Eden's Reprisal

By Tene Miller

In this sequel to Edens Allure, Erin fi nds herself back on
Eden against her will. Amongst the other kidnapped teenagers,
there is a new powerful resident with his own agenda.
But this time the planet is fi ghting back, and the residents
are fi ghting for their lives. The residents are on a mission to get
back to Earth but come across life-threatening encounters that
stand in their way.
Meanwhile, a mutant dog fi nds its way to Earth, where chaos
ensues, leaving serious damage that no one expected.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 25, 2013
• ISBN: 9781479779031

Tene Miller

Dr. Tené Miller, 55, has been a practicing veterinarian for almost thirty years, and a taxidermist for five years. She lives with her husband, Jeff, on a small ranch in Yuma, Arizona. Writing is her hobby, and Eden’s Allure is her first published novel. Her daughter, Kristen Young, 19, who collaborated with Dr. Miller on this project, is currently in college at The Art Institute of Phoenix, studying culinary management. Both women are currently working on their own new projects.

Book preview

Prologue

L ITTLE KATIE WAS eleven years old and spent her afternoons doing chores. She lived on a cattle ranch with her parents and her little brother Frankie, who was seven. Katie was a very pretty girl, with long blond hair down to her waist and big brown eyes. She always wore her hair in a braid while she worked, because she did not want to get it dirty or in her face while she tended to the a nimals.

Katie especially loved her horses, and spent as much time grooming and riding them as she could. Her family had three dogs and too many cats to count that roamed their 600-acre ranch in east Texas. She was a great help to her parents, since both worked long hours. She watched her little brother after school until her parents got home, so she had her daily routine pretty well set. Katie had always wanted to be a veterinarian, and caring for the animals was second nature to her. She considered Frankie a little animal so it didn’t bother her much to watch him.

One afternoon, she went into the barn and was startled by a varmint. It didn’t really scare her, because it ran away at such an incredible speed when it saw her. She just shrugged her shoulders and continued her work, since she didn’t have a clue as to what it was. Maybe it was a coyote or a wild dog, but she didn’t dwell on that thought. She just continued working, with her I-pod ear buds blaring into her ears. She loved to sing along with her favorite tunes as she worked cleaning the horse’s stalls. When she finished, she went inside to do her homework, totally forgetting about the animal.

A few days later, while hard at work, she went into the tack room to get the horse’s grain, and she got a rush of adrenaline when she saw a dead chicken.

She saw another one that looked completely chewed to bits.

Suddenly, the same dog-like creature she had seen before charged her from the shadows of the tack room.

She turned to run to the house as fast as she could, not looking back, covered in goose bumps.

Her parents were due home any minute, but she locked the doors so Frankie couldn’t wander out. Just then, she heard her mom’s truck pull up, and she rushed out to tell her about the dog that wasn’t quite a dog.

Her mom, Beth, took her in her arms, seeing how upset Katie was. What’s the matter, baby? she asked while she stroked her hair. Beth was a slender woman with short blonde hair slightly curled at her chin.

Katie motioned to the barn saying, Something is in there. I was having babies and she charged me and scared me so I ran. Katie sniffled, and then wiped her nose on her sleeve.

Beth said, It’s probably just a wild dog. Don’t worry about it. She said soothingly, Come on, let’s go get dinner ready.

Katie agreed but muttered something like, Okay, but I don’t think it was a real dog.

What? asked Beth.

Katie stuttered, N… nothing, as they went into the house.

Dinner was as normal as any other day, and Katie didn’t mention anything else about the dog. Her mother apparently had forgotten about the animal, but Katie would make sure her dad found the animal and got it off their property. He was Katie’s hero. She just knew that he would get rid of it, so she could be outside without being scared.

Chapter 1

O N THE PLANET Eden, Dominique, the beautiful ruler of the planet, stared superiorly at a weakened Nora when she opened her door and said, Cat got your t ongue?

Nora was just stunned. How did you get out of the isolation room? Dominique swished her gorgeous black mane and looked down with her striking green eyes at Nora, but didn’t answer.

Nora said, I’m so totally starving. I need food.

Smiling, showing her perfect white teeth, and ignoring Nora’s question, Dominique told her, First you need to get cleaned up. Then we’ll eat. We have a lot of work to do. Nora, thinking what a sight her fiery red hair must be, weakly followed the statuesque, perfectly coiffed Dominique out of the isolation room to a bedroom that Dominique was using now.

It was clean and everything was in its place. Dominique even had picked out some clean clothes for Nora. Taking a quick shower, Nora scrubbed herself so hard she was pink when she came out, but looked happy. Her blue eyes were no longer dull, and her mass of red hair was tamed, even her sprinkling of freckles seemed to sparkle. Meanwhile, Dominique had prepared a small meal for Nora, which she ate ravenously as they talked about their situation.

Dominique started talking while Nora ate. OK, you need to make a decision. You can work on getting your special skills back and stay here to help me, or you can go back to Earth, leading a boring life, never remembering your time spent on Eden, and of course you’ll have no powers.

Nora contemplated the offer and asked around a mouthful of food, But there won’t be anything to take back to Earth, like the gold?

Dominique answered, Well, maybe. I have a few ideas, like planet-hopping, which would be teleporting to other stars or planets to see if they had anything of value to take back to Earth. Alternatively, we could work on a way to purify the gold here and take it back. Dominique paused. I could help you develop new skills that you could enjoy and use.

Nora finished her food, and stayed quiet for a few minutes while she thought about it. She finally said, I’ll stay, Dominique. Nora had been in several foster homes on Earth and did not want to go back to that environment, and what the hell, this might be fun. Maybe we could find a planet that isn’t so dangerous, too. How did you find the people that you brought to Eden?

"I had originally been investigating different planets because I wanted to rule my own government on a different planet. I had become disillusioned with the types of governments on Earth. I felt that they were inferior to my beliefs. After I realized that I could teleport myself anywhere, I started looking for people that might have the same types of powers. I found three people that could do different things, but the man that could sense when someone had any abilities was of most value to me. Walter was the one that could find people with these powers of varying types, and he taught me how to do it. He passed away recently, but I was so grateful to him for being my mentor.

"All the people, especially the teenagers, were found and brought here by Walter, and then later by me, to help them achieve their ultimate level of talent. Walter showed me that teenagers or young adults are the most open-minded of the people that can do extraordinary things with their minds and bodies.

As far as the administrators and guards, those were the people that I had known in my life on Earth. I offered them a better lifestyle if they would come with me. Most of them had limited family affiliations or had emotional problems and wanted to start a new life somewhere else. If I needed to employ additional staff, I’d ask the current residents if they knew anyone that might like to come to Eden. Of course, everyone knows people who are depressed or have no family left, and they were easy to convince, especially after I offered them the lucrative lifestyle we have on Eden, she concluded.

Nora boldly asked, Where did you get all the money for this?

Oh, that, Dominique waved her hand unimportantly. My parents were billionaires and they died in a fiery car crash when I was eighteen. Since I was the sole beneficiary of their estate, I had, and still have plenty of money to reach my goals.

Nora sat quiet for a while then asked, If I stay here with you, will I be your second in command? Or are you going to go get Erin and bring her back?

No, no my dear, you would be my right hand man, as they say. Erin showed her true colors when the going got rough, so I will just have to teach you what I taught her so you can be as useful to me as possible.

Nora asked what parts of the world the kids came from.

Dominique replied, From all over the US. Here, let me show you. She led Nora to her office. While you were still in isolation, I made use of my time by getting the planet user-friendly again. The computer system is all rebooted and ready to use. See the green dots on this monitor? All those green dots are the students that vacated the planet after we were placed in isolation. I did insert a very tiny microchip in everyone as a backup in, and now I’m glad I did.

Nora looked at the screen, seemingly mesmerized by all the little dots moving about. I guess I can see why some of these kids would be useful if we really could get the gold off the planet, she supposed. Some of them were really powerful.

Dominique answered, "Well, I most likely will bring back the more powerful students, and the teachers and guards that were here because they already know the drill, and know what I’m after, so it will save time.

Nora whined, Does Erin have to come? She’s such a bitch! She thinks she’s so superior.

"She is. agreed Dominique. You, too, could be that powerful if you have the drive to learn from me. I could train you to be an A type personality, although it will take hard work and some time. Then we could go to Earth and bring Erin and Ryan back. Chris would be helpful as well. It looked like the wheels were turning in her beautiful head. But first, we need to see if we can find a suitable planet, or alter this one, if possible, to fit our needs. We also need to concentrate on trying purify the gold to see if it can be teleported to Earth this time.

What about the dog creatures that were terrorizing everyone? Nora asked anxiously. Dominique told her that the dogs had died off in the weeks that they were in isolation, and she had yet to find a live tick anywhere. Nora shuddered at the thought of the hordes of ticks clamoring up the walls, overtaking structures and the tic-tic-tic sound of their legs scurrying across the wooden floors.

That’s a relief. Those were scary-ass creatures! Nora exclaimed.

Well, you don’t have to worry about them anymore because they are gone now, answered Dominique. I went outside after getting all the computers up and running and everything was clear. Of course, the trees and stream are there, however that’s part of the allure of this planet. I did my best to clean up the piles of dead ticks, but without a blood meal, they can only live so long. Consequently, the planet is good to go.

But why did you leave me in isolation so long? I could have helped you clean up the planet. Instead, you left me there to rot all by myself. I was out of food and I could have been dead for all you knew. Nora huffed.

Dominique wanted to ignore the question, but Nora was in her face by now. I simply did not want to have to watch you the whole time, so you wouldn’t get in trouble by being careless. As I was saying before you rudely interrupted me, was this. Basically, we can stay here and repopulate the planet with the necessary people, or try a different planet, although we would have to start over, Dominique pointed out.

Nora backed off now and sat, nodding her head, agreeing that staying on Eden was probably the best bet. So when do we start?

Well, Dominique began, I would have to go back to Earth and bring former staff back. If you could accomplish learning teleportation in a short time, you could help speed up the process.

Then let’s get started so we can see if I can do it, Nora answered. I am still a little weak from lying around for so long but maybe I can go for walks and exercise to get my strength back.

Dominique told her to follow her and she showed Nora her new room, near her own.

Dominique said, "Start exercising and when you feel stronger, let me know, and then I can test your powers.

Meanwhile, I’m going to go to Earth to find a new geologist. I plan to do some experiments of my own, to accelerate the process of transporting the gold to Earth. So, Nora, if you don’t see me around anywhere, don’t panic, that just means that I’ve gone on a little trip to recruit administration personnel and guards, and of course more teens. I’ll return as soon as I can. You know your way around here, but you’ll be alone sometimes."

I understand, answered Nora. You can count on me.

Chapter 2

M ARV HAD BEEN back on Earth for some time now, and although he remembered everything that happened on Eden, he had no clue where the dog that teleported back to Earth with him had gone. It couldn’t have gone far from here because he distinctly remembered still having a hold on the dog when his feet hit the ground.

Marv had been a favorite guard on Eden. Not only was he extremely handsome with dark good looks and smashing blue eyes, but he was a muscularly built man. And for the most part, he was kind. Both the men, as well as the ladies got along well with him.

He had to admit, he had been curious about the outcome back on Eden, with the women still in isolation. He wondered about the wild dogs and the damage they did. And, of course, the mass of ticks that were present on the planet when he left. Marv got goose bumps at the thought of his time there, but he figured that life as he knew it had ended. He theorized that the creatures would have eaten themselves for food as there were no other living creatures on Eden, and the ticks would have died due to lack of a blood meal. He also wondered about the main players, Erin, Ryan, and the rest. Most likely, they had just gone on with their lives that they led, pre-Eden.

He imagined that the dog from Eden, and her offspring would be able to survive by eating wild hogs here in east Texas. He really didn’t expect to hear anything more about the creature. Recently he had heard some news that puzzled him. He vaguely remembered hearing on the news something about some calves being attacked about a mile from here, at a big cattle ranch. They had blamed the killer attacks on coyotes or packs of wild dogs. At the time, it never registered in his brain. Except now that he was thinking about it, he wondered if it could be the dog from Eden. What are the odds?

Just then, his neighbor Ken drove up. Ken, Katie’s father, was also a strapping fellow, with sandy blond hair, which he was always shoving out of his green eyes. Ken got out of his truck and obviously wanted to talk to him. Marv opened the front door and invited Ken in. Morning, Ken said.

Good morning, Marv said, Can I get you a cup of coffee? He put his own cup down to shake Ken’s hand.

No, no, I’m fine. I just wanted to talk to you about something. He continued speaking after Marv picked his cup up again and motioned for Ken to sit. Ken started by asking Marv if he had heard anything about the dead or partially consumed animals popping up all over town.

Marv said he thought he had heard something about it but nothing specific.

Ken continued, "Well, my daughter swears that a dog scared her out of the barn the other day, when it appeared to be having babies. We looked all over today and I couldn’t find anything, but my daughter doesn’t lie. She was pretty traumatized when she had found the remains of eaten chickens, but when a calf came up missing, she really lost it. She saw the blood on the ground, and the marks from a scuffle that must have been when the predator was shredding the calf. It shook her up pretty good.

I’ve been so busy. I’ve been getting home after dark, so I didn’t really have time until this weekend to check it out. There have been several other ranches within a ten mile radius of mine, which have reported livestock losses to various degrees. It gets expensive to lose livestock to predators, so I was wondering if you could help me with this mess. I know we don’t know each other very well, but I heard that you were in Special Forces before moving here. Ken finished, looking downtrodden but hopeful at the same time.

Marv had been quietly listening, then asked Ken, What help did you have in mind?

Oh, I’m not quite sure, but if you have the time, perhaps you could help watch out for these predators. Nobody has really seen them, but the ‘chupacabra’ name is being thrown around since the things are not seen very often. I personally think it is a pack of feral dogs or coyotes, or maybe even a bobcat.

Sure, I can watch out for it. Do you want me to kill one if I see anything? Ken nodded his head.

At this point, Marv almost felt responsible for the attacks, because now he was thinking, It must be the dog that transported from Eden with me. I’m on leave now for a while, so I do have the time to help. Well, I am ex-military, and I do have extensive experience with surveillance and weapons so I’d be happy to set up some cameras with night vision capabilities, and if we get lucky, we’ll spot something.

Thank you so much for any help you can give us. I’ll keep you posted on any new happenings, Ken said.

Marv replied, Glad to be of help, Neighbor, but he was thinking that if they knew where he had recently been, they’d treat him like a leper. He walked Ken out and said he’d be in touch.

He was thinking seriously about the dog. If she was pregnant, there were more of them here on Earth, and the hog population was so large that those bastards would not want for a good meal, not to mention the cattle breeders here were in the middle of calving season. And if the creature mutated as fast as they did on Eden, all hell was going to break loose. That was something he didn’t care to see again.

Later that afternoon, Ken had to call the local veterinarian when he found a mutilated calf, to see if she could help figure out what the predator was that they were looking for. The local vet was a 30ish woman who looked fit, and had beautiful blue eyes with dark hair. Dr. Annette Morgan was a force to be reckoned with. She was tough, strong, and smart, and Ken felt that she would have some good ideas about what they were up against with this predator. The vet said she’d be there within the hour, so he called Marv to come over and meet with her, too. Soon, they could hear her lifted, loud dually truck a mile away as she approached Ken’s ranch.

Dr. Morgan quickly assessed that an animal with very big teeth and excessively long, sharp claws did the damage. Not the teeth or claws of a coyote or domestic dog shredded carcasses like this. This carnage was like nothing she had ever seen before.

Ken told her that his neighbor, Marv, was going to install night vision cameras to try to get a picture of the predator. It was then that Marv walked up and introduced himself to the vet, after she caught him staring at her body.

Shaking hands with Dr. Morgan, Marv felt a jolt of electricity that made him forget how to speak for a moment. Did she feel it, too?

Doctor, do you think we have some kind of wild animal on the loose or is it ya’ll’s chupacabra eating the livestock? he said with a grin. To his relief, she laughed, a nice musical sound. He liked it, and he liked her.

After their meeting, as the vet shook Marv’s hand goodbye, she slipped her private number into his palm. Score! Marv calmly congratulated himself and went home. Ignoring the three day rule, Marv called her later that evening. She seemed very happy to hear from him, and they talked for quite a while. Before they hung up, they agreed to have dinner the next night, of course, providing she had no emergency calls. Marv hadn’t had a serious relationship in several years, and he thought he and the doctor had a lot in common, so he was quite excited about his date.

Meanwhile, he had work to do. He needed to get those cameras up and ready, so hopefully they could catch a glimpse of some kind of predator. He faced them all over Ken’s property and back towards the trees. Since he himself didn’t have any animals, he didn’t expect the creature to come onto his property.

He met Annette for dinner a few days later, at a relatively new restaurant, which was casual. Annette showed up promptly at the designated time, and not thirty seconds later, Marv pulled up. She was dressed in some new jeans, with new boots and a button up shirt with crystals on it in a pleasant design. He thought she looked beautiful. He too, was wearing Western clothes, and that just made him feel like they really did make a good match. He gave her the roses he had brought for her, and he thought she might have blushed.

They entered the restaurant, got a table, and ordered their drinks. Annette didn’t drink when on call, so she ordered a soft drink. They were so comfortable with each other’s company, they ended up spending at least two hours just talking after they ate. Unfortunately, her cell phone went off, so she was going to have to leave.

Marv asked, Do you want me to go with you?

Nah, I’m good, this is an easy one, she replied. They went their separate ways then, and all he could think about the rest of the night was Annette. He had to admit, he was smitten with her. Hopefully, she felt the same way about him.

A couple of days later they had dinner at her house. She wanted to cook for him, and he was delighted. The evening went as well as the first, however, this one ended up upstairs. He fell asleep there, and in the morning he asked her, Do you have any appointments today?

Only you until noon, she replied quietly. They finally got up, showered, and had breakfast; afterward she had to leave for her first appointment.

She hung on his arm, saying she didn’t want him to go, and he just answered, I’m not going anywhere. She smiled sweetly, got into her big truck, and sped off into the distance.

Wow! Marv thought, What a night. I think I’m in love. He drove home to check the cameras. He saw nothing. He reset the cameras and went inside. He continued to see Annette every night after that and they were having a great time together. He even went with her on a couple of large animal veterinary calls, which he found rather interesting.

Chapter 3

A FTER A WEEK or so, Marv called Dr. Morgan to inform her that they had captured an image of something weird on the camera. However, he and Ken couldn’t identify it because the animal was facing away from the camera. It had a long dreadlock-like coat and a long tail, but that was all they could make out. She said she would stop by to take a look on her way home from work. In the meantime, Dr. Morgan told Marv to keep his shotgun handy. Marv was convinced that the attacks were from the dog that had come to Earth with him . He put out all his most sophisticated surveillance equipment and set up for the night watch. He then called Dr. Morgan and asked her if she’d like to hang out with