The Survivor Chronicles: Book 1, The Upheaval by Erica Stevens Page A
Authors: Erica Stevens
Tags: Suspense, Death, adventure, Horror, Mystery, Action, SciFi, Chaos, Animals, Apocalyptic, natural disaster, Unexplained Phenomena, survivors, lava, tsunami, earthquake
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ground that actually stayed still beneath her feet. Riley collapsed; the grass tickled her nose and cheeks as she heaved for breath, and tried to calm the accelerating beat of her heart. She thought she might have a heart attack before she was killed by some gaping monstrosity of a pit.
Xander’s fingers curled around hers before releasing her. Riley couldn’t bring herself to move, couldn’t bring herself to lift her head and take in the world as screams echoed endlessly around her. They were the sound of death, she realized dimly.
She wasn’t much of a crier, never had been, but tears burned her eyes and throat as her fingers curled into the earth. For a split second she was assailed with an overwhelming sense of despair. She just longed to lie there, shut it all out, and deny that any of this was happening. Perhaps, if she kept her eyes closed, she could pretend that she was in her bed, and this was just a bad dream. A very bad dream.
But then Xander was grasping her arms. “Come on, Riley.”
She opened her eyes, and immediately wished that she hadn’t. The tears began to fall. The old state hospital, newly remodeled into apartments and condos, was devastated. One of the buildings had flames shooting from the top of it, another had fallen over. People must have been trapped in the rubble, as she watched others frantically trying to heave bricks and debris aside as they dug through the pile, shouting for some sort of response. Steam rose into the air, far more than there had been before. People ran from it, shrieking as they blindly fled the mist rolling over parts of the field.
It was like every war movie she had ever seen, except this wasn’t a movie. This was real life. This was her life, her hometown, and it was falling apart.
“Riley, come on!” Xander was tugging impatiently at her hand, trying to get her to move, but she could barely comprehend what was going on around her, never mind actually succeed in putting one foot in front of another. “Riley! Damn it!”
He grabbed hold of her shoulders and gave her a quick, remorseless shake. She blinked at him; her mouth dropped as she tried to focus on his face. His handsome features were streaked with dirt; sweat had caused his short dark blond hair to stick to his forehead. His hazel eyes, flecked with shards of brilliant green and gold, were narrowed as he searched her face.
“Riley, are you okay? You still with me?”
She closed her mouth, shook her head and tried to snap out of it, but shock clung to her like a spider web. His impatience disappeared as his expression changed. It was his look, one of loss and desperation that caused some resurgence of common sense to blaze back to life within her. She wasn’t gone, she wasn’t a lost cause, she wasn’t going to fall apart right now, and she sure as hell didn’t want his pity.
“I’m with you,” she managed to croak out.
Relief filled him, his shoulders slumped as his hands tightened on her upper arms. “We have to find Carol.”
She nodded as thoughts of Carol helped to solidify her determination, helped to reestablish her grasp on her sanity. Xander kept hold of her arm as he led her through the crowd of screaming, crying and maimed people. He moved with far more patience than she would have through the beleaguered cluster as he shouted for his sister. He took her on a windy route that stayed far from the steaming holes and large canyon that took up half of the vast field.
Riley kept her gaze focused on Xander’s back as he moved. The black t-shirt he wore was streaked with dirt, and there was a hole in the middle of it that revealed a small patch of skin. She became fascinated with that hole as she watched it slide up and down his muscled back with every stalking step he took. The hole became something to focus on besides the turmoil surrounding them.
“Carol!” he shouted above the rising noise.
One of the emergency
Xander’s fingers curled around hers before releasing her. Riley couldn’t bring herself to move, couldn’t bring herself to lift her head and take in the world as screams echoed endlessly around her. They were the sound of death, she realized dimly.
She wasn’t much of a crier, never had been, but tears burned her eyes and throat as her fingers curled into the earth. For a split second she was assailed with an overwhelming sense of despair. She just longed to lie there, shut it all out, and deny that any of this was happening. Perhaps, if she kept her eyes closed, she could pretend that she was in her bed, and this was just a bad dream. A very bad dream.
But then Xander was grasping her arms. “Come on, Riley.”
She opened her eyes, and immediately wished that she hadn’t. The tears began to fall. The old state hospital, newly remodeled into apartments and condos, was devastated. One of the buildings had flames shooting from the top of it, another had fallen over. People must have been trapped in the rubble, as she watched others frantically trying to heave bricks and debris aside as they dug through the pile, shouting for some sort of response. Steam rose into the air, far more than there had been before. People ran from it, shrieking as they blindly fled the mist rolling over parts of the field.
It was like every war movie she had ever seen, except this wasn’t a movie. This was real life. This was her life, her hometown, and it was falling apart.
“Riley, come on!” Xander was tugging impatiently at her hand, trying to get her to move, but she could barely comprehend what was going on around her, never mind actually succeed in putting one foot in front of another. “Riley! Damn it!”
He grabbed hold of her shoulders and gave her a quick, remorseless shake. She blinked at him; her mouth dropped as she tried to focus on his face. His handsome features were streaked with dirt; sweat had caused his short dark blond hair to stick to his forehead. His hazel eyes, flecked with shards of brilliant green and gold, were narrowed as he searched her face.
“Riley, are you okay? You still with me?”
She closed her mouth, shook her head and tried to snap out of it, but shock clung to her like a spider web. His impatience disappeared as his expression changed. It was his look, one of loss and desperation that caused some resurgence of common sense to blaze back to life within her. She wasn’t gone, she wasn’t a lost cause, she wasn’t going to fall apart right now, and she sure as hell didn’t want his pity.
“I’m with you,” she managed to croak out.
Relief filled him, his shoulders slumped as his hands tightened on her upper arms. “We have to find Carol.”
She nodded as thoughts of Carol helped to solidify her determination, helped to reestablish her grasp on her sanity. Xander kept hold of her arm as he led her through the crowd of screaming, crying and maimed people. He moved with far more patience than she would have through the beleaguered cluster as he shouted for his sister. He took her on a windy route that stayed far from the steaming holes and large canyon that took up half of the vast field.
Riley kept her gaze focused on Xander’s back as he moved. The black t-shirt he wore was streaked with dirt, and there was a hole in the middle of it that revealed a small patch of skin. She became fascinated with that hole as she watched it slide up and down his muscled back with every stalking step he took. The hole became something to focus on besides the turmoil surrounding them.
“Carol!” he shouted above the rising noise.
One of the emergency
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