Preview

Hi, everyone!

This is a sample chapter from my upcoming book Stone Birds. Hope you like it!

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Dre had never felt this scared in her life. Her heart was beating so loud, she could hardly hear the explosions and people screaming all around her. Where ever she looked, she saw stone rubble, smoke, and dust. Pieces of what used to be her home were laying around everywhere.

She heard someone scream. It was the kind of cry someone lets out when they’re being tortured. Dre tried to move, but she couldn’t. She felt petrified. There was already a thick layer of stone dust in her eyes and no matter how much she cried, it wouldn’t wash out. For a moment she thought it would be best to just close her eyes but that way she would’ve been even more vulnerable.

She sat behind one of the remaining walls. One of her legs was injured, probably broken. The adrenaline filling her body eased some of the pain. She felt so helpless. The smoke and dust stopped her from seeing far. Her friends were somewhere out there. Or at least the people she had considered friends once. Now she had started doubting.

Something hit the wall right above her and a rain of rocks showered down. She lifted her shield just in time. At least her reactions were fast, she thought. That was the only consolation, she found in her situation. As she lowered her shield, something black and formless seemed to appear in the smoke. Dre blinked fast, thinking it was just her eyes playing tricks on her, but the thing was still there. Whatever it was, it must have been responsible for the destruction around her. She was sure of that. Could it be, that everyone else was dead and she was the last living stone bird in Sencor?

The blackness didn’t seem to have eyes or a face at all, yet it felt like it was staring right at her. She knew she couldn’t fight the creature and live to tell the tale. But she had to at least try. Dre held the shield in front of her with one arm and reached on her side with the other. She might have lost all of her weapons, but there were a lot of rocks on the ground, she could use. The creature showed no sign of movement. It stayed where it was looking at her. Dre felt a sudden wave wash over her and her fear was gone. She was relaxed and a bit tired. The pain in her leg hit her hard and she gasped in pain with tears running down her face leaving lines in her dust covered face. When she opened her eyes again, the formless creature was right in front of her. It was just like a part of the smoke and dust in the air but it was alive. It seemed to reach out to her. For a moment Dre didn’t understand what it meant, but then she realized the wanted her to take its hand. She tried to remember why she shouldn’t do it, why had she been so afraid. Nothing. Maybe she had to go with this thing. Without even thinking, her hand released the rock and grabbed the creature’s hand instead. The pain in her leg grew intolerable and she screamed like never before. The warmth of the formless creature’s hand was the last thing she remembered before collapsing to the ground.