Guardians (Chosen Trilogy Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

bolts of terror down my spine. Air snorted from the enormous nostrils. The callous eye blinked once. A roar blasted forth, forceful enough to send the car swaying off course. That sway was what saved us, for as the beast struck again, our vehicle was already beyond its reach; and it didn’t want to slow down or veer off course. It looked like it was having too much terrible fun right where it was.
    Giles slowed and came to a stop. Quickly, we all jumped out. Lucy was being shepherded by a fully-cloaked Ceriden. Immediately, my h ackles rose and I ran to her.
    “Are you okay?”
    My daughter held out her hand, eyes glistening and wide. I enfolded her in my arms. All around us cars and trucks either crawled by or stopped right behind us, giving the creature chance to move off ahead. Shocked expressions of disbelief marred every single face. I heard car radios blurting out the news—some kind of spin no doubt. But how could anyone make themselves unsee what we just saw?
    “Did the dinosaurs come to life, Mommy?” I heard a child ask. I remembered there was some kind of themed dinosaur world around these parts. No doubt existed in my mind that a simple ‘yes’ would be far better than the truth.
    Giles was consulting with Cheyne and a map of the area. “Asmodeus was spotted here ,” he said, pointing to what looked like I-Drive. “And here.” He jabbed at a place called Silver Springs. “I think if we set up a base along I-Drive we’ll have everything we need.”
    It made sense. Lodging, food and access to the big interstate was just seconds away. I really wasn’t sure what to expect until we arrived, but as we drew closer I soon realized that the opening of the gates of hell or a skirmish with a being from before time began was not going to spoil people’s enjoyment of the world’s greatest entertainment venue. The roads that led to Disneyland were busy, that part of I-4 that ran past Disney and I-Drive was pretty much bumper to bumper. Clearly, the T-Rex hadn’t gotten this far. Maybe it had stopped off at the Magic Kingdom.
    Giles hit the off-ramp at Sand Lake Road, and I wonder ed about the endurance of the human spirit—was it stalwart and strong, or just plain stupid? Of course, many families switched off completely on vacation and quite possibly hadn’t heard the recent news, but in these days of Android phones and tablets I somehow doubted it. Maybe they were just putting on a brave face—treating all this as a terrorist scenario.
    As we passed the enormous Mickey D’s at the junction of Sand Lake and I-Drive, I saw first-hand that my thoughts were close to the real truth. Parents were walking their kids across the b usy parking lot, driving into and around the drive-thru, holding the side doors open for each other and sitting in their cars with the air-con up high and their dashboards littered with ripped open Happy Meal boxes and drinks holders. Further up, a Popeye’s was bustling and, as we turned the corner, I saw an IHOP and then a Denny’s all doing brisk business. The sidewalks were crowded, the flashy billboards advertised all the newest rides and attractions. Surely the authorities couldn’t let this continue? Asmodeus was already here, for God’s sake. I voiced my concerns to Cheyne and Giles.
    “What can they do? Declare a national emergency? They just don’t have the manpower to back it all up. And think of the panic it would cause, the tailbacks. Even riots , looting and more murders. Sooner or later the psychos out there will get the idea they can blame every killing on some fiend from hell. It’s gonna get ugly, folks. And the sooner we can end it the better off we’re all going to be.”
    “And they have no contingency plan ,” Giles added. “How could they? Everyone that already knew is busy fighting this thing on the front lines. No one has time to stop and start bickering with a bunch of politicians.”
    “We have to save the world in the next few days ,” Cheyne said.