On Edge

By Archer Gibbs

A soldier burst into the room. His eyes were bloodshot, and he seemed to be growing taller. He was the biggest person Jacob had ever seen. There were other soldiers with red eyes shambling along behind him. The first soldier seemed to be the boss.

"Stay very still," Jacob said. They were all standing, frozen, behind the desk.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hunter Valley Writers
• Release date: Apr 30, 2024
• ISBN: 9781763554405

Book preview

On Edge

ON EDGE

ARCHER GIBBS

Hunter Valley Writers

CONTENTS

The Infection

Journey to Space

Journey to the Past

The Infection Returns

Lost at Sea

The Arena

Acknowledgments

Afterword

Copyright © Hunter Valley Writers 2024

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the email address below.

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Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

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Hunter Valley Writers — First Edition

ISBN  978-0-6454593-6-4

For Mum and Dad

THE INFECTION

Ring, ring.

Hello, Jacob said.

Yeah, hello Jacob. I need you to go to the Imperial Hotel on the other side of town, the police chief said. I’ve brought in some new people and I want you to lead them.

Okay, Jacob replied. He hung up the phone and turned on the radio.

A deadly infection has begun on the other side of town.

Jacob turned up the volume. He sat down to listen.

We recommend you stay indoors or suffer. Police chief Kale Williams is sending a trained team to investigate this virus.

Jacob jumped up, put on his blue police jacket, ran outside to his police car, and drove away as fast as he could. Soon, he arrived at the Imperial Hotel. There were six police standing out the front of the tall gates, ready to go in.

Hi, I’m Rider, said one of the police, a tall man with bright pink hair. This is Emily, Rachel, Lily and Riley.

As they stepped through the gate, a strange thing happened. Every single police officer fell to the ground and passed out.

They all woke, much later, inside the hotel lobby. It was dark outside.

What happened? said Emily, looking around.

Rider was checking the doors. They’re all locked with padlocks, he said. And look, the padlocks are all different colours and sizes. Okay, everyone split up and look for the keys.

They all went separate ways, except for Riley and Jacob, who stuck together. Hi, said Jacob, introducing himself. I think we’re going to be good friends.

Behind the hotel counter, tucked away in a drawer, there was a green key.

Look what I found, cried Jacob, holding up the key.

He looked around and finally found a door with a matching green padlock. He pushed the key into the lock and twisted it … click!

The door opened.

The room was dark. Riley walked in first. He was feeling around to make sure he didn’t run into anything. Crash! He tripped over a coffee table and bashed his head