Cataclysm (Alternate Earth Series, Book One)
Page 27
A few seconds later, video begins to play of what looks like a black amorphous cloud undulating through the sky, resembling a monster of some kind. As I watch it, I notice what the cloud is actually composed of.
“Are those birds?” I ask Mason in disbelief.
“That’s what it looks like,” Mason replies, concentrating on the footage. “But it doesn’t look like it’s just one type of bird. It’s a mixture. I’ve never seen different species flock together like that. Look at how they’re moving. They’re in perfect synchronization with one another.”
The footage stops and the news reporter appears once more.
“If you see a flock like this coming towards you, run,” Brice says into the camera. “Do not stop to watch them. Do not stop to take pictures. Run. They are attacking people, Jeanine.”
“Attacking people?” the female anchor asks in disbelief. “In what way, Brice?”
Brice turns his head so the camera can zoom in on the right side of his neck. Directly above the collar of his white dress shirt is a wound about the size of a half-dollar. The injury looks red in the middle where a pustule of blood is jutting out, and there are spider-like black veins fanned out around it that seem to be throbbing in time with the man’s pulse.
“Dude,” the cameraman says, sounding disgusted, “it looks way worse now.”
“Are you in any pain?” the news anchor asks, grimacing slightly at the sight of Brice’s injury.
Brice turns his head back around and says, “Not much really, but as you can see, it looks like I may have been infected in some way. Strangely enough, the bird that attacked me dropped dead at my feet afterwards. It appears that after the birds pierce someone with their beaks or claw them with their talons, they die for some reason.” Brice reaches into one of his blazer side pockets and pulls out a Ziploc bag with a dead black bird in it. “And no, Jeanine, I don’t usually go around with dead birds in my pocket. I kept the one that bit me because I wanted to show its eyes to the viewers at home.”
“What’s wrong with its eyes?” Jeanine asks, looking intrigued.
Brice holds the bird out and the cameraman zooms in on the small black bird in the bag. The eyes of the dead bird are glowing white.
“Are you sure it’s dead, Brice?” Jeanine asks, looking skeptical.
“It’s dead,” Brice confirms. “Yet, the eyes are still glowing for some reason. It’s like that for all the dead birds we’ve run across. I can’t explain it, Jeanine. I honestly don’t know what’s going on.”
“Well, get to a doctor, Brice, and have that wound looked at.”
“Will do.”
“What do you think it all means?” I ask Mason. “Are the birds infecting people? It has to be connected to the fourth seal, right?”
“I would assume so on both counts,” Mason confirms. “If it’s an infection, we have to assume it’s something fatal. Birds are one of the best carries of disease over long distances. Millions could die before it’s all over with.”
I consider what Mason just said and realize I hope a swift demise is all that awaits those who are attacked by the small harbingers of death.
In the past few years, I’ve seen horrific things that would haunt the dreams of a normal person. I knew from experience that dying wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to the infected.
When dealing with the world of the supernatural, you have to assume anything is possible.
Ravan’s ominous warning when we rescued Jered returns to my thoughts.
“I’m offering you a chance to leave before things get much…much worse for you and your friends,” she had said to me.
Considering what I know from the Bible, concerning the power of the seals, I know her words are true. The situation on alternate Earth is about to get a great deal worse…
Author’s Note
I hope you all enjoyed the first installment of the Alternate Earth Series! The second book in the series will be titled Uprising and should be available in the summer 2015. As always, you can keep track of my progress on the book each Sunday on either my FB page or website (links below) with the Uprising Meter Update.
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
S.J. West
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cursed-The-Watchers-Trilogy/493117270724860#
Website: www.sjwest.com
Email: sandrawest481@gmail.com
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO