Chapter 11
The door was still closed and he began to feel that familiar tightening in his chest, the growing sense of panic, fear now starting to blur his composure. He pressed his hand on the panel. Harder. Nothing. No hiss of air, no vibrations. He reached into his pocket for the radio. He had left it behind. Continue reading
Chapter 10 posted below
Be advised: this contains scenes of graphic violence and the deaths of children.
If you have been following ‘Shepherd’ you may well have realised what is about to happen in the story. Graphic violence, but not gratuitous. The whole story has been building up to this moment and the aftermath and there is still a fair way to go.
Chapter 10
Straker flattened his hand against the tube, so close to the hand on the other side. His hand. I’m sorry. He looked into his own eyes. I’m so sorry. The words clogged in his throat, stifling him. Continue reading
Chapter 9
He stood there, getting the measure of the room before making any move. A larger dome than the other one; he reckoned it to be at most seven meters across and lined with what appeared to be tall glass-like cylinders, each wide enough to hold a man standing upright. Tangles of cables and wires looped across the floor from the central cluster of assorted equipment and machines before snaking into the base of each tank. He noticed that the cylinders seemed to be in distinct groups, five of them close together, then a gap and then another five, lining the circumference of the room, with another space for the entrance. No aliens in sight. He let himself relax slightly. Continue reading
Chapter 8
Sara tugged off her night goggles, and wiped sweat from her forehead. They had been waiting here in the small antechamber for what seemed like an eternity. There had been sounds of gunfire from behind the barrier and she had been aware of Straker flinching at every noise, but he had remained still and had not spoken once. Continue reading