The Scavenger (Book Snippet #2)

We have been very excited about the positive feedback we have been receiving about The Scavenger. As writing for the next installment in the series has begun, we would like to remind you of why you should be reading this series. We are going to post snippets of the story until the release of Book 2, The Scavenger Hunt. The second snippet is Chapter 2. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 2
The sound of loud engines and blaring heavy metal music could be heard coming from outside. Kyle crouched down and peeked out the cracked glass in the window. He saw two black Ford F-350 pickup trucks driving up the street, along with a large U-Haul truck. His nerves were jumping through his body, as he glanced over at the silver Ford F-150 that was parked in the middle of the street. The occupants of that truck were in front of his home, with their brains splattered all over the sidewalk. A result of two perfectly placed headshots. Kyle had a feeling that the gang pulling up was associated with the two miscreants that tried breaking into his home. This would not end well once they spotted the bodies. They would surely want revenge, so he had to be ready for them. He dropped the magazine from his rifle to check his remaining ammo. He had about ten rounds left in the thirty-round magazine and that was not going to be enough. There was plenty of spare ammo in the basement, but Kyle did not want to risk opening the door and possibly letting the lethal gas seep in the room. Ten rounds were more than enough ammo to take on a few more scoundrels, but if they were armed, he would need a lot more ammo to be effective in a gun battle.
As Kyle suspected, they pulled up directly behind the silver F-150. Based on the urgency in which they exited their vehicles, it was obvious to Kyle they spotted the bodies of their associates. There were eight of them total and they had their guns pointed in every direction. Their movements were fluid as if they trained regularly, but did not appear to be military. Kyle sized up each miscreant and the weapon they possessed. They were all toting handguns, except a tall woman who was handling an AR-15. She seemed very familiar with the weapon based on her posture.
“Find out who the fuck did this,” the mysterious woman ordered.
Her fierce grimace and commanding voice had the group scattering like roaches.
“What’s going on?” Jacqui asked once she noticed Kyle lingering at the window.
“Shhhh,” he replied. He slowly grabbed his rifle and aimed it towards the woman, who was now standing in the bed of the silver F-150. The sun rays soaked into her dark skin, which was visible because she was only wearing an off-white tank top that was riddled with blood splatter. She was probably around five foot nine inches but looked taller than six feet if you took into account her large afro. The mirrored Ray Ban sunglasses she sported sat perfectly on her round face. Although one of the lenses appeared to be cracked, she still rocked them as if they were fresh out the store.
“Search every single home and kill anyone inside. Start with this house,” she barked as she pointed to Kyle and Jacqui’s home. It was an obvious choice, seeing as though the rotting bodies rested in front of the three-story row home.
Three men worked their way to the front door and the others started walking towards neighboring houses. Kyle carefully watched as the three approached. One of them had his gun aimed at the bedroom window but never noticed Kyle looking down at them. The cracks in the glass obstructed his view of the shadowy figure lingering in the corner of the window. Kyle’s aim drifted towards one of the men and he slowly squeezed the trigger on his Springfield Saint. The shot rang off and another successful headshot was executed. The man fell to the ground and blood began to pool around his head. The other members of the small militia took cover and their eyes were now focused across the street from Kyle’s home. His plan actually worked. He shot one of the goons across the street, which made the rest of the gang believe the assault was coming from another home, leaving them vulnerable. Kyle felt a little bad and hoped an innocent family was not inside the home the body dropped in front of because they would surely become the militia’s new targets. If there was a family still at the residence, they probably would not survive an attack from the militia. Hopefully, they made it out during the evacuation warnings a few days prior.
Shots began to ring off and Kyle backed out the window. Jacqui ducked down and stayed away from the exposed area of the room. Kyle waited a few seconds, then peeked back out and noticed the gunshot holes that decorated the house across the street. The woman with the broken Ray Bans was nowhere in sight, but the other members of the militia began making their way to the home. Kyle lifted his rifle again and let off two more shots, dropping two more members.
“Get back, get back,” one of the men yelled. Each of the miscreants began making their way back to the trucks. Kyle only had seven shots left and had to make them count. He took up aim at one of the F-150s and let off a shot meant for the occupant in the driver’s seat. The rear windshield shattered but no one exited the truck.
“Fuck,” Kyle yelled, disappointed at the fact he didn’t know if his shot attempt was successful. If he had his ammo from the basement, each truck would look like a slice of Swiss cheese. About five minutes went by and there was no movement from the militia.
“What’s going on out there?” Jacqui asked, noticing how quiet the outside became.
“I have no idea.” A stern look was on Kyle’s face as he watched diligently for any type of movement.
Finally, one of the men exited the passenger seat of the U-Haul truck and climbed on top. Kyle had the opportunity to attempt a shot at the male but was too focused on what he was doing on top of the truck. He crawled to the rear of the truck and grabbed a rope that was affixed to the roof. The rope was also attached to the door latch. The woman suddenly appeared from the F-150, but she was not wearing her sunglasses. She had a red, green, and black bandana tied around her face that covered her nose and mouth. She toted a pistol-grip shotgun and blasted the front door of the home, four times. The door was literally ripped off the hinges. After blasting the door, she threw a gas canister into the home. The canister contained the chemical gas that stole the lives of millions of citizens, including Chloe. The same gas was finally dispersing from the lower level of the couple’s home, but he still ensured it did not make its way into the bedroom. Kyle recognized the canister as being similar to the one the initial miscreants tossed in his home. Once the woman reentered the F-150, the man on top of the U-Haul pulled the rope, which opened the rear door. Kyle looked to see what was inside the truck. He figured they had more personnel to carry out their heinous assaults on the innocent. However, what he witnessed was much worse as his mouth dropped to the floor.
Some type of creature crawled out the rear of the U-Haul truck and was nothing like any animal he had ever seen. Once it was set free, the trucks pulled off. The creature lingered in the street for a while. It was very hairy with large claws. It had mannerisms similar to a gorilla, using its knuckles for stability as it roamed the unfamiliar territory. Kyle could not get a good look at its facial features, but its shoulders and back were extremely broad. The creature began sniffing the ground as it brushed past parked vehicles. Its strength was unreal and Kyle watched it climb on the hood of the car and crush it. This made Jacqui extremely nervous, as she peeked out the window and saw a beast that possessed so much strength. The beast caught the scent from the chemical gas currently dispensing from the canister. The orange gas was escaping from the broken window and doorway that occurred when the militia began its assault on the home. Suddenly the hideous creature took off running into the home.
“What the hell was that?” Jacqui asked as she backed out the window.
“I have no fucking clue. I really don’t know what the hell that was.”
“Where did it come from?”
“The back of that U-Haul truck.”
“How the hell did they get it in that U-Haul?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it is we better hope we don’t have to deal with it.”
“Kyle I’m scared. We should have gotten out of here when we had the chance. When they sent out those evacuation warnings.”
“Where would we have gone? This shit is a national epidemic, not local. National.”
“I don’t know where we would have gone, but we wouldn’t be prisoners in our own damn home.”
“Yeah, you would probably be dead.”
Jacqui felt the sarcasm in Kyle’s last remark and crawled over to Chloe’s body. When she heard Kyle say dead, she sat back and thought of all the warnings he gave her.


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