open hand take a man’s head off.
I could hear automatic fire from Gary and Grady and more men fell. The Winchester fired, over and over. Then there were no more of them standing. I stood in the midst of the bodies with my lungs heaving from the adrenaline. I could see Lassiter, in the distance, climbing the steps to the skyscraper two blocks away.
I turned back toward the street littered with the dead or dying. Pop was helping Pete to his feet. I walked back to the spot I had dropped the .45s and retrieved them.
A man left the building to our left with his hands raised. He approached, slowly.
“Old Morgan won’t let this go,” he said. “You better get out of here.”
“He’s not going to have the luxury of letting this go,” I said.
I walked up to Gary who was looking at his cousin with tears in his eyes.
“Gee,” I said. “I need you and Grady to take her home. Get the kids back home and bury her proper.”
“You’ll be needing help,” he said.
“Where I’m about to go is no place for good folks,” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Grady, you and Deli take care of my little girl.”
“Zee, you can’t…”
“I’m going to finish this,” I said and turned back toward the skyscraper.
As I walked forward, I pulled a handful of bullets from my pocket and began feeding them into one of the empty magazines.
Pop walked to my left, feeding shells into the Winchester. Jimmy joined us and walked between us.
There would be justice, even in this Fallen World.
* * * * *
Chapter 25
Grady Conner watched as his friends strode down the street toward the skyscraper. Not sure if he would ever see them again, he helped Pete onto one of the horses.
Gary was staring down the street at the three men.
“We got to go, Gee.”
“I know,” he answered. “Will they come back?”
“I’m not sure. But he gave us a job to do.”
“Yes, sir.”
They carefully loaded Neave’s body onto the back of Dagger.
“Hey,” the man who had come from the building said. “They’re going in there?”
“Yeah.”
“Just who the hell are they? I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Grady looked back at the three forms walking down the street.
“They’re Farmers.”
# # # # #
About Christopher Woods
Christopher Woods has been an avid reader all of his life. Soulguard, the first in a series of books, was his debut novel in a series that currently spans five novels. He currently lives in Woodbury, TN with his wife and stepdaughter. His wife reminds him that he should always watch what he says, because he tends to fall asleep long before she does. You can contact Mr. Woods by email at soulguard0@yahoo.com.
* * * * *
Titles by Christopher Woods
Soulguard Series
Soulguard
Soullord
Bloodlord
Rash'Tor'Ri
Freedom's Prophet
Freedom's Challenge (forthcoming)
Four Horsemen Universe
A Fistful of Credits
Legend
* * * * *
Connect with Christopher Woods Online
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherWoodsSoulguard
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00PEAG6WM
Website: https://theprofessionalliar.com/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/christopherwoods
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The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of the Turning Point:
A Time to Die
___________________
Mark Wandrey
Available Now from Blood Moon Press
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Excerpt from “A Time to Die:”
An hour later, Ken tried to drink some of the water and eat some of the food Erin had left for him, only to vomit it up moments afterwards. His head swam with pain and confusion, and sweat poured from his forehead despite the cool evening breeze. Suddenly he stumbled to his feet, not knowing why, completely unable to concentrate. “Wha—what?” he choked, spinning around and searching for the source of the disturbance with blurred vision.
He heard something behind him, and he spun again to find only darkness. “Damn you,” he snarled and took a step in that direction, only to fall over a root in the gloom and sprawl in the dense pine needles. His mind exploded in lights, pain, and voices. Whispers and screams, thoughts and ideas he could not understand. “Stop it, stop it, stop…stop…STOP!” The last word came out as an anguished wail from the depths of his soul that echoed through the woods and down to the Rio Grande thousands of feet below. He shuddered in the brush, and the man that was Ken succumbed.
Small animals and night birds flitted around for a time, sniffing the air and trying to sense if the man had become food. But after a few minutes, it was standing again, wildly searching the darkness. It noticed the birds and scurrying creatures, and it shook its head and snarled. The snarl turned into a clipped scream, more visceral than the previous one. It turned toward a narrow goat trail that descended the cliff.
The descent would have terrified Ken and likely sent him plummeting to the rocks below. The creature that now walked in his skin, though, felt no fear and held close to the sharp rocks with single-minded, painless determination. By the time it reached the river, its hands were torn nearly to the bone in several places. It paid no mind to the blood-dripping wounds as it scanned the opposite riverbank. Moonlight illuminated the far shore where it saw a group of people, all moving slowly to the west. A little moan escaped its lips, and its teeth gnashed as it jerked forward and plowed into the water.
* * * * *
Get “A Time to Die” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0787VQ8RJ/.
Find out more about Mark Wandrey and “A Time to Die” at:
http://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/mark-wandrey/.
* * * * *
The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of The Darkness War:
Psi-Mechs, Inc.
___________________
Eric S. Brown
Available Now from Blood Moon Press
eBook and Paperback
Excerpt from “Psi-Mechs, Inc.:”
Ringer reached the bottom of the stairs and came straight at him. “Mr. Dubin?” Ringer asked.
Frank rose to his feet, offering his hand. “Ah, Detective Ringer, I must say it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Ringer didn’t accept his proffered hand. Instead, he stared at Frank with appraising eyes.
“I’m told you’re with the Feds. If this is about the Hangman killer case…” Ringer said.
Frank quickly shook his head. “No, nothing like that, Detective. I merely need a few moments of your time.”
“You picked a bad night for it, Mr. Dubin,” Ringer told him. “It’s a full moon out there this evening, and the crazies are coming out of the woodwork.”
“Crazies?” Frank asked.
“I just locked up a guy who thinks he’s a werewolf.” Ringer sighed. “We get a couple of them every year.”
“And is he?” Frank asked with a grin.
Ringer gave Frank a careful look as he said, “What do you mean is he? Of course not. There’s no such thing as werewolves, Mr. Dubin.”
“Anything’s possible, Detective Ringer.” Frank smirked.
“Look, I really don’t have time for this.” Ringer shook his head. “Either get on with what you’ve come to see me about, or go back to wherever you came from. I’ve got enough on my hands tonight without you.”
“Is there somewhere a touch more private we could talk?” Frank asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Ringer answered reluctantly. “This way.”
Ringer led Frank into a nearby office and shut the door behind them. He walked around the room’s desk and plopped into the chair there.
“Have a seat,” Ringer instructed him, gesturing at the chair in front of the desk.
Frank took it. He stared across the desk at Ringer.
“Well?” Ringer urged.
“Detective Ringer, I work for an organization that has reason to believe you have the capacity to be much more than the mere street detective you are now,” Frank started.
“Hold on a sec.” Ringer leaned forward where he sat. “You’re here to offer me a job?”
“Something like that.” Frank grinned.
“I’m not interested,” Ringer said gruffly and started to get up. Frank’s next words knocked him off his feet, causing him to collapse back into his chair as if he’d been gut-punched.
“We know about your power, Detective Ringer.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Ringer said, though it was clear he was lying.
“There’s no reason to be ashamed of your abilities, Detective,” Frank assured him, “and what the two of us are about to discuss will never leave this room.”
“I think it’s time you left now, Mr. Dubin,” Ringer growled.
“Far from it,” Frank said. “We’re just getting started, Detective Ringer.”
Ringer sprung from his seat and started for the office’s door. “You can either show yourself out, or I can have one of the officers out there help you back to the street.”
Frank left his own seat and moved to block Ringer’s path. “I have a gift myself, Detective Ringer.”
Shaking his head, Ringer started to shove Frank aside. Frank took him by the arm.
“My gift is that I can sense the powers of people like yourself, Detective,” Frank told him. “You can’t deny your power to me. I can see it in my mind, glowing like a bright, shining star in an otherwise dark void.”
“You’re crazy,” Ringer snapped, shaking free of Frank’s hold.
“You need to listen to me,” Frank warned. “I know about what happened to your parents. I mean what really happened, and how you survived.”
Frank’s declaration stopped Ringer in his tracks.
“You don’t know crap!” Ringer shouted as Frank continued to stare at him.
“Vampires are very real, Detective Ringer.” Frank cocked his head to look up at Ringer as he spoke. “The organization I work for…We deal with them, and other monsters, every day.”
Ringer stabbed a finger into Frank’s chest. It hurt, as Ringer thumped it repeatedly against him. “I don’t know who you are, Mr. Dubin, but I’ve had enough of your crap. Now take your crazy and get the hell out of my life. Do I make myself clear?”
The pictures on the wall of the office vibrated as Ringer raged at Frank. Frank’s smile grew wider.
“You’re a TK, aren’t you?” Frank asked.
“I don’t even know what that is!” Ringer bellowed at him.
“You can move objects with your mind, Detective Ringer. We call that TK. It’s a term that denotes you have telekinetic abilities. They’re how you saved yourself from the vampire who murdered your family when you were thirteen.”
Ringer said nothing. He stood, shaking with fear and rage.
“You’re not alone, Detective Ringer,” Frank told him. “There are many others in this world with powers like your own. As I’ve said, I have one myself, though it’s not as powerful or as physical in nature, as your own. I urge you to have a seat, so we can talk about this a little more. I highly doubt your captain would be as understanding of your gift as I and my employer are if it should, say, become public knowledge.”
“Is that a threat?” Ringer snarled.
Frank shook his head. “Certainly not. Now if you would…?” Frank gestured for Ringer to return to the chair behind the desk.
Ringer did so, though he clearly wasn’t happy about it.
“There’s so much to tell you, Detective Ringer; I’m afraid I don’t even know where to begin,” Frank said.
“Then why don’t you start at the beginning, and let’s get this over with,” Ringer said with a frown.
“Right then.” Frank chuckled. “Let’s do just that.”
* * * * *
Get “Psi-Mechs, Inc.” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DKCCQJZ.
Find out more about Eric S. Brown and “The Darkness War” at:
https://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/eric-s-brown/.
* * * * *
The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of the Revelations Cycle:
Cartwright’s Cavaliers
___________________
Mark Wandrey
Now Available from Seventh Seal Press
eBook, Paperback, and Audio
