Planet Urth (16 page)

“I stayed awake all night, afraid they would get inside
the cave,” I say and look at June.  She stirs then opens her eyes.  Her head shoots up frantically. 

“No, no, no,” she cries.  “They’re back.”

Oliver and Riley wake as well.  They begin to cry.  Between the crying children and the incessant yelping outside, the cave is flooded with hash, discordant sounds.  I am overwhelmed.  My insides tremble.  My nerves are frayed.  I feel as if I cannot withstand another moment of the loudness. 

Just when the noise becomes deafening, Will shushes everyone. 

“Please, everyone be quiet for a second,” he says.  The children stifle their cries, reducing them to sniffles and small gasps.  And when they do, I hear what he heard over their tears. 

A clanging
sound echoes and grows louder and louder, closer.  My head whips toward him and his features mirror mine.  Dread drags them down, taking any hope for safety and a good night’s sleep with it.  The Lurkers not only regrouped before their return, but they’d also formulated a better plan.  They are trying to get inside.

“Oh my gosh,” Will breathes.  His eyes are locked on mine.  He is looking to me for answers I do not have, chief among them: What do we do now?  

After a moment of chaotic, panicked thoughts, I do exactly what I did the night before.  I assume my post beside a log and June joins me.  She rests her head on my lap and I cup her ear with one hand, stroking her hair with the other.  The act soothes both of us slightly, but I know eventually she will fall asleep.  Will watches me, then gestures for his brother and sister to follow suit.  They drag their sleep sacks to him and place their heads on his legs.  He covers their ears and begins humming.  I have never heard the tune he hums, or any other tune for that matter, but the sound he creates is comforting.  I focus on it and try to block out the cries and clangs of the Lurkers.

Will and I
spend the night upright with the people we love closest to us.  We do not talk.  We do not need to.  The glances we exchange at the deepest point of the darkness covey more than thousands of words can express. 

When
the sound has finally stopped, my ears are ringing.  My legs are numb and I feel Will’s head resting against my shoulder.  I am achy all over, but happy he was with me, that I was not alone while in charge and experiencing the awful sounds. 

I carefully slide June to the floor in hopes of letting her sleep a
little while longer.  But her eyes snap open. 

“It stopped,” she says groggily. 

“Yes,” I say.  “It is morning.”  I point to the faint threads of light seeping in. 

“We made it.  They did not get in,” she says.

“No, they didn’t,” I say. 

Not this
time, they did not,
I think. 
But they might tomorrow, or the next day
. 
It is only a matter of time. 

I do not share my thoughts.  June and the others have been through enough.  Besides, I think Will knows as well as I do that we have not heard the last of the Lurkers.

Riley and Oliver stir and Will’s head leaves my shoulder. 

“Are we alive?” Riley asks.

“Yes,” Will answers and smiles at her tenderly. 

“Why don’t you guys lie down for a bit?” I suggest.  “I need to move the boulder and make sure everything is safe before we go to the river and wash, okay?” I tell the children.

Will nods in agreement.  “I’ll help,” he says and stands. 

I stand too.  My body feels kinked and gnarled as we make our way to the boulder. 
We both crouch to reach it, a movement that makes every muscle in my body complain.  Will is strong, stronger than I am by far.  We move the boulder with ease and cautiously step outside.  The stench of urine is potent as my eyes scour the once-comforting landscape beyond my home of stone.  I notice deep holes have been dug all around the entrance and small fragments of rock are littered everywhere. 

My heart begins to hammer and the situation comes into stinging clarity. 

“Will, come with me,” I say. 

He hears the urgent edge to my voice
and becomes alarmed.  “Help me,” I say as I grip the boulder.  “Help me turn it so I can see the side that faces out.” 

He and I grunt and labor until the boulder is turned enough for me to see exactly what I feared had happened. 

An enormous crater has been chipped away on the surface of the rock, the part that faces outside.  The clanging we heard last night was the sound of Lurkers chipping away at the only solid defense we had. 

“
They’ve chiseled a hole in the boulder,” Will says.  Terror creases his face. 

“And they will keep chiseling until it shatters.  They will be able to get to us in a matter of days,” I say.  “We cannot stay here anymore.  We are not safe.”

“Where can we go?” he asks.  Desperation laces his words.  “We’re dead by nightfall if we are still in the woods without shelter.” 

“Maybe we should leave the woods,” I say
, though I cannot fathom life beyond the walls of green I have called home since I was June’s age. 

“We can’t.  It’s not possible.
  There’s nothing for us out there,” Will says and points toward the skyline where the sun has just begun to peek over the horizon.

“I don’t think we have another choice,” I say.

I turn and look at the three small faces that have gathered near us then to back to Will.  Oliver, Riley, and Will are now mine and I am now theirs.  We are a new, blended family, and even though we are not bound by blood, we are bound nonetheless.  I know a new chapter of my life is about to begin.  I know now that other humans are out there.  I feel the need to find them, to band together and grow our numbers.  To do that, we will be forced to venture out into a hostile world ruled by beings who seek to end our existence entirely.  We will face Urthmen, if we make it out of the forest.  And I don’t know how we will survive the night.  It is likely we will not.  We might be ambushed by packs of Lurkers before our feet ever touch asphalt.  But I do not see another option.  I cannot simply sit passively and wait to be executed, clubbed to death by an Urthman who’s infiltrated our sanctity, or torn to shreds and eaten by a Lurker.  I cannot stay and wait to die, not with three new people added to my life, people I will give my life to keep alive.  I will not fail.  I will not surrender June, Oliver, Riley or Will’s life to any creature.  It is time to leave the meager safety of the woods and risk creating a life together on Planet Urth.

About the Authors

In early 2010,  Jennifer and Christopher Martucci hoped that their life plan had changed.  To date, the jury is still out.  But late one night, in January of 2010, the stay-at-home mom of three girls under the age of six had just picked up the last doll from the playroom floor and placed it in a bin when her husband startled her by declaring, “We should write a book,
together
!”  Wearied from a day of shuttling the children to and from school, preschool, and Daisy Scouts, laundry, cooking and cleaning, Jennifer simply stared blankly at her husband of fifteen years.  After all, the idea of writing a book had been an individual dream each of them had possessed for much of their young adult lives.  Both had written separately in their teens and early twenties, but without much success.  They would write a dozen chapters here and there only to find that either the plot would fall apart, or characters would lose their zest, or the story would just fall flat.  Christopher had always preferred penning science-fiction stories filled with monsters and diabolical villains, while Jennifer had favored venting personal experiences or writing about romance.  Inevitably though, frustration and day-to-day life had placed writing on the back burner and for several years, each had pursued alternate (paying) careers.  But the dream had never died.  And Christopher suggested that their dream ought to be removed from the back burner for further examination.  When he proposed that they author a book together on that cold January night, Jennifer was hesitant to reject the idea outright.  His proposal sparked a discussion, and the discussion lasted deep into the night.  By morning, the idea for the Dark Creations series was born.

The Dark Creations series, as well as the Arianna Rose series
and the Planet Urth series, are works that were written while Jennifer and Christopher continued about with their daily activities and raised their young children.  They changed diapers, potty trained and went to story time at the local library between chapter outlines and served as room parents while fleshing out each section.  Life simply continued.  And in some ways, their everyday lives were reflected in the characters of each series. 

As the storyline continues to evolve, so too does the Martucci collaboration.  Lunches are still packed, noses are still wiped
, and time remains a rare and precious commodity in their household, but it is the sound of happy chaos that is the true background music of their writing.  They hope that all enjoy reading their work as much as they enjoyed writing it.

Planet Urth: The Savage Lands (Book 2)

is available now!

Boo
ks by Jennifer and Christopher Martucci:

The Dark Creations Series
(A YA paranormal romance series)

Dark Creations: Gabriel Rising (Part 1)

Dark Creations: Gabriel Rising (Part 2)

Dark Creations: Gabriel Rising (Part 1&2)

Dark Creations: Resurrection (Part 3)

Dark Creations: The Hunted (Part 4)

Dark Creations: Hell on Earth (Part 5)

Dark Creations: Dark Ending (Part 6)

Coming Soon:

Planet Urth: The Underground City (Book 3)

The Arianna Rose Series
(A paranormal romance series)

Arianna Rose (Part 1)

Arianna Rose: The Awakening (Part 2)

Arianna Rose: The Gathering (Part 3)

Arianna Rose: The Arrival (Part 4)

Arianna Rose: The Gates of Hell (Part 5)

The Planet Urth series
(A YA science-fiction/futuristic series)

Planet Urth (Book 1)

Planet Urth: The Savage Lands (Book 2)

Thank You So Much For Reading Our Book!

We deeply appreciate your readership and would love to hear from you!

For information about upcoming releases (or just to say hi!) please visit our website at
http://darkcreationssaga.com
or at
http://on.fb.me/1dlUUF5
.
To sign up for our mailing list and receive information about upcoming release and special promos, please visit
http://eepurl.com/Jp7yz

Thank you again for reading!

Love,

Jennifer and Christopher Martucci

Oh, One Last Thing Before You Go…

When you turn the page, you may be given the opportunity to express your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter automatically.  If you enjoyed our book, would you take a second to click that button and let your friends know about it?

If they get something out of the book, they’ll be grateful to you, and we will be, too!

Thank you so much!

Love,

Jenny and Chris