by Carver Pike
The Fractured Fallen
The Edge of Reflection Book 4
By: Carver Pike
The Fractured Fallen, The Edge of Reflection Book 4
2nd Edition
Copyright © 2016 by Carver Pike
Published by Erotic Mayberry Publishing
Written by Carver Pike
Cover created by Carver Pike
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
http://www.eroticmayberry.com
To sign up for the Carver Pike/Chris Genovese newsletter please go to: http://eroticmayberry.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Table of Contents
Dedication
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
Dedication
Wow. Book four in this series. I can’t believe it. And I wouldn’t be this far along if some special people hadn’t been there for me.
As a writer, times get tough. Having a day job and wanting to spend time with your family makes finding time to write quite challenging. In this dedication, I think it’s time to make it more personal than the regular thank yous for sharing my stuff and being there for me. I love my street team and every friend who helps share my books on social media and in blogs. You guys are the greatest.
But I had a bit of a rough time while working on this book. A few bad reviews of the first book in the series, getting blocked a lot on FB while trying to share my work or entertain fans at events, and trying to get people to not only buy my book but also read and review it…these things wear you down sometimes.
We all need friends when we’re feeling low and at times of self-doubt…that’s when a writer needs friends most.
First, my wife is always there for me. She knows how badly I want this to work. She calls me her Carrie Bradshaw, which is pretty funny really. She thinks of my Maybe Mandy series as a Sex and the City kind of tale. I love her and all she does for me. Her belief in me is unwavering.
My kids too. They know that I’m writing and know that I do my best to write in the living room with them while watching a movie. I might not be completely tuned in to the film we’re seeing, but I’m present, and they seem to appreciate that. My oldest daughter told me recently how proud of me she is for writing and making it work, even though she’s not sure what to be proud of since she can’t read what I write. I promise to write something my kids can read…really soon.
Ellie Masters, thanks for telling me you know that I have the talent to write beyond the erotica realm. Riley Edwards, thank you for always being a friend and helping me share my work. Jocqueline, you’re always there for me, bestie, even when I’m in a shitty mood. Rachelle, even though I don’t spill all to you all the time, I thank you for offering up that shoulder time and again. Peach (Eileen), I think I could write the ABCs and you’d still tell me how much you love it and would share it. Michelle, you’ve been kicking ass with the contests and keeping my name out there. That means a lot to me. Ashley you’ve been a major part of recent contest and spotlight wins too. Thank you, babe. Cindy, it must be easy writing about the rock star life when you’re a fucking rock star yourself!
Maureen, when it comes to this series, you’ve probably made the most impact. You are always there telling me how much you love this story and much you hope it gets into the right hands. I’ve had a hard time getting people to read this series and your belief in my dark fantasy writing has helped me keep going.
Alicia, you kicked me out of a slump when you read book three. You said you’d always believed in me and that this was one of your favorite series. Hearing that kind of thing is what makes me want to keep doing this. Thank you for believing in me.
Chrisstine, you’ve been a big supporter of this book since the beginning and I know I can count on you to read, offer advice, and pimp the hell out of Gabe and his ragtag band of dark side survivors.
Caitlin, thank you for your help with this book and the last. Your willingness to share with all your blogs and get excited for each new book motivates me and I’m definitely gonna need some of that motivation as I start book five.
Some of the people I’ve mentioned beta read this book for me. Beta reading helps make sure I don’t miss anything and that I don’t screw up too badly. Thanks guys for your help with that.
My new extended family. Kendall, I don’t know how you do all that you do, but you let me vent, you sling my books like you’re a crack dealer, and you’re always there to help through whatever it is I’ve got going on. You know how I feel about you. Thank you. Ethan, Faith, Elias, Don…I feel like we’re all kind of one big happy family now with mama running the ship. You guys are always so great and definitely made a fella feel welcome. Thanks for letting me into your group.
Also, thank you to my friends, readers, and fans who not only read and review my books, but also share and help spread the word. That all means so much. Thank you to my street team for always pimping my work. Love you guys too!
If I didn’t thank you here, it’s not because I’ve forgotten, it’s because this could go on forever. It would be a hundred page dedication. So many people help me out on a daily basis. The ones I mentioned by name have had a lot to do with this specific book. Thank you, everyone, for all you do!
Chapter 1 - Innocence Lost
Haylay awoke to the light of the day shining through the trees. Sunlight was still as unfamiliar to him as the first day he’d seen it rise, but after the restless night he’d had watching the woods, he welcomed the new light.
Haylay had seen some shit in his life, and he thought he’d witnessed it all, but watching a teenage girl give birth to a black ooze monster was way beyond hookers with two vaginas and johns who liked to jack off on shoes.
He’d been too afraid to sleep last night, afraid the ooze monster would slither its way back into camp and shoot itself up his butt or through his nostrils. Every rattle of the trees and splash in the nearby river had made him jump. In the end, the sinister slithery thing never returned.
Next to him, the fire had burned down to nothing, and only a thin trail of smoke danced into the air. He reached for his bra, squeezed two fingers against its padded cup to ensure it was dry, and pulled it on.
Haylay turned his attention to his left, where Tania had been resting the night before, and found her spot empty. The girl was gone.
“Tania?” he asked.
It wasn’t possible. Only hours before, the girl had been unable to move. Escaping the Shriek Kava, swimming the river, and then birthing the black ooze had taken all the strength out of her. Haylay had forced the girl to eat and sip water, but Tania hadn’t been able to sit up, let alone walk off on her own.
“Tania!” Haylay called out.
He frantically searched the woods, looking for any sign of the girl, hoping she’d only snuck off to use the bathroom. He found no trail and probably wouldn’t have noticed one if he did. He was no hunter. Finding her would be next to impossible.
>
Finally, he gave up and sat on the ground, his elbows on his knees, imagining the worst, and hoping that at any second Tania would come trotting back to camp, smiling and skipping, with her hands full of fruit for breakfast. Breakfast. He was starving.
***
Tania walked. She didn’t lift her knees with a purpose, but instead dragged her feet forward. The land around her was scorched. All vegetation had been destroyed many years before Tania’s stroll. Over hills, across dry river beds, and through muddy marshes, she kept moving forward, having no sense of where she was going, having no sense that she was walking at all. She stumbled through the barren wasteland in a zombie-like state.
The black veins that had once covered only her belly now enveloped her entire body. They stretched down over her arms and across her fingers, up to their tips. They stretched down her legs, wrapped around her ankles, and crawled across her feet. Her neck pulsed with the things and although she couldn’t see her own face, she could feel the veins moving up her cheeks and as high as her forehead. Her eyes were open, unblinking.
Tania’s head hung to the right, the weight of it too much for her neck to bear. Her hair was frazzled and flies buzzed around it, some settling on her ears. Her tongue lolled dryly out of her mouth.
The young lady who was once Tania, the feisty teenage girl trying to understand her place among the land of the images, no longer existed. Her soul had been evacuated along with the black ooze that had run from her womb out between her legs. Now she was only an empty shell, making her way across the land, moving until she reached IT, whatever IT was.
***
At midday, Haylay decided that sitting around the camp was of no use. He’d half expected Tania to come meandering back, claiming that she’d gotten lost trying to rinse herself in the river or something like that, but deep down he knew that Tania wouldn’t be returning. He’d called the girl’s name too often and too loudly for her to be anywhere near.
She’d left, if that was even possible. It was either that or someone had snuck into the area while Haylay slept and dragged the girl off. He barely remembered sleeping at all, so he found that option nearly impossible. Then again, he must’ve drifted off at some point if the girl had gotten up and walked out on her own two feet. Either way it went down, Haylay had slept right through it, and sitting there all by himself, he felt guilty, as if he’d let the her down.
He was sitting there feeling sorry for himself, trying to decide what his next move would be, when he heard a strange rippling sound behind him. It was like someone had dropped a coin into a fountain and the disturbed water was moving around, trying to calm itself.
For a second, he was afraid to look, but then figured if the road warriors had finally found him, he’d rather die fighting than die with his back turned, cowering on his knees.
Haylay cautiously turned to look and saw something he’d never seen before. He’d heard of the phenomenon, but had never witnessed it himself. There, hovering above the ground was a liquefied portal. He stared straight ahead, his focus on the person he could see on the other side. It was someone who looked just like him, minus the wig and women’s clothing.
The boy hovering in front of Haylay had a bruised cheek, blood caked at the corner of his mouth, and his left eye was swollen shut, but still, even through all that, he looked younger than he should, younger than any reflection Haylay had ever seen in the past.
This one seemed to be lacking the horrible wisdom Haylay had racked up over the years. It was as if the boy were some sort of virginal innocent, or an untainted version of him, and for a moment, Haylay remembered once again his arrival on the dark side, back when he was unknowing of the violence, hatred, and twisted world around him.
Somehow, even through the reflection’s battered face, Haylay sensed the young man was faultless and immaculately clean of serious sin. The reflection was standing there, looking at him, mumbling over and over again, “I can’t take it anymore. Why does this happen to me? I can’t take it anymore.”
Haylay was dumbfounded at first, but then suddenly was overwhelmed with the urge to reach through, grab this other him, and yank him through the portal. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly had the urge to kill.
Haylay had killed before, when it was needed to save his life, and in the heat of battle with Gabe and Lisa, but he’d never had a strong desire to take another person’s life. It was more of a necessity than a desire. He’d never wanted to do it. So why now? It didn’t matter. He wanted to. He needed to. The thought of killing almost made his dick hard. Like it was a hunger inside of him that he needed to suppress.
He leapt at the portal with an indescribable fury. The other version of him looked afraid and tried to fight, but Haylay grabbed the back of his bald head and pulled him through the mirror, tossing him onto the muddy ground next to the campfire. The other version of Haylay yelled and threw his hands up to protect his face as he crawled across the ground. Haylay pulled himself through the portal and into the other side of the mirror.
Chapter 2 - Safe on the Water
The night’s earlier argument and the crazy flair of fire that shot across the night sky put a dark mood over the boat. No one spoke after the incident, but everyone had seen the way the babies, Vision and Vincent, had stared each other down. Trying to describe the bizarre event was nearly impossible. Gabe thought about all the tweaked photos he’d seen online, babies with the faces of grownups, or infants with angry, ninja-like expressions.
What had occurred earlier on the boat was nothing like that. There wasn’t anything funny or playful about it. His two sons, as young and innocent as they should be, seemed to challenge each other until flames shot from a nearby lantern and arched across the sky.
Everyone had been shocked, hardly moving at all for a minute. Yet, nobody said a word. Gabe wondered if they each found it as absurd as he did, like being the first to speak up might mark you as the crazy person.
Now, the mood was odd, and Tact focused only on getting them across the lake while Bronc returned Emma to below deck and Gabe and Lisa sat with the babies.
Gabe could see Hawks chatting up Ayana, and he didn’t admire the situation Hawks was in. Dating on the regular side of the mirror was an arduous task, so he could imagine trying to flirt on the dark side being a nerve-racking experience. He imagined it going something like this.
“Umm, do you come here often?”
“Where? On a boat? On this shit-smelling lake?”
Gabe hoped Hawks wouldn’t strike out. It was about time his friend found a woman, even if she was a fanged warrior who shot arrows into dudes’ skulls from a hundred yards away. As long as Hawks didn’t make her angry, they could have a nice relationship.
Watching the two lovebirds made Gabe think of Twig and Tania. He hoped everything was okay back at the camp. Seeing the army descend on the gypsy camp made Gabe wonder if they’d stopped by Sanctuary first. If they had, he feared he may never see Haylay again, or the rest of his friends.
Pushing the thoughts aside seemed best as he wasn’t sure he could handle thinking of his friends in danger. They were more like family. He had to hold onto hope that they were fine. They had to be okay.
Haylay had been with him longest, and he trusted him more than he’d trusted most people in his life. Haylay had always been able to take care of himself. Hopefully that was the case now. Still, even if he was alive and all was well back at the camp, Gabe worried they’d never be able to return. Things were drastically changing, and it was unlikely they’d ever go back to normal.
***
Hawks climbed up onto the bow of the boat and looked out at the black water. He let his feet dangle for a second and felt butterflies flutter through his stomach as he imagined something leaping from the water and yanking him into the abyss.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he heard the sweet voice of Ayana call out from behind him.
Now that he had the time to analyze it without the sound of war or music drowning
it out, he realized she had a light rasp to her voice, giving it a sexy, foggy quality.
He turned to see her stand and walk closer to where he sat. He swung his legs back onto the boat and stood next to her.
“I’m sorry I was so quiet earlier. I just…I just don’t like the water. That and…”
“Leaving your people behind,” Hawks finished for her.
“Yes.” She raised her face to look into his eyes. The light of the moon overhead reflected off her pupils and her eyes glowed. She smiled and revealed her fangs. Seeing them so close up surprised him a little but didn’t bother him. He found them strangely attractive.
“So you’re from the other side of the mirror, huh?” she asked.
She pushed her hair away from her face, allowing her glowing eyes to stand out even more. Hawks found himself caught in them once again. She had a captivating quality that he just couldn’t shake.