Under a Fallen Sun: Chapter 1
Early Chapters Series
Author’s note: Welcome to the first installment of my Early Chapters Series where I plan to post chapters from my novels that are included in the Amazon free sample for each novel. First one on deck is Under a Fallen Sun — my science fiction thriller first released through Samak Press in 2019. I’ll share the first four chapters of this companion prequel novel to the Alien People Chronicles through the next four weeks.
Chapter 1
Scattered noises outside the house drew Todd’s attention to the boarded-up window. He gently laid the photograph down on the end table and pressed his eye against a knothole near the middle board. No sign of anyone on the driveway or in the yard.
Good.
The lights did the exact job they were meant to do.
Todd didn’t feel ready for another fight with what lurked in the shadows just yet. His left arm still sported a crude splint from the last encounter. Only electrical tape held the metal, padding, and cloth strips together at this point. Much of the swelling sub sided since he popped his wrist back into place. Those nerves still reminded him how inflamed they were each time Todd made the mistake of bumping against any solid object.
The end table captured his attention a second time. Todd picked up the photograph where he left it. He gazed at the pho tograph with an unbroken stare, studying it like a map to hidden treasure. His eyes traced Caroline’s red hair, freckled skin, and broad smile.
Todd closed his eyes and bit down on his lower lip. Only three weeks since Caroline had been stolen from him. It felt like another lifetime now. He longed to feel her breath caress his neck in the early morning hours. Her infectious laughter burrowing into his ears would offer a perfect antidote to the pain he felt right now.
Those monsters ripped Caroline from his life. Since that moment, they watched and waited. Their sole purpose, it seemed, centered on bringing the same fate to him.
One light flickered. Another did the same. His eyes snapped open. He ripped his gaze away from the photograph and glanced at the ceiling.
Every light extinguished with a suddenness mirroring a candle’s flame blown out. Darkness flooded the entire living room. Todd sprang to his feet. His eyes darted first to the boarded-up window, then to the front door.
“Damn! The lights!”
Scattered noises outside the house grew in strength and number. Growls soon permeated the entire living room. Those awful creatures were drawing closer. No matter how many times Todd heard it, their low shrill sounds sent a chill rippling through his entire spine. He sprinted out of the living room and through the kitchen.
Glass shattered, followed at once by a loud thud. Todd couldn’t help wondering how large of a stone they tossed against the boarded-up kitchen window this time. It sounded big.
Too big.
If he didn’t fix the lights soon, their attacks would only grow worse.
Todd yanked open a door leading into the garage. Banging sounds from creatures trying to break down the garage door greeted him. More unsettling growls accompanied the banging.
He ripped open the circuit panel and shut off the main circuit breaker. Then, just as quickly, Todd threw the transfer switch to a standby generator.
Lights snapped to life on every side of the house. One light popped on inside the garage. Multiple screams ripped through the air. Todd closed his eyes and let out a relieved sigh.
No doubt those creatures began their retreat into the shadows where they belonged. He slumped down against the wall. Nights like this one made him wonder how much longer he could hold out.
This marked the second such attack in three days. Their boldness increased as they became more convinced of the weakness of his position. These monsters kept testing his defenses. Now one figured out how to cut power to the house. Todd felt fortunate this place had a backup generator. Still, it only felt like a matter of time before they pinpointed the right weakness to breach his defenses and drag him away.
Todd couldn’t let them do it. For Caroline’s sake.
She would want him to keep fighting and hang on as long as he still possessed the strength to do it. He only wished she could be here by his side. Her spirit drove him to fight. Still, her warm body pressed against him and her voice in his ears alone could fill a chasm of loneliness carved out in his soul.
A spasm shot through Todd’s right leg. He clenched his teeth and rolled up his dark blue jeans. The fabric concealed a large wound. Where blood once oozed, now a scab sealed fluid inside. Pebble sized bony growths started to press against the underside of his skin in the surrounding area.
Todd scrambled to his feet. He stumbled again and crawled up the steps. Breaths escaped from between his lips in short heavy bursts.
He needed light.
Unfiltered light. Applied directly to the leg.
As Todd reached the top step, he glanced over at a shelf set against the wall on his left. He stumbled off the side of the stairs. His knees banged against the cement floor, and he winced.
Todd crawled toward the shelf and grasped onto the side. He pulled himself to his feet and wrapped his fingers around a flashlight. Spasms kept surging through the injured leg. Each wave came in greater intensity than the one before it.
Now almost doubled over, Todd turned on the flashlight. He planted the beam squarely on the festering scab. Each bony growth began to twitch and shrink under the light. Todd shouted and clenched his teeth. His knuckles turned white from clutching onto the shelf.
Searing pain gave way to a dull throb until, at last, muscle tissue in Todd’s leg returned to normal. A cloudy fluid oozed from under the scab and trickled onto the cement. Steam arose from the fluid as it made its descent. He dropped the flashlight to his side and panted. Melting bony growths grew more difficult each time, but he had to do it. Todd had to prevent these changes from occurring as long as humanly possible.
Human remained the keyword there. Todd did not want to become like others he encountered in this town. Deep in his heart, though, it felt like a losing battle.
Hopes for escape dwindled even as days he spent trapped here morphed into weeks. Todd’s tolerance for unfiltered light grew progressively weaker each day. Searching for a way to shut off the barrier had proven too dangerous to do at night. By day, sunlight now sapped his strength much too quickly for him to cover any substantial ground. It continually forced him to return to this same spot and prepare for the night ahead.
Todd always wondered what Hell felt like to its inhabitants. He now had a pretty good idea.
Enjoying the story so far? Under a Fallen Sun is available in hardcover, paperback or eBook formats at booksellers worldwide. You can also check out the audiobook on Audible or Apple.
This sounds way to cool. Can't wait to read more.