by Terry Schott
“Always the valiant one.”
His grin reminded her of the young man that she had first met and fallen in love with so long ago. “And you, always playing the damsel in need of being saved.”
“Only by you.”
“You are too sweet.”
Alina stood and Atticus did as well. They kissed and embraced. Alina closed her eyes and nuzzled her head in his chest.
“I believe we will be together again.”
“Perhaps something better will emerge from this chaos.”
“The caterpillar is utterly destroyed before it can become the butterfly.”
“I fear that it is more complex than that.”
Atticus laughed and kissed the top of her head. “We humans always think we are so complex. I suspect we have never been more simple.”
She stepped back and grinned. “My flight will not leave for two days. I was hoping that we could spend that time together.”
Atticus raised one eyebrow. “Why not make it a week?”
Alina felt her pulse quicken as she wrapped one arm around him and they walked toward the exit. “Two weeks it is.”
53
Curtis was making coffee when he heard the dull thudding of helicopter blades in the distance. He reached for the pot, poured himself a cup, and added cream and sugar. As he stirred, he looked at the bank of security monitors. He took a sip and spotted the craft touching down on a flat cleared portion of land near the tree line. A red light flashed on the control panel beneath the monitors, accompanied by a loud alarm. He pressed a button to silence it.
The blades of the helicopter slowed and the passenger door opened. A man stepped out, bending down and walking away from the craft. When he was clear of the blades, he straightened and looked around, surveying the area.
“Company?” Ariel entered the room.
“Yeah.”
“Only a single bird?” She checked the other monitors before returning to the screen with the helicopter.
“So far.” He took a sip of his coffee, then handed it to her.
She cupped her hands around the mug and took a sip. “Delicious. Think they are here on purpose?”
“I thought no one knows about this place.”
“I meant do you think he saw the house from the air and wanted to see if it was abandoned so that he could live here?”
“Ah. Should we go talk to him?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. We have the advantage and I’d prefer to keep it.”
“How do you want to handle it?”
“That’s a nice little helicopter.” She took another sip of coffee. “I say we add it to the other one sitting in our hangar.”
“Kill the man and his pilot?”
She nodded. “That’s the safest alternative.”
“I suppose.”
“You have a better idea?”
He sighed and shook his head. “No.”
“There ya go, then. Wanna help?”
“Am I a good enough shot? I’ve only been practicing for a few months.”
“From a skill point of view, you’re good enough, but this is going to be close-up work. I don’t want to put bullets into the chopper. I expect once we drop the guy outside, the pilot will try to power up and take off.”
Curtis’s winced. “Close up means messy.”
“It does.”
He looked at the monitor and furrowed his brow. “What’s he doing?”
“He’s pulling out a sign, I think.”
The man unfolded a piece of paper and held it out in front of him. On it was written one word.
“Does that say, ‘Harbinger’?”
The man tapped his chest, then turned ninety degrees, held out the paper and tapped his chest again.
Ariel laughed. “There’s no way.”
“Oh my god.” Curtis shook his head. “That guy’s the Harbinger?”
The man made a full turn of holding out his sign and tapping himself. When he returned to the original position, he turned the piece of paper around and held it out again. Then he pointed away from himself.
Ariel laughed. Curtis didn’t.
The back of the paper said, ‘Curtis’.
After another rotation, the man put the paper in his back pocket and stood with hands clasped in front of him.
“Babe?”
“Change of plans.”
Curtis nodded. “If that’s really the Harbinger, I want to meet him.”
Ariel leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll make some sandwiches and a fruit plate.”
***
“Hands in the air.”
The Harbinger looked toward the trees, stood, and dusted his hands off on his pants before raising them into the air.
“Any sudden moves and you die. You understand?”
“I do.”
“You armed?”
“Of course.”
There was a brief pause. When the man’s voice sounded again, it came from a different direction. “You see a path at the bottom of the plateau you’re standing on?”
“Yes.”
“Walk down to it. If you have a weapon on you, then drop it where you are.”
The Harbinger took a step forward.
“I’m serious,” the voice warned. “If you have any weapons, drop them.”
“I’m not armed,” the Harbinger shouted and continued walking. When he reached the bottom of the hill, the voice spoke from nearby.
“Drop to your knees. Hands on your head and eyes closed.”
“Seriously?”
There was no reply. After a moment, the Harbinger sighed and followed the instructions. His eyes were closed for thirty seconds or so before he felt hands running over his body, patting him down.
“You can stand and open your eyes now.”
The Harbinger stood and opened his eyes. “Ah, there he is.” He smiled at Curtis, who stood a few feet away. “What an honour it is to finally meet the author of Sticks and Stones.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t deny it. I discovered it was you a long time ago.” He clapped his hands slowly. “Brilliant story. Absolutely brilliant.”
“Are you really the Harbinger?”
“I am.”
“You’re one sick bastard.”
The Harbinger laughed. “I could say the same of you.”
“That’s my job. I’m a writer.”
“Once you wrote that book, you became much, much more than a simple writer, my friend.”
“No, I didn’t.”
The Harbinger’s smile widened. “You conveyed your vision, wrote the directions, I simply followed them. Most of the credit for where the world sits today is yours.”
“Not all?”
“Of course not.” The Harbinger raised one eyebrow and placed a hand on his chest. “I must claim a tiny portion of credit for what’s transpired. Not much, but a little.”
“They weren’t directions.”
“Could have fooled me.”
Curtis frowned. “I meant for the story to be a cautionary tale. What could go wrong if we didn’t pay attention and change our ways.”
“Then why didn’t you put your name on it? Or step forward and claim your millions in royalties?” He turned toward the mansion and pointed. “Not that you seem to need the money.”
“I knew that—” Curtis paused and shook his head. “I knew that someone might take it the wrong way, cause trouble. I didn’t want to be associated with that. The story was dangerous. It is dangerous.”
“Words without action are but wind,” the Harbinger said. “I think you knew there was at least one person out there who would take your book and do what needed to be done. Someone with the stones to do what you could only talk about.”
Curtis pursed his lips and looked at the ground. “Maybe.”
“Well then, I’m glad I stumbled upon it. Truth is that I don’t even read much. Sticks and Stones is maybe the fourth novel I’ve ev
er read.” He tilted his chin down and raised one eyebrow, a subtle grin on his face. “Was it everything you imagined, Curtis? The ending of civilization and the downfall of corruption?”
“It’s only beginning.” Curtis scowled and crossed his arms. “Millions, maybe billions will die. The two of us are responsible for that.”
“You’re right. It’s going to get bad.” The Harbinger shrugged. “I think you believe in humanity, that there are enough people out there who will maintain what we were, and build something better. I know I believe that, or I wouldn’t have set the plan in motion.”
“Why did you come here?”
“To meet you.”
Curtis paused and squinted at the man. “I think we’ve met before.”
“Very good. I did get you to sign a book for me a couple years ago.”
“If you’ve met me already, then you’re here for another reason.”
The Harbinger laughed. “You are extremely clever. I’m glad that you’re not dull. I was afraid you would be one of those authors who can only put two words together on paper but in real life you lack wit.”
“I’m happy that you aren’t disappointed.”
“I’m here, because the world as we know it is ending and it’s time to get my next set of instructions.”
Curtis frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“At the end of Sticks and Stones, it all goes bad.”
“That’s right.”
He spread his arms and turned. “I’m fairly certain that’s where we are at this point in time. I’ve gotten us to the end of the first book. I’m ready to read the second.”
“Book two?”
The Harbinger nodded. “Where the new system is created and implemented. I expect that phase won’t begin for years, a decade or more likely, but I know you have plans for how to make the new world better.” He smiled and ran one hand through his hair. “I’m totally certain that your protagonist from the first book—the one who destroys everything—is also the one that leads the rebuilding efforts.”
Curtis frowned and shook his head.
“It’s not the same main character?”
“I have no clue.”
“What do you mean?”
Curtis laughed. “There is no book two.”
The other man furrowed his brows. Then he ran one hand over his face and exhaled deeply. “Well that’s pretty irresponsible, if you ask me.”
Curtis stared.
The Harbinger opened his mouth. Before he could speak, he heaved forward, his eyes widening. Ariel pushed the blade farther into his back, leaning forward to speak into his ear as the life faded from his eyes. “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking that created them, psychopath.”
Harbinger
Want a sneak peak of the next book in the series?
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Prologue
The Harbinger’s mouth opened and closed silently. He slumped forward, and Ariel released her hold, allowing his corpse to fall to the ground.
Curtis looked at the body in front of him, dizzy.
“Don’t faint on me, lover boy.”
He nodded and took a deep breath. “You get the pilot?”
“Quick and quiet. We have a new helicopter.”
“Should we bury them?”
Ariel shook her head. “We have to fly the chopper to the hangar. I’ll fly out past the ridge and we can dump the bodies out from the air.” She paused. “You can help me do that, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“This new life is going to be violent, sugar.”
“I know.”
She kissed him on the cheek and rubbed his back. “It gets easier with practice. Don’t worry.”
Curtis looked down at the Harbinger’s body. He tilted his head and frowned. “This guy look familiar to you?”
She looked down and nodded. “I think he does. He someone famous?”
“I think so.”
“Cool.” She bent down. “I got his feet, you grab his arms.”
***
There was a knock on the door. Emma looked up from her book. “Come in.”
Randy stuck his head in. “I’m making dinner. You hungry?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, cool.” He started to shut the door. “I’ll yell when it’s ready.”
“Randy?”
He paused. “What’s up, Em?”
“Is Luke back yet?”
“Not yet. Don’t worry. He had a few important visits to make. It’s not uncommon for him to be a bit late.”
“He’s over a week late. Are you sure Sandy is a good helicopter pilot?”
“Absolutely.” Randy nodded. “Her dad was a pilot in some war. She was flying choppers her whole life.”
“It’s dangerous out there. What if—”
“Don’t worry, they will return soon. I’ll shout when dinner’s ready.”
He closed the door and Emma looked down at her book. After a moment, she looked up and gazed out the window. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
***
Curtis finished drinking his coffee, set the cup on the table, and sighed. The cursor flashed on the white screen of his computer. He placed his hands on the keyboard and hesitated. Then he typed.
“Harbinger.”
He paused. If I created all of this, can I influence what happens next? It had been three weeks since the Harbinger’s visit and that was almost all he could think about. He sat back and looked at the words on the screen.
A story began to take shape in his mind’s eye.
Curtis reached for the keyboard and began typing.
—To be continued in Book Two - Harbinger—
While you’re waiting, here are links to some of my other books.
Blades VR : Book 1 Scout
The Game Book one of The Game is Life Series
Ascension Book one of Blight Series