by Jeff Altabef
Copyright
www.EvolvedPub.com
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RED DEATH
Red Death – Book 1
Copyright © 2016 Jeff Altabef
Cover Art Copyright © 2016 Mallory Rock
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ISBN (EPUB Version): 1622533194
ISBN-13 (EPUB Version): 978-1-62253-319-0
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Editor: Lane Diamond
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eBook License Notes:
You may not use, reproduce or transmit in any manner, any part of this book without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical articles and reviews, or in accordance with federal Fair Use laws. All rights are reserved.
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; it may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to your eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or the author has used them fictitiously.
Other Books by Jeff Altabef
CHOSEN:
Book 1: Wind Catcher
Book 2: Brink of Dawn
Book 3: Scorched Souls
Second Chances – A Short Story
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RELATED SUSPENSE THRILLERS:
Fourteenth Colony
Shatter Point
Enemies of the State – A Short Story
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RED DEATH:
Book 1: Red Death
Book 2: The Ghost King
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Publisher’s Website:
www.evolvedpub.com/team-member/author/jeff-altabef/
Author’s Website:
www.jeffaltabef.com
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What Others Are Saying about Jeff Altabef’s Books:
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WIND CATCHER:
“This is an enjoyable read for all ages that goes by as fast as the authors can unspool it.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Wind Catcher stands out from the crowd. It’s... a powerful young adult adventure steeped in Native American legend and tradition.” – Midwest Book Review
“A page turning thrill a minute, Wind Catcher kept me guessing until its final pages. Age appropriate YA literature at its best. Don’t miss it!” – Judy Murphy, Masters School Librarian
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BRINK OF DAWN:
“Wow! Simply, wow! How’s that for a review? Any reader, young adult or not, who enjoys fantasy, thrillers, adventure, stories with a strong female protagonist, or simply a great work of fiction will love Brink of Dawn!” – Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews
“This book is enthralling and leaves you begging for more!” – 5 Girls Book Reviews
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SHATTER POINT:
“The book combines my favorite aspects of my favorite authors into one: James Patterson—the master of the psycho killer who kidnaps girls; Patricia Cornwell—scientific thriller; and Dean Koontz—really spooky plots.” – No Holding Back
“There are twists and turns galore in this book and once you think you have it all figured out, another curve ball is thrown at you. If you love a good mystery suspense, this is the book for you.” – Bookie Monster
“From genetic manipulation and twists of fate to cold-blooded murder, scenarios change with a snap but succeed in bringing readers along for what evolves into a wild ride of not just murder and mayhem but social inspection.” – Midwest Book Review
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Other Books by Jeff Altabef
Introduction
Map
Chapter 1 – Aaliss
Chapter 2 – Aaliss
Chapter 3 – Piers
Chapter 4 – Aaliss
Chapter 5 – Eamon
Chapter 6 – Fintan
Chapter 7 – P’mina
Chapter 8 – Viper
Chapter 9 – Eamon
Chapter 10 – Aaliss
Chapter 11 – Wilky
Chapter 12 – Cattie
Chapter 13 – P’mina
Chapter 14 – Viper
Chapter 15 – Wilky
Chapter 16 – Viper
Chapter 17 – Fintan
Chapter 18 – Eamon
Chapter 19 – P’mina
Chapter 20 – Piers
Chapter 21 – Fintan
Chapter 22 – Aaliss
Chapter 23 – Eamon
Chapter 24 – Aaliss
Chapter 25 – Fintan
Chapter 26 – Piers
Chapter 27 – Aaliss
Chapter 28 – Eamon
Chapter 29 – Jonas
Chapter 30 – Kalhona
Chapter 31 – Eamon
Chapter 32 – Piers
Chapter 33 – Aaliss
Chapter 34 – Viper
Chapter 35 – Aaliss
Chapter 36 – Eamon
Chapter 37 – Aaliss
Chapter 38 – High Priest
Chapter 39 – Viper
Chapter 40 – Aaliss
Chapter 41 – P’mina
Chapter 42 – Maeve
Chapter 43 – Eamon
Chapter 44 – Aaliss
Chapter 45 – Aaliss
Chapter 46 – P’mina
Chapter 47 – P’mina
Chapter 48 – Aaliss
Chapter 49 – Piers
Chapter 50 – Viper
Chapter 51 – Eamon
Chapter 52 – Aaliss
Chapter 53 – Eamon
Chapter 54 – Piers
Chapter 55 – Piers
Chapter 56 – Piers
Chapter 57 – Wilky
Chapter 58 – Piers
Chapter 59 – Aaliss
Chapter 60 – Michel
Chapter 61 – Aaliss
Cast of Characters
Acknowledgements
About the Author
What’s Next?
SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW: The Ghost King (Red Death – Book 2)
More from Jeff Altabef
More from Evolved Publishing
Introduction
In a sweeping adventure like this one, set in a faraway time, you will find many new characters and places to love. To aid you in keeping track of them all, author Jeff Altabef has created a handy “Cast of Characters,” which we’ve included immediately following the last chapter.
We’ve added links to the “Cast of Characters” at the end of each chapter, to make it easier for you to reference if necessary.
If you prefer to review it before starting the story, as we know many of you will, please just click the link below.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
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We really love this dystopian adventure, loaded with memorable characters that are sure to stay with you long after you’ve finished reading the story. The characters really are the heart and soul of this story. Yet the author also raises some interesting questions about the nature and fate of humanity, which make the story all the more compelling.
We think you’re going to enjoy it as much as we did.
Dave Lane
Managing Publisher/Editor
Chapter 1 – Aaliss
Aaliss nearly growled, her mood foul. Weary from a long day, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed, stuff her head under a pillow, and fall blissfully asleep. Instead, she found a note perched on top of her bed like a bad omen. She sighed and carefully unfol
ded the paper and read her young brother’s precise handwriting.
He wanted her to come to his lab, and although he phrased it like a request, he was really summoning her.
For a long moment she stared at her bed, tempted to slip under the sheets, but she really had no choice. Wilky would wait for her all night and the next day until she came for him, and she didn’t want him sleeping at the lab again.
She trekked across the Compound to his lab and stood before him.
Wilky crossed his arms against his thin chest. He was a good-looking boy with bright blue eyes, the family’s jet-black hair, strong features, and a thin muscular frame. “We’re starving them.”
Aaliss glanced behind her brother and into the holding pen. Three Guests her age, two girls and one boy, sat slumped with their backs against the wall.
They do look gaunt.
Somehow the unwanted thought bullied its way into her mind before she could prevent it. Wilky had a way of doing that—making her see the world differently, the way he saw it—and now, when she looked at the captives, she saw only skin and bones and desperation.
She waved at the Guests in what she hoped would be a dismissive gesture, but she failed miserably and felt a little foolish. “They’re Soulless, Wilky. The devil has claimed them. We’re not supposed to worry about the Soulless.”
Her words sounded hollow even to her, and a chill swept down her spine. She had begun to doubt Eden’s most fundamental teachings, which scared her. Once doubt crept in, where would it lead?
Wilky stayed silent and intensified his glare until his eyes carved straight through her chest and into her soul. He might be thirteen, but he had the eyes of someone much older and wiser, someone who knew truths he should never have known.
Time ticked on, the two locked in a silent tug of war Aaliss knew she would never win. Born stubborn, Wilky would stay, arms crossed and eyes glaring, for as long as it took for her to cave in.
A fire three years ago had claimed their parents, and she had been responsible for him ever since. Sometimes she wanted to strangle him, but he was her brother, and she loved him, and the two had forged a team of sorts. Piers, their oldest brother, completed the group, but he was... well, he was Piers, and that made him more of an honorary member of the team than a full-fledged participant.
They do look hungry.
She sighed. “Okay, I’ll find Piers and see if he can rustle up some food. But you know I’ll get into real trouble if a Priest catches me sneaking into the Parsonage.”
Wilky shot her a sideways glance and a small smirk.
They both knew she was too highly trained, too skilled to get caught.
“This can’t wait until tomorrow?” she asked.
He shook his head.
She groaned as she left the lab, retraced her steps through the Labyrinth, slipped her way to the stone circular staircase that led to the Parsonage, and cringed when she saw a full moon through a narrow window. She didn’t believe in superstitions as much as other people she knew, but a full moon portrayed an ominous sign. She didn’t scare easily, but the devil used the moon to create mischief, and a full moon meant danger.
No one else traveled the staircase at this time of night, so she crept up the steps unseen until she reached the top landing and a locked door. Unlike the other doors into the tower, which were made of wood, a heavy steel door protected the Parsonage where the Priests lived. A red light glowed by the handle, with a keypad to its side.
She approached warily and peered through a small window. The full moon reflected back at her as if spying on her, waiting for her to be discovered. She had no excuse to visit the Parsonage this late, and if the High Priest caught her, she would get in trouble. If he suspected dark motives, her punishment would be severe. Still, she had come this far and could not disappoint Wilky. She said she’d go, and she kept her promises.
She pressed six on the keypad three times, and held her breath as the light turned from red to green. The combination for the lock changed daily, but a glitch in the system allowed three sixes to work every time.
Wilky had told her the secret.
She had no idea how he had discovered it. She assumed he must have overheard someone talking about it, but when she asked him, he would not say.
“I must be crazy,” she muttered to herself, and exhaled as she edged the door open just far enough to peek down the hallway.
Flickering candlelight danced through the corridor, casting shadows that looked like living creatures, as misshapen and dangerous as those that lived in the Zone—the heavily wooded buffer area between Eden and the Soulless.
Aaliss patrolled in the Zone. As a Guardian, part of her job was to make sure the Soulless never learned of Eden’s existence. In that darkness, she was one of the dangers for the unwary. Not so here in the Parsonage. Priests ruled in Eden.
She focused on her destination and ignored the shadow creatures, willing them away. You are not real. With no one in sight, she slipped into the hallway and glided toward the fourth door on the left.
A tall, thin Priest knelt at a small wooden altar in the small chamber. Two years older than Aaliss, the handsome nineteen-year-old wore the robe of the newly initiated Priests. He had many of the same features as Wilky—chiseled chin, short straight black hair, and bright blue eyes—but that revealed only part of her brother’s story.
The fire that took their parents had severely damaged the other half of Piers’s face, the side not visible from the doorway. Half his body had been badly burned, leaving him disfigured and suffering with weakness and pain in his left leg and arm.
Relieved to find him alone, she entered the small prayer room and silently closed the door behind her. As the smallest and plainest chamber in the Parsonage, it had just enough space for the small altar, a chair, and perhaps four people standing close together. Although simple and small, it was Piers’s favorite place to pray. She’d known she would find him here, as he always prayed before he went to sleep.
He knelt on alternating black and white marble tiles. All the floors in the Parsonage were made from the same tiles—white for truth and purity, and black for lies and evil. Just like the Priests’ robes—the initiates wore black with white sashes, and the fully-ordained Priests wore white robes with black sashes. Only black and white existed in Eden—gray and the doubts that accompanied it had no place here.
She crept toward him, shadow-quiet, a sly smile creasing her lips. She could move like a ghost when necessary.
His lips moved as he concentrated intently on his prayers. He knelt at the altar, his back rod straight with his head bowed piously.
When she had snuck close to him, she poked him on the shoulder.
He leaped forward with a start and let loose a soft shriek.
She forgot about the moon and the shadow creatures, and laughed freely while he scowled at her. It felt good to laugh; she so rarely laughed anymore.
“Are y-you crazy?” he stammered as he straightened his black robe. “You almost sent me to the next world!”
“You’re always so easy to startle.” Her smile faded as she studied her brother’s face and lifted her hand to touch him. “You have a bruise on your cheek.”
He looked away before she reached him. “What are you doing here? You could get into real trouble.”
She balled her hands into tight fists. “Did he do that to you?”
“I spilled the Sacred Drink yesterday. I was careless. My leg gave out, so I had to be taught a lesson. The Book of Jacob tells us it is a sin to waste food.”
“But it was an accident. He has no right to hurt you. Doesn’t the Book also tell us to be kind to our fellow Edenites, always, especially those who are hurt? ‘Care for your brothers and sisters, always, for in this world you are each others’ keepers against the Soulless ones.’” She narrowed her eyes. “I’d like to teach him a lesson about following the ways of the Book.”
Piers turned and gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “It’s okay,
Ally. It doesn’t hurt, and I spilled the Sacred Drink. Besides, he is the High Priest. The Creator speaks through him. Sometimes he must be severe to teach the proper lessons. There’s a plan, and the Creator has given us the High Priest to explain it to the rest of us. These mysteries are hard to understand, but we must accept them.”
She softened in his grip and spoke false words. “You know what’s best.” She still wanted to teach the High Priest a lesson, maybe punch him in that round face and feel her knuckles crush his flat nose, but she told her brother what he wanted to hear. Life was hard enough for Piers without adding to his burdens.
He smiled with the only side of his face that could, but it made her feel better.
When he released her, he stepped backward and frowned. “Your hair looks long.”
Guilt ripped through her. As a daughter of Eden, she knew the consequences of bending the rules—shame and humiliation if caught by a Priest.
She smoothed her black hair. “Hair grows. I’ve been gone for two weeks!”
“Your hair is almost touching your shoulders. You know the Word. Vanity is a sin. You should cut it before anyone notices.”
“Yes, Father, if you say so.” She bowed her head.
He failed to take the bait and renew one of their old arguments. Instead, he asked, “So, why did you risk coming here? I planned to see you and Wilkiford tomorrow.”
She frowned. “It’s our Guests in Wilky’s lab. He’s upset. He says we’re starving them, and I think he’s right. They’re thin, Piers, and they have a wild look in their eyes. It’s not right to treat them that way.”
He raked his hand through his hair and started pacing, limping slightly, his left boot swooshing quietly against the marble floor. “Do you care about how the rancher treats the cattle or the farmer the chickens?”
“Don’t sermonize to me, brother!” Heat flushed her face. “These people are human beings. I’ve spent time with them. I’ve gathered some of them. They have no souls, but they’re not livestock.”
He stopped pacing and let his arms drop to his side. “Yes, but the Creator has stripped away their souls. They’re not like you or me. They are the Soulless. He’s punished them for their wickedness! We risk His wrath if we have anything to do with them. It’s all written in the Book of Jacob. ‘Though the Creator has saved but a few of us for His greater glory and the promise of a new beginning, ever be on your guard.’”