Seven Lives

By Christian Terry

Can one man stop the coming apocalypse on an alien world? He has seven lives to try...
Same fight, different round!
It has been a week since brothers Mike and Louis rescued and freed the queen's slaves and retrieved the fire emerald. Now they find themselves thrust into a race against time to escape the planet of Kelenia before the world ends. Standing in their way are cunning puzzles, the stalking blood thirsty ancient machines known as the Morrovan, and the evil queen, Beesh. Their journey will take them from the Kelenian jungle to the deepest, darkest, depths of the Kelenian sea where what they find may have repercussions for the entire galaxy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Terry
• Release date: Aug 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463647530

Book preview

OTHER BOOKS by CHRISTIAN TERRY

TEN LIVES

(The Respawn Saga – Book 1)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to Leigh Hogan and the awesome Kyle Miller for getting me right. Without your help this book wouldn’t be what it is today.

Thank you to the entire Hunter and Terry family, Love you guys.

To my friends Jamar, Jermaine, Lisa, Don, Omari, Brandon, Dusty, Ryan, Canadian Ryan, Sreela, Victoria Clapton and Vicky Holt, Judith and Sofia. You guys pushed me and inspired me to finish this thing and from the bottom of my heart I’m forever grateful to be able to call you all friends.

Lastly, I’d like to thank you, yes you! The person holding this book whether it’s the ebook or the paperback, I appreciate you zoning out and escaping the real world and getting lost in my book.  Thank you sincerely!

For Micha, let your imagination drive you kid!

ONE

"Shit! Mike blurted glaring at the spiked floor and ceiling he had mistakenly triggered in the ancient Kelenian tomb they had discovered. You’d think that there were other ways to kill an intruder. Why spikes? Always with the god-damned spikes. How about something original?" he asked as he peered across the spike-laden cavern and over the pit that would have killed him if he had fallen inside.

On the other side of the trap stood a rotating sphere lit with a bright orange-red hue. Mike was just about to open his mouth about the spikes again when the spinning statue saw his head. Achoom! A beam of light streaked over him, leaving a smoldering blemish on the stone wall where his head had been before he ducked.

Well, his brother Louis chimed in, that’s new.

Mike squeezed his large right fist activating his newly repaired grapple beam sleeve. The hum assured him that it was on and ready for work. Stay here, Lou, I’m going to try and get around it. I’ll need you to try and distract it.

Sure, I’ll—

Achoom! The sphere blasted again, narrowly missing both of their skulls this time. The two glanced at one another.

Louis begrudgingly broke his gaze first. Wait a minute, distraction? You’re the one with the extra lives! Mike had vanished before he could have heard him. Damn it I hope you end up sitting on one of those spikes.

After a few seconds Louis fixed his circular glasses on his face, then summoned the courage to pop his head from behind the low stone wall. Here I am, you stupid laser shooting statue… thing! Louis gave the statue half of the peace sign before ducking for cover.

The statue did not take kindly to that sentiment, responding by sending two more blasts his way.

Mike loomed behind a stone pillar that was no doubt holding this old ceiling in place, waiting for his chance to be able to cross the chasm that divided the tomb. He had to wedge his body sideways behind the column because of his wide football player’s frame. He pulled down on his lucky black baseball cap, securing it on his head, and balled his hand, priming his grapple beam for use. Noting a peculiar ornament jutting from the ceiling’s smooth surface, an upside-down pyramid with a golden ball at its tip, Mike paused. He would be able to latch unto it with his beam instead of sticking to the unreliable ceilings surface. There were several of these points spaced out above the death pit and the laser-spewing sculpture.

With all the commotion aimed at his brother, Mike closed his left eye, aimed and steadied his arm, then blasted the beam from the gauntlet to the ceiling above, where it attached to the golden point careening him upward. Swaying above the deadly floor, he shot to the next point. Then the next. He continued until the statue beneath him caught wind of what was happening. In the middle of one of Mike’s swings, an orange bolt grazed his knee, slicing a smoking line through his jeans. It continued shooting, making Mike dance across the tomb’s ceiling.

Um, Lou, where in the blue hell is the distraction part of the plan we talked about just now, he yelled between bolts.

Louis popped his head from his hiding place, waving and shaking his outstretched hands. The statue’s head made a one-eighty turn to fire in Louis’ direction. He crouched and grabbed his curly brown hair.

While the thing’s attention was occupied, Mike swung in a circle, grappling behind the statue, then dropping quietly. He delivered a heavy dropkick, sending the statue tumbling into the sea of spikes below the alcove. Mike did a push up, picking himself off the floor. He knocked the dust off his snug, dark-blue shirt, exposing the physique of an agent serving in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Special Activities Division.

Mike gestured for Louis to wait. Hold up; there must be a way to… Oh, here it is. A rock tile on the floor was a different brown than the others.

Pressing his foot against it, he added his weight to the effort. A click echoed throughout the chamber, followed by the sudden shifting of the floor and ceiling, covering the spikes from earlier. When all the spikes had disappeared, Louis crossed the new floor and was met with a fist bump as his brother and he had done millions of times in the past. For the better part of a week, the two had searched frantically inside similar tombs and caves to find nothing, and they were running out of time.

There has to be something here there has to be. Louis said as they separated. He examined the space behind the statue. The world was ending in a few days, and they were no closer to leaving it than they were a week ago.

There, look! Mike pointed to a miniature obelisk that stood on the back wall. Beside it, glowing with a faint orange light, a small orb beckoned the two.

Cautiously Louis turned to his brother. No ‘spider sense’ this time?

Mike shook his head no, prompting Louis to proceed toward the treasure. The orange glow reflected onto his glasses and face, making his freckles look nuclear.

Careful there, don’t want you to blow us both to kingdom come, Mike warned.

Louis fiddled with the glowing trinket. One of Louis' fingers slipped into one of the orbs grooves, causing millions of dots of light to explode from the orb, scattering across the room, floating in air. Looks like some sort of star chart. It may be able to show us where we are in the universe since we still don’t know. Mike? He then turned from the star display to see his adopted brother staring at a translucent being hovering directly in front of him. Who’s this? Louis managed to whisper.

This, Mike began, this is who told me the world is going to end; he’s a big-ass hater.

Louis got close enough to the ghostly entity that he could touch it if he wanted. Once he went to feel for the being, its image shuddered and blinked, causing him to draw his hand back. You’re a hologram.

The blue apparition turned his attention from Mike. You are quite correct, young Louis Scott. The hologram’s voice boomed.

Lou gawked at Mike quizzically.

He knows my name too. I don’t know how, but he does.

I’m surprised that such a primitive species could comprehend the difference between a specter and technological genius. The heavily cloaked hologram snarked, leaving Mike and Lou to stare at one another again.

Okay, thanks? a confused Lou let out.

The floating hologram wasted no time. Kelenia will end in seven of your Earth rotations. You must collect the remaining emeralds if you are to survive the coming cataclysm.

We’ve looked through every damn cave and hidden tomb around here for a week. Where in the blue hell would you have us look? Mike barked, sending the tomb into silence.

The hologram sighed underneath its hood. Ever the angry, arrogant human. I do hope that your resolve is as strong as that primitive tongue. Your worthiness of the champions mark on your arm will be tested as soon as I disappear.

Mike’s forearm glowed neon blue, where the Roman numeral VII brightly shined.

The answers you seek are in the stars. And Michael, the next time we meet, you shall be humble. For we are the builders. With that the ghostly sprite vanished.

What did he mean? Lou asked.

I don’t know. Small debris from overhead trickled down. That asshole’s bringing this tomb down around us.

Larger chunks began to rain down, their cue to exit. Louis tucked the orb in the front pocket of his lime-green vest and joined Mike. The duo bobbed and weaved through the now collapsing tomb. They had nearly crossed the floor that covered the pit when the spiked ceiling and grapple points slammed into the ground in front of them. It opened a gash, exposing the hidden spikes as a canine would bare his fangs.

Louis’ life flashed before his eyes with visions of Mike breaking his Robo Cop toy as the ceiling crashed mere inches in front of him, cracking the entire floor around them both. His toes dangled on the edge until he was jerked back a few feet by the collar on his vest.

Mike had saved him again.

He gave Mike a nod of thanks, but Mike was unconcerned as he charged his beam, aiming it at the opposite side of the crevice expanding under their feet. The electric-blue beam cast across the crumbling room and attached on the far wall. Like a fisherman waiting for a bite on his reel, the beam straightened.

With his free hand Mike grabbed Louis by the waist. He tugged the beam launching them into the middle of the hailing chaos, barely managing to miss parts of