Epidemic #Mystery #Detective

Posted: September 3, 2021/Under: Uncategorized/By: Christine Young

Epidemic: Maxwell and Karina, twins, flee from their hometown in search of answers to why they are being hunted and what’s going on outside their home.

Epidemic: Mystery/Detective

Buy at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, Google Play

BLURB: Epidemic

It has been forty years since America closed its borders and separated from the world following the Vietnam War. In the ensuing years, the country has developed in incredible ways, or at least, that is what Maxwell and Karina, a set of twins from a community deep in the forests of New England, have been told all their lives. In a town surrounded by larger than life trees and crags, they didn’t have a reason to believe otherwise.

That belief is put to the test when they find their house ransacked, their mother missing, and their only chance to live is outside of the barriers they’ve grown used to. Barriers… that they never realized existed.

EXCERPT: Epidemic

They turned the corner and Maxwell almost stumbled to a stop. It was mass chaos. Down the dilapidated street were a group of men and women. They seemed to be fighting. Blades flashed as gunshots cracked. Farther down the street, a building was on fire as people whooped and hollered, throwing things into the flames. Houses burned as smoke curled into the sky. Pedestrians, if that was what they were, wielded torches, wood implements, chairs, whatever they could get their grasp on.

A riot, Maxwell realized with a sense of downright horror. They ran right into a riot, by running from the police. There was a whoosh of air before Karina suddenly cried out. Maxwell regarded his sister quickly as Lex pulled them sharply down the road. Maxwell let him lead as he saw Karina stumble before she regained her footing. A grimace sat on her face as something dripped down her arm. Something Maxwell couldn’t quite identify as she held her arm close to her chest.

“Kari? Are you all right?”

“Peachy,” was her curt response.

Maxwell hesitated before he nodded and looked ahead. Lex let out a noise of something like relief. “Come on,” he said sharply, yet soft enough to stay under the screams of the rioters.

Wood littered the ground in smoldering heaps as people huddled in the shadows, scared of the mayhem. A little before the main focal point of the chaos was an alley which Lex seemed to be heading toward.

“Riot. The owner must have done something to anger someone,” Lex whispered quickly as he eyed the alley and group, affirming Maxwell’s suspicion, but doing nothing to assuage it. “That’s probably what the police you saw earlier were here for… damn.”

Something didn’t sit right with him. Was this normal? Were riots and such something that occurred normally? Was it because of the epidemic? Many people in the crowd looked incredibly sick.

Lex didn’t stop, even as the chaos grew. People ran into them, trying to run from the source, while others, who were too drowned in the mob mentality, continued destruction along the street. Sirens blared and cries echoed up and down the road.

Something cracked, the noise louder than Maxwell thought possible. A gunshot? Maxwell felt Lex stumble. His eyes snapped toward Lex as he maneuvered them into the shadow of the alley before letting go. Karina fumbled and used her now-free hand to grab her arm. Pain adorned her face as Maxwell realized with a hint of shock that it was blood slipping steadily down her arm and staining her shirt.

He heard a groan, followed by movement. He looked toward Lex. One arm wrapped tightly around his stomach as he gestured them forward. “We’re not safe,” was all he said, the voice cracking slightly at the end. “We have to move.” He pulled one hand away from the wall and moved unsteadily down the street.

Maxwell’s head swiveled back and forth in heightened worry, looking from his sister and Lex to behind them, even as they continued down the alley. He could hear screams and he could see some people run by the entrance. The shadows become lengthier as night drew closer. He hated this time of year sometimes. Days were incredibly short and this wasn’t an exception. He happened to look ahead in time to see as Lex started to pitch forward. He quickly grabbed Lex around his waist, stopping him from slamming face first into the ground. He clenched his teeth at the almost dead weight as Karina moved next to him, trying to help.

What am I going to do?Maxwell thought. They’re both injured.

They took another alley, seemingly parallel with the main road. He gazed back. It seemed that there was no one following, yet he could still see the smoke from the fire, and hear cries, screams. Now, on top of all that, sirens blared through the air, discordant and screeching.

He shook his head and shifted. He draped one of Lex’s arms over his shoulder as he put a hand around his waist, feeling the warm liquid slip past his fingers. Karina led the way even as her grip seemed to tighten more and more on the wound to her upper arm till her knuckles were white. They moved down the alley as quickly as they could, reaching another back alley. Maxwell gritted his teeth as Lex’s weight seemed to get heavier and heavier. His breathing was shallow.

“Damn, the doctor, we’re so close,” Lex managed to whisper in pain, his free hand still holding his stomach.

Maxwell looked at Lex, then heard hollers. His head twisted back, seeing shadows play on the wall behind them from the alley. Figures seemed to be moving toward them and whether they were hostile or not, he didn’t want to find out.

Maxwell’s eyes flitted around the darkened road before he spotted a dilapidated entranceway. He gazed back and darted toward it. He pushed viciously against the door, which slammed open to allow him to stumble in. Dust billowed up as hinges screeched from lack of use. Maxwell coughed as he slid past the door, hoping that it wasn’t actually someone’s home he was barging into. He did not need that on his conscience.

The room seemed more like a storage place. It was dusty and dark with the vague hint of a stairwell next to one side. Barrels and boxes were thrown haphazardly around the room, giving it a dingy quality. Maxwell slid farther into the room as he pulled on Lex’s limp frame. Maxwell curved around one of the boxes and slid to the floor with a sigh, pulling Lex down with him.

“Not good, there’s a trail,” Karina said.

Maxwell looked at her. “I’ll lead them away. If they’re police, they might come for us, and there’s no way to defend ourselves in here.” Maxwell looked at his sister and noted her tense posture even as her arms dropped to her sides.

She’s not,Maxwell thought as his eyes widened. He opened his mouth to shout, only to feel a shaky hand cover his lips.

“She’s distracting…” Lex said.

Maxwell wanted to yell to her to stop, feeling anxiety as Karina looked at him. Yet, no words came out as she moved around the boxes and bolted out the door. The door swung closed as footsteps resounded outside.

“Someone’s there. They’re getting away,” a bellow came from outside as more pounding footsteps ran by, and metal clattered as sirens blared.

Maxwell stayed silent. His eyes were frozen on the closed door as the hand continued to sit over his lips. He could feel wetness slip down his chin as the hand fell away. Maxwell froze as he put a hand on his chin and wiped. He stared in horror as the liquid sat on his fingers, staining them a crimson red as some slid down pale skin.

He slowly followed the trail before his eyes slid to Lex.

Website URL: www.julieboglisch.com

Blog URL:www.julieboglisch.com/blog

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/JulieBoglischStories/

Twitter handle:

https://twitter.com/jboglisch

Triberr: N/A

KEYWORDS

epidemic, twins, alternate reality, isolationism, kidnapping

LINKS

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BNN94NV