The Event

By Jamie Heppner

Can evil be defeated, or does it merely transform.
Donovan is evil.
He knows it.
He doesn't care.
When an unprecedented solar flare ruins the earth, it changes all humanity, turning back the clock to days long gone, and gives Donovan the power to do anything he wants.

That is, as long as he can get rid of his sister.

After all, she has the same powers he does.

Shade was just your average teen. Girls, cars, and having fun were his plans.

He never thought he would spend his birthday in the woods, fighting the broken remains of humanity to stay alive. His father a changed to a werewolf, his mother's sight ripped from her, yet her dark eyes now able to glimpse the future...

And Dawn.

Donovan's sister.

Stripped of her voice, she speaks with words no one can hear.

However, in the end, only the undead beauty Silvia's choices with change the face of the future, or decide if there will be one.
*****
This book has an 'R' Rating for some suggestive and sexual scenes. It is not intended for young readers. Please take this into consideration before purchasing this work.
*****

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jamie Heppner
• Release date: Mar 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9780987743619

Jamie Heppner

Born in a time before computers I had to use my imagination to keep me away from chores. Now that I am older, that same imagination comes in very handy with my writing. And I have always had an interest in writing. Even since grade school. However, I never really gave it a lot of thought in my youth...That is until the very early spring of 2006. I had just finished reading a story that frustrated me and I wondered if I could make a book that I would like to read. So I sat down at my computer, and decided to put some thoughts to the screen. A few hours later, and after some pestering from my wife about what I could possibly be doing, I had the beginnings of chapter 1 of one of my first books. But I had a lot to learn. Since that time, I have put that one aside at around 50,000 words. Put aside, but not forgotten. All of a sudden I had so many stories rushing to get out, I had to get them down! I started my second work and completed it, topping out at about 96k words. You can grab it now, entitled -The Event- in paperback ,or in E-Book format. I've started on the sequel entitled -Pockets of Paradise- when the editing of other works gets too rough. I have many short stories up on Amazon for you to check out, complete, in a handy collection available for free. Or grab one of my other stories from the Future Jumper series available now, with the fifth in the series, just released, in e-book format, or grab the entire collection in paperback! If you like some of the free works, be sure to check out my latest story, Mirror Thief, available now in paperback or e-book on Amazon. You will never look at your own reflection in quite the same way again. Thank you for taking the time to check up on me. Should you be interested in more, please stop in at my blog. JamieHeppner.blogspot.com or find me on twitter @scorpedo or on www.facebook/jamieheppner

Book preview

THE EVENT

Published by Jamie Heppner

©2012 Jamie Heppner

Smashwords Edition

To my wife,

Who first looked at me and said

You can write!

And I never stopped.

Apocalypse: an event of great importance, violence, etc.

The earth was changing, everyone could sense it, and we didn't know what to do about it. The problem was...people were looking down, under our feet. That's where the troubles could be felt. The shaking, the fires, the floods, all of them below us, but...time and again history has taught us, look up. The heavens brought the ruin of earth. The one thing in this solar system that could create life, the sun, was the very thing that opted to take it back.

Chapter 1

Days before the event happened, worldwide panic set in. Every channel on TV ran a story about what to expect, or how to prepare, or who to pray to. The sun was going crazy, and no one had an idea what to do. A solar flare unlike any before it, so unusual, even the brightest minds of the world didn't know what to make of it, was heading straight for the earth. The heretics called it retribution, the priests called it judgement, and the word apocalypse was whispered in dark corners. In the end, it really didn't matter. There was no way to prepare. The earth didn't stand a chance.

I remember my parents telling me that we had to leave quickly. As my father rushed around the house grabbing things such as our camping gear, lanterns, batteries, and my mother went for the food. Both of them worked together, stuffing it all in our four-door sedan. I jumped into the driver’s seat, earning me such a glare from my father. I mumbled a sorry and moved to the back.

I had never seen dad drive so fast. We practically flew away from our home. My parents were arguing about whether to stop at a store or not. Approaching the Super Store, my dad began to slow down. Gunshots rang out from inside the building. Every window was broken, and people were running out carrying as much as possible. It’s odd the things you remember in times like these. I remember a man; eyes wide with terror carrying a bag of dog food in his arms, dog food, of all things. My dad gave my mom one look and drove away from the store. Lawns and houses passed by so quickly. All I saw was a blur of green.

Dad took us into the woods. There was an old cabin tucked away in a valley near a small lake; its waters were clear as crystal. My dad said we were lucky that only a few people knew it was there. He hoped it would stay that way. I overheard my Dad say, There is a chance these mountains will protect us. My mom didn’t respond. Her eyes had a shine to them every time she looked up. Later I learned she was holding her tears.

We didn’t do much for the first day. We sat in the small cabin playing cards and waited, for what, we didn’t know. My mother listlessly wandered around the cabin, crying sometimes. Her face framed by her greying hair was unreadable. Dad lit a fire at night using the wood we collected from close by. None of us ranged very far.

After the first day of camping in the cabin, a deep silence fell over us. The days passed slowly. One evening as the sun was setting my father woke us up carefully. His strong hand on my shoulder gently shook me awake. My mom was crying silently. Inside the cabin we all huddled together, waiting.

A faint red glow was forming outside. As it built, the world began to take on a deep red glow. Gradually it grew brighter and brighter until we had to shield our eyes. The light was so strong I could see the bones inside my arms. With a brilliant flash, it doused the world in a light that penetrated everything. Nothing could hide. Then I remember darkness, which arrived only with my loss of consciousness.

I was the first to wake. Something felt different, looking around the cabin I saw my parents laying side by side, breathing lightly while sleeping. For the first time in days, my mom wasn't crying. Looking closer, I saw there was something different about them. I couldn't explain it, but they looked darker somehow. There was a change in them that I was unable to see, only sense. I looked down at myself and noticed I looked brighter, almost like a glow inside me was trying to light the way out.

My parents were sleeping soundly so I decided to let them wake on their own. I stood up and went outside to look around. The sun was just falling behind the mountain. We had been asleep for almost a full day. My stomach confirmed my suspicions when it loudly grumbled. In the fading light of our little valley, I looked around at the trees, the lake, and our car. Everything seemed as I remembered, yet different, just a little off. It was almost as if when I looked right at something, it was the same. Then when I glanced out of the corner of my eye things would shift. As I stood trying to find the difference, I heard my mom call out my name. I knew from the way she said my name something was wrong. She very nearly screamed it. My heart pounded in my chest as I rushed back.

Dad lay on the ground rubbing his eyes. He rubbed his face as if he had trouble waking. My mom, on the other hand, looked fully awake. She was sitting on the ground where I had left her. She still called my name as I ran back to her side. Each call was louder...more frantic.

I'm right here Mom. I reached out to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the sound of my voice and turned her head towards me. It was at that moment that I saw her eyes. The deep blue that had welled with tears just yesterday was gone, replaced by pure black, the black of nothingness, emptiness.

My dad stood up behind us and turned towards me. His eyes focused on me. A warm smile formed on his lips when he realized I was ok. The smile vanished quickly when he saw mom. He rushed over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

Honey, can you see me?

Mom turned her head towards the sound of his voice and blinked a few times. No, is it still night? Are there no stars?

A gasp escaped my dad's throat. He didn't say a word at first, then as silent tears rolled down his cheeks, he told my Mother Your eyes have gone completely black, the sun is setting, but it's still light out. From what I can see. Shade and I are ok, but honey, the glow must’ve made you blind. My Mom broke down and sobbed. Dad held Mom close.

We will work through this.

*****

Mom never did see again, but she learned to work with her disability. After a while, she taught herself a system. She rarely left the cabin so she took over the inside chores and not once complained about what happened. My dad took things a little harder. He rarely left her side, only going out for food and water. After a week of this, she finally got mad at him.

That is enough; I'm not a puppy dog that has to be watched every minute. Shade is here. He is more than able to help me with the little things I can't do. Besides, we are almost out of food if we don't find any soon, we will all starve.

That seemed to shake him out of his worried stupor. Dad had never been a slacker; everything he did was for the good of his family. He is a strong man and proud of his ability to care for his family. With my mother’s words, he suddenly seemed to remember it was his responsibility to take care of us all. Dad took a deep breath and looked at us.You’re right. It's been a little over a week now since... since it happened. He glanced again at my mother who was already busying herself with daily chores. I need to get back to town and see what’s happening. See if there is any news, maybe it is safe to go back to our home now. I don't know what that light was, but we won’t find out anything sitting around here.

It was then we found out more had changed than just mom’s eyes. Dad worked on our car for hours, testing one thing, changing another. He would scratch his head and stare.

I just don’t get it. Everything should work, but it’s not. I was too young to be of any help. I didn't even know the first thing about fixing cars; I only just started thinking about getting my license. I could see the car looked different. If anyone asked me to explain it, I would say it looked dead, the trees, plants and grass all had a glow inside them, as if they all had visible souls, bright and beautiful. Many of the things we brought with us looked out of place. They looked darker, foreign and wrong. I didn't mention it to my Dad. I didn't know how to explain it.

He gave it up trying to fix the car that evening and started to look at other things we brought. We stashed them in a corner of our cabin when we got here. Everything that had batteries or electricity had stopped working.

It isn't that the batteries are dead, he explained showing us a wind up radio he brought. Dad spun the handle, but the radio didn't make a crackle. It’s like the electricity stopped working all together.

That night by the fire, he puzzled over how it was possible while mom sat in a chair looking towards the heat of the fire. The light danced off her dark eyes. I wasn't sure, but it looked as if she was smiling to herself. An internal laugh at a joke only she could hear.

Dad left us the next day. He took a backpack and very little food.

I’m going to find us more food so there’s no point in taking all that is left here. He kept saying to my mom, while she tried unsuccessfully to shove more food in the bag.

At least it's just around a day’s walk to the closest town. He said giving mom and me hugs in turn. I'll be back as soon as possible, don't worry. He gave my mom a quick kiss, and walking past our now useless car, he kicked the passenger’s side door, leaving a large dent. It sure would have been a lot faster to drive. He mumbled while waving and smiling back at us. That night I found out what really happened to my mom.

Chapter 2

Night was the same routine as before with the exception of Dad not being there. Mom made do with our vastly diminished supplies. I helped her carry in some wood, and lit the fire for her, even though we didn't really need the heat. She said she enjoyed the feel of the heat from it. When we were settling down to sleep, she called me over to her.

Shade, I need to tell you something. I had to wait since your father would rarely leave us alone long enough to talk together without him overhearing. I don't know what happened to us that night my eyes turned, but I can tell you that something in this world changed drastically. I can no longer see what is around me, but sometimes I can seem to see other things. When I look around the room now, everything is dark, with one exception, you. Where ever you move I can see you, not as a person but as a light in the darkness. You glow to my eyes in a world where everything else is dark.

I see the glow in myself too mom. You and dad don't have it.

Somehow I’m not surprised, what else can you tell me that is different to you?

I moved away, not sure how to tell my mom without sounding strange to her. Things are more alive than they were. I started out shyly. Plants, animals they all seem to have some glow inside of them. Other things seem dead.

My mom nodded to herself waiting.

I can't say I totally understand, but please go ahead. I have something else to tell you when you are done.

When dad was working with the car, and the radio, somehow I knew they wouldn't work. They were dark, empty and dead. They are sterile and have no life in them anymore.

My mom turned away from me and again looked into the fire with her dark eyes. Yes, I can understand that. I think you will deal with these changes a lot better than most. You were always older than your actual age. Mom shivered a little before continuing. Your father is a technical person. He will never understand fully what I think has changed and always try to make the tools of our past work. That is the one main reason that I waited for him to make this trip, and waited to talk to you. I don't know how he will handle this information. There will be a time to tell him, but for now, we must keep it a secret between just you and I ok?

I found myself nodding at my mom before I remembered she couldn't see me. Ok mom, I promise.

My mom sat a moment before beginning. I know your father will come back from this trip ok, this time. I saw him coming back. That’s why I didn't mind him leaving us. His trip won't be as easy as your father would like, but he will come back unharmed. I don't know how this came to me, but last night while he was working with the radio, I had an image of him in my mind. He was walking back to us past our dented car. At least now I know where the dent came from. My mom smiled, and I knew her private joke from the night before.

He will be bringing something else with him as well as food; I didn't see what that was.

We talked a while about what other things my mom had seen but mostly they were flashes, almost an insight, a glimpse like a flashbulb went off in a dark room. Sometimes they were so fast she didn't get a chance to take them in before they were gone. Our conversation slowed, until the room grew silent. We both looked at the fire a while, me with my eyes and mom feeling its heat.

There is one more thing I saw. She broke the silence after a while. He can't leave this valley again. If he does, he won’t be able to come back. Our life here will be over.

I didn't say anything. It wasn't so much as Mom was telling me, but just stating a truth that was unbreakable.

The next day went as normal. When we woke, I helped my mom clean, tidy, and wash our clothes. I gathered more wood from the forest for our fire and spent some time down at the lake trying my luck with an old fishing rod. Even when I saw the fish swimming below me, I couldn't convince them to bite at the old hook at the end of the line. That night was the same as many others that went before with one exception. Just before we went to bed, mom sat looking again at the fire, and she started to laugh to herself.

Shade, would you please clear an area under the window over there, and lay out another blanket. Your father will be home tomorrow. She gestured where she wanted it and with a shrug.

I didn't bother to ask whom since I was still frustrated with my lack of fishing abilities. Mom didn't say another word but lay down and promptly went to sleep.

The morning skies were clear again. When I thought back, every day since the event had been clear. It seemed strange since the season was turning to fall. Usually by now, the clouds were rolling over the mountains, and it rained one out of every three days. I was rummaging through the car looking for anything that might have missed our attention, and mostly out of sheer boredom when dad came walking back towards our little cabin in the woods. On his back was a pack filled to overflowing with boxes and cans. An old wagon trailed behind him, also filled with food of any kind that wouldn't spoil quickly. Three things seemed odd to me while watching him through the dusty car window. The first was the gun he had in his hand. In my sixteen years, I had never seen my father carry a gun. I had looked at them in the stores, but my dad would shoo me away from them telling me that I wouldn't need one of those. He held it in a way that showed he knew how to use it. His fingers light on the stock it seemed it was a part of him already.

The second was his face. Down one cheek were three long, deep, scratches. Just missing his left eye, they reached from his ear to his jawbone. Some blood was running from the cuts, and they were red and swollen. His jacket had dried blood down the front. The third thing I saw was the most strange. Next to my father, matching his pace was a light. At first glance, it reminded me of the same light I saw in plants and me. Concentrating on it more, it shifted and formed a small girl. Well, she wasn't that small, but next to my father, she seemed tiny. She was dirty, and her clothes hung torn almost to shreds. It was a wonder she remained covered at all. She couldn't have been more than fifteen years old, but she walked with confidence that spoke of an age greater than her years.

It was then Mom came to the door of the cabin, and I led her out to meet Dad. I don't know how my Mom knew he was home. The girl walked quietly and didn't say a word. My father stopped and dropped his pack grabbing Mom in a large bear hug. The moment he put her back down mom turned to the girl.

Hello Dawn, we have laid out a place for you to sleep inside. If you would give me a moment I'll help you clean up, and then we can see what to do about getting you some new clothes. Ok?

The girl, Dawn, moved inside the cabin without a word and mom turned back to Dad. She reached up to put her hands on his face and gave him a kiss. The moment her hand touched his torn cheek she jerked back. You’re burning up! What happened to your face? I didn't see you getting hurt.

My dad gave mom a sideways look and raised his eyebrows. With a small shake of his head, he told us what happened.

"The trip back to the nearest town wasn't uneventful. It would appear that we weren't the only one to have trouble with our car. As soon as I started getting closer to town, there were cars everywhere. It looked like people abandoned them right where they were. I looked at a few of them thinking that it would be a big help to have a working car to bring back more supplies, but none of the vehicles functioned. Not even their radios. Everything just stopped working. I left them alone after a few attempts and kept walking to town. Then it hit me. There were no people. With all the cars I had seen, there should have been at least some people still wondering around.

Everywhere I walked, there were signs of an attempted mass exodus, but there were no signs of people. I became a lot more cautious as I got closer to the store. You remember the mall we passed. Well, it's one of those massive shopping stores, where you could get anything from a lawn mower to lettuce. It was destroyed the windows were smashed. The merchandise spread everywhere.

Most of it looked trampled and crushed. I hid out of sight inside a parked car for a few hours and watched the store. I kept looking for signs of people or trouble of any kind, but I didn't see a soul.

Once I decided to get closer to look inside, I moved cautiously towards the entrance. I felt a tingling in the back of my neck so I kept looking around me for traps or trouble. At one point, I thought I heard a noise, but nothing moved. The tingle didn't leave me. I knew something was watching me.

Inside the store was worse than outside. It’s a wonder what people will do when scared, but this was gone too far. Not one shelf stood still standing. Every useful item I snatched up and put into my backpack.

I must have gotten distracted while scanning for food or other items because I didn't notice the thing sneaking up behind me. The snap of some garbage under its feet was my only warning, and I dropped to the ground. With a snarl, it flew just over my head and landed a few feet past me. Only then did I get a good glance at what it was that had been stalked me.

Jaws and large fangs took up most of that snarl. It stood on four legs as it faced me. Covered in a thick, coarse hair its back was as wide as a man's was. Massive front legs held it up as it threw its head back in a furious howl at having missed its prey. I noticed its front feet had an odd shape. The beast had large nails on the ends of its feet, but they had a shape like a hand. It must have been a wolf, even though I had never seen a wolf that looked quite like it before."

I looked over at the girl walking out of our cabin. Her face never changed its expression, but her eyes met mine. A picture flashed inside my head of my father ducking on the ground. A massive beast faced him down. It was seen from neither his nor the wolf's perspective, but a third, farther away. I saw what he had faced. It looked a lot like the comics I had read back in our home before. It was most definitely not a normal wolf. This thing facing down my father was a werewolf. I looked away from the girl as my father continued talking and the picture snapped away.

"That wolf must have escaped a zoo or something. It was larger than any I had ever seen before. I have to admit a small amount of luck went into what happened next.

The wolf charged me again, this time not giving me the room to duck away. His claws tore up the side of my face while I tried to roll away from his attack. The wolf turned again to come in and finish his work, I backed away from him as fast as possible. My hand came down on something hard. It was a feeling I recognized."

My dad paused a minute and looked at my mom, her black eyes were trained on where my dad stood. Even though she couldn't see my Dad looking, she nodded her head, giving him permission to continue.

"Shade I never told you this before, I saw you were always interested in the guns in sporting goods stores. I kept you away, hoping you would lose your interest. I used to be in the army. It's not something I like to talk about, and not something my growing boy needed to know. I was in a Special Forces unit, a sniper. It was lucky that I managed to stumble over a gun. Someone must have dropped it during the raiding that had taken place.

I pulled the gun up and shot from the hip, not taking the time to check if the weapon was loaded. I was lucky it was. The bullet hit the wolf square in the chest. The howl that came from him sounded so familiar. It turned at that moment and tore off out of the store.

Not waiting to see if it came back, I leapt out one of the smashed windows ten feet off the ground. I turned back and aimed the gun up at the window waiting for the beast to follow me, but it didn't. My breath came in short, ragged gasps, never in one of my missions had I come that close to death. My work was always from afar in my past. I did what I could to stop the bleeding, when out from behind some boxes walked out this young girl."

My father looked over at her standing and waiting just outside our cabin. With a shrug, he continued.

"She hasn't spoken a word to me yet, must be the trauma from seeing that wolf attack me, or something else that happened in the store before I got there. I don't know what...yet. She helped me find the wagon and load it up. She didn't say a word the entire time.

I kept an eye on the doors and windows just in case that wolf decided to show up again, I half expected to find him dead outside. I didn't see a sign of him, so I gathered more ammunition from the floor of the sporting goods area. It was scattered and took some time to find what I needed. This young woman never said a word the whole time I looked."

Her name is Dawn. My mom said.

My Dad concentrated a moment on my mother. His eyebrows furrowed the same as before when he would work on a particularly hard problem.

Hmn, ok, Dawn it is... anyway, when we had all we could carry I went out of the building first. I chose an exit near where I had jumped out before thinking to find him outside on the ground dead or dying. If I hadn't seen a few drops of blood under the window, and my face still throbbing from his claws I might have thought I imagined it all. With some searching, I found his trail of blood, and it went off the opposite way we were going so I left it alone. The remainder of our trip was uneventful, but I refused to drop my guard the whole time. I swore never again to fall into a trap like that. Now we are back and have enough food for a while. We have a weapon to do some hunting with and a new friend for some company. I'm sure my face will heal soon enough, let's get settled here. My Dad smiled warmly at my mother until she took his hand and dragged him into the cabin.

Well, now that you have talked our ears off, bring that food inside and let me do what I can to clean up those cuts. We don't need you getting sick from wounds like that.

My Mother pushed Dad inside, leaving Dawn and myself alone outside of our soon to be cramped little cabin in the woods.

Chapter 3

Dawn never did speak, at least, not like the rest of us. She understood us just fine, and there was no doubting her intelligence. She just never said a word aloud. However, to Mom and me she would often show her intent with pressed visions.

A picture is worth