The Survivor Chronicles: Book 1, The Upheaval Read Online Free PDF
Author: Erica Stevens
Tags: Suspense, Death, adventure, Horror, Mystery, Action, SciFi, Chaos, Animals, Apocalyptic, natural disaster, Unexplained Phenomena, survivors, lava, tsunami, earthquake
hanger out of her way in her rush to get to the living room. The once tidy room was a mess, but she scarcely noticed the broken glass, scattered books, shattered TV, and fractured ceiling. She picked the phone up off the floor, slammed it back into its cradle, and waited a few seconds before snatching it back up.
Silence.
Frustration filled her; she bit back a groan as she placed the phone down, impatiently tapped her foot, and counted to ten. The team remained silent as they watched and waited from the doorway. Riley snagged the phone again. This time silence didn't greet her on the other end.
As she pressed the receiver to her ear, a strange, almost electrical whistling rattled across the line. It clicked, hissed, popped, and whistled again before once more going silent. Riley’s hand clenched the phone tighter, and she found she was paralyzed as the silence was broken once more by the same series of sounds. She would have preferred silence; there was something eerie in the noises, something inexplicably terrifying.
Something inhuman.
Her hand shook as she gently placed the phone back in its cradle, suddenly frightened of the inanimate object.
“Nothing?” Carol asked.
Riley swallowed heavily. Her eyes traveled over the frightened faces standing behind Carol. “Nothing good,” she whispered.
Carol frowned. She hurried across the room and grabbed the phone. Her face scrunched as she stood and quietly listened. “What... is that?” she breathed.
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t like it in here,” Kelsey muttered, warily studying the cracked ceiling that Riley had chosen to ignore. She couldn’t ignore it now as the house made a strange groaning sound. The structure seemed to be sagging in on itself, but would tremors do that? And then Riley understood; it wasn’t tremors that had caused this sagging, but the holes. There were holes under this house.
“We have to get out. Now.”
She practically shoved them out the door and down the hideously blue stairs of the drooping porch. She ran toward the street as the house released a heaving sound. It did not collapse on itself, not yet anyway, but the second floor was gradually making its way into the first floor, and Riley was certain the first floor windows were lower than they had been.
The horn blared behind her. She whipped her head around in time to see a car swerve frantically to avoid one of the holes, pop the curb, and spin out of control. Riley was frozen, trapped within the headlights as the Honda barreled down upon her. “Riley! Riley, move!” Carol screamed.
Her legs remained frozen though, locked in place. Her gaze was riveted upon the badly battered and bleeding man behind the wheel. She felt arms wrap around her waist as she was propelled out of the way of the oncoming car. She bounced over the ground, her breath knocked out of her. She lay, staring up at a pristine and beautiful blue sky that was completely out of place in this horrific new world surrounding her.
Then a new face loomed over her, a face that she instantly recognized. Carol’s older brother, Alexander, stared back at her. She dimly recalled Carol saying that Xander had returned a few days ago from his college trip to Australia, but Riley had blown it off, as she did with most everything that had to do with him.
He looked her over with concern, seemed to decide that she was okay and broke into a grin. “What’s the matter, Dumbo?” he said, bringing up her hated childhood nickname; a nickname that he had given her. “Those ears can’t help you fly out of the way?”
He just saved my life, she thought. I should be thankful.
Instead, she hauled off and punched him squarely in the jaw.
CHAPTER 4
Carl
Cape Cod, Mass.
7:32 a.m.
His hands were shaking like a baby’s, so much that he could barely light his cigarette, and he wasn’t even using a lighter. He’d never
Silence.
Frustration filled her; she bit back a groan as she placed the phone down, impatiently tapped her foot, and counted to ten. The team remained silent as they watched and waited from the doorway. Riley snagged the phone again. This time silence didn't greet her on the other end.
As she pressed the receiver to her ear, a strange, almost electrical whistling rattled across the line. It clicked, hissed, popped, and whistled again before once more going silent. Riley’s hand clenched the phone tighter, and she found she was paralyzed as the silence was broken once more by the same series of sounds. She would have preferred silence; there was something eerie in the noises, something inexplicably terrifying.
Something inhuman.
Her hand shook as she gently placed the phone back in its cradle, suddenly frightened of the inanimate object.
“Nothing?” Carol asked.
Riley swallowed heavily. Her eyes traveled over the frightened faces standing behind Carol. “Nothing good,” she whispered.
Carol frowned. She hurried across the room and grabbed the phone. Her face scrunched as she stood and quietly listened. “What... is that?” she breathed.
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t like it in here,” Kelsey muttered, warily studying the cracked ceiling that Riley had chosen to ignore. She couldn’t ignore it now as the house made a strange groaning sound. The structure seemed to be sagging in on itself, but would tremors do that? And then Riley understood; it wasn’t tremors that had caused this sagging, but the holes. There were holes under this house.
“We have to get out. Now.”
She practically shoved them out the door and down the hideously blue stairs of the drooping porch. She ran toward the street as the house released a heaving sound. It did not collapse on itself, not yet anyway, but the second floor was gradually making its way into the first floor, and Riley was certain the first floor windows were lower than they had been.
The horn blared behind her. She whipped her head around in time to see a car swerve frantically to avoid one of the holes, pop the curb, and spin out of control. Riley was frozen, trapped within the headlights as the Honda barreled down upon her. “Riley! Riley, move!” Carol screamed.
Her legs remained frozen though, locked in place. Her gaze was riveted upon the badly battered and bleeding man behind the wheel. She felt arms wrap around her waist as she was propelled out of the way of the oncoming car. She bounced over the ground, her breath knocked out of her. She lay, staring up at a pristine and beautiful blue sky that was completely out of place in this horrific new world surrounding her.
Then a new face loomed over her, a face that she instantly recognized. Carol’s older brother, Alexander, stared back at her. She dimly recalled Carol saying that Xander had returned a few days ago from his college trip to Australia, but Riley had blown it off, as she did with most everything that had to do with him.
He looked her over with concern, seemed to decide that she was okay and broke into a grin. “What’s the matter, Dumbo?” he said, bringing up her hated childhood nickname; a nickname that he had given her. “Those ears can’t help you fly out of the way?”
He just saved my life, she thought. I should be thankful.
Instead, she hauled off and punched him squarely in the jaw.
CHAPTER 4
Carl
Cape Cod, Mass.
7:32 a.m.
His hands were shaking like a baby’s, so much that he could barely light his cigarette, and he wasn’t even using a lighter. He’d never
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