Title: The Perses Effect
Author: R.E. Robinson Jr
Blurb:
The world has been changed forever. Death and mutation have swept across the planet leaving some of the survivors altered into non-human races and gaining powers that would take time to comprehend. Always thinking ahead Evan Root invited family and friends to live on his farm shortly before the comet that started it all was destroyed.
As the remaining population rebuilds Evan Root and his wife Jordan are producing bio-fuel to use and trade. On a routine trip to the market murmurs of disappearing town’s people span the crowd. While at the market Evan’s group is ambushed and when he finally makes it back to the farm he finds out his wife has been abducted. Evan feels her abduction has everything to do with her power.
Hoping it will lead him to his wife Evan and his companions must discover who or what is behind the disappearances while defending themselves at every turn.
Excerpt
“How long ago did we lose contact with them?” the voice echoed inside Cord’s head as if it came through his two-way communication headset. Cord concentrated and thought; we haven’t heard from them in a couple of days. He didn’t like not knowing where his neighbors were. Cord knew that Richard’s telepathic powers would pick up on his response but if he concentrated it was easier for Rich to hear what he was thinking.
Crouched just inside the tree line of their neighbor’s yard Cord looked down the barrel of his ACR rifle scanning the property. The composite bodied rifle was light and felt reassuring in his hands.
The ACR was a prime candidate to replace the venerable M-16. It was versatile and adaptable to various conditions. Having multiple calibers on a single platform it would meet different demands. Cord had the pleasure of field testing the rifle in the desert.
After serving as an Army officer for fifteen years Cord Tranum decided not to reenlist but instead remained in the Middle East working for a private security company. The pay and benefits were far better than active duty and there was none of the bullshit associated with being Government Issue. Cord would have worked over seas longer but with the negative press from the rising civilian casualties he decided it was time to come home. Even after he was back in America his skills remained honed and those skills kept him and his pacifist wife alive as they traveled to join their friends. The journey to the Root farm was treacherous. They traveled over some unfamiliar territory while the world was being turned on end. Cord grinned as he reminisced.
Being late August in Georgia the heat and humidity are still unbearable even at this hour. What he wouldn’t give for some Air Conditioning right about now. During the summer months the AC in his old house could barely keep up with the temperatures. It meant a big power bill but there was no way to cope without the AC. It’s not as if opening a window or turning on some fans would stifle the heat so he sucked it up and paid the damn bill. Maybe when they got back Evan would let him run the AC a little while tonight. He slept so much better when the room was cooler. Those creature comforts were always a good motivator for completing the mission.
Now because of things hiding and waiting in the dark, everyone knew they needed to keep in touch. The members of this community were always in communication. Even though this neighborhood was a group of farms spread out over miles in the rural part of the county.
Neighbors used to help each other out but as technology grew and people moved farther and farther away they started becoming more self-sufficient. Tractors with satellite navigation did the work of several farm hands. Now with technology taking a backseat to survival helping out your neighbor is important again.
People forgot how to care for one another. They became materialistic and spent their time trying to outdo one another. Racing from one of their children’s sport practice to the others ballet practice and all the while bragging about how their child was accepted to this college or that university. People were selfish, self-centered and self-serving. That way of life had become the norm.
Perses changed everything. Now the people who were left had to work together if they want to survive.
Sweat poured from Cords brow as he scanned the yard waiting for Tim Lavin to return from scouting the perimeter. The night was still and without a sound. One hundred percent humidity made the air thick so it stuck to the skin. A full moon hung in the evening sky and bathed their surroundings in a warm blue/white light.
Wiping the sweat from his brow he could hear the buzzing of mosquitoes in his ear. They would be one more nuisance he could do without but at least they were still small here. He had heard stories of some giant mosquitoes that would literally carry people off. Every state in the south claimed they had the biggest mosquitoes. No one wanted to claim that prize any longer.
He looked to his wife Violet. He could see her ivory skin glisten in the moonlight and her blue eyes glowed slightly absorbing all the light they could which allowed her to see in darkened conditions. He could tell by the look on her face that she was nervous; this wasn’t the sort of thing she liked. Violet was a pacifist and disliked the use of violence to solve problems. It took her a while to get comfortable enough with a gun to shoot it much less use it in a firefight. She stuck mainly to pistols often needing a free hand to heal someone.
She was still as beautiful as ever. When the metamorphosis started neither one of them knew what was going to happen. Violet mutated physically into what would later be called the elven race. Her skin didn’t turn gray like Lavin’s but turned lighter almost like ivory. She gained elven vision and heightened senses.
No one knew what the outcome of their friends and loved ones once it all started. After those changes were complete friends and families were divided some even became enemies. She was one of the lucky ones that when they changed physically they weren’t disfigured; turned into monsters. Some didn’t survive at all.
Violet gained the ability to heal wounds with her touch. It took her a while to learn the concentration part of her healing touch while being shot at but on the trip to Evan’s farm she became proficient. Cord would have died on the trip if she hadn’t kept her wits about herself. Unlike others in the medical field she did not require the use of gloves. First of all she had to have contact with the skin to be able to heal but what kept her immune to germs and disease was her new race.
Her blue eyes met his and she gave him a reassuring smile. Returning the smile Cord then looked to Evan’s group about thirty feet from his position. They all scanned their surroundings as they had been trained.
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Bio:
Ronald E. Robinson Jr. served in the US Army and has a criminal justice degree. He lives in Georgia with his family.
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