Raven Rock

By Allison B. Hanson

Can love survive as society collapses?

Corey McAllister lived through the first alien attack fourteen years ago. Plagued by nightmares of the giant Bugs that had infected him and made him a Haunt, he’s still leery of the government that detained him for his own protection.

Now, fully human with a PhD behind his name, he’s ready to embrace his future in aerospace engineering. But when the abandoned and forgotten alien beacons in our atmosphere send out a signal that causes a response from the former Haunts, Corey’s plans are delayed. He’s instead recruited to help find a way to stop the Bugs from returning to Earth.

Kitriona Vanetti was spared during the last attack when the Bugs passed her over to take her younger sister. Kit’s interest in insects came from a desire to be prepared for another invasion.
The entomologist has been enlisted to join Corey’s team. However, it’s clear her skills as a “bug doctor” will only be needed in a worst-case scenario.

Their attraction grows into a something stronger as they work to find a way to save the world. Another detainment for the Haunts is enacted. This time a secret, underground military installation in Raven Rock Mountain will keep the Haunts safe from any more alien signals as well as the hate groups lurking outside the gates.

Corey has been down this road before. The pressure is on to stop the Bugs from returning before society decides to go with Plan B and destroy the Haunts once and for all. As Corey gets closer to Kit, he discovers the women he loves could be an even bigger threat to humanity than the Bugs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Allison B. Hanson
• Release date: Aug 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9780984031764

Allison B. Hanson

Not many authors know the exact moment they became a writer. For Allison B. Hanson there was a definitive start to her career. Around four in the morning on November 20th, 2009 Allison woke up with a conversation going on in her head. It wasn't so much a dream, as being forced awake by her imagination. Unable to go back to sleep she gave in, went to the computer and began writing. Years later, the stories haven’t stopped coming.Allison grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southern Pennsylvania and now lives near Hershey, Pennsylvania. Her historical romances include kilted heroes of the cinnamon roll variety. She also writes paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery suspense. She enjoys candy immensely, as well as riding her motorcycle, running and reading.Visit her at www.allisonbhanson.com.

Book preview

Chapter One

From across the auditorium, my brother and sister-in-law waved as I fidgeted in my seat. I’d graduated twice before, but this was the big one. Stanford University. I fixed the stupid hat and adjusted the sash around my neck as the dean announced the words I’d worked my ass off to hear.

Corey McAllister, PhD in Aeronautical Engineering. I swallowed down my smile and walked out to receive my diploma, playing it cool when really I was torn between wanting to grab the woman and hug her or running off before someone realized I wasn’t as smart as they thought. The moment seemed surreal.

Fourteen years ago I’d been dead, for all intents and purposes, and now I was officially a doctor.

The rest of the ceremony went the way the other graduation ceremonies went. There was a speech, written to encourage and empower us into being the best we could be. At the end there was applause and the usual cheering. It was at that point that the weight of the world settled firmly on my shoulders. There was no more school. There was nothing but real life waiting for me, and I wasn’t quite sure how to do that.

I made my way through the mass of people to find the two who had flown from Texas to California to make my day even better.

I found Dillon first, giving him a manly hug.

Where’s Em?

Bathroom. She cried and now she thinks she looks awful. It was obvious Dillon didn’t agree. He loved his wife.

I’d been fourteen when they’d gotten married, and our house was small. I’d spent more than a few nights with music playing through my earbuds to block out the noises from the next room.

There may have even been a time or two when I’d wished I could sleep like I had when I’d been a Haunt. When my mind and body would run down for the day, and I’d sleep like the dead until I was awakened by one of the beacons that still remained in our atmosphere.

I eventually grew up enough to stop fake-gagging whenever I caught them kissing. Despite the occasional awkward moments, I’d had a home and people who cared about me.

Is she pregnant again? I asked.

No. He paused and looked over his shoulder. At least I don’t think so.

Remember all the crying with Sophie?

Dillon’s only answer was a frown. Yeah, he remembers. But I knew even if he had to face that again, he’d be happy as hell if Emery said she was pregnant.

Are you guys going for a third?

Dillon shrugged. She thinks we need a boy. I’m fine with the girls. Although … He winked. Trying to get someone pregnant is not the worst thing in the world.

And you always go along with whatever she wants, I said, earning a grin.

You wait. One day a woman you’re going to want to hold on to will come along.

I like to hold on to them just fine. I’d done my fair share of holding women through the years, but none of them had ever made me light up the way I’d seen Dillon light up around Emery. Maybe I didn’t have a light.

Yeah. That’s not the same. Dillon shook his head. So, Mr. Rocket Scientist, what’s next?

It was the question I was dreading but expected. When you’ve been dead, and have gotten a second chance at life, there was a lot of pressure to make it worthwhile. But so far, I hadn’t come up with any grand plan. I didn’t have an answer, and I worried that whatever I said would be written in stone, unchangeable for the rest of my life.

I was kind of hoping I’d be able to move back home until I found a job.

Dillon laughed and nodded. The girls would love to have you.

And you?

You’re my brother. You’ll always have a home under my roof. The words touched me despite not being entirely true.

The part about me being Dillon’s brother wasn’t genetically accurate. At most we were distant cousins, but Dillon had signed on to be my guardian after I’d been turned back into a human and had no parents. He was stand-up, and I always wanted to make him proud.

The degree in my hand was as much his as it was mine. If Dillon hadn’t kept me focused on the goal, I wouldn’t have made it through eighth grade let alone high school, college and grad school. Everything I’d accomplished was because this man cared and believed I could do whatever I wanted to do.

It had been a strange concept. My own father hadn’t cared if I’d even done my homework. My mother had worked so much she hadn’t been able to keep track. But Dillon cared, and I’d decided long ago I wouldn’t let him down.

I’m proud of you, you know that, right? he said.

Yeah. I know.

Em walked up, eyes still red, but as beautiful as always.

Thanks for being here, sis. I leaned down to hug her, and she burst into tears again. Mission accomplished.

I looked at Dillon over the top of her head and mouthed the word pregnant while he nodded and reached for his wife.

Come on. The kid’s buying us dinner. My punishment for being right.

Dillon and Em flew home the next morning while I stayed behind to tie up some loose ends. AKA, stalling. Two days later, I smiled when my own flight touched down on Texas tarmac. I was home.

My brother picked me up and didn’t even ask if I wanted to stop anywhere. He knew where I wanted to go.

I got out of Dillon’s truck and stared up at the house that had been my home from the time Dillon had made me part of his family until I’d gone off to college. Two blonde, giggling girls bounded out of the house. I turned and dropped my bag, bracing for impact while protecting my fun bits.

Uncle Corey! Uncle Corey! Sophie looked like a miniature version of her older sister, Grace.

Gracie, what happened to your teeth?

She tilted her head to the side. I lost them.

I see that. You look hideous. I scrunched up my nose in mock repulsion. She was truly adorable. They both were, which was why I was so thoroughly wrapped around their little fingers.

She giggled. I’m getting new ones.

At the store? I teased.

No! The way she rolled her eyes made me laugh.

Sophie was already hanging off my arm like a monkey, so I picked her up. I want to show you somefin’, she said.

What do you want to show me? It was no doubt a cat picture. It was always a cat picture.

I drew you a cat picture, she declared proudly.

My heart broke a little bit. Dr. Emery McAllister had come up with a cure to convert Haunts back into humans, but she hadn’t yet come up with a treatment for her daughter’s allergy to cats so she might be able to have one.

That’s awesome. I can’t wait to see it. What color is this one?

Orange.

The orange ones are my favorite. I kissed her cheek, noticing it was less pudgy than it had been when I was home six months ago. She wasn’t a baby anymore. And Grace was losing her teeth. My nieces were growing up.

You said your favorite was the gray one. A four-year-old’s memory was a powerful thing.

It is.

Her brows pulled together in disbelief. "You can’t have two favorites."

That’s not true. You and Grace are both my favorites. I love you both the same.

Oh. Sophie seemed appeased by my answer for now. The best part was it was true. Back when Sophie was born I didn’t think I would love her as much as I already loved Grace, but as soon as I held her, I was absolutely smitten.

I missed you guys so much. I pulled Grace closer but didn’t pick her up. She’d announced last year she was too big to be picked up anymore. I disagreed but honored her request.

Are you just here for the summer? Grace asked.

In the past there’d been a big, dramatic scene when I went back to school. Grace would cry and cling to me until Dillon or Em physically removed her from my leg.

It tore me up to see she was already preparing herself for me to leave again. Had I caused her some kind of emotional distress? What if she had abandonment issues forever because I’d gone off to college so many times?

But I couldn’t tell her I would be staying, because I didn’t know how long I’d be there. Surely Dillon would expect me to move on with my life now that I had my doctorate. I couldn’t live in the apartment over the garage forever.

I’m finished with school now. That was a vague answer if I’d ever heard one. Unfortunately, Grace was old enough to know when she was being scammed.

She nodded, but there was a skepticism in her eyes that six-year-olds shouldn’t have.

The whole family had been observing Grace since she was a baby, waiting for something horrible to happen. She’d been conceived before anyone realized the stabilizing drug Emery had developed to revert Haunts to humans might cause mutations in children born to mothers who’d taken the drug. And Emery—being the first person to test it—had been exposed to the biggest dose ever.

So far, Grace seemed like a normal little girl, but we all watched her. Waiting.

I followed the girls into the house and hugged Em even though I’d just seen her a few days ago at my graduation.

After a chaotic dinner where Sophie refused to sit in her chair and Grace insisted she was full but still had room for ice cream, it felt more like home.

Emery and Dillon turned over the bedtime honors to me. I tucked the girls in and told them a story, using the biggest PhD words from my astrophysics classes to make them laugh.

Do you want to see my thistle? Grace asked, the word whistling through the space from her missing tooth. Sophie had already drifted off to sleep.

Sure, I said, not knowing what she was talking about. A thistle seemed like an odd subject for a drawing. She pulled a spiral-bound notebook from beside her bed and thrust it at me.

I’m doing my thistle on the beacons, like you. She pointed to a crude drawing that resembled the Death Star. It was then I realized she was talking about a thesis, not a weed.

You are? I frowned at this. I didn’t want her to be taken over by my obsession. Why?

Because I’m going to be the first person to fly up there and shut them down, she said with all the confidence in the world.

Flipping to the next page, she pointed to a picture of her in a space suit, sitting on top of the orb. Her likeness held a plug in her hand, and the beacon had Xs for eyes indicating it was indeed dead.

Why do you want to shut them down? I closed her book when I was done flipping through the pages of her rudimentary plan. I didn’t explain how none of it was scientifically plausible. At six, it was best to think you could do anything.

She glared toward the ceiling. I don’t like them watching us.

They’re not watching us, sweetie. I did my best to keep the explanation simple. They’re just old chunks of metal in the sky that send out a signal no one hears anymore.

I’d spent many years studying the beacons and their signals. The beacons left behind by the Bugs that had invaded were harmless now that there were no infected humans—Haunts—to control.

After the invasion, and before Emery came up with a cure, the beacons had awakened the Haunts each night. No doubt, had our human bodies been more suited for the alien’s tasks, the beacons might have been used as remote-control devices to put us in motion. An unwilling army for our enemies.

But now they sat in our orbit, sending out signals that went ignored by the humans on Earth. Or most of them anyway. It still boggled my mind that a few Haunts preferred to stay that way and refused the cure.

My obsession came from the same fear of being watched that Gracie had. Later I’d realized I didn’t like the reminder of our vulnerabilities. It would have been easier to forget everything about my time as a Haunt—feeding on blood, being unable to stand in the sunlight—if I knew the beacons weren’t there.

Maybe on some level I still felt them calling to me at sunset, telling me it was time to wake up and feed. I shook my head and smiled down at my niece.

Gracie, there is nothing to be afraid of. The beacons can’t hurt us. They’re just a bunch of junk up in space.

She nodded, and I kissed her forehead before turning the light off next to her bed.

The nightlight I’d bought them projected stars across the ceiling, and I smiled while picking out my favorite constellations. As I did every time I looked into space—either real or simulated—I wondered where They were, and if they’d ever come back.

After visiting with Dillon and Em for a few hours, I made my way across the yard to my apartment, which was above Dillon’s garage. As much as I loved my family, it was nice to have my own space.

Even if the silence of that space led my mind to things I didn’t want to think about. Specifically, my future and how I didn’t have a plan.

Maybe it was because I hadn’t actually expected to make it this far—or maybe it was sheer laziness—but I hadn’t planned anything past this. I’d had a few job offers, but they were all in places like Washington, DC, or Alabama.

There was only one place I really felt I belonged, and I was too afraid to want it.

NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

How many times had I begged Dillon to take me there before I could go myself? I’d toured it so much I could probably drive the tram at the visitor’s center.

I didn’t want to be a visitor anymore. I wanted to work there. But was I NASA material?

As always, it was impossible to look toward my future without being reminded of my past. As I dozed off, those old nightmares resurfaced.

That first day I’d been happy to get out of school early. Even if it was because alien spaceships had descended upon Earth and no one knew what was happening. While everyone else went into a panic, I’d been glad for the reprieve on failing my algebra test.

It seemed like everyone on my street was outside looking up at the sky. It was then that I got my first glimpse and worries about my algebra grade melted away in lieu of this new concern. Holy shit, I muttered, earning a frown from the lady who lived two houses from me. Sorry, ma’am.

I knew from the announcement my teacher had made that the ship over New Orleans wasn’t the only one. They were scattered everywhere around the world. It was certainly an optical illusion that one of the tentacles hanging down from this ship appeared to hover directly over my house.

My father was cursing at the television when I walked in the house. I wasn’t surprised he’d been too lazy to get off his ass to go out and see the thing for himself. It was easier to just watch it on television from the comfort of his ratty chair. I rolled my eyes as I hurried through the living room.

Grab me a beer! I already had it in my hand since it was a waste of time to walk in the living room empty-handed. I held it out, and he snapped the top without so much as a thank-you. At that moment I silently wished the aliens were some kind of advanced species, and they would take me with them to their home world where I could live in peace.

Boy, had I been wrong about that.

My mom was working at her second job. She would get home around nine. Or she was supposed to. Long before nine o’clock came around, darkness fell. The ships opened up and the Bugs descended to Earth. I heard the shouting and stepped out on the front porch in time to see one of them land ten feet away. Its head turned and its red eyes seemed to focus right on me.

Being fourteen, I did the manly thing, which was to run back in the house—stopping to lock the door on my way—and ran to my room to hide under my bed.

The lock didn’t keep it out. The crash made me jump so hard I hit my head on the bed frame. My father yelled and then screamed before his protest was cut off abruptly. I heard a noise, a gurgling sound, but at the moment I didn’t have any idea what it was.

Everything went quiet, and I considered going out to see what had happened. Except I was frozen with fear under my bed and couldn’t move yet. Another scraping sound and a crash before I heard footsteps much too quick to be my lazy-ass father.

A permission slip I’d lost last year and two petrified Froot Loops were the only things with me when the Bug stepped into my room. I could only see its feet. Black talons snagged in my carpet as it came closer. I held my breath so I wouldn’t make a sound, almost hoping I’d pass out so I wouldn’t be so frightened.

But I wasn’t provided with oblivion. I was wide awake when the creature reached under the bed unfailingly and dragged me out. I kicked and screamed, and kicked some more, but I was no match for the strength of the Bug as it shifted me into position.

I didn’t feel the needlelike fangs in my neck, extracting my blood. That had been painless. The pinchers forced through my back into my kidneys caused a pain I still couldn’t comprehend even having lived through it.

As my blood was drained from my body I drifted off to sleep, and then death. It felt like only a few minutes later when I drew in my next breath to choke on dirt.

Surrounded by darkness, I somehow knew to start digging to my left. I had been buried down through the floor into the soft Louisiana earth. I struggled and fought my way up, until finally I found air.

I’d been alive, but not human.

I gasped awake from the dream and coughed and choked away the rest of the fear. I was human, not a Haunt. I didn’t feed on blood. I didn’t burn up in the sunlight, and I didn’t fall asleep during the day.

When I got to the kitchen, the light flipped on automatically. I winced and covered my face, wondering what was going on. Then I heard Dillon’s footsteps on the stairs.

Shit, I muttered under my breath. When he got to the top of the stairs he just frowned. I’m sorry. I shook my head, knowing what was coming next.

She wants you to come over. She’s sure a monster took you.

How does she hear me from that far away? I asked as I did every time this happened, which was more than I liked.

Grace slept in the same room as her sister, but Sophie never woke up when I screamed in my sleep.

"I don’t know. I sure didn’t hear you. I was sound asleep until she came running in telling me we were under attack. Even after all this time, I still have to come check. Just in case we really are under attack." He rubbed his face, his hand making a raspy sound on his chin.

I’m fine.

Are you sure you’re fine? Maybe I should have taken you to get looked at back when the nightmares started. The nightmares had started almost as soon as I was human enough to dream again. I’d always assumed I was normal. Who wouldn’t be messed up from such an ordeal?

It’s not a big deal. I did dream about other things too. Occasionally I would dream about the times my father beat my mother, and I was too small to do anything to help. That dream only caused restlessness and stress, I didn’t scream so loud as to wake the neighbors.

Em doesn’t wake up screaming about Bugs grabbing her. She dreams about giving birth to babies with three heads that are all hungry, or that she missed Sophie’s dance recital because she was surfing at the grocery store. Freaky shit like that. Not stuff that actually happened.

My subconscious is deeply sorry for not conforming to the approved nightmares. Is there a fine or something? I’ll pay it, just as soon as I figure out what to do with my life to make money. Was it any wonder I was having nightmares?

You have a roof over your head and food. You don’t need to figure it out two days after you graduate. You can work with me in the garage until you come up with a plan, or until I think you’re not trying.

But I’m an adult. I shouldn’t need you to cover for me anymore.

From the time you started giving a shit about things, you’ve put a ton of pressure on yourself. You’ll have the rest of your life to work somewhere and make money. Just take a moment to relax before you pile on more responsibilities.

My dad was lazy. I don’t think he even got out of his chair to run for his life when the Bugs came. He just sat there.

You are not your dad, and no one is coming for you. He let out a breath and pointed a thumb over his shoulder. Now will you come over to let Gracie know you’re okay so she can go back to sleep?

Yeah. Let me get a shirt.

Grace was in the quiet sobbing stage of her anxiety. As soon as I walked through the door she slid off Em’s lap and rushed over to me.

Did they get you? she asked.

No, baby. There’s nothing that can get me or you or your mom and dad. We’re all safe. You’re safe. Sometimes I have bad dreams. That’s all.

I thought I saw one in the yard when you screamed.

Saw what?

A Bug.

I narrowed my eyes and looked up at Em and Dillon for an explanation. How does she even know what they look like?

She’s in school. Other kids have pictures.

Marcus has a book with pictures, Grace explained. One of the pictures is of a man who looks like you, but he’s dead.

I’m not dead. I’m fine. There are no Bugs. They’re long gone.

But they could come back if the beacons tell them to.

No. They won’t come back. I promise, I said firmly. Dillon and I tucked her back in and apologized once again for disrupting everyone’s rest.

I left the house to head back to my apartment. Yawning, I focused on where I was walking. If I tripped over a stone and fell, I’d end up waking everyone again.

Lifting my head, I saw a Bug standing at the corner of the garage, and opened my mouth to scream.

Chapter Two

I was still drawing in air to alert my family when I realized what I thought was a Bug was nothing more than a shadow caused by the dusk-to-dawn light and an ornamental shrub. I rested my palm on my chest, feeling my heart thumping at a crazy pace for the second time that night.

I needed to get over this irrational fear. They were gone. Everyone was safe. I managed to sleep peacefully the rest of the night.

The next morning I ate breakfast alone and went downstairs to work in the garage. I’d missed the smells of grease and gasoline. I liked working with my brother in companionable silence or discussing important things like why Reese’s miniatures tasted better than the regular size.

"I’m telling you