Gift of Dane: A Crabapple Gang Adventure - Volume Three

By David C. Baxter

Dane and his friends use to live on a quiet, suburban street until a storm rolled in, and they learned their neighbor was a mad scientist. The portal in his lab has chosen them. Now an insane, rogue commander and otherworldly creatures are after them and what is on the other side of the portal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David C. Baxter
• Release date: Dec 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370152452

David C. Baxter

David C. Baxter prefers flip-flops, tennis, an ocean breeze, and being called Dave. Unfortunately, he’s gluten intolerant, but he’s thankful it only took four years to find a gluten free beer that tastes like the real thing.

Book preview

Gift of Dane

A Crabapple Gang Adventure

Volume 3

By David C. Baxter

Copyright © 2017, David C. Baxter

Smashwords 1st Edition

Click here for previous Volumes on Smashwords

No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, digitally, or mechanically without explicit written permission from the author.

Illustration by Corbin Baxter

For my nieces: Mackenzie, Macy, and Cameron. Thank you for inspiring me to write this novel.

And for my wife. Thank you for your constant support in all my side projects.

Contents

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

37

The time for child’s play is at an end. Brim’s words slithered from his tongue and across the unconscious faces of Simone, Collin, and Penny.

Brim glared with black eyes. His grey, slit pupils flashed red. One of the children wore an eyewear contraption. It reflected the red beam of the laser blade and Brim’s terrifying grin of satisfaction. Brim tipped the blade. A thin line of smoke sizzled from the girl’s glasses.

Suddenly, the knife flew from Brim’s hand, searing a line in the lens before sticking in the room’s window.

Brim ignored the bullet hole in his hand. No concern dripping out the secrets of what he was, for he did not bleed.

Brim rose and turned to the military male. The human vexation meant to fire again, but stalled with terror. Brim smiled. He had this affect on earthlings.

The end of the handgun had a silencer. But that didn’t explain how the soldier had snuck up on him. Brim’s senses were too keen for this world. His energy levels must be depleting more rapidly than calculated. Damn this foul, floating rock. Brim screamed at the degenerate.

CG

Collin woke to an ear-piercing scream. Three words coursed adrenaline through his body: Run! Van! Now!

Brim’s back was to Collin, nothing but a colossal shadow. The monster walked away from Collin, crossing the room in three strides. Was that Sarge holding a gun?

Collin stood. The room seesawed. He clutched the mantel to stay up.

Brim’s pale fingers danced. There was a groaning creak: metal contorting.

Dear, God! It couldn’t be. Collin watched in silent horror. The silencer on Sarge’s gun bent upward.

Run! Van! Now! The words echoed within Collin’s mind from some far off, foreign place.

Collin knelt, using the wall for support. Both Simone and Penny were awake, alert with fear.

A gurgling grunt protruded from Sarge. Brim threw him down the hall. The creature strode after Sarge, like a monster from one of Dane’s favorite horror flicks.

Collin helped Simone and Penny up. Run. Van. Now, he said without a single stutter.

I won’t leave you, Simone said. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

Collin noticed the cut in her lens. I’m right behind you, he said. And I’m fast.

The girls ran side by side into the pitch-black garage.

Collin wanted to stay between them and Brim’s possible return. He paused. Should he take one of the unconscious soldier’s AR-15s? And then he saw the knife’s handle and the glowing blade melted in the window glass. It hung in the air, like some wicked, magical devise. He nearly yanked too hard, the laser knife slid from the window with ease.

The garage door opened, activating the light. Simone called his name. Two of the van’s doors shut. The van started with a backfire.

Collin found the switch on the side of the knife. His grandfather had collected knives and this one was similar to a switchblade. He pressed it: the smoldering red blade split at the tip and retreated back into the handle.

Collin ran into the garage and climbed into the van’s front passenger seat. He studied the knife’s tusk-like handle. Dane would love this. W-w-we can’t leave them, he said.

We’re going to get help, Penny said.

The van backfired again.

The voice said to leave, Simone said. They’ll be okay.

Collin looked back at Simone and whispered, You heard it, too?

38

The dark, damp space between the house’s cement foundation and the sub-level ceiling was no more than three feet tall.

Dread tugged at Dane. The spy phone’s screen revealed the Modifier named Mirk rising toward them. He and his friends were going to die in this cramped, swallowing darkness.

Alex and Paul pressed against him on either side. The Modifier’s yellow-green heat signature closed in.

A horrifying mental-movie reeled through Dane’s mind: the Modifier reaching through the panel, flinging him down into the break room, the vampire monster kneeling on him, piercing pain in his neck, the vampire releasing him from its kiss of death, staring down on him with emotionless eyes, lips and fangs stained with his very blood. How long would he stay conscious with blood pouring out of him? Would his last sight be the vampire Mirk pulling Alex from the crawlspace, destined for the same fate?

Alex’s nails dug into Dane’s arm, bringing him back.

The closest ceiling tile lifted.

Dane promised himself he’d lay off the graphic novels forever if they got out of this.

Paul breathed, Start the van, Pen Pen.

From above, the familiar roar and backfire of the ole Blue Beast echoed through the dark. Dane thought it’d never sounded better. Their friends were alive and escaping!

A frown pulled at Dane’s jubilation. They were leaving Alex, Paul, and him for dead.

A pale hand inched up the ceiling tile, a crack of light. Red-orange fingernails.

Dane blinked. Were the creature’s fingernails painted on? A vision of a Modifier sitting at its kitchen table painting its nails nearly sent Dane into hysteria. He clamped his hand over his mouth. The creature’s fingernails pulsated, ridding Dane of any mad laughter.

The crown of a white-haired head appeared.

Another muffled explosion rumbled down to them from above.

Alex squeezed Dane’s arm even harder. He bit into his lip, so as not to yelp.

Surprisingly the crease of light on Paul’s face revealed a wide grin.

Dane followed Paul’s gaze: the monster’s white head lowered, as did its pale hand, and pulsating, fiery nails.

The panel eased down, squeezing out the light below. On the phone’s screen, the Modifier’s heat signature receded and left the room.

For an unknown amount of time, the three of them simply sat there in the darkness. The only light from the phone’s screen revealed the empty break room. It illuminated their three sweating faces: wide-eyed and watching, willing the break room to remain empty.

It was the van backfiring, Paul said, breaking the heavy, dank silence. The Modifier must’ve thought we were all escaping together.

Dane raised the phone to his mouth and whispered, Which way to the power source?

North, the phone replied in a low, Scottish accent.

Okay, Alex said, Not even I know direction in pitch black.

The phone’s