Date Published: 08-04-2021
Publisher: Severed Press
Planetary geologist Dr. Micah Clarke, his nine-year-old daughter Faye and his assistant Catalina Abril are abducted at gunpoint; forced to join a megalomaniac’s paramilitary expedition down an Amazon tributary ruled by murderous pirates and cannibal tribes. The goal—recover a meteorite capable of providing clean energy for the world. But prehistoric terrors lurk around every bend in the river. Swarms of six-inch titan ants and a seventy-foot Titanoboa tear a bloody swath through the flotilla. Micah is convinced that some unknown intelligence is manifesting these primeval horrors to protect the meteorite’s secrets. To defend his daughter, Micah must battle monsters, pirates and cannibals, all leading to his ultimate confrontation with an ancient force possessing the power of creation, or total destruction… and the doomsday clock is chiming midnight.
Excerpt
Chapter Eight
Something bumped against the hull,
jarring him awake. He sat up, unsure how long he’d been out. The rain had
slackened, though lightning was still flashing through the porthole. He was
about to roll over when another flash of lightning lit up the cabin.
The cot beside him was empty.
Micah jumped out of the hammock,
scanning the cabin, shouting, “Faye!”
Catalina bolted awake, asking, “What’s
wrong?”
“Faye’s gone.”
“Gone? Where would she go?”
Something slammed against the hull,
jostling the boat.
Micah’s mind reeled until he recalled
one of Faye’s incessant questions. “Dad,
can monkeys swim?”
Grabbing his boots he shouted, “Come
on!” and scrambled out the door to the exterior passageway.
Catalina yelled, “Where’re we going?”
“The front deck.”
One of the gunboats roared past the Valentina followed by a second, their
searchlight beams trained on the water.
Catalina said, “Something’s up.”
Micah rounded the corner, almost
slipping on the rain-soaked gangway leading down. Once at the bottom he dashed
toward the front deck. Something wet and furry hit him in the face, almost
sending him over the railing. He pried a squealing monkey off his head, tossed
it aside, and kept running. The passageway opened onto the fifty-foot-long,
uncovered front deck.
Faye was already releasing her second
crate of monkeys, shouting, “Go, swim away!”
But the monkeys were content to
scramble around the deck, snatching fruit from the hanging baskets.
In frustration, Faye shouted, “You’re
not listening, run away!”
Something slammed hard against the Valentina. The boat listed right
sharply, a wave splashing across the deck.
After catching her balance, Catalina
looked over the side. In a flash of lightning she saw what looked like a whale
swim past the boat—but it was thinner and longer.
One of the gunboats let loose a burst
of automatic weapons fire, followed by a second. A moment later, Catalina
watched flares rocketing up from one of the gunboats.
Micah ran towards Faye, only to be
rammed by a frantic donkey. He tumbled onto the deck, muttering, “You had to
let him loose too?”
The flares reached their apex then popped
open, releasing parachutes. The river lit up in the flickering red light of the
aerial flares.
The loose monkeys all froze in place
then leapt into the water—like rats abandoning a ship.
Micah muttered, “That can’t be good,”
then got back on his feet shouting, “Faye! Get over here! Now!”
The little girl froze, knowing she was
busted.
The boat listed again and something
rose from the water on the port side—a huge serpentine shape, towering twenty
feet over the deck. Gray skin and brownish spots glistened in the flickering
light. The head was arrow shaped, with emerald-green eyes reflecting the
burning flares. A huge, forked tongue darted out, tasting the air.
Micah was staring up at an impossibly
huge snake. It stared right back at him.
A gunboat came alongside, its machine
guns firing erratically. A few bullets must have struck the target. The snake
twisted in the water, slamming its body against the Valentina. The entire boat listed starboard, sending crates and
animals over the side.
Micah ran towards Faye, only to be
struck by a crate full of chickens. He watched in horror as his daughter slid
across the deck.
Faye screamed, “Daddy!” then vanished
over the side.
Micah bellowed, “No!” And without hesitation he dove overboard.
About the Author
During the 1990’s Burke was a staff producer for the Playboy Entertainment Group, producing eighteen feature films and multiple television series. He’s acted as Line Producer and Assistant Director on dozens of feature films—some great, some bad and some truly terrible.
Aside from novels Burke has written for Fangoria Magazine, Videoscope Magazine and is a regular contributor to Horrornews.net
Contact Links
Purchase Links
Giveaway
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.