Minus Four

By J.T. Cummins

Four friends fight to survive when their car is buried under a winter avalanche of snow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.T. Cummins
• Release date: Mar 10, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452302188

J.T. Cummins

J.T. Cummins (aka James Cummins) is an American suspense author and screenwriter who utilizes internet distribution to micro-publish his fast-paced, short enovels directly to econsumers everywhere.By coupling the active voice and minimal exposition of the screenplay with the narrative conventions of the novel, Cummins produces lean, mean, mind’s eye movies designed to be read in about the same time it takes to watch a feature length motion picture. This technique provides digital consumers with an exciting reading experience specifically geared to their electronic devices, and busy, modern day lifestyles.THE MOVIE YEARSCummins studied art and film/video at the California Institute of the Arts under the only full character animation scholarship awarded by the Walt Disney Company during the institute’s 1978-79 academic year.J.T. Cummins’ early career was as a conceptual illustrator, sculptor and special make-up effects artist for film and television, notably The Thing, House, Strange Invaders, and Enemy Mine. Frustrated by the way his work was being presented on film, Cummins left the effects industry in 1990 to establish himself as a screenwriter and director with the horror movie classic The Boneyard, followed by Dark:30, and Harbinger.A CAREER DETOUREarly in 2002, Cummins’ life took a dramatic turn as a direct result of open heart surgery to replace a defective mitral valve. During his recuperation, and in recognition of the debt he felt he owed the Los Angeles branch of the American Heart Association for providing information that helped save his life, Cummins wrote and illustrated the inspirational picture book for all ages Good Things to Share. Through book sales, bookstore signings, school appearances, and special AHA fundraising events, Cummins raised and donated proceeds to benefit the organization’s venerable children’s health education program Jump Rope For Heart. JRFH reaches over 5 million elementary school children every year, and since its inception 25 years ago, has raised over $325 million for research against heart disease and stroke.THE eBOOK REVOLUTIONA prolific writer with a D.I.Y. aesthetic, Cummins carved out a niche for himself early in the ebook revolutioin by self-publishing efiction exclusively for the digital market. His extensive backlist includes the bestselling mystery Cobblestones, and the horror-adventure The Jitters. His suspenseful enovels are all available for digital download in the most popular formats for a wide range of ereading devices at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.WHAT READERS ARE SAYINGCompulsive reading -— Debbi Mack, Identity CrisisFast-paced —- Scott Nicholson, The Red ChurchEntertaining —- Red Adept, Amazon ReviewEasy and fun -— Kelley Sweet-Jensen, ReaderBlazing fast -— Kevin LeVick, Reader

Book preview

MINUS FOUR

By

J.T. Cummins

Smashwords Edition

Published by PopPix Press

Los Angeles, California

COPYRIGHT

Minus Four Copyright © 2010 James Thomas Cummins. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

LICENSE NOTICE

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to www.smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

CONTACT

E-mail J.T. at: [e-mail] or visit him online at: jtcummins.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.T. Cummins is a thriller author and screenwriter. He writes e-fiction exclusively for the digital market. His e-fiction includes Cobblestones, The Jitters, and Weaker Sex (co-written with Douglas Nabors a producer of the Emmy winning TV series Monk). J.T. is also the screenwriter-director of the horror movie classic The Boneyard. A former Hollywood FX artist, J.T.’s work appears in The Thing, House, Strange Invaders, Enemy Mine, and many others.

As a writer, J.T.’s diverse creative background manifests itself in an aggressive narrative style that merges the immediacy of the screenplay and the intimacy of the novel. Utilizing an active voice and minimal exposition, J.T. creates lean, mean, mind’s eye movies geared to a busy, modern audience that enjoys reading smart, fast paced, exciting fiction — all in about the time it takes to watch a feature length motion picture.

ONE

Clad in jackets and winter gear, three twentysomething men and one woman sprawl unconscious inside a canted, cavernous 1977 Cadillac Sedan Deville. Oddly, outside the windows, the world is a white, sterile void.

Behind the wheel, grunge snowboarder, Ryan McCall is the first to come around. He checks the knot on his head and reorients himself. Guys, he whispers hoarsely, but no one answers. On auto-pilot, Ryan tries to open his door, but he can’t manage it. He tries to crank down the window, but it is frozen shut. Christ, he curses in the frosty air, and elbows the ruggedly handsome figure beside him. Conover? Wake up.

Wassup? Conover asks groggily.

We’re in trouble. Ryan cranes his neck and looks into the vast backseat. Gwen? Curtis? Are you two alive back there?

Ominously, no one answers.

Hey! Ryan shouts.

Instantly, mod, strung-out Gwyneth Popkie and porky black-hipster Curtis Dell snap awake.

What…what happened? Gwen asks no one in particular.

Last thing I remember, Ryan offers. We were comin’ up on the pass. There was a bump, and we started to skid...

Stiff, Curtis struggles to an elbow. We rolled too, I think — maybe twice?

Nervous, Ryan begins to pop his knuckles. Try your doors. Mine’s stuck.

Curtis shoulders his door. I think she’s frozen shut.

What about a window? Conover says with a groan. See if we can jet through a window.

Curtis cranks down his passenger window and discovers a wall of dense snow. Tentatively, he pushes against it, but it is rock solid. Brutal. We must’ve wiped out in an avalanche. We’ll have to tunnel out.

There’s no sunlight through the snow. Conover says sagely. Diggin’ down isn’t gonna cut it. He looks to Gwen’s window and the faint glow of light that shines through. Gwen, what about your door?

Gwen pulls the handle and pushes, but she’s not strong enough. Curtis, give me a hand.

Here’s two, he jokes inappropriately and leans against the door.

Ready? Gwen asks Curtis.

He nods.

Go, she says.

Together, the pair push and strain, but the door won’t budge.

Fuck, Gwen blurts in frustration and falls back against the seat. There’s gotta be a ton of snow out there.

It’s okay, Ryan says, in a faux-calm voice that doesn’t