Jeremy Chikalto and the Demon Trace (Book III of The Hazy Souls) Read Online Free PDF

about a leader who will
be revealed soon after the Rapture."
    "Am I...?"
    "The Antichrist." Maren
blurted the words out. "No! I mean, the coming world leader is
sometimes referred to as the Antichrist. Not you!"
    Jeremy stood up. "You said it yourself,
Maren." He looked outside. “Do you hear that?”
    Through the blare of the siren, a voice
spoke in a clear tone. “Alerta de Tsunami. Por favor, busque
refugio sobre el nivel del mar. Tsunami Warning. Please seek
shelter above sea level.” The message continued to loop.
    "Should I show my demons?” He turned to her.
“A reign of terror is still better than chaos. That's what you
said, right?"
    "Jeremy!" Maren waved him back to her. "This
is madness. Take us to the hotel, now!"
    The two disappeared into the Haze. A minute
later, they were in the hotel room. They heard gunfire, and Maren
made sure the door was bolted. The sirens continued to blare and
Jeremy ran to the balcony to look at the sea. He shielded his brow
with his hand and squinted at the horizon. “I don't see the
tsunami.”
    "Do you believe it?" Maren asked as she
walked to the balcony. "That all the true believers were
transported to Heaven?" She paused. “The Greeks believed that souls
are ferried to the land of the dead. In accounts of astral
projection, subjects are connected to their bodies by a chord. Each
story is like a lens that brings things into focus, and when they
are stacked vertically, the clarity multiplies."
    Maren left the balcony, and Jeremy pondered
the expanse of the ocean and the violence of each wave.

Chapter 6
    Apex
     
     
    The next morning, Jeremy poured himself and
Maren a glass of orange juice. At least the electricity and their
mini-fridge were still working. Jeremy was keeping it well-stocked
with choice looting around the world. It was a strange night, but
the hotel seemed relatively safe. Maren took a bite of her egg
croissant and stared out the window. The hotel was a ghost town,
and the beach was empty.
     
    Jeremy turned on the TV, and it began to
stream the latest news in English, from the UK.
     
    ~
     
    “ Late Friday night,
billions are believed to have disappeared or else remain
unaccounted for. It seems every family has parted with some
relative, and in certain areas, entire families have disappeared.
The World Health Network has cautioned that this might be a plague,
with the virus causing a fast-acting breakdown of the human body in
a matter of minutes. NATO believes a chemical agent is to blame.
Some religious leaders believe this to be the Rapture. NATO agents
are on the ground conducting tests for trace chemical agents in the
air and in water supplies. For the time being, everyone is advised
to stay indoors until more information is available.”
     
    ~
     
    Jeremy clicked the TV off and sighed. "So
where to next, boss?" He stood up and turned the radio on. Techno
beats bumped from the speakers and Jeremy started doing jumping
jacks.
    Maren laughed. "Jumping jacks and demons?
You are quite the specimen."
    "You should do some too, they clear your
head." Jeremy jumping jacked over to Maren and lifted her up to her
feet. She joined him in a few half-hearted jumping jacks and then
stopped.
    "It's the end of the world and you still
need booze to let loose? Tomorrow morning, we'll drink mimosas."
Jeremy started doing squat jumps.
    Maren looked at her toes.
She wished to paint them. But even more so than that, she wished to
paint her whole body — in the nude. "Honestly, Jeremy," she slid out of her pants,
"I don't have the same humors as you. I'm calm. To me freedom feels
like this." She pulled her shirt off over her head. "In my last
hours, I'd like to be naked."
    Jeremy was smiling ear to ear. "And in the
daylight! I could die like this, too."
    Maren walked over to the sofa and lay on
it.
    "So...?" Jeremy sat at attention on the edge
of the cushion.
    Maren smiled at him. "I
just want to sit and enjoy being naked — this is not for you, though you've
been trained