An Amber Storm From Hell
(From my upcoming novel, Children of Mars)
Tennille had the rover going as fast as it could. Freddie watched the charge meter reading as it slowly fell from near full to three quarters in no time at all. There was a mighty whooshing sound from behind, distant at first, but it was quickly upon them.
“TENNILLE!”
Tennille didn’t waste time slowing down as they climbed the short embankment. They were over the other side, bouncing wildly down into the relative safety of the crater before the shock wave hit. The whooshing sound was now a violent howl as a sudden blast of dust and debris rushed overhead, an amber storm from hell. The rover shook violently and over the din, Freddie heard the screams of the children. The shockwave was followed by a mighty rumble. Freddie undid her seat belt and dived over into the back of the rover, grabbing the baby and wrenching it from the small hands of Jodi as the rover was tossed around as easily as a toy ball in the nursery. Instinctively, Freddie pulled Timmy into her body and curled up into a ball. She felt a crack as her back hit first one wall and then the other. She grimaced with pain and closed her eyes tightly. The vehicle rolled over and over, before it finally came to an abrupt halt.
She was glad when she heard crying children until through stinging eyes, she looked up to see their horrified faces, their eyes wide with fear. When she tried to move, she felt numb and her legs would not budge. Her head was pounding and she felt something warm and sticky on the side of her face. Timmy was howling, which in the circumstances was a good sign. But for the second time in her life, she was overcome with dizziness and as a collage of confused images melded together to form one incomplete picture of the story of her life, the world she knew began to fade, along with the dying sounds of crying, swept away, replaced now with an emptiness that enveloped everything. In a last stubborn effort to push back death, she caught a glimpse of an image that didn’t belong there. It found form in the shape of a ghostly blue figure, which appeared briefly at the rear window of the overturned rover and after blinking its rich dark blue eyes once, just as quickly was gone. Then she succumbed to the inevitable, as the final sounds of her world left her, along with what little light remained until nothing was left but darkness.
Tennille had the rover going as fast as it could. Freddie watched the charge meter reading as it slowly fell from near full to three quarters in no time at all. There was a mighty whooshing sound from behind, distant at first, but it was quickly upon them.
“TENNILLE!”
Tennille didn’t waste time slowing down as they climbed the short embankment. They were over the other side, bouncing wildly down into the relative safety of the crater before the shock wave hit. The whooshing sound was now a violent howl as a sudden blast of dust and debris rushed overhead, an amber storm from hell. The rover shook violently and over the din, Freddie heard the screams of the children. The shockwave was followed by a mighty rumble. Freddie undid her seat belt and dived over into the back of the rover, grabbing the baby and wrenching it from the small hands of Jodi as the rover was tossed around as easily as a toy ball in the nursery. Instinctively, Freddie pulled Timmy into her body and curled up into a ball. She felt a crack as her back hit first one wall and then the other. She grimaced with pain and closed her eyes tightly. The vehicle rolled over and over, before it finally came to an abrupt halt.
She was glad when she heard crying children until through stinging eyes, she looked up to see their horrified faces, their eyes wide with fear. When she tried to move, she felt numb and her legs would not budge. Her head was pounding and she felt something warm and sticky on the side of her face. Timmy was howling, which in the circumstances was a good sign. But for the second time in her life, she was overcome with dizziness and as a collage of confused images melded together to form one incomplete picture of the story of her life, the world she knew began to fade, along with the dying sounds of crying, swept away, replaced now with an emptiness that enveloped everything. In a last stubborn effort to push back death, she caught a glimpse of an image that didn’t belong there. It found form in the shape of a ghostly blue figure, which appeared briefly at the rear window of the overturned rover and after blinking its rich dark blue eyes once, just as quickly was gone. Then she succumbed to the inevitable, as the final sounds of her world left her, along with what little light remained until nothing was left but darkness.
No comments have been added yet.
