Below Us (The Abyss Book One) by Nathan Hystad

Below Us (The Abyss Book One) by Nathan Hystad

Author:Nathan Hystad [Hystad, Nathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Woodbridge Press
Published: 2023-07-10T23:00:00+00:00


7

Blaze paced the inside perimeter again and glanced at the couch, where Luke was talking to Jason.

“They’re getting along,” Kelly said, startling him. He hadn’t heard her approaching.

“Yeah. Luke loves his burgers.” Blaze couldn’t help but feel a flash of jealousy at how quickly Luke had opened up to the near stranger. Sure, they both knew Jason in the neighborly sense, but Luke was already spilling his theories to the thirty-year-old like they were friends in school.

Kelly brushed her hair from her face and reached for her wrist, almost as if expecting an elastic to be on it. When she didn’t find one, she fidgeted with her fingers. “I’m scared, Blaze.”

“Same here.” Blaze wouldn’t pretend things were fine, because they obviously weren’t. The question became, how far had this spread? With the recent news about the beasts making appearances around the globe, he didn’t suspect it was isolated to Gossler, Texas. No, this was widespread.

A flash of light caught his eye, and Blaze hurried to the windows near the factory’s entrance. It happened a second time, and soon, all four of them were pressed to the smudged glass, trying to see where it originated from.

“Dad, it’s in the sky!” Luke pointed up, and Blaze risked opening the doors. He aimed his rifle toward the ground, in case more mutated reptiles were present, and when nothing attacked, he stepped outside.

Flakes of snow fell from dark clouds.

Luke smiled and bent down to touch it. “It’s sticky.”

“Go wash up!” Blaze ordered, and Luke blanched, rushing to their camp.

“This isn’t snow.” Jason stayed inside with his wife, his arms wrapped protectively around her. “What the hell is going on?”

The sky made a sound, almost like static on a radio. Shimmering blue light shot through the clouds before vanishing.

“They’re terraforming,” Luke said, a cloth in his hands.

“What?” Kelly asked.

“Terraforming. These creatures came from the depths, and they brought something with them. The slime. It’s changing our animals, and probably plants. Atmosphere too, I bet. It must speed up our cell division.”

“That’s why they mutate so quickly,” Blaze whispered.

Luke nodded proudly. “And it’s cold in the water. They can’t handle the heat. So they’re cooling it off.”

Blaze could still see his breath, and white flakes covered the entire parking lot. “Jason, we should leave.”

“Where?”

“To Arkansas,” Kelly said. “Doesn’t your uncle have a bunker up north?”

Jason stared at her, then pushed into the factory. “That’s an idea.”

“Then what? Wait it out?” Blaze asked.

Jason crossed his arms while Blaze closed the door. “Got a better plan? Hide in an old factory with your kid, and wait until something breaks down the walls?”

The ground rumbled, and Blaze nearly lost his footing. It was escalating.

He hadn’t thought this through. He’d only wanted to bring Luke somewhere temporarily. “It’s going to be worse on the road, and northern Arkansas isn’t a short trek.”

“Then come with us,” Kelly pleaded. “We could help each other.”

Blaze glanced at Luke, who didn’t seem overly eager to leave this place.

“Let me think about it,” he answered. “We’ll sleep here tonight and figure it out after sunrise.



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