Scaveys!
In the novel The Hike, a trio of survivors trek across the mid-west looking for others that may have narrowly escaped an ominous orange fog.
In the excerpt below Stuart Rappaport returns to the group after venturing out on his own to describe his first sighting of a creature.
There was a slight pause while Stuart reflected on the image that was burned into his memory and the other two were trying to imagine themselves in the hotel. Patrick asked “What do you mean it was a creature? Like a big dog or a bear?”
“No. It was almost… human,” Stuart said.
“How so?” Patrick asked.
“It was really hard to see through the window into the darkness, but after it hit the window and I jumped; it looked right at me. I had the glow light with me that was dimming, but it must have been enough for it to see me because it looked right into my eyes.” Stuart paused as he was picturing the creature and trying to explain what he had seen. “The eyes were human. There’s no doubt about it; but the way that it moved just wasn’t right. It was hunched over, and it had long hair on its head that made it hard to see anything in the darkness.”
“Are you sure about what you saw son?” Patrick asked. “You were exhausted, cold, and just woke up to a loud banging.”
“Yeah,” Stuart said without hesitation. “There’s no doubt about it. After we locked eyes, the thing backed up and ran at the window again; but this time it was even more determined and hit it even faster and harder than before. I had been frozen where I was, but when I saw it hurl itself at the glass and heard that boom; I moved. I ran back into the laundry room, grabbed the day pack, and threw the glow stick in the pile of sheets. The creature was crazy and the pounding was twice as quick as it was before: BOOM… BOOM… …BOOM.”
Patrick suddenly had a chill at the thought of this boy and what he had saw, and stood up to put some more wood on the fire. Stuart took another drink of water as he waited for Patrick to sit back down. Mackenzie and Patrick couldn’t think of anything to say to comfort Stuart, but just waited for him to continue.
Read more about the creatures in the new novel The Hike by Quentin Rogers. Get your copy today at Amazon!