Out of the Dark: An apocalyptic thriller

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Book: Out of the Dark: An apocalyptic thriller Read Online Free PDF
Author: Ashlei Hawley
Her wide eyes, the same metallic brown as her mother’s, were full of sick fear and concern for her brother.
         “Trevor, what’s wrong?!” Mel yelled in a voice quickly filling with tears.
          Laura moved then, shocked out of the spell of immobilization by her daughter’s voice. She was afraid of the light, afraid because she knew whatever affected Trevor had caused his adverse reaction to it and whatever that contamination was had touched her, as well. Regardless, she walked into the light and took firm hold of her son.
          He was no longer screaming, and that was a relief. Laura stood with him in the light and felt none of the burning he had apparently been overcome with. When he lifted his eyes to his mother, they were bright blue again; no obsidian darkness marred his confused gaze. He was Trevor again, and Laura hugged him to her fiercely.
         “Mama, what’s wrong?” Mel asked in a terrified whisper, and the tears in her voice were on her face now. “What’s wrong?”
         Laura was shaking as badly as Trevor was, and she hadn’t directly experienced the cause for his tremors. The empathy that is a staple of motherhood insisted the boy’s pain was her own, and that was enough to start the tears.
         While she cried silently, Laura stroked Trevor’s mussed hair and down over his cheeks. The boy’s skin was clammy and slicked with sweat. In normal circumstances, Laura would be fearful of illness, but she knew what was happening was much worse than a simple cold or flu. If there was sickness, it was one of the soul, and they were both incurably infected.
         Melissa stepped out of bed tentatively and moved toward her mother and brother. Laura immediately identified the swelling presence within her, and knew it wanted her to turn her head lightning quick so it could snap at the girl again.
         Utilizing the vast quantity of stony restraint that was a trademark of her personality, Laura forced her head to turn slowly, her breathing to remain even, and the enemy within was not able to usurp control as it had earlier. The light, Laura thought, also very probably had something to do with the thing’s inability to take her over. In the light, she felt more secure of herself. She counted it as a blessing.
         “Trevor’s fine, Mel,” Laura assured her daughter. “But something is wrong. I need you to get dressed, then we need to try to get in touch with daddy.”
         The tears were immediately back, clouding the girl’s gaze and making her expression thundery with fear and worry.
         “Daddy isn’t home?” Mel whimpered. “Where is he?”
         “I don’t know, baby,” Laura said in what she hoped was a soothing voice as she stood and helped Trevor gain his feet, as well. “He had to go to work, but I’m sure he’s fine.”
         The lie almost hurt her teeth when it squeezed between them. If there was anything she was sure of, it was that Sam was not fine. Melissa didn’t question her assurance, though, and Laura was glad for it.
         As Trevor stood on his own and began to regain some color, Laura studied her youngest child. She wasn’t affected by whatever plagued Trevor and her mother, Laura was sure of it. While she slipped into the thick pants, short-sleeved shirt and sweater her mother handed her, Melissa exuded none of the wrongness Laura could sense from her other child and within her own body. Melissa was completely whole and healthy, and completely herself. Something about that fact was luridly important, but Laura couldn’t identify it for what it was. 
         “Let me do your hair, baby,” Laura said as she reached for Mel’s brush and a hair tie.
         The casual way with which she accepted the necessity of the act even in a situation that felt like an episode of X-Files almost made Laura laugh. She choked back the sound, fearing it would come out sounding more like a scream.
        
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