The Minotaurs of Maze World
Page 36
The concept of the omniverse still felt staggering...
Don't think about it. He imagined Riley's voice.
Opening the fridge, Jason reached in to grab a beer then remembered that his traumatized and depressed other self from a parallel world had drunk them all ... while they were gone on another world full of aliens selling minotaur hides and being paid a fortune in gold ... and Jason was being fitted for a jacket by an omniversally-famous alien tailor who could read his mind...
Fucking crazy.
Jason Leaper 934 smiled. He felt giddy.
He needed to get more beer.
Tomorrow, he thought. After killing that minotaur that he let loose on Earth.
He laughed. Wild! he thought with a grin. What a mind trip!
And this was all just starting! His adventures were just beginning!
After changing out of his armor and filthy clothing, Jason took a nice and long hot shower, then he put on a t-shirt and sweatpants to sleep in. He laughed at himself in the mirror; at his short hair and eyes that seemed full of unimaginable sights.
His face seemed leaner.
Am I losing weight? he wondered.
After brushing his teeth, Jason saw that Riley and Gliath had apparently turned in for the night since his parents' room's door was closed. The soldier wanted to head out to hunt the alpha minotaur early in the morning and these guys were serious monster hunters. Riley was probably equally serious about getting good night's sleep before a job.
Jason imagined Gliath shifted into his leopard form, curled up like a giant cat on the carpet in there somewhere. Or maybe the Krulax was curled up at the base of the bed just like a pet dog would be.
Eventually, Jason made it back to his room, and to bed.
As he stared up at the dark popcorn ceiling, hearing Jason 1241 snore softly from the living room couch, the man's mind started to decompress. He was looking forward to the morning.
Jason thought about the minotaur they'd be hunting down. The monster had to be stopped.
Sorrow, he thought, remembering the words of the mysterious tailor. The minotaur named Nargog was focused on survival...
The monster had a name.
Soon, Jason would be wearing a jacket made from the skin of an alpha minotaur; the same minotaur named Nargog from a parallel world.
Was it wrong that Jason had hunted down and killed something with a name?
Riley's words echoed through his mind: Don't think about it...
Jason closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
He dreamed of dinosaurs.
THE END.
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading this book! Jason is just scratching the surface of his rifting powers now, and will be back in the next book with different worlds to go to and different monsters to hunt!
Don't stop turning the pages yet. Details about the next book, an excerpt from another book, and Author's Notes are still ahead!
Sincerely,
Eddie Patin
Special Offer - Want a Free Book Related to this Series?
Join my Fiction Mailing List, and I’ll send you a FREE NOVELLA related to the Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit series—something not sold in bookstores and only available to my fans! As a member of my mailing list, you’ll receive occasional updates about upcoming books and you’ll probably get more free goodies from time to time. No spam—I promise.
“A Bond Between Man and Monster”
How did Riley Wyatt the cybernetic gunslinger meet Gliath Voidheart the Deathhand, the Krulax leopardwere?
While on a particularly horrific bounty to assassinate a pair of Night Hag sisters on a lightless, obsidian world, the Reality Rifters--led by Jason Leaper 47 at the time--are beset by disaster! Afterward, back home and trying to figure out what to do about Jason 47's crippled condition, Riley regales the group (upon request) with the story of how he first met Gliath and how their unique relationship was forged...
There was a time when Riley Wyatt was a mercenary in a prestigious outfit called the Ninth Fists. After working with the company for just over a year, Riley was deployed with Third Squad to a strange world full of sentient, shapeshifting animals. Their aim was to forcibly acquire something specific and unique, but Intel was bad, and the squad was thrust into the middle of a chaotic war between the Krulax people and the dreaded shadowstriders. After what was to be his last mission with the Ninth Fists, Riley left Gliath's homeworld as the sole survivor of Third Squad ... but he didn't leave alone...
This story within a story is a special treat JUST FOR FANS, going into some exciting and bizarre backstory of the Reality Rifters and the cyborg/beast-man duo that rescued Jason Leaper 934 in "The Wyvern in the Wilderlands". This novella is not available in stores—it's a FREE GIFT for anyone who enjoys the "Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit" series and signs up for the Eddie Patin Fiction mailing list. Go to EddiePatin.com/monster-hunter-free-book to download your copy, or click below for a direct link.
Click Here to Download “A Bond Between Man and Monster”
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So What Happens Next?
Continue to the Next Book in the Series!
"The Heart of a Necromancer"
"Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit" Book 3
Explore other Universes.
Hunt Deadly Monsters.
Make a Profit.
What an amazing new life of gold, guns, glory ... and dinosaurs!
Enjoying some rest and relaxation between bounties while waiting for his new minotaur-hide jacket to be ready, Jason Leaper 934 feels like he's really getting the hang of his rifting powers. And when the Reality Rifters are at the right place at the right time, Jason earns his team an exclusive job involving a necromancer and hunting gargoyles on a world similar to his own that's been long-cast back into the dark ages.
But after a sad and shocking twist, Jason is left struggling with the meaninglessness of an infinite omniverse, and Riley's answer of "don't think about it" isn't enough for him. As the Reality Rifters delve deeper into their 'exclusive' bounty, the evil politics of a backward, brainwashed village--as well as a beautiful local girl with a dark and tragic past--tempt Jason to become involved in more than just the grisly business of monster hunting. Will guns, armor, and rifting powers be enough for the Reality Rifters when the Darkness comes...?
The Heart of a Necromancer is a fast-paced, weird fantasy/science fiction story and is the third book in the "Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit" series about Jason Leaper 934 and his planeswalking Reality Rifters, Monster Hunters for hire. If you love books about guns, survival, vicious and terrible mythical monsters, cosmic horror, time travel, DINOSAURS, and exploring strange new worlds ... read this today!
Click HERE to find Book 3
About Eddie Patin
Eddie writes cosmic horror, grim sci-fi, and dark fantasy. His books are full of adventure, guns, monsters, and weird places. When not writing, Eddie either is playing with firearms, swords and other pointy things, or enjoying craft beer, a good smoke, and maybe some scotch. He might also be fighting zombies, or contemplating other dimensions.
Born in south Louisiana, Eddie Patin has lived in Colorado for most of his life with a short stint in Vegas as a professional poker player--back before it was cool. He's a musician, an artist, and has worked as a marketing consultant and graphic designer. His books are mainly a gritty, fast-paced blend of 60% science fiction and 40% fantasy with a dark, swirling tinge of terror and the bizarre shit that the tiny human mind cannot fully comprehend...
Follow Eddie Pati
n on:
amazon.com/author/eddiepatin
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Join the Eddie Patin Fiction mailing list to get FREE BOOKS and updates. (EddiePatin.com)
More Books from Eddie Patin
Fiction
The “Apocalypse Gate” Series
An 'End of the World' Horror Survival Story with EMP's and monsters
Portal Zero – “Apocalypse Gate” Book 1
Worlds Merge – “Apocalypse Gate” Book 2
Ruin Prevails – “Apocalypse Gate” Book 3
The Sniper and the World Eaters – “Apocalypse Gate” Bonus Feature
The “Apocalypse Gate” Full Trilogy Box Set
MALADY – "Apocalypse Gate" Related
The “Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit” Series
Weird Fantasy / Sci-fi Exploration, Adventure & Action – Guns, gold, and monsters
The Wyvern in the Wildlands – Book 1
The Minotaurs of Maze World – Book 2
The Heart of a Necromancer – Book 3
The Giants of Shattered Swamp – Book 4
A Bond of Man and Monster – Special Bonus Feature
The Helion Depths – Related Short
Goran the Slayer – Related Short
Other Fiction Books
The Halls of the Shadowmancer – From “The Chronicles of Alex Varia”
Dust in Darkness – A Short Story Collection
NonFiction
Curb Painting – Little Books of Extra Cash Volume 1
Declutter Magic – Organized for Life Series Book 1
Declutter Magic 2 – Organized for Life Series Book 2
Children's Books
(Being Updated—Click Here to Check it Out)
MORE COMING SOON!!
Keep up with my Website for New Titles (Click Here!)
Enjoy this Excerpt from “Portal Zero”
“Portal Zero” - Apocalypse Gate - Book 1
EMP Survival – Post-Apocalyptic Dark Sci-fi, Cosmic Horror
Where were you when the lights went out and the monsters came?
In the near future, a government experiment out of control opens gateways to other worlds and dimensions all over planet Earth, plunging everyday people into a nightmare of grim survival against the horrific and bizarre...
Portal Zero. The beginning of the end.
- In Colorado Springs, CO, young family-man Arthur can't find his wife and young sons when all electronics and vehicles in the city are disabled. But the EMP is the least of his worries. When the city quickly turns to looting and anarchy, he sees much darker dangers in the shadows with glowing blue eyes...
- In Geneva, Switzerland, Chad is a naive cameraman working for a news network filming the opening of Portal Zero, mankind's first experiment with 'Dimension Drive'--an attempt at inter-space travel. Barely out of his internship, Chad is forced to survive the terrifying creatures that emerge from the gateway when everything goes wrong. When the slaughter in the deep-underground lab begins, how will he survive, trapped and isolated from the surface?
- Meanwhile, in Zion National Park, UT, Megan is a fit and self-made woman on vacation with her boyfriend when a mysterious thunderclap kills all of the electronics in the park. When a strange, golden obelisk appears in the middle of the park, a mysterious and unseen force begins transforming the tourists around her.
- Harvey is an alcoholic, disgraced police officer in Las Vegas, NV, recently imprisoned after failing at his spree of vigilante justice on the unpunished. But when the city's power fails and the precinct over his cell is breeched by an army of nightmares, it seems that Hell itself is invading the city of sin, and the Strip is burning.
- Kayleen is a young college student and art major at PSU in Portland, OR. She doesn't really care about much more than Veganism and the boy she secretly has a crush on. But when a weird, alien environment follows an EMP-induced city-wide blackout one night while she's at an off-campus party, what will Kayleen find out about her values when everyone's focus turns to survival?
- Tommy and Jody are two young children in Flagstaff, AZ, living with their mom and dad and enjoying a stable childhood, when a town-wide power outage becomes a call for concern when it's not fixed by the next morning. When the family hears the police fighting against invading monsters in the business district nearby, and they are all forced to evacuate their home because of a spreading wildfire, the children have no idea that their lives are about to change forever...
In a year much sooner than you think, while scientists and politicians argue about global warming and lack of resources, the United Nations has reorganized itself into the UEA, the first serious attempt at a world government. “Dimension Drive” is being developed for wormhole-based space travel in Europe by the UEA to expand human civilization into the stars. But the UEA development team responsible for Dim Drive has no idea that they’re about to lose control of the portal they’re trying to harness because of a massive, unforeseen EMP, ushering in the end of the world as we know it.
In America, one of the last superpowers holding out against joining the United Earth Alliance, several individuals across the country are going about their lives, unaware that UEA scientists are quietly conducting the first real test of their new Dimension Drive technology that will change everything...
Do you love guns, tactical realism, and monsters? Are you a fan of cosmic horror and dark fantasy / sci-fi? Love the Mist? Lovecraft? Doom? Stranger Things? EMP and Prepper Survival? This story is full of terror, suspense, and bad language. If you can dig it, strap in for a ride to Hell!
(Read on for a preview)
1 - Chad Murray
UEA Science Research Lab, Geneva, Switzerland
Portal Zero sat pristine and dormant before the team of UEA scientists, soldiers, and an international news crew. No one had no idea that everything they perceived as reality was about to be mangled and turned upside down by the infinite horrors of the cosmic unknown...
“So we’re not actually doing it live,” Chad said, tightening the pivot points of the tripod.
Looking at the bright digital display, he tilted and pitched the camera little by little until the composition was just right. Melinda adjusted her shirt, her bra, and the lapel microphone tucked into her bright red blazer. She moved a strand of medium-length dark hair out of her face, back to the side where the makeup team intended it to stay.
“No, Chad. This is for later.” She pressed her ruby red lips together and glared at him. The anchorwoman gave him that look—the look he’d seen plenty in these last two months that spoke volumes of resentment and annoyance.
Too young, her eyes said. Just a dumb kid. A skinny little hipster playing with the big dogs. Even though Melinda had known Chad for several years when he was in high school and throughout college, even though she was a family friend, the young man couldn’t shake the feeling that she hated him for getting a hand-up in the network. It wasn’t his fault that she'd agreed to take him on when his uncle asked her to.
Melinda could have said no. Chad would have understood and started as an intern like everyone else.
There were no other twenty-two year old technicians working for senior anchors, after all.
Later, looking back on this moment as he sat on the irradiated ground of the California wasteland, Chad would laugh at how none of it mattered; how his worrisome little house of cards would soon be ripped to pieces like the rest of the world...
But for now, here he was, deep underground in a secret research facility for the United Earth Alliance, surrounded by soldiers and scientists, shooting something super-important for one of the largest media networks on the planet.
No pressure.
“This is Melinda Ballard reporting live at the UEA’s Science Research Lab under the UEA Office in Geneva, Switzerland.” She smacked her lips. �
�Geneva, Switzerland. Switzerland.” Melinda was looking at the camera even though Chad wasn’t recording, repeating bits and pieces of her introduction as if warming up her tongue. Chad knew that she’d been one of the senior anchors for the United News Association for what ... six years now? But even still, this particular gig must be a big deal for her too.
He wondered if she ever got nervous.
With a perfectly manicured hand, Melinda reached over to the table out of view of the camera and grabbed a bottle of water with a straw. She carefully pursed her lips and took a drink.
“Then why do you keep saying live?” Chad asked. He scratched at his scruffy face and felt his man bun to make sure his hair was still in place.
She smirked at him, her crow’s feet barely showing under the makeup.
“Because, kiddo, it’s for the viewers. Makes them trust the news if it's live. We'll still have to edit this later.” She put the bottle back on the table and composed herself, adjusting her ear piece. “This is Melinda Ballard reporting live at the UEA’s...”
The camera was pretty-much good to go. Chad had positioned Melinda a third into the frame, and behind her, viewers could clearly see parts of the desks and computer terminals, the scientists or technicians (whatever they’re called these days, Chad thought) working at their individual tasks. In the center of the shot was the gate, up at the front of the room.