Dire Rumblings: A Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian Adventure (Children of the Elements Book 2)
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Contents
Dire Rumblings
Copyright
Books by Alexa Dare
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Epilogue
About the Author
Dire Rumblings
Children of the Elements, Book 2
by
Alexa Dare
About Dire Rumblings
When nature refuses to be controlled, can mankind endure?
Buffeted by savage winds…
Author Alexa Dare shakes things up with Book Two of the Children of the Elements series when a teenage hostage computer whiz is caught in a clash between lawless survivalists and a rogue government operation turning supernaturally gifted children into weapons.
Hunted, threatened, trapped...
Seventeen-year-old Brody Thackett faces a militia group intent on taking the children of the elements by force from the boss-lady project scientist. A boy able to manifest earthquakes cares for his injured friend and struggles not to bring the mountains down.
No escape from unending terror…
Despite Scientist Nora Hicks’ plans, Brody and his brother fight to survive and undermine the rogue group. Ten-year-old tunnel rat Junior Burke digs in to help his friends escape the out-of-control elements, as he struggles to control the dire rumblings he sets in motion.
Dire Rumblings
Children of the Elements, Book 2
By: Alexa Dare
Copyright © 2018, Towering Pines Publishing LLC
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.
Edition: October 2018
Books by Alexa Dare
~~~Post-Apocolyptic/Dystopian Adventure~~~
Children of the Elements Series
Savage Winds (Book 1)
Dire Rumblings (Book 2)
Raging Inferno (Book 3)
Unrelenting Tide (Book 4)
Merciless Void (Book 5)
~~~Fated Mate Paranormal Romance~~~
Knight Fever Series
Where love and the supernatural collide.
Wolf’s Pursuit (Book 1)
Sorcerer’s Conquest (Book 2)
Shifter’s Need (Book 3) (Coming Soon!)
~~~Adventurous Timeswept Romance~~~
Hidden Cove Trilogy
Three women, three timeswept paths to destiny.
From the Mist (Book 1)
Of the Deep (Book 2)
On the Edge (Book 3)
Hidden Cove: The Complete Series
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Introduction
THE CHILDREN OF THE ELEMENTS
POST-APOCALYPTIC/DYSTOPIAN ADVENTURE
In the five-book epic post-apocalyptic adventure, brainwaves altered by a covert government project based out of the Secret City of Oak Ridge, the Children of the Elements are brought together and tested as weapons of mass destruction. Their struggle to free themselves and survive in the hostile East Tennessee mountains creates massive chaos and threatens to bring about the destruction of the human race.
When nature, put into the hands of children that rule wind, earth, fire, water, and the void, refuses to be controlled, can mankind endure?
Savage Winds (Book 1)
Dire Rumblings (Book 2)
Raging Inferno (Book 3)
Unrelenting Tide (Book 4)
Merciless Void (Book 5)
Chapter 1
Dark. Cold. Empty.
Strange lonely times for us lonely strange ones.
“It would be better if you were here, Cantrell, rather than your stupid sayings running through my head,” seventeen-year-old Brody Thackett stood at the Devil’s Ridge cave entrance. Behind him, crow caws welcomed Monday morning, while a barred owl hooted farewell to the night.
After a climb that blasted pain through his wounds, Brody swayed at the entrance of a cave in the East Tennessee Devil Ridge slope. The size of a small hay barn, the granite-edged dank hole appeared to be colored gray to mirror his disappointment.
Nobody here. No one home.
The sweat Brody worked up on the hike wafted sharp and chilled him to the bone until bumps rashed out on his arms. Like a deflating balloon, he stumbled inside the cavern and sprawled on a rock ledge.
This is where they were headed when they detoured back to rescue Darcy Lynn. And where he’d hoped to find the Children of the Elements once he got separated from them.
Nothing doing.
Leaving behind cedar and honeysuckle scents, damp earthiness enveloped him. He combed his fingers through his hair and tugged in a gasp so deep he tasted damp soil.
Where are they?
In the last forty-plus hours, he had been dragged over miles of hilly terrain in search of supposed paranormally gifted children. During that time, he had been turned over to the bad guys who were part of a secret military project by his own flipping brother, almost torn to bits by a tornado, injured by falling tin, and shot by the head bad guy.
Not to mention having his heart damaged by a lady scientist that could stop a man’s heart, with her touch, literally.
Bizarre, but too real.
Mysteries unknown shall soon be shown.
In his mind, he could hear his brother’s sayings replaying, while, in reality, Brody remained trapped in the middle of a real-life children-as-weapons plot.
“Twice, you turned me over to the bad guys. My own brother.” From near his feet, he grabbed a rock. With a sharp over-the-head haul, he threw the stone. “I’m only seventeen. Too young for this fucking crap.”
The stone chinked against the shadowed rear cave wall and bounced to join others scattered on the floor.
“And they’ve still got Darcy Lynn.” Brody swayed until he stood upright. “And they intend to use her as a weapon.” His arms, filled with balled-up muscle tension, shook. At the lock of his jaws, he ground his molars until the roots of his teeth ached. “Tell me, Cantrell! Were you any kind of example? What sort of brother are you, huh?”
“One who cares about the common good.” A backlit silhouette blocked the cave entrance.
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nbsp; Brody gasped, hunched his shoulders, and leaned deeper into the cave’s shadows.
“There’s more honor in Cantrell Thackett’s little toe than you got in your skinny, geeky behind.” A second man joined his backlit buddy.
Brody’s scalp and throat constricted. “Uh… Uh…”
“Shut your trap and sit, boy,” one of them barked.
Brody tucked his butt and sat. Although unable to slow down his thundering heart, he struggled to level his ragged gasps as outright panic shot through his aching body.
“Mighty fine,” said the first dude haloed by light. “Next, you’re going to tell us where the little kiddies are.”
The two bulky men stepped into the cave’s natural gloom. Their way-past-ripe, nose-hair-singeing body odor wafted so strong that Brody’s eyes stung and watered.
A flavor far worse than soil and akin to old socks smell coated Brody’s mouth. Lips pressed tight, he scraped his tongue on the ridge of his upper teeth. If only he were back at his electronics shop amid the welcome scents of heated solder and metallic warmth from running computer motors filling the trailer.
Thanks a heck of a lot, Cantrell.
Curtained by shadows, one of the strangers ordered, “Get a campfire built. We’re going to be here a while.”
Brody rose, but his bent knees locked so that he tottered in place like an old guy.
“Not you, you dweeb.” The dude’s outline shifted.
Cl-click.
A light flared, catching him in mid-wince and trashing Brody’s ability to see. Bright white light filled his field of vision, and he slowly lowered his behind until he once again met stone.
“Tuck’ll make us a fire,” said Bad Dude One. “In the meantime, me and you are gonna have us a little chat.”
Brody’s heart sank into his borrowed army boots.
Another beam spotlighted a pile of stones in the middle of the floor. “Rocks, but no wood,” Tuck said. “I’ll be right back. You got this, Helmsey?”
“He’s gimpy. Couldn’t run off even if given half the chance.”
With the right kind of gadget, like the brainwave disruptor he designed for the Briar Patch project, Brody would lay these two backwoods goobers flat.
“Got something to say?” Helmsey’s shadow lumbered close. “If it ain’t about where the kids with special powers are hiding, I don’t expect I want to hear it.”
Brody shook his head. He didn’t even have his smarter-than-smart phone with its flashlight, GPS apps, geocaching locator, or anything.
“Got respect for your brother, boy, but you are going to spill your guts about those young’uns, including where they are. Up to you whether I beat it out of you or not.”
Belly rolling, Brody squeezed his knees together. His panting breaths matched his runaway heartbeat. Arm shaking, he raised his hand.
“What the heck? You’re asking to speak?” The big shadow’s upper shoulders rose and fell before the fan of light through the doorway. “I ask you a question, you answer. It’s that simple.”
“Right. Uh...” Brody tucked his elbow against his ribs. How could he share about stuff so out there and farfetched?
Helmsey, switching off the flashlight beam, stepped farther into the shadows.
His neck hairs shifted to send goose bumps down Brody’s arms. He tensed, waiting for a blow to knock him into next week. When no hit fell on him, to gauge where they stood, he sniffed. From every direction, dankness and, stench overload.
“Tell it,” Helmsey growled from a couple of feet out in front.
“The military dudes chased us. We got separated, it’s as simple as that. So I don’t know where they are.” His lungs pinched as he attempted breath in shallow inhales. “Look, man, if you had any idea what I’ve been through the last few days…”
“I do, because like your brother, I’ve suffered worse.”
A tremor filled Brody’s chest. “You know Cantrell. For real?”
The voice eased away a bit “He’s one of us. Part of the militia.”
A boulder-sized weight settled on Brody’s shoulders. “The what?”
“The Mountain Militiamen. If you ain’t one of us, no reason to know about our existence.”
“Then don’t tell me. Whatever group you’re talking about needs to stay secret. Like the stuff out of Oak Ridge. No problem. I don’t need to hear these tales. If cloak and dagger is how you guys, even Cantrell, want to spend your time, that’s on you. The less you share, the less I know. If I don’t know anything, then—”
Helmsey snagged a fistful of hair at the back of his head.
Tears of pain stung Brody’s eyes.
“What you learned about the Secret City stuff...” Helmsey let go of his hair. He patted Brody’s cheek. “That just may buy you an in.”
“In? No. Uh… No, I don’t want in. What I need for my brother and me is an out. If you tell me where Cantrell is, I’ll go to him, see to it that he’s okay, and then we’ll get out of here.”
“The boss man’ll want to learn about his Oak Ridge savvy,” said Tuck from the entrance.
“Uh huh. Figured so too.” Helmsey, with a sharp shake, let go of Brody’s hair and stepped next to Tuck’s backlit profile to form a two-man shoulder-to-shoulder blockade.
“You see, we light a fire,” Tuck said, “and the children’ll think this fella’s come back. His tracks are easy to spot.”
Brody angled his backbone until he sat rod-straight. “How do you guys plan on catching them?”
“What’s it to you?” Tuck growled, and a fast movement swished.
Arms up and braced, Brody ducked.
In the shadows, a palm smacked wood.
Covering his head against being pummeled by a fire log, Brody yelped. At the unclean fumes swamping his tonsils, his throat stretched into a threatening gag.
“Easy there, Tuck. You got a mighty strong arm on ya.” Helmsey tsked. “You hit him too hard, and we won’t get any use out of him. Besides, it ain’t no big deal. If the kids show up, we bring them in. Unharmed.”
“How?” Quick swallowing, Brody’s voice pitched as if he were going through the boy-to-man change all over again. “You already know about their special powers. These aren’t ordinary kids.”
“You may not be too bright,” said Helmsey, “but you have know-how we can use.”
Tuck dropped his armload of firewood with a clatter. A last piece of kindling, most likely the one he swung at Brody which had been stopped mid-swing by Helmsey, clunked on top of the pile. “Tell us more about these superpowers.”
Spin them a tale of truth and woe.
Did one of Cantrell’s sayings offer him a way out of this plight after all?
Brody swallowed. Sucking in a lungful of pungent aromas, he heaved an unsteady sigh. “Fellas, you’re not going to believe this...”
Chapter 2
Atop Briar Patch Mountain, ten-year-old Junior Burke, even after escaping from the tunnels and caves—was that last night or the night before?—searched for a way back into the underground facility.
The East Tennessee mountains would never be the same, not since he’d been kidnapped and met others with special powers like himself.
He wiggled his bare toes against dew-covered dirt and stone.
Dressed in the shirt and jeans he had on when the soldiers captured him the first time and killed his aunt, sweat cooled on his skin. Shivers ranged through him as the sun rose farther above the tree line. Being cold beat roasting in his own juices in a plastic suit that kept him from touching and making the earth rumble.
The tart of the wild berries he snacked on as he hiked to get back to Briar Patch and his friend seemed to stain his tongue as much as the juice did his fingers. Breathing in pine and cedar smells, he studied the rock face before him. He’d leave no stone unturned to enter the hidden caves to help Darcy Lynn, the youngest of their group.
There had to be a way to open the metal door that was molded to look like part of the rock face.
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bsp; Turning around, he stomped. Any walk-on trigger around, and he would find it. Not to mention, plain old mad stomping helped him feel better. The tip of his tongue caught between his teeth, he edged close to the fake door and felt along the jagged edges. His fingers found no key or latch to make the door open.
A briar weed growing out of a crack snagged his hand.
“Ouch.” He sucked air and yanked free.
With his good hand, he rummaged in his tattered marble and medicine bag he kept tied to a beltloop of his jeans. He left the backpack of herbs and roots for the others, but a small piece of aloe leaf remained mashed among his favorite blue and yellow aggie marbles. Pinching the pulpy green, he rubbed to release whitish goo. In quick swipes, he dabbed the weeping leaf over the bloody welts along the back of his hand.
Right away, the sting eased under the faint oniony liquid.
Once he made sure Darcy Lynn was okay, he’d get his pack back or scrounge for an even bigger and better bag. After all, a fellow needed a proper tote for his treasures.
Over the last few days, he’d gone from being a ten-year-old made to work the garden by his aunt to grow plants, to kidnapped and forced to use his special link with the earth in not so good ways. The day before, he and the other children, along with a young man who helped them, escaped.
Yet, this morning, Junior came back to check on his friend.
Darcy Lynn, though she had a special gift too, was only seven years old, scared, and alone. Her family was gone, so she had no one else besides Junior and the others like him.
When Brody, the seventeen-year-old in charge, got separated from the rest of them when their rescue mission failed, the twins went in search of their missing guardian. Before his hike and a half from Devil’s Ridge, Junior snuck away from their going-nowhere search to return to help his young friend.
No big pile of dog doo.
Junior didn’t need the brother and sister that ruled fire and water. He did just fine on his own.
Before Devil’s Ridge, he watched Darcy Lynn’s fear-filled eyes and the bad man’s big hands on her when he carried her off into the woods. They were going to hurt her and make her use the wind for bad things.