Convergence: The Next Evolution, #2

By Vered Ehsani and Avery Blake

Where paths cross, fear lives.

 

Driving off-road across the African savannah is never easy, especially during an alien invasion. Having a crime lord handcuffed to the steering wheel and a pet monster in the back seat definitely doesn't help.

 

But it gets worse when Trisha, Simba, and their dysfunctional crew cross paths with the wrong people. And these days, all people are the wrong people.

 

Pursued by both the local army and the aliens, Trisha also has to worry about her daughter Celine's growing powers. If Celine can stay alive long enough to learn how they work, they just might survive. So they're racing for Mt. Kenya, hoping to find safe haven.

 

Problem is, they aren't the only ones.

 

A great migration is in motion: animals, humans, and aliens seeking a mythical place where gods and demons are resurrected. All paths converge on the mountain — but some of those paths are definitely, dangerously wrong.

 

Convergence is the second book in the Avery Blake and Vered Ehsani series, The Next Evolution. Discover your new favorite SciFi series today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sterling & Stone
• Release date: Sep 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201130244

Vered Ehsani

I've been a storyteller and content creator since I could hold pen to paper, which is a lot longer than I care to admit. I live in Kenya with my family and other amusing animals. The monkeys in my backyard inspire me to create fun, upbeat, inspiring adventures with a supernatural twist. Visit me and my Realm at https://www.realmseekerstudio.com/enter-the-realm and get a free copy of AFRICAN DRAGONS & OTHER BEASTIES.

Book preview

Chapter One

EH, SPOT! I TOLD YOU NOT TO PISS OFF THE rhino.

The alien roared her disapproval at Caleb, black reptilian scales flowing across the surface of her panther-like form. She opened her jaws wide and hissed. A blue light glowed from deep inside her gullet.

As if the rows of sharp teeth aren’t warning enough.

Wah! You’re angry with me now? Celine, do something. He tightened his grip on the tree trunk and stared down at the little girl sitting on top of the alien monster.

Celine’s blonde eyebrows crunched together. Like it was his fault. Again.

It kinda is.

No. Not kinda. Truth be told, it was totally his fault. But that was beside the point. Honesty was way overrated. Weren’t they past the blame game now? And why the hell was the Reptar still hissing at him? A rhino was about to pummel them into the ground. Shouldn’t Spot—

Madam Zahir laughed from the safety of the antique Land Cruiser. Can I keep your shoes if you die?

If I die, they’re coming with me. Hear me? Bury me fully dressed. I worked hard for these shoes.

You stole them off a dead man.

Caleb scowled. Like he needed a reminder. This truth stuff sucked. He stole them first!

Samuel shot a man for the fancy brown leather loafers. Caleb had returned the favor by stealing the shoes from Samuel’s still-warm corpse. Circle of life, and all that. Forget that the shoes were uncomfortable as all hell. They looked great.

All I wanted was to take a leak. Is that too much to ask?

It is when there’s a rhino right there, Zahir said.

Whatever. Simba. How ‘bout pullin’ out a gun or two? Caleb peered through the branches but couldn’t see his brother.

Zahir chuckled and leaned on the horn.

The rhino pummeled the tree. A living tank of fury. Leaves rustled in protest. Caleb slid down the rough bark, his palms scraping against the thorns.

Eh! This is not how the day was supposed to go.

Spot hissed and inhaled. The scary-as-all-hell rattling sound coated the air. She lowered her head and scratched at the boulder upon which she crouched.

The rhino snorted and pawed at the ground, raising up more dust. Its horn almost touched the bottom of Caleb’s stolen shoes.

What the hell did I do to deserve this?

He coughed and squinted at the Land Cruiser. It was parked in the shade of the acacia forest. Zahir lifted a plump hand and lazily waved at him. Her other hand was still handcuffed to the steering wheel.

Mkundu, Caleb softly swore in Swahili at her, at Simba, at the stupid aliens in their dumb spaceships, at his life.

Celine’s pet monster continued to do absolutely nothing to help him. She chattered in alien gibberish, then swatted at a dung beetle.

Eh, Celine. He waited until the little mute girl turned her pale blue eyes in his direction. A little help. Come on. Me, I didn’t mean it. At least, I don’t think so. If I could remember what I said, I’m sure I’d take it back.

More of that annoying honesty thing.

Last he remembered, he’d snuck off to roll a joint in peace while relieving himself. Trisha would’ve ripped him a new one if he’d lit up around her precious, weird, retarded daughter.

Not that he had any issue with the kid. She was pretty cool for a six-year-old. Didn’t talk at all. Didn’t rat him out when he smoked around her. She even made sure Spot didn’t rip off his head. Bonus points there.

Caleb was real grateful to still have his head. He’d witnessed Spot decapitating a former gang member. Not pretty.

But at this moment, she was being a little pain in his …

Spot roared loud enough to give any lion some competition.

Speaking of which.

Caleb looked over his shoulder at the pride of lions stalking toward him.

Caught between a rhino and a lion place. Awesome.

Another motion caught Caleb’s eye. A large, hulking brute of a man crouched in the tall grass. His hair was shaved to a dark stubble, his shoulders hunched over.

Caleb grinned. Eh! ‘Bout time, Simba. Want to do the old Lion King thing and save your little bro? Buddy, ol’ pal.

He didn’t have to see Simba’s face to imagine his reaction. Simba wasn’t the eye rolling type — too stoic and warrior-like for that — but he was definitely doing a mental version of an eye roll.

Caleb could actually feel what Simba was feeling at that moment. Disgust. Irritation. Temptation to walk away and let the chips fall as they may.

Eh, don’t you dare leave me here! Caleb didn’t wince or squirm when his voice shot up an octave. There was no such thing as too much begging when it came to saving his miserable, unwashed skin. Hell, he’d happily beg, plead, grovel. Whatever it took to ensure the continued survival of himself.

The rhino lined up with the tree and snorted. Caleb stared at its long horn and saw death by goring followed by trampling in his near future. And that was before the lions got to whatever was left.

Spot hissed, then scratched a long set of claws across the boulder. The sound sliced through the air and screeched against his eardrums. She snuffled at something on the ground and scooped it up.

Caleb tightened his grip on the tree. Is that another dung beetle? Serious? You, wewe. You save a dung beetle, but me? No. You’re gonna leave me up in a tree?

Spot ignored him. He stared a question at Celine, something along the lines of, What the hell is your pet doing?

Except he didn’t exactly think hell.

Celine smirked.

Serious?

She shook her head and leaned along the Reptar’s back to pat the neck. Maybe whisper something into the beast’s invisible ears.

Better be an order to save me, kid, or you and me are not friends.

The alien dropped the dung beetle. Her eyes pulsed from yellow to blue before settling on yellow. Yellow was good. No one was going to lose their head or arm or some other vital part of the body.

Yellow Reptar eyes meant there wouldn’t be any blood splashed across the interior of the Land Cruiser.

Caleb shuddered as his mind involuntarily opened up the dark box of memories and pulled out Hyena’s bloody head.

Oh no, you don’t. You, you’re gonna go right back into that box. You were ugly in life, and you’re even uglier in death.

My dear street rat, are you talking to yourself again? Zahir asked and laughed.

It sounded like the cackle of an evil Disney villain. Caleb knew all about cartoon villains. His old man had owned a prized collection of pirated Disney DVDs and used them as inspiration for his children’s middle names.

Good old dad.

Caleb glared down at the rhino. You meathead. You remind me of him. Thickheaded, stubborn and violent as all hell. Probably drunk as well.

The rhino stepped back and paced around the tree. Probably looking for a weaker area it could smash its head against. It completely ignored the lions. No lion would ever try to attack a rhino unless it had a death wish.

But who knew? The post-invasion world was governed by a whole different set of laws. So lions might decide to change the menu.

Stop talking.

Caleb lifted his legs in preparation for another assault and stared at the top of Simba’s shaved head. Can’t help it. My voice is so melodious.

Simba scoffed and crept closer. I’m surprised you know what that word means.

"Eh. That hurts. Me, I know lots of words. Like screw you."

Caleb felt Simba’s reaction as if it was his own. A combination of laughter, weariness and mild affection. The kind of affection reserved for a stray dog that needed to be put out of its misery.

Wah! I’m no stray, you know. And—

Shut up.

Caleb.

He jerked around to face the Land Cruiser.

Zahir poked her head out of the window, her dark eyes lost in shadow. Stop playing with the wildlife, boy. We have places to be and all that.

Caleb wanted to laugh or at least reply with some witty remark about what place he’d like her to go. He couldn’t think of anything smart with the horn of death under his feet.

The rhino took that opportunity to crash against the tree. The branches trembled at the force almost as much as Caleb did. He gripped the tree with all his limbs and prayed to the god of idiots and thieves to grant him one last chance.

It worked. The tree didn’t shatter into a pile of toothpicks.

The lions flopped down in the long grass several meters away. Caleb studied them. One of them licked her lips and yawned, revealing a set of wicked canines. That sight would’ve sent him quivering and jabbering into insanity a few weeks ago. But now?

Spot’s teeth are way bigger, sharper and more … He searched for what they were, then gave up. They were just more.

But the lions outnumbered the alien, so there was that.

Whatcha think they’re doing?

Simba eased closer and shouldered the rifle. Probably waiting for you to fall out of that tree, and the rhino to crush you to death. They know rhinos are vegetarians. It’s a free meal for them.

Zahir cackled.

Thanks, bro. Me, I’m lucky we’re only half-brothers. ‘Cause that means you’re only half as smart as me.

Zahir howled in laughter. Her double chin wobbled in glee at his predicament. He didn’t have to read her mind to know her thoughts. She was hoping he’d fall out, get trampled, then be devoured slowly. It would be like Netflix on steroids. Free entertainment.

I hate you. Caleb wasn’t sure who he was talking to. The alien monster doing nothing to save him. His brother. The evil crime lord who was now handcuffed to the steering wheel of their vehicle.

So many choices, so little time.

A soft mental breeze brushed through his mind, accompanied by reassuring notes of calm and affection.

Caleb met Celine’s gaze. Kid, if you like me that much, tell your pet to save my—

Spot inhaled a rattling breath and lurched upward.

Maybe the rhino sensed the presence of a predator with claws strong enough to shred metal. Or maybe it had a headache. It paused its attack on the tree. Caleb waited for it to run away.

But no. It lumbered around to face the alien. Pawed at the ground and lowered its head.

Caleb snorted. Serious? Good luck with that, meathead.

Celine slid off of Spot’s back and sat crosslegged on the top of the boulder. She smiled and waved at Caleb as if this was a normal family outing. Just another picnic on the savanna surrounded by violent wildlife and alien invaders.

Weird kid.

Celine’s smile widened.

Shaking herself like a dog, Spot flowed down the boulder. Her limbs bent and moved in ways that defied science, gravity and anything a human could possibly understand.

The black scales across her body shifted and buckled as if she was covered in hundreds of snakes coiling around each other. Her eyes began to pulse with the same blue light that glowed out of her throat and from in between her scales.

Caleb would be terrified if he didn’t know her better.

Scratch that. I kinda am terrified.

Spot lunged across the few meters separating boulder and tree. She crouched in front of the rhino. Muzzle to muzzle, she stared into the beady little eyes of the dumb vegetarian.

Everything around them went still. The birds and the bugs that provided a constant background chorus fell silent. The lions stopped coughing and growling. Even Zahir, that ugly whore, shut her flabby mouth.

Caleb held his breath and waited for the rhino’s death. He almost felt sorry. Rhinos were endangered, although he doubted the poachers were stocking up on rhino horn and elephant tusk. Everyone had better things to do now that aliens hovered above the planet.

Then again, you never know.

He didn’t feel sorry for long. The rhino had been about to trample him. Unlike the rhino, Caleb was one-of-a-kind and in way more danger of extinction.

Nothing happened.

The rhino and the alien continued to stare each other down.

The staring contest lasted far beyond natural and bled into something supernatural. The rhino blinked, lowered its head and backed away.

Spot remained in a frozen pose, her eyes pulsing yellow. Not a twitch or ripple marred the smooth scales covering her. An ignorant passerby could mistake her for an oddly patterned boulder, or a weird statue left behind by an alien race.

Yeah. Because that’s what people do. Drop statues in the middle of nowhere.

The rhino gave a final snort and thundered past the tree. It picked up speed, aiming for the lions. The big cats scattered and slipped back into the tall grass.

What the …? Caleb craned his head back to stare over his shoulder. He half-expected the rhino to turn around and come stampeding back to him. A large lump trampled grass in its wake as it ran away.

Zahir huffed out an exaggerated sigh. How disappointing. I was rather hoping to see you gored.

Caleb grinned and winked at Zahir. Always happy to disappoint.

Chapter Two

SIMBA CONTINUED TO STARE AFTER THE RHINO LONG AFTER IT vanished from sight. He felt the others watching him.

His heart beat out the seconds, a constant reminder of the little hand’s movement around his watch. The steady tick, tock of time slipping away. Wasted time they could be using to increase the distance between themselves and the attackers.

Tick, tock.

The armed group was that much closer.

Three bandits in military fatigue. Well-armed. Clearly trained. Experienced fighters. Knew how to set up an ambush. They’d selected a forested section of the Limuru Highlands to do it.

The gang was tracking the Walker household down the steep, winding slope of the escarpment. Simba knew it at a gut level. Those men wouldn’t give up. Not after catching a glimpse of all the supplies, the guns, the women. Everything the Land Cruiser contained.

Well, maybe not everything.

Simba eyed Spot. He was pretty certain the attackers didn’t know about the alien sleeping in the horse trailer. Spot hadn’t made a fuss despite all the gunshots and shouting. The old engine had roared as Zahir navigated the ambush and hurtled down the narrow, mountainous highway. But the alien slept through it all. Simba thanked Celine’s calming presence for that minor miracle.

The bandits have no idea what they’re hunting.

Simba didn’t want to overly rely on Spot’s existence for their group’s security. The Reptar wasn’t immune to injury, and it certainly wasn’t immortal.

Tick, tock.

We need to move out. But to where? Change of plans or not?

They’d lost the gang in the mad race down the escarpment to the Rift Valley. Zahir claimed her driving skills as the reason they’d escaped. And yes, the Rat Queen knew how to drive like a demon. But that wasn’t why they had slipped through the trap.

They’d been lucky. That’s it. Luck, however, was a fickle mistress. She’d kissed them this time. Next time?

Screw luck. Fortune belongs to the determined and prepared.

Because one thing was as sure as Caleb finding trouble in an empty patch of grassland. Those bastards were persistent and motivated. There weren’t a lot of Land Cruisers pulling horse trailers along the valley floor. The bandits would find them soon enough. Or something else would. Or both.

Maybe we should’ve gone via Thika Highway, like Zahir said.

A hand gently fluttered over his shoulder. Only one person would touch him in that way. He still looked over as if to reaffirm her presence.

Trisha Walker stared up at him. Loose strands from a messy ponytail fluttered around her face in the warm breeze.

Do you think …?

He left the question unfinished, knowing she’d understand. That fact both reassured and unnerved him. They all had access to a communal mind space. Ever since the aliens had appeared in the sky. They could hear and feel each other’s silent voices. Only Zahir was excluded from it, thank God.

None of them dared voice this truth out loud. To admit the existence of the impossible? That would make the weirdness too real. Mind-sharing powers belonged in the movies and maybe in Trisha’s collection of zombie novels.

Yet here we are.

He smiled at Trisha and kept his deeper thoughts and feelings away from their shared space. Because privacy, damn it. He wasn’t a tell-all kind of guy. Unlike Caleb, who seemed comfortable with the whole mind-talking thing.

Of course he’s okay with this. He always liked to eavesdrop.

But it was more than that. Caleb was connected to the center of their mind space in a way the others weren’t. And that center involved a little girl who could tame Reptars.

Simba watched his brother struggle to climb out of the tree. Clumsy, trouble-prone, immature, yet connected. But to what, exactly?

Trisha tightened her ponytail. Still wondering if we should’ve gone the other way?

He nodded.

It was a group decision, Simba. Avoid the more urban route, even if it was the shorter option. It went near downtown Nairobi, and we know what a mess that place was.

Looting. Murder. Chaos.

Images fluttered like falling leaves at the edge of his mind, a mixture of news footage and her fears.

She stepped to his side, her shoulder reaching halfway up his upper arm. They weren’t touching, yet they might as well. Simba could feel her energy mingling with his. The touch left a tingling sensation skirting along his skin.

And for what it’s worth, I still think this was the best choice in an impossible situation.

He released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and nodded twice. He didn’t need to do or say anything else. Because Trisha understood.

They all understood somehow.

Simba rubbed the back of his neck, feeling Celine’s gaze on him. While she was only a six-year-old… Problem was, only didn’t really apply to her. That was the other part of the truth no one wanted to talk about.

They all knew she was the reason they could hear and feel each other.

No. The soft voice floating through his mind had the impression of both strength and vulnerability. They are the reason.

He tipped his head back to stare up at the sky. No alien ships hovered above them. It didn’t matter. Their presence was everywhere even when they were invisible.

Spot shook herself like a dog and began bouncing around, moving in that strange stop-start way. She dashed forward in a burst of rapid, almost jerky movements that defied normal laws, followed by utter stillness as she became little more than a large extrusion from the earth.

Simba swallowed past his instinctual fear. The ultimate predator as a pet.

Caleb scrambled down the tree, huffing and softly cursing. Eh, don’t mind me. Why would I need any help? Relax. Enjoy the show.

He dropped the last couple of meters and fell to his side. He glared at Simba. Serious? You gonna just stand there and do nothing?

Simba shrugged and shouldered his rifle. Pretty much.

Spot slunk past them, bounced up on the boulder and lowered herself. Celine clambered up. With a lurch and a leap, the Reptar bounded back to the Land Cruiser and the horse trailer attached to it.

Tick, tock.

Simba exhaled sharply and made his decision. Let’s head out.

Caleb swaggered past him and gave him a salute. Aye aye, captain. Or whatever you soldiers say to each other.

Simba ignored him. It was usually the best way to deal with Caleb. Problem was that Caleb made it impossible to ignore him.

Trisha bumped shoulders with him. So what’s next?

Simba rubbed a hand down his face, wiping away dusty sweat. The Rift Valley was warmer and dustier than Nairobi. Stick to the original plan. A brief stop at Lake Naivasha. See if there’s any fuel so we can stock up.

Caleb spun around and walked backward. And get your girl some flowers. Am I right?

Trisha frowned, which was her typical response to Caleb’s stupidity.

Caleb rolled his eyes. Flower farms. Naivasha is surrounded by flower farms. Oh, come on. You must know this. Kenya is … like … world famous for flowers and tea and lions.

I have something better. Simba pulled a sheath from his back pocket and slid out the knife. The blade was slim and hardly longer than his index finger. It didn’t need to be long to do the job.

Why, you shouldn’t have, Trisha said and batted her eyelashes.

Caleb sniggered. Simba blushed and went down on one knee.

Wah, he’s proposing! Caleb whistled and hooted.

Simba rolled up Trisha’s pant leg and strapped the sheath