The Jitters

By J.T. Cummins

In a hostile mountain wilderness, a pack of monstrous woodland creatures pursue the survivors of a private plane crash and the stranded air rescue team sent to save them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.T. Cummins
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9781452302157

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

THE JITTERS

By

J.T. Cummins

Smashwords Edition

Published by PopPix Press

Los Angeles, California

COPYRIGHT & LICENSE NOTICE

The Jitters. Copyright © 2009 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.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook 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 smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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

DEDICATION

For Father. For Mother.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.T. Cummins is a suspense, horror and fantasy author and screenwriter. He writes efiction exclusively for the digital market. His etales include Cobblestones, Softly: The Uninvited, Minus Four, Winstrom, and Weaker Sex (co-written with Douglas Nabors a producer of the Emmy winning TV series Monk). Baptized in the Hollywood trenches, J.T. is also the screenwriter-director of the horror movie classic The Boneyard. A former motion picture special make-up effects 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

Under a blood-red, twilight sky, a mountainous forest wilderness stretches in all directions. The range is remote, ancient — almost primordial.

From deep inside a large heap of deadfall that nestles the nook of a hollow, Culpepper emerges. Bent, five-foot tall erect, he resembles nothing if not a wingless vampire bat/ape hybrid. With a hearty yawn, the nocturnal, feral beast stretches mightily and sheds the last vestiges of sleep.

Behind Culpepper, Dewlap appears in the den’s mouth. In the half-light, she looks similar, but sports longer scraggly hair, soulful blue eyes, and a face like a bulldog. Sweetly, she sidles up to her mate and nuzzles his thick muscular neck.

Ticklish, Culpepper chortles happily.

Snick!

A twig snaps in the wood and Culpepper stiffens.

Fearful, Dewlap drops back into the shadows of the den, and like a wraith, vanishes

Alert, Culpepper sniffs the air, recognizes a familiar scent, and smiles. Silent as a shiver, he slips into the forest and a dozen yards in, slows to a slink.

Crunch!

Culpepper drops into a crouch and freezes.

Fifty-feet away, a muscular timber wolf paws furiously at a tree stump.

Within the stump’s cavity, a single field mouse quakes uncontrollably as its home disintegrates around its ears.

Indifferent to either’s concerns, Culpepper focuses his considerable attention on the wolf and quietly begins to inch closer to his prey.

Similarly caught-up in the task at hand, the wolf is oblivious to all but the morsel inside the stump. But then, with the shift of the wind, an unfamiliar scent flares the wolf’s nostrils. Caught off guard, he looks up, but he is far too late.

Like a humanoid-leopard, Culpepper pounces from the brush and sets upon the wolf.

The pair collide hard, roll across the earth, and their limbs flail wildly against the other.

Culpepper’s teeth tear, and his sharp talons flash.

The wolf parries, but he is no match for his inhuman aggressor.

Yelp, cries the wolf, and he breaks free and scrambles pell-mell into the forest — as does the very lucky mouse.

Amidst a cloud of dust and leaves, Culpepper rises, apparently bereft of victory. But then, with a grunt, he lands a torn wolf haunch onto his shoulder and turns for home. Abruptly however, his ears prick and give him pause. For a moment he listens to some nearly inaudible sound, and then drawn, moves to the lip of a verdant meadow. Quietly, Culpepper perches atop a boulder and surveys an ocean of tall grass below. All appears as it should — tranquil and bucolic. Then, and without apparent cause, a tiny patch of tall grass shifts and rustles. Instantly on guard, Culpepper drops into a crouch and his eyes narrow.

Incongruously, thirteen-year old, freckly, Haydee Wilk surfaces from