Foster (Earth Resistance Book 6) by Theresa Beachman

Author:Theresa Beachman [Beachman, Theresa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-08-09T04:00:00+00:00

33

Panic condensed around Neve like a fist, crushing her heart and lungs.

Dear God, please, no.

Her attention stuttered from Preacher to the clutch of men with war in their eyes surrounding them. Behind and above them upper branches were flaming, a fierce crackling gobbling the wood, making the branches quiver.

As if alive.

The motion increased, as if the trees were desperate to shed something from deep inside. Foster caught her as she stumbled away, blue-black ink and carved muscle grasping her shoulder in a protective lock.

She turned to him. “The trees. Do you see it?”

The motion was frenzied now, smoke curling in thick, noxious black clouds, fueled by movement. Branches blurred with ferocity.

Foster’s voice was a low growl. “What the fuck is that?”

She rubbed her eyes, the smoke was wreaking havoc on her vision but the entire tree was hazy now, the branches moving as if of their own accord. “I don’t know.” Her grip on Foster tightened until she was sure she must hurt him but she couldn’t let go, unable to tear her eyes away from the restless energy mounting around them.

A harsh popping noise rose above the bay of the fire, popcorn kernels exploding over heat. Except the air wasn’t filled with a buttery scent, rather the scorched stench of protein, of insect carapaces.

Tick-tock.

“Foster…” Neve covered her mouth in horror, stumbling backward as the tree ruptured, rocketing missiles that blackened the air. They exploded free of the trees, ricocheting in wide arcs with a shrill tick-tock.

Several thudded into the grass at her feet, armor-plated ping-pong balls, so glossy and fresh they reflected the glow of the burning buildings.

“Ugh.” She toed one, kicking it away from Darr. Some kind of weird seedpod triggered by the heat?

For a second, her heart eased, and then the pod closest to her foot jacked open. Tick-tock. Bristling legs thrashed as it convulsed and flipped to its feet—some kind of giant wood louse from the abyss of childhood nightmares, made real and magnified by a billion. When she was little, she poked at them with a stick till they scuttled away.

But this.

This one was as big as her foot, with an orange faceplate and bristly antennae as thick as matchsticks that twitched in her direction. Mandibles rubbed furiously together. There wasn’t a stick big enough for this.

“Neve.” Preacher beckoned her with the hook of his fingers as the ground between them undulated with rolling armor-plated balls and snapping jointed legs.

Neve staggered in the opposite direction, her limbs sluggish as if the air had thickened to water. She swung an uneven circle. The men behind her with weapons had bolted, leaving her small group isolated and surrounded by the creatures.

“Come on.” Foster’s voice broke her daze as he hauled the groaning Darr to his feet.

Mabe took the other side, looping Darr’s arm around his neck and together they staggered a few awkward steps through the jostling swarm.

Neve followed even as the air teemed black with the hail of bodies. One bounced off her head and she screamed, swatting at her hair.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.