Sully nods soberly. “You’re right. We do need to find Prince Garan and any other survivors.” His eyes flicker from the rearview mirror to the road ahead. He depresses the accelerator, flattening it to the floor. “But first we need to get out of this area. We need to live to fight.”
Twisting in my seat, I turn and see dozens of vehicles in the distance behind us. “Oh my gosh,” I breathe. Then I look to my sons. I force a smile. I try to feign calm when I do not feel it. I turn back.
Sully rounds a bend, following a sharp curve in the road, then suddenly jerks the steering wheel to the right. He pulls on to the shoulder and stops abruptly. “Out. All of you,” he commands.
Shocked and reeling from his sudden stop and brusk orders, I stare at him blankly. “What?”
“Just go! Hide in the woods here. I’ll lead them away then come back for you,” he replies. “Stay here, right off the road.” He points to the dense edge of the Great Forest and I wonder whether he’s lost his mind.
“No. We aren’t leaving,” I say. I search his face for an answer. For a reason for his madness.
“Avery, I can’t risk losing you and the boys!” he shouts. “I thought I lost you once. I can’t handle the thought of it again!” His lower lip trembles and in his eyes I see the unfathomable fear I felt. “I can’t lead them away and worry about losing my world,” he says in a softer tone as his gaze flickers to the rearview mirror. To our children. “Please. Go,” he pleads. “We don’t have time to spare.”
With tears muddling my already-blurred vision, I open the passenger-side door and climb out. June and the children slide out of the back seat. Sully says, “I love you,” to the boys before looking at me. My stomach dips. His warm brown gaze locks on mine. We do not speak a single word. We do not say goodbye. I love him with all of my heart and every fiber of my being. I don’t want to be without him but I understand why he’s going. My battered face is the last image he sees before he speeds off, away from the coming Urthmen convoy.
He leaves with a big part of me. I hope for his safe return as June, the children and I run for cover, diving into a thick coppice as the sound of approaching vehicles rumbles toward us. We stand in time to watch as dozens of vehicles fly by after Sully. My heart twists painfully in my chest. June places a comforting hand on my back. I straighten my posture, staring down at my two young children. “He will make it. Sully will make it and he will come back for us.” I say to June. Then to my boys I say, “Daddy will be okay.” I say the words for them as much as I say them for myself.
“I know he will,” June agrees, her gaze as bright and clear as malachite.
I nod. To John and William I say, “Come here,” and open my arms wide. They rush to me, falling into my arms. With my boys’ heads upon my heart, I am home. In the wooded area off the side of the road with my head shaven, a brand upon my forehead, a broken nose and Urthmen out for our blood, I am home. “I love you,” I say into their hair as I breathe in their scent. My fingers bunch in the backs of their shirts as I tighten my embrace. June joins in, hugging us, as well. And for a fleeting moment, the chaos that has erupted is calm.
The world as I knew it is gone. Friends who were like family have been struck down. Cities burned. But from the ashes, we will rise again. We will rise, and I will find a way to reclaim our corner of the planet once called Earth. The people who are most important to me are still with me. I am grateful. Together, we will find a way. We will avoid extinction.
Books by Jennifer and Christopher Martucci:
The Dark Creations Series (A YA paranormal romance series)
Dark Creations: Gabriel Rising (Part 1)
Dark Creations: Gabriel Rising (Part 2)
Dark Creations: Gabriel Rising (Part 1&2)
Dark Creations: Resurrection (Part 3)
Dark Creations: The Hunted (Part 4)
Dark Creations: Hell on Earth (Part 5)
Dark Creations: Dark Ending (Part 6)
The Arianna Rose Series (A paranormal romance series)
Arianna Rose (Part 1)
Arianna Rose: The Awakening (Part 2)
Arianna’s Awakening (Part 1 & 2)
Arianna Rose: The Gathering (Part 3)
Arianna Rose: The Arrival (Part 4)
Arianna Rose: The Gates of Hell (Part 5)
The Planet Urth series (A YA science-fiction/futuristic series)
Planet Urth: (Book 1)
Planet Urth: The Savage Lands (Book 2)
Planet Urth: The Underground City (Book 3)
Planet Urth: The Rise of Azlyn (Book 4)
Planet Urth: The Fate of Urth (Book 5)
Planet Urth: Extinction (Book 6)
The Demon Hunter series
The Demon Hunter: Rise of the Hunter (Book 1)
The Demon Hunter: The Dark One (Book 2)
The Demon Hunter: Hunter of the Damned (Book 3)
Remains of Urth Series
Remains of Urth (Book 1)
Remains of Urth: The Black Forest (Book 2)
Remains of Urth: Sin City (Book 3)
The Vampire Extinction Series
The Vampire Extinction: Greyson Undead (Book 1)
The Vampire Extinction: Alex Undead (Book 2)
Oh, One Last Thing Before You Go...
When you turn the page, you may be given the opportunity to express your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter automatically. If you enjoyed our book, please take a second to click that button and let your friends know about it.
If they get something out of the book, they’ll be grateful to you, and we will be, too!
Thank you so much!
Love,
Jenny and Chris
About the Authors
Jennifer and Christopher Martucci hoped that their life plan had changed radically in early 2009. To date, the jury is still out. But late one night, in January of 2009, the stay-at-home mom of three girls under the age of six had just picked up the last doll from the playroom floor and placed it in a bin when her husband startled her by declaring, “We should write a book, together!” Wearied from a day of shuttling the children to and from school, preschool and Daisy Scouts, laundry, cooking and cleaning, Jennifer simply stared blankly at her husband of fifteen years. After all, the idea of writing a book had been an individual dream each of them had possessed for much of their young adult lives. Both had written separately in their teens and early twenties, but without much success. They would write a dozen chapters here and there only to find that either the plot would fall apart, or characters would lose their zest, or the story would just fall flat. Christopher had always preferred penning science-fiction stories filled with monsters and diabolical villains, while Jennifer had favored venting personal experiences or writing about romance. Inevitably though, frustration and day-to-day life had placed writing on the back burner and for several years, each had pursued alternate (paying) careers. But the dream had never died. And Christopher suggested that their dream ought to be removed from the back burner for further examination. When he proposed that they author a book together on that cold January night, Jennifer was hesitant to reject the idea outright. His proposal sparked a discussion, and the discussion lasted deep into the night. By morning, the idea for the Dark Creations series was born.
The Vampire Extinction series, the Planet Urth series, the Remains of Urth series, The Demon Hunter series, as well as the Arianna Rose series and the Dark Creations series, are works that were written while Jennifer and Christopher continued about with their daily activities and raised their young children. They changed diapers, potty trained and went to story time at the local library between chapter outlines and served as room parents while fleshing out each section. Life simply continued.
As the storyline continues to evolve, so too does the Martucci collaboration. Lunches are still packed, noses are still wiped and time remains a rare and precious commodity in their household, but it is the sound of happy chaos that is the true background music of their writing. They hope that all e
njoy reading their work as much as they enjoyed writing it.
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