by Nate Kenyon
Something I should mention, I guess. About an hour ago, as I was peering out through the spiderweb of cracks in the windshield, trying to keep to the road, an old friend came back for a visit.
I was driving past the remains of some kind of construction site, huge relics of machines rusting like the skeletons of ancient creatures long dead and gone, snow piled up against their massive treads. When I glanced in the rearview mirror, Tessa was sitting in the backseat.
But when I turned around she was gone.
She’s only in mirrors now, and she doesn’t speak to me anymore, just sits and watches. I imagine I see things in her eyes, whether it’s anger or tenderness or something else, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s enough to have her there, even if somewhere in my mind I know she’s not real.
I need the company.
One other thing. As I’ve gotten closer, the voices from the radio have become a steady stream. Mostly they just repeat the same things over and over, broadcasting their coordinates, the details of the situation here and instructions on what to do when faced with the infected. They don’t seem to know much about why this has happened, or who was behind the attacks, or at least they’re not talking about it over the air. I’m bringing them the binders we found, just in case the story needs to be told.
All this is fine, and I welcome the sound of human voices, I really do. But one thing in particular I heard recently has come to mean more than I thought it did. They’ve said something about a treatment for the infection. They’ve said that even if you have the hives, it’s not too late.
And that’s a good thing. Because I’m worried. I felt this itching, under my suit, and when I finally pulled over in a clear spot to check it out, I found a red patch in the skin on my arm, just below my shoulder and a couple of inches up from where Sue cut me with that knife.
There’s a burning sensation that won’t go away, and this maddening sound of whispers inside my head, only I can’t seem to understand what they’re saying.
At least, not yet.
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank my agent, Brendan Deneen, for his fine advice and enthusiasm for my work; my editor, Don D’Auria, and the rest of the Leisure team, for all they do for me; Stephanie Dugener and Kelsey Skrobis for their fine contributions to the cover art of this novel; my “first readers,” Donna Russell, Daniel Garay, Donna Johns, Leslie Rosenberg and Marilyn Blakley, for their fantastic feedback on an early draft; and DearReader.com and Suzanne Beecher for running the contest to select them. And, last but not least, I’d like to thank my family and friends for their support, now more than ever. You know who you are.
High Praise for Nate Kenyon’s Chilling Prose!
THE BONE FACTORY
“Kenyon’s masterful third novel weaves supernatural realism and vivid characterizations into a powerfully suspenseful plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.”
—Booklist
“Laden with tension and genuine terror, this novel will leave you quivering.”
—Rue Morgue
“…the book puts some great horrific images into your mind that reflect the likes of early Stephen King novels such as The Shining.”
—The Horror Review
“Nate Kenyon’s third novel finds the author taking greater risks with narrative structure…the results are exciting, and this is his best work to date…he’s certain to become a writer worth following in the coming years.”
—Bookgasm
THE REACH
“Kenyon shifts smoothly between ‘80s-style supernatural horror and modern-day science thriller in this superb sophomore effort…readers, left breathless, will hope he makes good on hints of a sequel.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Kenyon skillfully escalates the suspense with teasing snippets of information, including the possibility of secret para-psychological experiments, a conspiracy to exploit a child’s paranormal capabilities, and ‘the key to a new kind of life.’ Those caught up by this multilayered exploration of trust and betrayal will want to read it in a single sitting.”
—Booklist
“A gripping, thoughtful story that delivers the scares in spades.”
—Rue Morgue
“With The Reach, Nate Kenyon has come into his own, and staked his claim in the ranks of suspense writers. He has given his characters and his world real texture, and created a tense, twisted, and finely written novel full of betrayals, secret agendas, and lost innocence. Bravo.”
—Christopher Golden, author of The Boys Are Back in Town
“One hell of a book…very detailed and well written. Kenyon is quickly rising to the top of the genre.”
—The Horror Review
BLOODSTONE
“Stephen King’s influence is apparent in Kenyon’s debut spooker…an impressive panoramic sweep that shows the horrors manifesting subtly and insidiously through the experiences of a large cast of characters.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Crisp prose and straightforward storytelling make Bloodstone a must-read!”
—Brian Keene, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Dark Hollow
“Reminiscent of ’Salem’s Lot, Bloodstone is a terrifying horror novel that is action oriented yet doesn’t neglect the development of the characters…This is the kind of horror novel that will make readers want to sleep with all the lights in the neighborhood shining brightly.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Kenyon’s debut evokes an atmosphere of small-town claustrophobia…[a] tale of classic horror.”
—Library Journal
Other Leisure books by Nate Kenyon:
THE BONE FACTORY
THE REACH
BLOODSTONE
Copyright
A LEISURE BOOK®
May 2010
Published by
Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
200 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Copyright © 2010 by Nathaniel Kenyon
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
E-ISBN: 978-1-4285-0852-1
Cover art by:
Stephanie Dugener, “Don’t Open That Door”
Kelsey Skrobis, “Clawing For A Way To Get Out”
The name “Leisure Books” and the stylized “L” with design are trademarks of Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
Visit us online at www.dorchesterpub.com.
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
The Predators
Dedication
Epigraph
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
PART ONE: SPARROW ROCK
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
PART TWO: FALLOUT
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
PART THREE: THE INFECTED
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
PART FOUR: HIVE MIND
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
EPILOGUE
Acknowledgments
High Praise for Nate Kenyon’s Chilling Prose
Other Leisure books by Nate Kenyon
Copyright