The Raid: an Eden short story (2 page)

The building had always been hit and
miss in the past.  Sometimes its halls were lined with sleeping, inactive
bodies, sometimes it was clear.  We were finally catching a break that day.  It
was empty.

Tye stuffed Graye’s pack full of latex
gloves, antibiotics, hand sanitizer, and a dozen other things I didn’t even have
names for.

We were out of there in less than two
minutes.

Our last stop was the general store.

And it was the most dangerous one of
all. There were several hundred Bane standing inside, silent, and empty.  Unaware
of the destroyed world just outside.  Just how they were supposed to be at
night.

Knowing it was stupid to split up, we
moved as a soundless group through the aisles.  Our first stop was for basic
needs: toothpaste, soap, girl things.  Our packs were starting to bulge.   

The last thing we needed before we could
go home was clothing.  We weren’t animal enough just yet to run around naked,
but going shirt shopping wasn’t the safest activity.  The entire clothing
department was filled with Bane.  They stood between racks, in aisles, almost
like they were going for a leisurely shop when the machine inside them made
them stop caring about everything.

I stepped between two of them, watching
their eyes to make sure neither of them would wake, being even more careful to
not let my skin brush theirs.

Because one touch was all it took.

One touch to steal your humanity.

I winced every time a hanger made a
noise as I pulled an item of clothing off.  But none of them turned, none of
them woke.  The rest of my crew worked quickly as well, grabbing essential
items: pants, shirts, jackets.

When our arms were loaded, we carefully
stepped back into the wide aisle, watching the Bane as we retreated toward the
front doors.  We were careful not to trip over the debris that lined the
floors.  Looters less careful and less alive than us had torn the merchandise
from shelves years ago.

Tye, then Bill, then Graye step out of
the building and I was just about to leave when I heard something behind me.

It was quiet, just the shuffling of
feet.

I turned, and saw what was once a little
girl, staring emptily at me.  Her metallic eyes shone in the dark.  Her hair
hung around her face in limp strings.  She wore a pink frilly skirt that was
covered in grime.

She couldn’t have been more than five.

The flesh on her jaw had decayed or been
ripped away, exposing her teeth and wires that ran from her neck up into her
head.

My first instinct was to shoot her.  She
may have been small but she was just as deadly as those full grown Bane behind
her.

But if I did shoot, it could possibly wake
more of them.

So I took one step away from her, out of
the building.  At first I had thought she must have gone back into inactivity
mode. 

But then she blinked.

I aimed my shotgun more accurately at
her head, and backed away faster.

Little had I realized that the
mechanical girl in front of me was the least of my worries.

A blinding light suddenly illuminated
the concrete at my feet and I turned with my shotgun ready.  The four of us
were engulfed in a huge beam of light, and we were deafened by the sound of the
helicopter circling us from above.

“RUN!” Tye screamed.

Don’t miss

THE BANE

Book One in

THE EDEN TRILOGY

AVAILABLE MARCH 5, 2013

Before the Evolution there was TorBane:
technology that infused human DNA with cybernetic matter.  It had the ability
to grow new organs and limbs, to heal the world.  Until it evolved out of
control and spread like the common cold.  The machine took over, the soul
vanished, and the Bane were born. 
The Bane won't stop until every
last person has been infected. With less than two percent of the human
population left, mankind is on the brink of extinction.

Eve knows the stories of the Evolution, the time before she
wandered into the colony of Eden, unable to recall anything but her name.
 But she doesn't need memories to know this world is her
reality.  This is a world that is quickly losing its humanity, one Bane at
a time.

Fighting to keep one of the last remaining human colonies alive,
Eve finds herself torn between her dedication to the colony, and the discovery
of love.  There is Avian and West – one a soldier, one a keeper of secrets.
 And in the end, Eve will make a choice that will change the future of
mankind.

The Bane
is
The Terminator
meets
The Walking Dead
with a
heart-twisting romance.