by Morgan Rice
The tone of his voice set her into a panic. In all the years she had known him, she’d never heard him scream with that sort of urgency, never heard his voice filled with fear.
Caitlin’s heart pounded as she ran up the old staircase, yanking on the bannister, taking the steps three at a time. She raced down the hall, following the sounds, sounds like muffled cries.
“In here!” Caleb yelled.
Caitlin hurried right for Scarlet’s room. The door was ajar, and Caitlin burst in.
She stopped, shocked at the sight.
There, lying on her bed in the middle of the day, was Scarlet, fully clothed, and looking very sick. Standing over her, face grave with worry, was Caleb, holding a hand on her forehead.
Ruth sat by her bedside, whining.
“Where have you been?” he asked, panicked. “The nurse sent her home from school early. They said she has the flu. I gave her three Advil, but her fever’s getting worse.”
“Mom?” Scarlet moaned, weakly.
Scarlet lay there, twisting and turning, looking worse than Caitlin had ever seen her. Her forehead was damp with sweat and she groaned in pain, squinting with closed eyes as if fighting off some awful pain.
Caitlin’s heart broke at the sight, and she ran over to Scarlet’s side, sitting on her bed, placing one hand on her arm and the other on her forehead.
“You don’t feel warm,” she said. “You feel ice cold. When did this start?”
“That’s what’s weird,” Caleb said. “Her fever’s getting worse—but in the wrong direction. She’s abnormally low: 71 degrees, and dropping. It doesn’t make sense.”
“I’m freezing,” Scarlet said.
Scarlet was ice-cold and clammy to Caitlin’s touch. It was uncanny. Caitlin’s heart pounded, unsure what to do: she had never seen anything like this.
“Mommy, please. It hurts so much. Please make it stop!” Scarlet groaned.
Caitlin’s heart sank, wishing she could take the pain from her. She sensed this was no ordinary sickness.
Scarlet began to cry.
“What hurts, sweetheart?” Caitlin asked. “You have to tell me. Please, calm down, and tell me,” Caitlin asked firmly, feeling desperate. “Exactly what happened to you? When did this begin?”
“This morning, when I went to school. I was sitting in class, and my eyes started to hurt. They hurt so bad. The light—it was so bright. And then my head hurt. I went to the nurse, and she shined a light in my eyes, and it made it much worse. Everything is killing. They had to put me in a dark room.”
“I had to close all these blinds,” Caleb said. “She said the light was killing her.”
Caitlin surveyed the room, and noticed the closed blinds for the first time. Her heart dropped. Here was Scarlet, ice cold to the touch, unable to stand sunlight. Was there any truth to anything Aiden had said?
“And now, my stomach, it hurts so bad,” Scarlet said. “I can’t explain it. It’s like I’m hungry and thirsty at the same time. But not for food. For something else.”
“For what?” Caitlin asked, sweating.
Suddenly, Scarlet shrieked, and curled up into a ball, clutching her stomach. Caitlin was terrified. She had never seen her like this.
“We have to get her to a hospital,” Caitlin yelled to Caleb, hysterical. “Call 911. NOW!”
“Mommy, please, make it stop. Please!”
But as Caleb turned to get his phone, suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. And so did Caitlin.
Because at that moment, suddenly, there was a sound that shook the entire room, a sound that raised the hair on the back of both of their necks.
It was a roar.
They both stopped, frozen, and slowly turned and looked over at Scarlet.
Caitlin could barely process what was happening: Scarlet was now sitting bolt upright in bed, and right before her eyes, Scarlet was transforming. She let out a snarl so vicious and hair-raising that even Ruth yelped and ran from the room, tail between her legs.
Caleb, a man who Caitlin had never seen scared of anything, looked absolutely petrified, as if he were caged in the room with a wild lion.
But Scarlet ignored them both: instead, she looked towards the open door.
In that moment, Caitlin suddenly understood. Suddenly, she had a flashback to some place—she could not remember where—when she herself was feeling the same thing as Scarlet. A hunger pang. A need to feed. Not on food. But on blood.
As she saw that look in Scarlet’s eyes, that desperate look, the look of a wild animal, somehow she knew what she was thinking: she had to get out. To escape. Through that door. To sink her teeth into something.
It was at that moment that she knew, without a doubt, that Scarlet was indeed a vampire.
And that she, Caitlin, was once one, too.
And that everything that Aiden had said had been true.
Scarlet was the last remaining vampire.
And no matter what, Caitlin had to stop her from spreading it to the world.
As Scarlet began to get up, to go for the door, Caitlin suddenly screamed: “Caleb, stop her! Don’t let her out. Trust me, just listen to me: don’t let her out of this room!”
Caitlin didn’t want to think of the consequences if Scarlet got past that door, out of the house, roamed the streets. It could change the entire world.
Scarlet, with lightning speed, was on her feet in a single leap, bounding towards the door.
Caleb, to his credit, acted fast. He listened dutifully to Caitlin and jumped in Scarlet’s way, blocking her path. He managed to grab her from behind and held her tight, in a bear hug.
Normally, it would be no competition. Caleb, at six feet four, with broad shoulders, was twice the size of Scarlet, and it wouldn’t even be a contest.
But to Caitlin’s shock—and clearly, to Caleb’s too—it was a struggle for him to hold onto her. It was as if Scarlet were overcome with a super-human strength. As she swayed, Caleb was thrown left and right.
Scarlet suddenly leaned over and threw back her shoulders; as she did, to Caitlin’s surprise, Caleb went flying across the room like a ragdoll, propelled through the air and smashing into the wall with such force, his whole body left an imprint on the sheetrock. He slumped down to the floor, unconscious.
As Scarlet turned back to the door, Caitlin leapt on her from behind, grabbing her in a bear hug the same way Caleb had. It was like trying to hold onto a wild bull: Caitlin was thrown all over the place, and she knew she was no match for her. After all, Caitlin was human. And clearly, she was in the presence of someone that was not.
Scarlet leaned back and Caitlin went flying through the air, propelled, until she smacked into a wall herself, slamming the back of her head.
Scarlet turned and raced to the door, and in another moment, she was gone.
Caitlin somehow managed to get to her feet. Dizzy, she ran out the room, down the hall, breathing hard, determined. She raced down the steps, four at a time, slipping, and raced through the house.
In the distance, she saw Scarlet running towards the thick, oak front doors; without even pausing, Scarlet put her shoulder into them and smashed them to bits.
Caitlin ran after her, through the open front doors, and saw Scarlet bound across the lawn and without pausing, leap over the high bushes, a good ten feet.
She landed deftly in the middle of the quiet, suburban street. She stood there, and leaned back her head. As she did, Caitlin saw fangs begin to protrude from her teeth, saw her eyes begin to change from a blue to a glowing red.
Scarlet leaned back and roared, and it was a roar that shook the entire block, that reached up to the heavens themselves.
It was the roar of an animal that wanted to kill.
COMING SOON…
RESURRECTED: Book #1 of the Vampire Legacy
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Also by Morgan Rice
THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS SERIES
TURNED (Book #1 in the Vampire Journals)
LOVED (Book #2 in the Vampire Journals)
BETRAYED (Book #3 in the Vampire Journals)
DESTINED (Book #4 in the Vampire Journals)
DESIRED (Book #5 in the Vampire Journals)
BETROTHED (Book #6 in the Vampire Journals)
VOWED (Book #7 in the Vampire Journals)
THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY
ARENA ONE: SLAVERUNNERS (Book #1 of the Survival Trilogy)
ALSO BY MORGAN RICE
ARENA ONE:
SLAVERUNNERS (Book #1 of the Survival Trilogy)
“If you liked THE HUNGER GAMES, you will Love ARENA ONE.”
--Allegra Skye, Bestselling author of Saved
From Morgan Rice, #1 Bestselling author of THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS, comes a new trilogy of dystopian fiction.
New York. 2120. American has been decimated, wiped out from the second Civil War. In this post-apocalyptic world, survivors are far and few between. And most of those who do survive are members of the violent gangs, predators who live in the big cities. They patrol the countryside looking for slaves, for fresh victims to bring back into the city for their favorite death sport: Arena One. The death stadium where opponents are made to fight to the death, in the most barbaric of ways. There is only one rule to the arena: no one survives. Ever.
Deep in the wilderness, high up in the Catskill Mountains, 17 year old Brooke Moore manages to survive, hiding out with her younger sister, Bree. They are careful to avoid the gangs of slaverunners who patrol the countryside. But one day, Brooke is not as careful as she can be, and Bree is captured. The slaverunners take her away, heading to the city, and to what will be a certain death.
Brooke, a Marine’s daughter, was raised to be tough, to never back down from a fight. When her sister is taken, Brooke mobilizes, uses everything at her disposal to chase down the slaverunners and get her sister back. Along the way she runs into Ben, 17, another survivor like her, whose brother was taken. Together, they team up on their rescue mission.
What follows is a post-apocalyptic, action-packed thriller, as the two of them pursue the slaverunners on the most dangerous ride of their lives, following them deep into the heart of New York. Along the way, if they are to survive, they will have to make some of the hardest choices and sacrifices of their lives, encountering obstacles neither of them had expected—including their unexpected feelings for each other. Will they rescue their siblings? Will they make it back? And will they, themselves, have to fight in the arena?
ARENA ONE is Book #1 in the Survival Trilogy, and is 85,000 words.
“Grabbed my attention from the beginning and did not let go….This story is an amazing adventure that is fast paced and action packed from the very beginning. There is not a dull moment to be found.”
--Paranormal Romance Guild {regarding Turned}
“A great plot, and this especially was the kind of book you will have trouble putting down at night. The ending was a cliffhanger that was so spectacular that you will immediately want to buy the next book, just to see what happens.”
--The Dallas Examiner{regarding Loved}
“Jam packed with action, romance, adventure, and suspense. This book is a wonderful addition to this series and will have you wanting more from Morgan Rice.”
--vampirebooksite.com {regarding Loved}
“Morgan Rice proves herself again to be an extremely talented storyteller….This would appeal to a wide range of audiences, including younger fans of the vampire/fantasy genre. It ended with an unexpected cliffhanger that leaves you shocked.”
--The Romance Reviews{regarding Loved}