Glistening Haven: A Shape Shifting Dystopian Boxset

by Jill Cooper

  Bruce rolled her over onto her back. “I’ll teach you a lesson or two, councilor.”

  She wore her best come hither look as he leaned in to kiss her. The bedroom was illuminated with an orange glow. Diane squinted her eyes toward the bedroom window. Outside she saw fires raging in the distance and she could hear something like gun shots. Only worse.

  “What the hell?” Diane asked, pushing herself up on her elbows just in time to watch her street ripped to shreds.

  Glass from her windows flew into the bedroom and the whoosh of air from a jet plane trimmed the trees down to bushes. Explosions drowned out her screams and she couldn’t hear a word Bruce was saying, even though his mouth was moving.

  He grabbed her by the shoulders and they rolled onto the ground. Her room exploded with color. Inside her head it felt like something popped. She couldn’t hear anything, but the pain in her ears felt like something hit her. But it was so deep, Diane didn’t think it was possible. She clamped her hands over her ears and screamed.

  Bruce shoved her shoulder and spoke, but she heard nothing. He pointed out into the hall and Diane nodded her understanding. She scurried on her knees like an animal, crawling through her house. The only thing she was aware of was the heaving of her own breath and the racing of her heart.

  At the front door, she turned to make sure Bruce was still there. She had on no top or pants, but Diane didn’t care. She just needed to get out there. See what was going on. Her breath slowed as she opened the front door and then she ran out into the street, with Bruce’s hand clasped tightly in her hand.

  Up in the night sky she saw shapes flying against the moon light. Her eyes trained on them and then fell to the roofs of the neighboring houses. Diane realized it wasn’t Santa Clause she saw perched on top, watching and waiting for them.

  It was glistenings.

  She screamed as one dive bombed toward them. Diane glanced behind herself and saw the glistening was picking up steam. Its eyes were narrow and its snout was so close to her, she could make out the small hairs on its nostrils standing up.

  Diane’s face fell into the ugly cry as she ran. Ran so fast, she could feel her breasts smacking into her chest. Her feet hurt from stepping on glass fragments and pieces of rock, but she kept going. She kept going because the glistening was still coming.

  She couldn’t hear Bruce’s voice beside her. He grabbed her hand and tugged her along when she fell behind. Diane could feel the glistenings picking up steam. Her bones rattled with the vibrations coming up from the pavement

  Diane didn’t want to be food. Didn’t want to be someone’s slab of meat.

  They ran for blocks and up ahead Diane could see other people. Some in their pajamas and some clutching their children. There were other glistenings, forcing people to this location and as Diane got closer, she could make out trucks.

  Lots of trucks and people were getting into them single file. By the time they got there, the sky was blue even though it was still night time and the glistenings descended from the heavens like invading locusts.

  Diane’s hands clutched her body and she screamed, backing up into Bruce’s arms as they were all around them. Hissing and snorting their warnings. When a man fought back, he was swiped with little regard with a tail, and then a claw. His body soared through the air like he was nothing more than a rag doll.

  The glistening tilted his head back, opened his mouth and caught the poor man in his powerful jaws. Diane screamed and covered her mouth, watching as the beasts tore him apart limb from limb like he was some sort of dog treat.

  When they arrived at the opening of the trucks, Diane got in and she prayed that Bruce would too. He was the only one there she knew. Right then she would have killed to have her phone. To call her parents. Anyone she had ever met and beg them to run. To go anywhere.

  The glistenings were coming. And they were going to keep coming.

  And coming….

  Diane sobbed and folded against Bruce’s chest. She felt the hum of the engines roll. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw a man close the back door to the truck. He was in an army uniform and wore a beret on his head. On his chest was the emblem of the old Mexican flag.

  Mexico had betrayed them to the glistenings?

  “Bruce,” Diane whispered and though his voice sounded like it was far off like he spoke from the future, she felt better. When he wrapped his arms around her like he was a warm blanket on a rainy day, she felt safe.

  ****

  The White House was decimated.

  All of the personnel were killed and easily taken by the combination of Mexican commandos and the glistening monsters who ruled the night sky. All tallied, Victor had over six thousand glistening soldiers, all recently freed from New Haven bubbles and all ready for a little blood. A little revenge.

  Victor took his human form and was flanked on either side by Mexican guards as he stepped up to the White House. It was smaller in person than he thought it would be. Glancing up he saw the glistenings perched on the roof bow their heads in respect to him.

  And he to them did the same. He wouldn’t be there without their support. Just like the glistenings back at the farm, but now they had worn out their welcome. Too human. Not enough monster. Jake had all but neutered them. So when it came to loyalties, Jake could have them.

  Victor had his army.

  He strolled into the building and found his way to the Oval Office. It was just as it was on the television and the movies from the carpet, the soft sofas, and the desk. “So this is where the magic happens.” Victor traced the top of the desk with his fingers before throwing himself into the chair.

  He leaned back, folding his hands across his lap. Smug, his lips stuck out in a happy grin. “Is this all it takes to become Commander and Chief?”

  “The President is still alive. He’s deep in the bunker. If you want his job, you’re going to have to find a way to get him out.” The Mexican Commander said.

  “The house, the senate, all of it must be dealt with if we are to have our freedom.”

  Victor smirked. “Figureheads. We will have this town crippled by morning. The state police, will be a joke and easy pickings for well-fed glistenings. I have my sights on something else altogether. The real power that runs this country. The world. ”

  They exchanged worried glances with each other, but Victor was calm and collected. He pulled open the desk drawer and spied what he came here for. The commander’s manual, passed down from president to president. The one that contained all the secrets of the world.

  He hefted it out and dropped it on the desk. The golden emblem was one everyone was familiar. It was the one all HI officers wore.

  Victor narrowed his eyes, his lip curled and anger bubbled up from his soul. “New Haven.”

  Epilogue

  Jameson Residence

  New Haven 57, 15 Candy Cane Lane

  The morning coffee brewed on the counter.

  The kitchen was small, but filled with love. Like all of the New Haven kitchens, the counters set up in an L shape and blue granite. The fridge is tucked in the corner while a cozy kitchen island takes up the majority of the floor space. Breezy white curtains frame a small window overlooking the neighbor’s yard directly above the gleaming kitchen sink.

  It’s quaint and small, and absolutely perfect as bacon warms in the oven and the toaster pops two pieces of perfect white bread.

  The pregnant housewife is in the living room, in her polka dot dress. The shiny red heels on her feet matched her fire engine red hair spiraled up in a French twist. Pearl earrings decorate her lobes; if it wasn’t for the glistening restraint harness around her neck, you’d never suspect she was anything less than perfect.

  Perfect. That’s exactly how the living room looked once she finished fanning the magazines out on the coffee table in front of the retro cabinet television. For a brief moment, Jenna smoothed the retro style TV Guide magazine made just for New Haven and its cable station. She picked it up and flipped to th
e back to view the crossword puzzle. Oh good, Jenna thought and patted her pregnant belly, I haven’t done this one yet.

  She stopped at the foot of the stairs. “Rick, honey, breakfast is ready!”

  Jenna hurried into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee for her husband and put in equal amounts of coffee and creamer. When she turned, there he was and her heart pounded with excitement.

  Rick Jameson smiled at her. “Thanks, hon.” He took the coffee and sipped it, one arm slipped around her shoulders. “Oh that’s perfect. You know just how I like things.”

  “Well, I would hope so.” Jenna smiled wide and bright. She closed her eyes as Rick leaned in to give her a kiss. Her heart pounded and she rested her hand on his chest.

  Jameson leaned down and rubbed her small baby belly. “I’ll see you later, little one. And you,” he touched Jenna’s chin gently, “I can’t wait to see you either.”

  Jenna bit her lip, her hand running along his neck. It was free of a harness. Why was it her husband didn’t have to wear one? “I’ll be waiting. Dinner will be at 5:15 sharp.”

  Jameson grinned and his eyes sparkled. “A guy could get used to this sort of treatment.”

  She scowled and didn’t understand what he meant. “Pardon, honey?”

  “Nothing. Just the ramblings of a tired man.” Jameson kissed her again. “Take care of yourself. Where was it you said you were off to today?”

  Jenna couldn’t remember. Her eyes fogged over, but then her harness chirped and the front lit up with a green glow. “Bake sale at the school. I’m making some of my famous muffins.”

  “Save some for me then.” Jameson blew her a kiss and Jenna saw him out. She leaned on the door frame and waved good-bye to him. She watched as he climbed into his car and she didn’t stop waving until he was backed out of the driveway.

  Jenna gave a happy sigh as she closed the front door. Something kept playing through her mind, but she couldn’t quite place it. She saw her husband’s face blowing her a kiss like he always did, but it had been different. Jenna was laying down and the area had been dark, but she saw a look in Jameson’s eye that wasn’t love. It was hatred. Malice.

  Lost in thought, she spun the ring on her hand. When Jenna glanced down at it, she saw another flash. Marrying another man. Jenna’s face twisted into a snarl. “Dirk?” She whispered.

  Where was Dirk?

  Travis?

  Her harness dinged and the light shone a bright green. Jenna let out a long deep breath, her eyes closed as complete happiness washed over her. The bad feelings, the bad memories she just had, were completely gone.

  Jenna hummed a happy tune and returned to the kitchen. She removed the bacon from the stove and bent down to pick up a few crumbs that had fallen onto the linoleum floor off the counter.

  All the while, she hummed. All the while she smiled.

  When the phone rang she answered it on impulse. “Jameson residence? Oh, Margret! Hi dear, I was just thinking about calling you.” Jenna put a hand to her mouth and giggled.

  The Saga ends in Book 3. Glistening Swarm

  Copyright © 2015, Jill Cooper

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without permission by the author. This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to a person living or dead is purely coincidental.

  ISBN-13: 978-1517496869

  ISBN-10: 1517496861

  Cover Design: Dee

  Edited by: Starfire Press

  Glistening Swarm

  Man’s rein is over. Now fear the day of the dragon.

  The human resistance bands together—to fight for their very survival. Staying ahead of the glistenings led by the savage Victor is their top priority, but as the children they have sought to protect fall ill, their days are numbered.

  Fighting is their only chance of survival and it’s one that the passive glistening, Jake Monroe, has been dreading for over a year.

  But, he will have no choice but to meet the dragons head on. No matter the cost, no matter the personal sacrifice. What happens when a dragon first tastes blood?

  Find out in Glistening Swarm, an adult dystopian where Jurassic Park meets the Walking Dead.

  Chapter One Dirk

  The Old Mid-West

  New American Order

  The world was on the brink of destruction. The United States was under complete glistening control—all but abandoned by the rest of the world. The shape shifting dragons fed on humans to survive and systematically. Why? To be captured and placed within concentration camps.

  The lucky, put to work and the unlucky—they were lunch.

  Europe and the free nations of the west hoped to avoid a glistening confrontation, keeping to themselves and their borders. The US was on its own. It’s only hope of survival rested with the fate of a few rebels.

  Militia.

  Dirk’s tattered clothes were splattered with dirt, an oil patch visible on the knees of his jeans. His unshaven face bristled with stubble, his hair the longest it had been since he joined the police academy at New Haven—an entity that no longer existed.

  He stared off past the fence, where grass grew long up beside the chain-link, and old Coke cans litter the ground. Dirk stood wide with an assault gun slung over his shoulder. On his belt were the last two remaining grenades, but right then, they needed something even rarer.

  Luck to survive the coming danger. The world was besieged with shape shifting glistening, creatures that could take the form of dragons.

  Dirk squinted through the binoculars, taking in the sight before him, the charred ruins of a once vibrant city. Destroyed foundations, crumbled brick, and downed power lines appeared as far as he could see. Cars lined the streets and if any people were left in the city at all, he saw no sign of them. It was, in other words, the new normal.

  A cool breeze from the east brought the smell of rotting food and decaying flesh to his nose. The wind had a chill, which reminded Dirk that soon winter would be upon them and if they didn’t win the war, the weather might kill them before the did.

  Running any further wasn’t an option. Jenna, his wife, was still in the east somewhere and he had a deep burning desire to find her. Even if she was dead, Dirk needed to know. He needed to find her. For her and his unborn child she was carrying.

  Or had been carrying.

  But first, he had his mission: Protect the children. If there was any hope left for the country, it laid with them. The peacekeeping glistening, Jake, ordered the children protected at all costs. And if anyone could oppose Victor, the blood-thirsty-glistening-in-charge, it was Jake.

  Glistenings listened to him. Dirk just had to find a way to get Jake front and center.

  But to do that, first they needed medicine. The children came first.

  Dirk spotted the remains of a pharmacy a few blocks away surrounded by crumbled buildings. A semi-truck broken down in front would give them cover.

  He lifted his head to the sky. Clear and blue, without a cloud in sight. It almost seemed like a nice day. The cool wind brushed his cheeks, but hunger growled in his belly. Food was scarce and safety was even harder to come by.

  The sky was free of what he feared the most: glistening wings, a silhouette of danger, against the backdrop of peaceful clouds. It still didn’t mean there weren’t any glistenings in the area, and Dirk’s chest tightened with the unknown. At this point, he didn’t know if he would rather see them, than not.

  He pocketed the binoculars inside his backpack and looked to his crew. There was Melissa, the Asian-American journalist, who had been part of the ‘team’ for the last six months. Her tattered jacket was very different from the business suit she used to wear on the air. But her eyes still shone with defiance. She might have been hungry and fatigued, but there was more fight in her than Dirk gave her credit for six months ago.

  To her right, was twenty-four-year-old, Chase Snow. He proved himself ready for a fight when they stumbled across him a few months ago in the remains of New York City. Well
built, he was an accomplished fighter in the underground MMA league, before the glistenings escaped from their New Haven communities.

  And now they sought their retribution.

  “All looks safe. Let’s move forward, but slow. And quiet.” Dirk’s eyes glowered at them both and small nods were their only answers.

  They had been on enough raids to know what to do. It wasn’t exactly Dirk’s favorite thing to do, either. Cooped up inside their hidden base made him feel trapped, but out here, he felt like little more than dinner for hungry glistening dragons, ready to rip him apart.

  But to go back to the way of life they had before? Dirk didn’t even know if it was possible. Survive and move forward; was the only choice they had.

  Dirk bent down and pulled on the fence’s broken links. He pulled a piece back so they could duck beneath. Standing to the side, he gestured for them to move forward.

  Melissa went first, squatting low to the ground with Chase behind. When they were through, Dirk followed after.

  On the other side of the fence, only the overgrown grass greeted them. They used the broken down cars for cover as they crept toward the pharmacy. Some of the cars looked brand new, but were abandoned just as the clunkers had been. Their roofs were all singed from fire.

  Some were little more than twisted ruins, broken and half-melted—the result of a direct hit. When glistenings struck this town, they struck it hard; and fast.

  On the ground, Dirk saw scattered remnants of what had once been precious, trinkets that once had meant something; necklaces, wedding rings. Quietly, they picked up what they could use for barter and trade. But money?

  “Find any paper bills, keep it for kindling. It’s about all it’s good for anymore.” Dirk’s tongue clicked inside his mouth.