Transition
The Euphoria Z Series, Book Three
Luke
Ahearn
Genre: Thriller/Post-Apocalyptic
Publisher: Luke Ahearn * Date of Publication: April 25, 2016
ASIN: B01ESFRJW4 * Number of pages: 194 * Word Count: 56,200
Book Description:
Transition is the third book of the
Euphoria Z Series set in a post-apocalyptic California.
The post-apocalyptic world is in
transition. While things may seem safer, a great danger lurks under the surface
and sometimes from above.
What does the Island have to do
with the state of the world, and the invisible creatures? New threats arise and
evil is tracked down. Will this finally be the end for Ben and his psychopathic
lifestyle?
Continue
the adventure as we find out what happened to Cooper, Lisa and the others.
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It doesn’t rain
frequently in San Jose, California and when it does it’s a quick gray affair
that rinses away dust and freshens the air. Every few years there’s a day or
two of torrential downpours, interspersed by widespread drizzling and dripping.
And rarely, as was the case this day, the skies opened and dumped a decade’s
worth of rain upon the city in only a few days. These rare downpours could last
days and do substantial damage citywide.
The downpour was
so heavy it was impossible to see farther than a few hundred yards. Water ran
from the highest spots in the city and merged into thick fast flowing rivers on
its journey downhill. It gushed down streets, blasting over curbs and past sign
posts, taking away anything that wasn’t nailed down. The waters were black with
months of accumulated filth and foamed with the runoff of a million miles of
city streets. The fine dust of millions of corpses, that which wasn’t already
blown away by the winds, was swept into storm drains and out to the Pacific
Ocean.
But the most
alarming aspect of the rainstorm by far was the thunder and the lightning.
Every few minutes great jagged bolts of light arced across the sky,
illuminating the world in blinding flashes, followed moments later by the
thunder, a terrifying sound as if the heavens were being torn open. Then
cascading booms shook the earth for long moments after.
One of these giant
flashes illuminated the inside of a dark warehouse revealing a world of crisp
black shadows and harsh blinding whites. For a split second a human shape was
visible laying atop a large worktable. It resembled the sarcophagus of a long
dead pharaoh. Puddles of odd liquids had collected under the body and run off
the edge, hardening in long stalactites of black and dark red. A minor flash
revealed a hardened shell, mottled with the same black and reddish hues. The
long low rumble of the distant thunder that followed caused an eye to twitch. A
loud crack and a blinding flash of light caused both eyes to open wide in shock
and fear. A high-pitched keening could be heard emanating from the misshapen
body on the table.
Slowly a hand rose, the cracking of dried viscera was faint but clearly audible above the muted pounding of rain. The open eyes, clear and green, regarded a grotesque hand armored in a red and black crust. The arm dropped and the eyes closed. The thrumming of the rain and intense fatigue made slipping back into the sweet darkness of sleep all too easy.
Slowly a hand rose, the cracking of dried viscera was faint but clearly audible above the muted pounding of rain. The open eyes, clear and green, regarded a grotesque hand armored in a red and black crust. The arm dropped and the eyes closed. The thrumming of the rain and intense fatigue made slipping back into the sweet darkness of sleep all too easy.
Later, a blinding
flash of light and the ensuing crack of thunder caused the figure to startle
awake. Fat drops of water fell almost forty feet from the compromised skylights
above creating a loud rhythmic clunk, clunk, clunk as they struck a crustaceous
shell. There was a hiss as breath was sucked inwards through thin reddish tubes
that hung over a tiny mouth. The creature spasmed at the discomfort as air
filled its long dormant lungs.
The figure rolled
awkwardly left and right as it attempted to stand. Dried viscera cracked and
crunched and fell away in large chunks. It stopped to rest a few times until
eventually, with great effort, it rolled on its stomach and swung its legs off
the table, pushing itself to a standing position in a sort of diagonal pushup.
It struggled to stay upright as it took one awkward step forward, then another.
The heavy armored
shell made walking difficult and uncomfortable. Each labored movement caused
the figure to hiss and gasp. It took three steps and bent forward over the
table to rest. The effort was exhausting and the armored plates tugged at odd
spots and pinched and pulled on the raw skin beneath.
Many laborious
steps later and the creature was nearing the door to the warehouse. The effort
was exhausting, the movement unnatural, and feelings of weakness and nausea
were overwhelming. But a sense of urgency drove the creature forward. It knew
that it must get out of that dark place. There was somewhere it had to be.
The warehouse door
swung open and wind blasted cold rain across the armored body, but it felt
nothing. It looked down, apparently just now gaining a sense of awareness
beyond wakefulness and the desire to escape the dark building. Groggily it
tugged on a section of armored shell as if it was just now noticing it. The skin
beneath pulled, the shell seemed to be attached to flesh like that of a lobster
or crab. A disfigured hand rose up, lightning flashed and a gasp of horror came
from the bulbous armored head as it looked with revulsion at its own red and
black armored appendage.
The creature
looked to the sky and stepped into the torrential downpour. It shuddered as icy
rain made its way beneath its armored plates. A shell loosened from a forearm
and with a touch clattered to the ground. The rainwater stung like fire and the
figure backed into the warehouse staring at raw skin glistening with red
wetness. The unprotected skin was as sensitive as that of a newborn babe. The
arm went back into the rain and recoiled again as if the rain water was
scalding. It tried again and again until it could stand the pounding rain.
Eventually it
stepped out into the deluge and disappeared into the blinding storm.
Lisa barely
remembered her own name when she awoke, but now it was all coming back to her
as she shuffled along in the downpour and she grew more and more terrified. She
had no idea what had happened to her or what was happening to her presently.
She remembered hiding in the safe room and later talking to the creature.
Another piece of her exoskeleton fell away and she shivered as cold rain
pounded her left shoulder. It didn’t hurt as bad as the first time rain hit her
flesh. She almost tripped when most of the shell on her right leg fell away all
at once. It was as if she were molting like a crab. She was sick, weak, and
terrified. She had no idea what had happened to her but everything about her
body felt different and weird.
-end-
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
About the Author:
Luke Ahearn was born in New
Orleans, LA and now lives in Central California. He is a successfully published
author of both fiction and nonfiction, most recently completing Transition, the
third book in the Euphoria Z Series. He has over 20 years of professional game
development experience in lead positions; designer, producer, and art director.
Luke is also a book cover designer
interested in supporting his fellow authors. He hates writing about himself in
the third person, but thinks it makes him sound more substantial.
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Tour giveaway:
$25 Amazon Gift Certificate
5 Audible Codes
Congratulations on your book's release! I love post-apocalyptic stories! Good luck on the tour and thank you for the awesome giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I think book one of the series will be free or 99 cents soon.
DeleteThis sound like a good read! Thank you for introducing this book to me.
ReplyDeleteReally great excerpt - sounds like an fantastic book! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteYou're welcome :)
DeleteThaks, looks like a really good book
ReplyDeleteI hope so.
DeleteI enjoyed the prologue.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I worked hard on that because I wanted the feeling I conveyed to be specific and powerful.
Delete