Jelvia: Not Human is underway! #jelvia #scifi

 Opening chapter from book 6 of the final book in the Jelvia: Not Human series (unedited).

'Til the World Falls Apart

Grey light strained through murky clouds as dawn crept in. The house's dim glow barely touched the driveway, and the morning chill pierced Macy's hoodie, making her shiver

“Are you sure Phil won’t follow us?” James asked, closing the boot of the car with a soft thud.

Macy looked at the house where Phil had gone only a moment ago. ‘She’s pregnant. I told her it’s too dangerous,’ she said.

Oliver emerged from the house, his movements stiff with tension. His eyes darted around, lingering warily on the Jelvias, though his demeanour was notably more composed than the previous night. He clutched several Tupperware boxes, his knuckles white.

'Leftover pizza,' he muttered, extending them towards Macy.

'Thanks,' Macy replied, accepting the boxes. She tried to catch his eye, but his gaze was fixed on the ground.

Phil had followed him. Her expression was sullen as usual, but there seemed something lighter about her. She looked less burdened.

'Has he told you where you’re going yet?' she asked, her head jerking slightly towards Calder who stood next to Narcifer. Both Jelvias were talking; standing a little way from the others.

Macy shrugged. "Just to drive north—" she started, but her words were cut off by a deafening roar. A convoy of cars tore into the driveway, gravel flying like shrapnel. One vehicle blocked their exit, while another skidded to a halt beside them, tyres screeching. She recoiled in shock, stumbling backwards as shadowy figures poured out from the vehicles.

Narcifer grabbed her and shoved her headfirst into James’ car, slamming the door behind her. Chaos erupted outside as Macy scrambled into the footwell, trying to hide. The noise and the whirlwind of events overwhelmed her, everything happening too fast to process.

She peeked over the dash. A Jelvia charged at Narcifer, claws ready. Narcifer met him head-on, and they both went down, rolling out of her view.

There was much yelling.

There was no sign of Oliver, Phil, or even James. She couldn’t look for bodies—her attention snapped to a sound behind her. Calder struck another Jelvia with such force that the man’s skull cracked against the brick wall. Blood burst from the back of his head, leaving a dark trail as he slid down the wall.

Calder was unrecognisable, throat pulsating and mouth gaping. They locked gazes, but then he was gone, and Macy was alone. She felt her teeth chattering and tightened her jaw. She looked out the other window, hoping to see Narcifer, but couldn’t see him. Instead, her eyes fell on James lying a few metres away. He looked dead.

She pushed the car door open, feeling a surge of adrenaline through her veins. Her legs trembled as she approached James, but before she could reach him a piercing yell shattered the air.

Panicked, Macy turned to see several Jelvias rushing toward someone out of sight. Calder suddenly appeared from the opposite direction, throwing himself into the chaos. They all crashed to the ground in a tangled mess of limbs. Macy’s instinct screamed to run into the house and hide, but a bleeding Jelvia lay sprawled in front of the doorway, blocking her path.

Her legs refused to move, and her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the brutal fight happening right in front of her. Calder was on the losing end, but she couldn’t pull her eyes away, frozen by the horrific scene playing out in front of her. She stood frozen in terror, knowing as soon as they’d finished with Calder and Narcifer—wherever he was—she’d be killed. Shaking herself from her rigidity, she began to sidle along the side of the house.

She stepped carefully over the dead or unconscious Jeliva and felt the grunginess of his blood on the ground beneath her feet. She didn’t look. She didn’t want to see the gore on her feet.

The door to the house hung open, and she hesitated again but she knew that once inside, it’d become a prison, so she carried on towards the side of the house and the open field beyond. Glancing behind, she saw Jelvias drag a floppy Calder and throw him into the boot of their car. She gasped as the boot was closed, and his attackers jumped in and sped away.

Macy stood frozen for a moment, realising she’d been overlooked. She continued edging along the side of the house, her eyes darting around, searching desperately for any sign of Narcifer.

Hearing a noise, Macy instinctively turned, her heart lurching at the sight of Narcifer being dragged by his feet. A primal roar escaped him as he struggled against his assailants, but they outnumbered him four to one, and it was clear he wouldn’t stand a chance alone. Helplessness washed over Macy like a suffocating wave, her fingers involuntarily tangling in her hair as she raised them to clutch her head in her helplessness. Briefly, Phil’s sword collection flashed through her mind, but before she could even consider dashing into the house for a weapon, a strong arm seized her, wrenching her away from her thoughts and dragging her towards the unfolding chaos at Narcifer’s side.

Narcfier fell still when he saw her.

‘Come quietly, Narcifer, and she lives,’ the man holding her said. She felt his breath on the top of her head.

‘Let her go first,’ Narcifer said.

‘In the car,’ a Jelvia said.

Grim-faced, Narcifer nodded.

‘Pounit un,’ Macy whispered. Knowing death would come no matter what she said, she yelled louder, ‘Pounit un!’

A firm hand seized Macy’s forehead, tilting her head back with an uncomfortable strain. Refusing to yield, she met the Jelvia’s gaze head-on, determined to show her defiance.

‘Already awake,’ he remarked before abruptly throwing her to the ground. The impact sent a jolt of pain through her skull, but she kept her eyes fixed on Narcifer as he meekly climbed into the back of a waiting car, flanked by two other Jelvias.

Macy stood up and watched helplessly as the car sped away with Narcifer inside. Ignoring the shakiness of her legs and the chattering of her teeth, she eyed the third car the Jelvias had arrived in. It had boxed James’ car in against her own and Oliver’s.

Macy’s heart leapt into her throat as she realised no dead Jelvia was lying on the ground in front of the opened door. She spun around, looking for him. The sudden emptiness of the space where he had lain moments ago sent a surge of adrenaline coursing through her veins.

With a surge of panicked urgency, Macy dashed towards the Jelvia’s car, her footsteps echoing in the tense silence of the moment. Frantically, she wrenched open the door, her fingers trembling as they fumbled over the barren ignition.

Trapped in a maelstrom of terror, Macy’s senses surged, each sound reverberating like thunder in the oppressive silence. A suffocating wave of dread washed over her as she swept her gaze across the once-ordinary driveway, her heart hammering against her ribcage like a relentless drumbeat.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows, the sight sending a jolt of primal fear coursing through Macy’s veins. She watched in horror as the wounded Jelvia approached, his presence a chilling spectre in the dark morning.

‘Hey, little human.’ His voice cut through the silence like a jagged blade. And the way he nonchalantly stepped over James’ prone form, sent a shiver of dread down Macy’s spine. She stepped backwards, knowing no matter what she did, he’d use his venom to kill her. ‘I guess we’re alone,’ he said drawing closer with each step.

There was no point in running.

Macy’s eyes widened in disbelief. Behind the Jelvia, James stirred, struggling to his knees. She kept her gaze on the Jelvia, hoping somehow, James had a plan. But even as the thought was running through her mind she heard a sharp crack of a gunshot. The Jelvia’s legs buckled, and then he fell heavily to the ground.

James got to his feet and shoved the smoking gun into the waistband of his jeans.

‘Get in the driver’s seat,’ he said, indicating the car.

‘I… it has no keys,’ she said but jumped in anyway.

‘I just want you to take the handbrake off and steer,’ he said.

Macy’s fingers fumbled for the handbrake as James, with a series of grunts and strained efforts, shoved the car out of the way of his own. When he cleared the path, James dashed towards his vehicle. Panic surged through Macy, propelling her from her seat, but James had already started the engine by the time she reached his car.

Their eyes met over the bonnet, and Macy’s heart sank as she realised he intended to leave without her.

‘Macy. Move!’ he shouted.

‘I’m coming with you!’ Macy’s voice cracked with urgency as she sprinted around the front of the car towards the passenger side. But before she could reach the door, James slammed his foot on the accelerator. Instinctively, she lunged forward and grasped the wing mirror, but the sudden acceleration yanked her off her feet. With a sickening thud, Macy collided with the ground, the impact jarring her entire body and sprawling her on the asphalt.

The vehicle came to a sudden stop, kicking up gravel from the driveway as it skidded to a halt.

‘Fuck,’ James said, and she heard his footsteps as he came to see if he’d hit her. ‘Macy…’

Her body still had adrenaline coursing, so it was hard to tell if she was hurt. She scrambled up, opened the passenger door and jumped inside. James stared at her through the window, then he returned to the driver’s side.

‘Phil and Oliver ran around the back of the house. They may be hiding out until they think it’s clear,’ he said, turning the ignition on.

‘So?’

‘So, I think you should hang around here until they come back.’

She glanced in the bent wing mirror and saw the dead Jelvia on the driveway. Her teeth began to chatter. ‘I thought your gun was fake,’ she said, not answering him. ‘Thanks for saving my life.’

James reached into the dash and pulled out a packet of tissues. ‘Here. For your face,’ he added when she looked at him blankly. She pulled the sun visor down and looked at her face. It was grazed and blooded. She managed to wipe away a trickle before James floored the accelerated and she was thrown back in her seat, dropping the tissue.

Macy grabbed her seatbelt and pulled it on. Drizzle misted the window screen until the car’s window wipers dashed them away.

Things were moving too fast. Five minutes ago, they were packing the car for an adventure to save the world. Now, the rug was pulled again.

 

We’ve been oblivious to the invasion for years, but now we’re waking up. #booktok #alienromance #bookseries #wakeup #scifi #bookworm

Jelvia: Not Human #5

Nemesis

 

Li Jing knew human memories could be manipulated from an early age. 

And that was proved when alien spaceships influenced the minds of the world by taking up residence undeterred in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. 

They became known as the Jelvian Islands. 

But to Li Jing, they were hideous spaceships.

 

Then realising that Jelvias have also succumbed to the manipulation of their controller, making them believe they are part of humanity, she gathers a team to ‘wake up’ the world. 

But time and again, their group is branded as fanatics, and Li Jing begins to run out of steam. Then she finds an unconscious Jelvia. She chains him up and nurses him back to health.

 She’s going to ‘wake up’ him up instead.

T E Kessler

 

A disgraced aristocrat, distant planets and a new identity - Zara by .@MarkHenwick #free #scifi #serial

Zara - A Name Among The Stars

by

Mark Henwick

Your family’s been murdered, the estates illegally confiscated, and they’ve turned it around so people think you’re the criminal. The warrant for your arrest is a fiction, and you face a stone cold certainty you’d never make it to the prison cell alive.

To get off the planet, you forge a new identity and take the first job you might be qualified for.

You didn’t expect what happens next. To fall in love with everything about your new role – everything – including a man who can’t possibly respond. And then to find that the same conspiracy that destroyed your family is intent on destroying his as well, using you as a weakness in his defences.

Run away? Stay and fight, knowing that even victory will leave you alone again?

Read the  first two episodes for FREE!

You are nothing without me. Nothing! It will serve you best to remember that.

My grandfather shouting, looming over me. Terrifying man, utterly terrifying. Strong and confident adults were afraid of him, let alone a fifteen-year-old slip of a girl as I was at the time. Those wild eyebrows over the cold, piercing eyes. That cruel mouth, and the voice that issued from it; born to command. The way he carried tension in his body, as if it could break out into violence at any second.

…remember that.

I remember. He’d spoken those words standing in front of the panoramic window in his study.

That window looked over the formal manor gardens, past the ornamental lake and down into the stretching crop fields below. There were misty woods in the far distance. No inch of ground that he saw from that window was not under his ownership. The manor itself bore his Name.

You are nothing…

Quivering in fear, I had stubbornly refused to believe it then.

The arrogance of untried youth. I’d put a lot of faith in the weight of history that lay on the manor and estates. Even later, as I began to see the troubles that he’d long known, I refused to believe.

Nothing!

The weight of history, I’d thought, though I’d not dared to say it aloud.

But history has no weight, and forms no shield. History is simply a long time to collect enemies.

…without me.

And I am without him now. He is dead, murdered by exactly the enemies he warned me about, not six years after that lecture in his study.

The large counter at the front of the room clicks loudly. Everyone’s eyes jerk up, even though we know the number displayed is one more than the last number, and we all know what number we hold in our sweaty hands.

The last woman who’d entered the office at the front hadn’t come back. She’d gone out another way, gone through. They’d let her through.

As a distraction, I try to call her to mind. Young, tall, thin, short blonde hair, serious look. Nervous, but then all of us are. Who is she? A student perhaps, hoping to join some distant university off-world? A course unavailable here?

I don’t know. All I really know about her is she has been let through; that she’s getting off this planet.

Would I trade places with her? Without even knowing who she is and where she’s going?

She didn’t look stupid; she wouldn’t trade with me, even if it were possible, not for all my ‘privileges’ and ‘history’.

And neither would I trade with her.

Fool! Arrogant imbecile! Your pride will slow you, and then the hounds will drag you down into the dirt where you will die. I imagine my grandfather’s anger at my refusal to trade places with the student, spitting out the kind of hunting metaphor he always used.

In a strange way, it is comforting to imagine him still here, still angry at me.

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