The Little Box Of Horrors

By Michael Bond

There's a storm coming on the conquered Earth. One young boy is about to unleash hell.
A coming-of-age story in a world of the future where mankind has been conquered by alien Occupiers.

On a conquered Earth generations in the future mankind is subject to the absolute authority of the Occupiers - brutal victors in a war fought and lost decades past.

Now one young boy, Leslie Jackson, is given the chance to fight back, but first he has to learn his destiny and power. To begin his journey he must uncover the secrets and devastating power buried in The Little Box Of Horrors, a war machine with a mind of its own and a fifty year battle plan about to bear fruit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Bond
• Release date: Mar 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463505700

Michael Bond

Welcome to Michael's world!An occasional writer of film scripts and short stories with a lifelong interest in Science Fiction (yes, he just about remembers watching the first episodes of Dr Who in the 1960s) Michael is a technology design innovator with a special interest in technology to improve the world.His eBook publications of short stories from 7,000 up to 35,000 introduce you to his thoughts on how we see the world and how science can solve the problems we face in the world around us. Some of his stories challenge conventions in science fiction about the future of our world and the choices we will face as we evolve and have been read and enjoyed by many people around the world long before they came into eBook format. Now you have the opportunity to share in his world.As you read and enjoy his stories you will see that some have the potential to be developed into film and TV shows in the future. Your purchase and enjoyment of them here gives you the advantage over everyone else - congratulations, you read them here first! Don't forget to tell all your friends and share your enjoyment with your social networks.Come and join Michael's world, enjoy his writings and see your purchases turned into programmes to improve the world.You can learn more at his personal web site or follow him through your social networks on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook.FREE SAMPLES are available for FREE via his personal web site, where you can read his FREE SAMPLE film script inspired by the famous "Predator" SciFi film series and his idea to reboot the series. Watch a FREE SAMPLE of his film-making with "How To Kill A Godzilla", a short animation. Read his other articles on subjects ranging from the "Terminator" films through to the future design of advanced interplanetary spacecraft in his Springship concept. If you enjoy his FREE writings then show your appreciation by investing in his stories here in your favourite eBook formats.(Michael tends to be a bit of a perfectionist and may occasionally tweak his stories with the occasional change in a word or two, an added illustration or other small changes. Come back from time to time for the latest updates to your reading experience.)

Book preview

The Little Box Of Horrors

by

Michael Bond

There's a storm coming on the conquered Earth.

One young boy is about to unleash hell.

Content

copyright 1991 Michael Bond

Smashwords Edition 2020

Smashwords Edition, Licence Notes

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Table of Contents & Goodies

The Book

About Michael Bond

The Author's Social Networks

Other eBooks from Michael

The Little Box Of Horrors

Leslie Jackson tried unconsciously to slam the front door closed on his arrival home from school - a twelve year old's reaction to the family tension that had been growing since the previous autumn. The door was too lightweight, closing limply. All they could afford, his father had often said bitterly, when things were tense and the younger children sat holding each other for comfort in other rooms behind the thin walls.

He glanced quickly up the stairs as he rushed in, silence, it had grown in league with the tension, the end of an era, death waiting nearby. He trod along the threadbare carpet, older than the children, brought from the old house, into the cool kitchen. He shrugged off the fear the way children do, his stomach the ruler now. Tea, he thought, maybe?

Outside, early summer heat dried the garden, beating the thin grass into submission, shitty soil, he father said, waste of time, he'd stamped on it in anger many times. Bollocks, his Granda had retaliated, give it time, give anything time an' it'll grow strong, and laughed his father's scowl away.

Leslie? His mother called from the living room. She came through, Lynn Jackson, he had her dark eyes and hair, his father's fairness of skin, his Granda's intensity, frustrated all these years, and his own slim youth. He grinned, happy to see her.

Home mum! What's for tea? He tried to hide the fear, not wanting her upset, he could see she'd been napping, her hair and clothes ruffled. She rubbed her face and yawned.

Sorry, she kept herself composed, just a little nap, reassuring him with a slight smile, reaching out to ruffle his hair. Good day at school?

Hu-huh, he shrugged noncommittally. He moved aside, not sure what to do, help her or not, as she began rattling the cupboards.

You're first in, she continued, pulling out a plate of cold meat, been to see your Granda yet?

No, not yet just got in, his fingers twirled the strap of his shoulder bag. She glanced over her shoulder with a softer smile.

Go on, say hello, you know how he likes that, she motioned the plate, and I'll fix you some proper tea.

Okay, he sighed quietly and left the room quickly, get it done quick, he thought, then flushed with guilt at the thought.

Leslie pushed the bedroom door open slowly, quietly, so as not to disturb the room's occupant. His nose wrinkled as he was engulfed by the smell.

The humid damp of sweat, ointments, poor air and a faint trace of flower scent. They all vied to dominate the room in a silent still battle. It was an atmosphere of neglect and decay in sharp contrast with the bright sunlight blazing through the half-open curtains.

Leslie? A soft voice, but clear even at that great age. Terry Jackson turned his head aside, to see Leslie in the doorway. I thought it was you. The old man smiled. Come in!

Leslie shuffled inside, not committed enough to close the door fully behind him, he crossed to the single bed in which his Granda lay dying after a century of life. A tall man, like Leslie's Da, all skeletal bone now with little spare flesh on him, but his eyes were hard and bright as they watched Leslie approach the bed.

Hi, Leslie greeted softly, I just got home, he glanced around the room, to avert his eyes from the bed and the pain for a few moments. Only three other pieces of old, worn furniture, wardrobe, cabinet, chair, and the large rug, no change after all these years, plain and simple like it had always been.

Got something for you, a surprise announcement, Leslie gulped back his nerves.

Oh? He could see his Granda was reaching out with something that glittered.

They're killing me, probably got tired of waiting, an' all, the ancient man's hands shook with the pain and the exhaustion of fighting it, the object fell from his hand before reaching Leslie. Take it, keep it safe, use it in secret.

What is it? Respect, fear and greed battled for supremacy as Leslie picked it up. A chain long enough to hang around his neck, heavy and shiny, almost mirrored and clean like new. It carried a long complicated key, like a car key, he thought, and a circular pendant about the size of a large coin with a sky blue circular crystal embedded in it. Both key and pendant were the same mirrored and clean metal as the chain, gripping Leslie's attention.

The pendant glistened and shifted with patterns inside as he