“Is that it then?” said Susan, her eyes on the choppy horizon. On those deadly black, sooty clouds edging mercilessly towards them.
“No science, remember?” said Gavin.
“I didn’t mention any science.”
“Somebody would’ve,” another piped up.
“The answer’s yes,” said another, exasperated, “so let’s just appreciate it while it lasts.”
The sea never dies, thought Gavin. It doesn’t matter how dirty and awful and utterly unbreakable the storm that lurks above. The sea will remain underneath. The sea will endure. The sea is eternal.
Unlike us.
Because a life underground was hardly a life at all, they all knew, though they’d certainly give it a go. The hatches would close soon, and that would be it.
There was no other option.
After all, an escape to the stars was just not affordable, they all knew, though they’d certainly dream of it. And hope one day the lucky ones would return to fix things.
A silly dream.
And the boats to Africa were plain suicide, they all knew, though they certainly didn’t blame those who chose that path. A romantic fate, to be sure.
A quick death in the acid.
So that only left life above ground, which was no longer possible, they all knew. It was the end of all that.
It was simple science.
Gavin’s phone buzzed. Without thinking, he pulled it out of his coat pocket.
“Hey, what about your rule!” said Tim.
Gavin knew he should have ignored it, but the message was now screaming at him from his device.
The storm’s surging, they’re closing the hatches early, in 30 mins! For God’s sake HURRY UP!!!
Message from the author
Dear reader, I hope you enjoyed reading these stories as much as I enjoyed writing them. I am at the beginning of my journey as an author and for me to have any hope of success I will need lots of wonderful people like you. People willing to give my books a chance. Whether you enjoyed these stories or not, I am truly grateful to you for giving me your valuable time to try and entertain you. Thank you.
This book is just a small showcase of my work, the first of many books I am planning to release in 2018 and beyond. To find out more, check out my website at https://oliverfranksauthor.com/, or please feel free to contact me either by email at [email protected] or on my facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/oliverfranksauthor/. I don’t bite!
If you enjoyed this book then you might consider leaving a review online. Readers place great stock in reviews, so if you leave me one, even just a few words, you’ll be making a massive difference. You can so right now using this link: https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?asin=B07B77MP2K
Thanks in advance to anyone who does. It means a lot.
Acknowledgements
A very big thank you to all the people who have made this book possible, especially:
Chris Grieves, for creating an amazing cover design. Check out more of his artwork at https://www.behance.net/chrisgreaves and at http://instagram.com/chrisgreavescreative.
Tim Major, for his brilliant and highly professional edits and comments.
Tony Cook and the people at https://www.abctales.com/ for supporting me all those years ago.
Read the novel I am writing
Want to read the novel I am currently working on for release early this summer? It’s an outrageous, fast-paced story called ‘Rocket Fuel Pee’, a dark comedy sci-fi adventure / satire. If you’re interested, I am posting weekly episodes here:
https://oliverfranksauthor.com/rocket-fuel-series/
Other novels planned for release in 2018:
The Big Purple
A dark, apocalyptic tale of massive climate crisis.
The Hammer
The wild tale of a disturbed loner who discovers a magic hammer.
The Unbelievable Death of Joseph Goldberg Page 7