Callsign: King II- Underworld (22 page)

"Time to send the message home!" Captain McAfee shouts. The man is tall and skinny, but has the voice of a baritone. He's all contradictions. Sixty-five, but full of energy. A full head of hair that's stark white. Went through knee surgery after an accident, but walks like a middle-aged mom trying to regain her figure. Preaches love for the Earth's creatures, unless you include humans. "Get away from the rail and hold on tight!"

The crew around me jump away from the rail like it's been electrified. But I stand dumbly in place.

"Harper!" Chase shouts. "Get away from the rail!"

"Why? I don't—" But then I see it. We've changed course and are closing the distance to the 
Bliksem
 at a sharp angle. The 
Sentinel
 was an ice breaking whaling ship before it was bought and outfitted for anti-whaling missions. It sports multiple hulls and its bow is strong enough to slice through icebergs. I imagine ship hulls aren't too dissimilar.

"McAfee's going to ram them?" I ask no one in particular.

But Chase has heard me and shouts, "Yes! Now get down here!" He takes hold of my jacket and yanks me back. I fall to the black deck and am pinned down by the malodorous Chase. A moment later, an impact shakes the ship. The groan of metal on metal drowns out the shouting voices of both crews and lingers for what feels like minutes.

When it ends, I'm pulled to my feet. The deck crew rushes back to the rail and lets out a cheer. I stumble up behind them and catch site of the 
Bliksem
. Its port side hull has a long dent that isn't nearly as bad as I expected, but that's probably only because it's also designed to take on icebergs. A lesser ship would have no doubt been sunk.

I marvel that the 
Bliksem's
 crew hasn't taken aim with their harpoon or tried to ram us in return. At first I think they're incredibly patient people, but then I remember the captain. It's possible they're preoccupied with saving the man's life. In fact, as the 
Bliksem
 languishes behind, I wonder if anyone remains in the wheelhouse. The Arctic is a bad place to be on a boat without a pilot. But then I see the Viking man with a bandana wrapped around his face. He climbs the stairs to the wheelhouse and pauses at the top to look at us—at me. The 
Sentinel
's crew shouts obscenities at the man until he enters the wheelhouse.

As the voices fade and calm returns to the Arctic sea, I let slip my true feelings, "He's fucking insane."

It's just a whisper, but Chase hears me. He spins around, eyes ablaze, and says, "I know. He's amazing."

The fact that "fucking insane" is taken as a compliment is nearly the last straw, but I manage to swallow my revolt and say, "So what next? Is that it? Mission accomplished?"

"No, no, no," he says, licking his lips like a hungry dog. "We've only just begun."

###

Click here to buy!

Help spread the word!

If you enjoy my novels and want to help bring them to the rest of the world, here are some ideas. Everything below can be accomplished with no cost and just a few minutes of time.

On Amazon:

• Post reviews

• Create Listmania lists featuring other bestselling Kindle novels in the horror, thriller and other appropriate genres with TORMENT featured in the top spot.*

• Create a So You’d Like To... Guide, featuring TORMENT, and similar novels.*

• Add tags to the product page. These literally take seconds to add. Appropriate tags include: Horror, terror, zombies, zombie, post-apocalyptic, apocalyptic, kindle, thriller, science fiction, religion, Jeremy Bishop, gore, action, splatter, bloody, action adventure.

* Lists and Guides only work when lots of books are added, up to 40, so load ’em up!

On BN.com (Barnes&Noble):

• Post reviews.

• Click the Facebook Like button.

• Create an Essentials List with TORMENT in the top spot (same idea as a Listmania list).

On Goodreads:

•Post reviews.

• Add to any lists you have.

• Hit the message boards or start a discussion.

• Use the Recommend button to tell your friends about the book.

On the Web:

• Blog about the book.

• Hit Twitter and Facebook with praise and links.

• If you belong to a message board, start a conversation—I promise, this book will bring up some topics worth talking about.

Thanks for your help!

Older Kindle model? Click here for e-store.