The Extinction Series , Ellis, Tara [famous ebook reader .txt] 📗

absurd, Jason swung the rifle around. Of all the things he thought they might need the weapon for, killer house cats wasn’t one of them. He saw Eddy going through the same motions off to his left, with Marty charging up between them. But as he looked for his first target, Jason realized the barking dog was having some success. The dozen or so cats that had made it outside were retreating, howling in protest as they scurried back inside the barn.

“Marty!” Jason yelled again as he lunged for his collar. If Marty managed to get inside the barn, he had no idea what would happen. He missed, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

Marty skid to a stop on his own a few feet shy of the open doors, hackles raised. His excited bark was replaced with a whimper, and his haunches began to quiver as he backed away.

Motioning to Eddy, Jason rushed forward and grabbed at one of the doors. As they swung them shut, he got a glimpse inside. There were rows of cats. Literal rows. They filled the floor of the barn, close to a hundred of them, and they’d fallen completely silent.

“What was that?” Tyler shouted, running toward them. His eyes were wide and he kept looking from Marty and back to the doors of the barn. “Were those cats? I thought I saw cats chasing you guys!”

Devon and Peta were following at a distance, and Peta had what looked to be a full can of gas. “Please don’t tell me he’s right,” Peta said, not looking amused.

Jason wanted to laugh it off, but he didn’t have the stomach for it. He half-expected the doors to swing back out, and he began looking around the landscape with the same foreboding as when they’d first arrived. He didn’t think the threat was contained to the barn. It didn’t make any sense, but he knew the bizarre danger from the cats was only a small representation of what was lurking and waiting in the jungle.

“Don’t worry,” Tyler offered, rubbing at Marty’s head. “Marty took care of ‘em!”

“Either that, or they knew they were unevenly matched against the rifles,” Eddy suggested.

Devon scoffed, but Peta looked at Jason and frowned when she saw he wasn’t laughing. Taking the gas can from her, he gestured toward the truck. “We should go.”

As they made their way back, he kept looking over his shoulder. The cats were too quiet. It was almost as if—

Shaking his head, Jason refused to think that way, so he decided to go with the dog theory. It was the only way he’d be able to get any sleep later.

Chapter 25

MADELINE

Lassen National Forest

Northern California

The mountains were on fire.

An orange glow lit the sky in a false sunset as the day faded into twilight, and smoke produced a heavy filter that reflected the demise of the burning trees in the distance. Madeline stood next to the Hummer in her driveway and watched for some time as the fire continued to progress, mesmerized by the undulating light against the darkness.

She’d felt a tremor earlier in the day, and suspected the looming inferno could be a result of a long-dormant volcano brought to life, or perhaps a massive quake along the coast that ruptured a gas line. Either way, it didn’t matter. It could burn through the whole valley and it wouldn’t concern Madeline, because she was leaving.

Forcing herself to look away, she turned back to the vehicle and finished shoving a box into the back. She’d already unhooked the trailer as she wouldn’t be needing the extensive amount of supplies, and wanted to be more flexible in her abilities to go off-road if needed. Basic survival gear for a few days’ time, an assortment of equipment from her lab, and all of her research was already safely stowed away. All that was left to collect were her personal items and clothing, and then to strap the filled gas cans onto the back.

Madeline had started packing that afternoon, after receiving confirmation from Doctor Davies about the last leg of her trip. It was all coming together through a rather brilliant logistical miracle.

She checked her watch. Fifteen minutes.

Pivoting back toward the house, Madeline rushed up the front steps with the eerie glow of the fire following her. There was just enough time to assemble her last bag before she was due to get another transmission, in which they would finalize some of the details.

While it might have seemed more prudent to wait until morning to head out, with the nearly two-thousand miles she’d be traveling to reach the Gulf of Mexico via Texas, she didn’t think it would matter. Madeline anticipated the slightly longer route she’d laid out using less-traveled roads through the mountains and deserts would be vacant most of the way. If they weren’t…she could certainly take care of herself. Her hand went automatically to the Mossberg 9mm secured in her leather chest holster. While it wasn’t her preferred weapon, she was pleased to find that it was still in the biometric safe hidden under her desk, since all the other guns had been taken.

When Madeline had stepped outside earlier, debating when would be a good time to leave, she’d spotted the first signs of the fire. That new and potential threat made the decision easy for her. Fires that time of year in the dry mountains could spread incredibly fast, especially since there wouldn’t be anyone fighting it. She had to leave before her only route out was cut off, and based on what she’d just seen, that would be long before morning.

Madeline had left the generator running all day, so the kitchen was bright when she stepped back inside. There was no longer a need to conserve the fuel, as well as the food that remained in the fridge and freezer.