Bloodcrier
The Epic Dystopian Series
Richard Denoncourt
BLOODCRIER
The Complete Series
By
Richard Denoncourt
Copyright © 2021 Richard Denoncourt
Self Land Publishing
www.rdenoncourt.com
All rights reserved.
Edition 1.00
Bloodcrier is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALSO BY RICHARD DENONCOURT
TRAINLAND
OUTBREAK
BOOKS IN THE BLOODCRIER SAGA
ASCENDANT
DESCENDANT
BOOKS IN THE LUMINETHER SERIES
SAVANT: BOOK ONE
FERAL: BOOK TWO
SEER: BOOK THREE
Your Free Book Is Waiting
Teenager Kip Garrity has spent the apocalypse hiding in his fortified house and training with his former-Green Beret father. But when his dad is injured and requires antibiotics to live, Kip must leave his home for the first time in years…and survive in a nightmarish world overrun with the twisted remnants of humanity…
Get a free copy of the novel Outbreak by clicking the banner, this link, or by going to rdenoncourt.com
Contents
Ascendant
PROLOGUE
Episode I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Episode II
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Episode III
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Descendant
Episode IV
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Episode V
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Epilogue
Free Offer Outbreak
About the Author
Ascendant
Book One of Bloodcrier
PROLOGUE
I.
The alarm pierced the night.
Claudia clutched the boy to her chest, forcing herself to sprint on bare and bloodied feet. Her son was unconscious, but that wouldn’t last.
“You’re free, Michael,” she told him between panicked breaths. “We’re free. Do you hear that, Michael? A new life. It’s yours.”
Keep saying his name. If he can hear me, he needs to know he has a real name.
Tonight, and from now on, he was Michael Cairne. Back at the research facility, he’d been T1-07. Lucky Number Seven, the scientists and guards had called him, since the test subjects before him—all six—had died miserable deaths in the experiments. Bleeding from the eyes, brain aneurisms—she shuddered just thinking about the agony her babies had endured.
“You’re Michael,” she said, panting. “Mi… Michael Cairne.”
She was saying the name more for herself now. It gave her strength. Michael had been her father’s middle name.
The rhythmic roar of the alarm dipped, and she heard a new sound.
Dogs barking.
They would catch the scent of blood from her battered feet. Once they caught up to her, she wouldn’t have a chance. She had to be fast. She had to be right.
She arrived on time, but it wasn’t there.
No, she thought. Please, God, no…
Claudia had been lucky so far. Her escape through the research facility had gone off without a hitch. The alarm had sounded eventually, but she’d expected that. At least she had managed to get outside first, before the entire place went on lockdown. There had even been a sliver of moon to light her path.
But the most important thing of all was missing.
Where was the van?
“Hello?” Claudia shouted over the alarm. She peered into the darkness. “Hello? Are you there?”
Had they been arrested? Or had they abandoned her?
“Please…” She was on the verge of tears. “Oh God, please, where are you?”
“Over here.”
A man’s voice. She spun toward it. The darkness shifted, and a shadow began to move toward her, crunching twigs underfoot.
“Copernicus?” she said.
The man turned on a flashlight and pointed it up at his face. Dressed in browns, he was short, pudgy, and wore squarish glasses fogged with moisture. Not at all how she’d imagined the leader of a rebe
l faction.
“Athena,” he said. “You made it. Here, let me carry him.”
“Not yet. Please. Lead the way.”
The man flashed her a quick, nervous smile. “Motherly instincts. I get it. Follow me, then.”
He jogged away without another word, and Claudia limped after him.
The van was only a few yards away, painted a dark shade of green to blend in with the forest. They had done a good job with the camouflage. She could barely see it, even standing this close.
When they arrived at the back doors, Copernicus knocked in a distinct pattern. Several bolts clicked inside.
“What’s your real name?” he asked, throwing the doors open.
“Claudia Cairne. And you?”
“Gone. I erased it. Someday, you’ll do the same. Trust me.”
There was only darkness inside the van. Then a lighter clicked, its tiny flame revealing two women wearing black turtleneck sweaters and pants. They looked enough alike to be sisters, though one was wider of frame and blinked nervously, an obvious facial tic. The other was narrow and calm, reminding Claudia of a schoolteacher from a childhood she no longer thought of as hers.
Unlike schoolteachers, however, these women carried semi-automatic rifles hanging from straps around their shoulders.
“Mary Tudor,” the calm one said.
The other one blinked three times. Claudia strained to hear the woman’s meek voice over the alarm. “Joan of Arc. I’m the one who drew the map. We’re glad you made it.”
They helped her and Michael into the van.
“I’m Claudia. This is my son, Michael.”
She handed him over, making sure to kiss his forehead in case she might not have another chance. Copernicus went to pull the doors shut, but Claudia slammed her palm against one, throwing it open and startling the man.
“Leave it,” she said. “I can’t stay.”
“But you’ll be safe with us. We’ve set you up with a home, a fake identity. You can even see Michael whenever you—”
“No,” she said, cutting him off. “That’s what they want. They’ll use me to find him.”
“How is that possible?”
“It’s what they do. I don’t have time to explain.”
“Then don’t,” Copernicus said. “Buckle in. We’ll take you somewhere far away. You deserve at least a chance at a new life.”
“Please, just listen to me. You have to keep him hidden. Don’t let anyone hurt him—not ever. Do you understand me?”
“Of course,” Copernicus said. “You love him. So help us protect him. You, of all people, with your abilities. With your power.”
“I can’t. Please. There’s something I have to tell you now.”
The alarm dipped again, the barking of the dogs louder than before. Claudia spoke rapidly. She had rehearsed this speech a hundred times.
“Michael is different from the other children who survived the experiment. From the six children who came before him. They were my babies, and they died so he could live. Do you understand? He has the potential to be very dangerous—to himself and others, even if he doesn’t mean to. No matter how you raise him, no matter how well you teach him to be a good person, at some point, around the age of puberty, he’ll change. Bad things will start happening to those around him. His ability will be a dozen times more powerful than my own. Before that time comes—before he starts to change—you must contact Louis Blake. He’ll know what to do. He’s dealt with these kinds of children before.”
“Blake?” Copernicus asked, stunned. “But we can take care of Michael just as well as that…that monster. You don’t know the things they’ve been saying about him on the network. Besides, if he can help Michael, why not contact him now? Why wait?”
“Not yet.” Claudia gazed affectionately at her son. “I want him to have a normal childhood. Louis wouldn’t know what that is.” About to caress him again, she yanked her hand away. “I have to go.”
Joan reached for her. “You can’t. They’ll take you back there!”
At the door, Claudia froze, massaging her temple. A dull, throbbing pain had risen behind closed eyes.
“What is it?” Copernicus asked.
“A conditioned response.” Claudia’s eyes jolted open. “It means he’s here.”
The others were silent. Claudia jumped out of the truck, catching a glimpse of their horror-struck faces before she slammed the door shut.
II.
The hard part was over.
Now, she just had to kill herself.
Claudia allowed herself a moment to watch the vehicle lumber away. The darkness swallowed it so completely she feared the whole encounter had been a fantasy. The men in the white coats sometimes gave her drugs that dissolved her ability to tell what was real and what wasn’t. Maybe her encounter with the rebels had been a dream, and she was still locked in her tiny cell back at the facility.
No. Tonight was real. Her stinging feet told her so, as did the ache in her arms where Michael had rested only minutes ago. She was so close to success. All she had to do now was erase the evidence.
She limped in the opposite direction from where the van had disappeared. There was a river not far away. If she swam with the current, she could get away faster than she could by running. The more miles she put between her and her son, the better. If she was lucky, a rock would split her skull wide open. She might never even know she was drowning.
After about a mile, a light exploded in her eyes. She almost ran right into the soldier wielding the flashlight. He’d been hiding behind a nearby tree, waiting for her. They must have known she would go for the river. How could she have been so stupid?
The soldier spun her around, kicked out her legs, and pinned her to the ground. Her face smashed against a cold wet carpet of leaves.
“Gotcha,” the man said. Then he shouted back to the others. “Over here!”
This one was smart. Without hesitation, he swung the flashlight’s heavy handle against the back of Claudia’s head, knocking her out.
III.
When she woke up, the forest was quiet. The alarm had stopped. They were moving her, dragging her by the armpits. Eventually, they joined soldiers holding vicious dogs at the ends of leashes—sleek, tightly muscled beasts of some nameless breed, genetically designed to be the best hunting and fighting weapons on four legs. Before tonight, Claudia had only ever seen them in the yard, tethered to their metal poles and ever watchful in case any of the concubines tried to escape. They snapped powerful jaws at her, speckling her face with saliva.
An idea struck Claudia, crazy enough that it might just work. She lunged toward the nearest dog with her head tilted back. The soldiers flung themselves into action, separating her and the creature, which had been on the verge of tearing out her throat.
“She’s trying to kill herself,” a guard said. “We can’t be stupid. The general wants her unharmed.”
They led her in a familiar direction, though not toward the facility from which she had just escaped. Somewhere worse.
Her heart pounded. She knew the clearing well. She had been there many times before, always while heavily sedated. That was how he liked to have her. Drugged to the gills. Often with her body sprawled facedown on the back of his car.
The rapes weren’t exclusive to the clearing, however. Sometimes, Kole would visit her in her cell—after having his men kill the cameras and tranquilize her, of course—and he would take off his shirt like a man approaching a familiar bed, one he shared with his wife. He’d scratch his hairy, bulging belly and say something stupid and meaningless, like a husband making small talk. And all the while, Claudia would stare at his disgusting, protruding gut and the port-wine stain to the right of his belly button, shaped like an archipelago, and she would let her dulled mind imagine she was somewhere far away and full of people and she was anonymous—a large city, was her preference. A place where the shame and humiliation couldn’t touch her.
That’s where Michael was headed
. A large city—New Sancta—where he would become nobody at all.
Bloodcrier: The Complete Two-Book Series Page 1