Clarity's Doom (Ancient Origins Book 1) (2 page)

She shivered with the first blast of icy water as she turned only the cold handle, her fingers wiggling under the spray, then she leisurely added a tiny touch of warmth. Arctic tundra was too much but frigid was good. She stepped under the cascade gasping and groaning with relief. The cold pounding water cleared her muggy thoughts.

She stood still, hands splayed against the wall as she felt the water sluice over her face, breasts, and belly, running deliciously between and down her legs to pool for a few moments at her feet. Water, always the demanding lover as skin everywhere was touched at once.

Women should be so lucky with a man.

Clarity turned, eyes closed, fumbling, she found and gripped her beer and sucked lazily at the contents. She set the icy bottle between her tits for a moment, head back, and let the water massage her shoulders and back and drip between her ass cheeks.

When finished, she dried and dressed in a blue tank top, bra, clean panties, and jean cut-offs. Her beer empty, the edge taken off the oppressing heat, Clarity decided she wanted a decent dinner. Alcohol always stimulated her appetite. A marinating chicken breast was in the fridge calling to her stomach. She put the frozen piece in this morning as an afterthought knowing there was a ninety percent chance of Edward canceling dinner out. He was always unpredictable when he was engrossed in a new project. She doubted he would remember to eat. It wouldn’t take much to toss a small salad to go with her meal.

The kitchen was hot and she reached to flick the switch of a fan knowing the AC would take a while to reach the back of her house. She opened the freezer and stood close looking for ice, thinking a tall glass of water would go great with dinner, and basking in the coolness offered. The fan came to life for all of six seconds before the power went out darkening the shadowed corners of her home. The freezer became a frozen silent cave. She sighed and closed the door. Peeking out her window she saw signs of a block-wide power outage.

Clarity groaned. “Damn it.”

She retrieved the small battery-operated radio she kept handy and switched it on. Wondering if the outage was restricted to her area. Dinner out in an air-conditioned restaurant wouldn’t break her budget, but she was loath to go back outside into the oppressive heat and then realized it would soon be as hot indoors. Barbequing was a no. Nothing like standing out in the tyrannical heat leaning over fire. That was an appetite killer.

Static from the radio filled her ears until she was able to maneuver the dial onto a channel without a life/death, of its own. The anchor was frustrated; it was in the tone of his voice. Clarity turned up the volume. She felt her brows furrow.

“Some say the bodies appearing are from two years ago. All intact but deceased. Time of death no more than forty-eight hours ago. Where did they go, and why are they suddenly reappearing? The government is being extremely closed mouthed about this, and we have to question the motives behind the secrecy and…”

The radio freaked out again, the anchor suddenly sounded alien, and Clarity growled and shook the device near her face.

“Where, damn you, where are the bodies reappearing?”

Silence. Clarity slammed the radio down onto the table hard enough to dislodge the backing and pop the battery free. She ran a frustrated hand through her damp hair and took a deep breath trying to maintain control. A few simple sentences left unsaid, and said, were enough to cause a stir of emotions. The disturbing sinkholes had many feeling uneasy. A significant enough number of lost lives and missing civilians were on the mind-numbing side as of late. But a find of this magnitude was relevant; the government couldn’t be allowed to conceal vital news.

Clarity slipped on her runners determined to find out where this development was occurring. Somewhere out there someone had to have power or a generator. Her cell still sat perched precariously where she set it down. There was no reception.

“Damn it. What the hell is going on?”

She snatched up her purse, used to the weight of a seasoned fast traveler, and tossed the cell inside. If she had to, she was ready to board a plane. She spun to race to the door, her purse slung over a shoulder. A small sound reached her ears, stopping her. Talking, a voice growing in intensity. Clarity was certain she heard someone talking, someone close by. The hairs on her nape stood tall, her body chilled just as the oppressive heat consumed her again. Someone was inside her home. A fine line of sweat dripped at her temple.

Resisting the urge to call out, Clarity moved toward the source. Her computer table was dark. There was no battery, it died, and she had been too busy for a replacement. It ran on electricity alone. Her hand moved toward the headphones she recently plugged in to blare music and not have the neighbors complain. She lifted the set to her ears and held her breath.

There was a voice on the other end. A strong male voice. She tried to concentrate on the language being spoken, but it was no use. She couldn’t make it out. Not one word was familiar, which surprised her. With the AC not running, the room was almost immediately engulfed in heat. The sudden chill vanished, and sweat began to drip from more than just Clarity’s temples. Her hands shook.

“Hello?” she whispered.

The words stopped. Quiet in the room made the pounding of her heart that much clearer.

“Hello, female.”

“Who is this?”

“You will find out soon enough.”

Clarity dropped the headset, the purse slipped to the crook of her elbow. She backed up a step when she heard the voice again. “…
we are coming for you.”

Clarity was about to race to her room to lock herself in. Loud undeniable havoc reigned outside her front door, stopping her. With one hand, she grabbed her curtains and yanked them apart. Sunlight crashed in, blinding her momentarily. Blinking, her vision clearing, Clarity watched horrified as the pavement along the townhouses split. A fine line ran an ominous race to a destination, then stopped as quickly at a huge tree base. Silence. Clarity’s breath expelled in a whoosh as her breathing grew rapid. Her home rumbled when the ground gave way, the tree exploded, and fifteen homes dropped into a chasm vanishing from sight with a
boom
. The line on the pavement began again, heading toward her home. Clarity dropped her curtains and ran.

****

“Holy fuck it’s hotter than hell’s whores out here.”

“Will you please watch your language when the kids are around?” The woman lifted her shades slightly to give him a scowl.

The man sent his wife a scathing glance in return. Three children were screaming and splashing in the deep end of the half-sunk, oval, semi-above ground pool, while their parents sat under an umbrella on a large deck in Zero gravity chairs, slathered in sunscreen and wearing baseball caps.

“They can’t hear a damned thing we say,” he said. “They don’t even notice we exist.”

“You’d be surprised what they hear.”

“I’m their father. I’m under no delusions. They’re kids. I could have a heart attack, and they’d be oblivious.” He then grumbled, “Yet, a fucking ice cream truck drives by and all hell will break loose. Little monsters would shove their grimy hands in my pockets for a few bucks while I turn cold.”

His wife grinned and tilted her head in agreement. She lazily sucked back on the vodka cooler she was drinking then paused. Her brows narrowed.

“Jackson, when did you change the pool liner?”

The man’s beer bottle hesitated at his lips. “I didn’t.” He shifted slightly forward.

Both the man and woman rose slowly to their feet setting their drinks off to the side, to gaze at the bottom of the pool. Pitch black stared back. The children continued to laugh and play, oblivious.

“Jackson,” the woman said, her tone anxious.

“Easy,” he responded and he reached to grip her hand, noting she was two seconds from diving in. “The kids are fine. If it was a sinkhole they’d be gone.” Then to the children. “Come on guys, out of the pool, daddy’s gonna get you ice cream.”

“Dean can’t have ice cream. He pulled my hair. You said so.” A girl of twelve called back.

“Did not.” Her twin brother howled.

“Out.
Now
,” Jackson demanded as the inky blackness began a slow creeping up the sides of the pool, covering the light blue and tropical fish pattern in an ominous ebony inch by inch.

Grumbling, the children began swimming back toward their parents. When the oldest, a boy of fourteen, reached the side he put his feet down and floundered, then gasped in air.

“Dad, where’s the bottom?”

The twins stopped to look down. The young boy swam in a tight circle. The girl began screaming. “
Daddy,
something’s got me.”

Her father dove in, yanked his daughter into his arms, and grabbed her twin by the hand, or so he thought. When he pulled on the limp, large hand he gaped as he dragged a black man near his chest and released him. The body tumbled in a lazy fashion to reveal a face then turned again. The young girl, mouth agape, buried her face against her father. A few feet away a head and arms broke the surface, followed by another. One by one, corpses began appearing in the pool surrounding the man and three kids. Soon the entire pool filled with dead bodies until they spilled over the sides, thudding to the ground. The woman on deck covered her mouth as more bodies slipped onto the deck and she lost sight of her husband and children in the mass. Fists now clenched at her sides, one by one she screamed out their names, and screamed, and screamed, and screamed….

****

“There must be a hole in the kiddie pool.”

The man held the hose and glanced at his wife while she chased after their toddler. Not a fan of tub water, the child could always be coerced into the plastic backyard pool decorated with mermaids and sea horses. Her father was seriously considering painting their tub. The little girl was covered in sand from head to toe, her diaper sagging, and her father was losing his patience with the pool.

“Honey I just bought it. Thank heaven the store has a surplus for the summer. Which reminds me, maybe we should invest in a few or two dozen before the fall hits.” The woman grabbed the struggling child up into her arms. The toddler was soon hanging upside down laughing uproariously. His wife was grinning cheekily at him, but the impish pair did nothing to alleviate the tension.

“It seems to drain almost as fast as it goes in.” His frustration was growing. The pool held water, then didn’t, disappearing in an odd way. “Damn it, I want nothing more than to cuddle my daughter, my
clean
daughter, before her nap time.”

His wife giggled and pulled the toddler upright. Finally the man stepped into the kiddie pool. The water washed over his feet. He tossed his arms up in agitation. He spun in a tight circle checking for any signs of bubbling.

“I can’t make heads or tails of this.”

Baffled, he stood for a second more, wiggled his toes, and scratched his head. He sighed and took a step to vacate the pool. The ground beneath his feet gave way and down he went. The bottom of the pool closed over his head. His arms and legs thrashed creating a whirlwind of bubbles. Screaming from under water he beat at the solid purple plastic, smashing his splayed hands repeatedly. The material wouldn’t give. It wasn’t plastic at all. The substance was harder than metal.

“
This isn’t the child
,” a voice sounded.

“Get rid of him.”

Screaming, the man was washed away into a tube-like duct. His horror grew as his body was sucked down into an abyss. He was going to die, and something wanted his baby.

****

The vast foliage surrounding the vacationing couple was breathtaking. Greenery as far as the eye could see—ultimate, intimate, seclusion. The hot tub frothy and bubbly added to the sensual moment. The high sun peeked a few rays through the woody ceiling of forest, casting just the right ambiance of dim light. Champagne glasses tinkled as the couple touched, pressing chest against chest in a teasing fashion. The young woman giggled, and her new groom smiled at her. The woman giggled again.

“What’s so funny?” he finally asked, his gaze filling with a bemused expression.

“You know.”

“You’re happy. I can tell.”

“With your hand where it is why wouldn’t I be?”

The young man frowned in confusion. “I have one hand on my glass and the other is stretched out on the surface of the side of the tub. See?”

The young woman took note of both his hands in plain view; he wiggled his fingers in a wave and smiled at her.

“Then what…?”

She set her glass down then reached between her legs into the water. Both she and her husband began screaming and struggling to get out of the water when her search produced a deceased elderly woman.

The chaos was only beginning…

****

Warm summer wind swept across the park’s vast play area. Blue skies overhead set the stage for a ruling blazing sun. The toddlers laughed while they played in the large wading pool, knee deep or lower to most adults. High enough for a small hint of danger to the young adventurous ones. Parents conversed near the edges, keeping close watch over their precious little ones; many giving in to scoops of water drizzled over exposed body parts. Pails and shovels floated in a lazy fashion until scooped up for use. A small squabble over a pink ball ended in tears, and the promise of treats was soon in effect. A Ziploc bag of seedless purple grapes was produced, another of raisins and tiny carrots. Sunscreen was slathered while children remained stationary for all of two seconds. The young seemed oblivious to the heat. Hats pulled off by a small hand and a giggle, tugged back on by a larger one and a groan.

A bare-bummed two year old raced back into the water when her mother let her go for a mere second. The mother, exasperated, raced after her, grabbing her laughing daughter into her arms and then watched horrified as the water swirled and went black. The pair dropped like a stone. The youngsters in the wading pool, aged eight months to three years, began slipping under the water as the ominous inky darkness covered one end of the pool to the next in a sinister creeping fashion. One by one they floundered, coughing and choking.