The Unexpected War: Life After Death

by Jean-Pierre Breton

Overview

For thirteen-year-old Lance Burns, Sunday morning of August 17, 2032, starts out like every other onean average, mediocre, not-too-great-but-not-too-shabby kind of day. Forced to spend a rainy weekend in a cramped cave during a family camping trip with his two sisters, Lance looks forward to getting back home to Dublin.

But just as theyre preparing to leave, meteor-like balls of fire begin crashing into the earth all around them. Lance, Kate, and Tina take refuge in the cave, and from there they witness an alien fiend unfold from the ball, roar, and head toward Dublin. Curious, Lance makes his way into the city where he is stunned to find carnage everywhere, the fiends destroying everything in sight.

With his fathers old rifle at his side, Lance accepts an invitation to join the Peoples Liberation Force, a resistance group dedicated to fighting the fiends. Together they risk their lives and battle long and hard to defeat the aliens that have taken over their world. Will Lance have to give his life to the cause as well?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781475983142
Publisher:	iUniverse, Incorporated
Publication date:	03/27/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	198
File size:	245 KB
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Jean-Pierre Breton was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. He fell in love with writing in the first grade and has been working on the Unexpected War series ever since. Breton currently serves in the Canadian Forces.

Read an Excerpt

The Unexpected War

life after death

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By Jean-Pierre Breton

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2013 Jean-Pierre Breton
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-8312-8

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CHAPTER 1

Sunday morning of August 17, 2032, started out like every other one—an average, mediocre, not-too-great but not-too-shabby kind of day. It had been only two days ago that Kate had burst through the door with a huge smile across her face informing us that we were going camping. Tina and I rarely agreed with one another about anything, but we both shared that same look of disgust knowing it was going to be a long weekend.

Alas, it was finally over, though. After two dreary days stuck under the foot of a towering cave with nothing to keep us company but the dull pitter-patter of the rain outside, our nightmare was drawing to an end. Well, at least that's what I had thought.

"Lance, leave your sister alone!" The angry yell echoed around the cave.

"But, Kate, she started it!" I accused, pointing to Tina.

"Shut up. You did!" Tina shot back, wiping the dirt off her pants.

"Just drop it. For God's sake, you two are thirteen. Stop acting like children," Kate scolded us.

The stern glare that followed was enough to shatter rock. Kate wasn't always like this; she used to be fun and bouncy, always seen with a smile on her face or a treat in her pocket. Ever sense our mother had passed away, though, there was so much of a burden on her that she was forced to grow up quickly for both Tina and I.

Kate gave her long, wavy dark hair a pat and then returned to packing; seeming content that she had silenced us—at least for now. "I didn't even want to go on this stupid camping trip anyway," I muttered, kicking the ground in anger.

A rock rolled across the cave and hit Tina's leg unintentionally. She glared over at me, folding her arms across her chest. "When are we going home?" She complained, directing the anger elsewhere.

"When all this is packed and ready to go," Kate called over to Tina, who was now moping around the cave while fiddling with a package of batteries.

Inspired by the hope of getting out of the damp, musty cave, I began to help Kate take down the tent. "You fighting with your brother isn't going to make this move along any faster," Kate reminded Tina, siding with me for once.

Tina gave Kate a saucy roll of the eyes before returning her attention back to fiddling with the batteries. By midday, everything was packed and ready to go. I grabbed my father's hunting rifle that was leaning up against the edge of the cave and shouldered it with a sling.

We then began the journey along an overgrown path that would lead us back toward our house in Dublin, accompanied only by the dull drizzle the day had to offer. "When we get home, can Lucy and Danielle come over?" Tina asked.

"Yes, as long as they don't bother your brother," Kate told her.

I let out an angry sigh as I readjusted the straps on my backpack; those three not bothering me would never happen. As a matter of fact, I was convinced that their sole mission in life was to annoy me. After walking along the path for a few more minutes in silence, I saw something out of the corner of my eye that caught my attention.

Thunder boomed out above us; the sky lit up with a blinding white light. I gasped in disbelief, frozen in place as huge boulders of fire streaked like meteors towards the earth. The faint sounds of explosions coming from Dublin far off in the distance could already be heard.

"What's happening?" Tina whispered to herself in a trance, staring up at the sky, which seemed to have millions of the fireballs raining down from it now.

Kate didn't answer; she looked just as stunned as we were, her mouth wide open. Our awe soon began to develop into panic, though. "Quick! Back to the cave, you two," Kate said, placing her hands on our backs and pushing us up the path toward the cave we had just come from.

Tina let out a scream as one of the meteorites came crashing through the tree line off to our right, smashing into the earth about a hundred meters away spraying us with dirt and vegetation. "Hurry, run!" Kate yelled as the forest around us seemed to erupt into flame.

We didn't need to be told twice. Throwing the camping gear to the ground, we took off sprinting up the same overgrown path we had just come down from. Once we were in the safety of the cave, we watched in awe as the relentless barrage of fireballs came crashing down into the forest around us, causing massive explosions everywhere.

With each fireball that smashed into the forest, the ground below us would tremble uncontrollably. One of them hit the ground right below the cave we were taking shelter in enveloping the area in smoke. Once it began to clear, we could make out a metal ball about ten feet around resting in the dirt crater it had created.

A side door opened, and more smoke billowed out. To our shock, a human emerged from it. "Get down," Kate whispered, but Tina and I were already flat against the rocky surface of the cave, holding our breath.

The creature looked up to the sky, a smile spreading across his face. Then, without warning, he let out an angry, lionlike roar. His muscles went into a spasm as his skin faded away, replaced with a hard, reptile-looking skin and black fur that sprouted out all across his body. His fingernails turned into daggerlike fingers as the hands transformed into paws similar to a bear's.

He dropped to all fours, his face turning into something resembling a saber-toothed tiger. Wings protruded from his sides, completing the transformation. The creature let out a gut-wrenching roar as it stood up on its hind legs; the call was returned by another creature's roar off in the distance.

Without hesitation the creature then launched itself into the air through the tree line and into the sky, streaking toward Dublin. I felt a nudge against my side. I glanced over to see Tina staring at me. "Did you see that?" she whispered, trembling uncontrollably.

"Are you stupid? Of course I did."

"Cut it out," Kate whispered.

We both did, obediently lying flat against the rocky surface of the cave as more creatures began to fly by. A few hours past before Kate mustered up the courage to dig through her bag opening a can of kippers for us. I couldn't help noticing her hand shaking.

The three of us split it. I kind of felt bad for snapping at Tina now as I glanced over at her. She was still trembling. Kate took on a motherly role, allowing Tina to rest against her stomach as she stroked her naturally curly blonde hair.

A few more hours passed, and then they fell asleep. With a glance to the foot of the cave, I could see that dusk was setting in outside. After waiting a few more minutes in silence, satisfied by the dull snoring of Kate, I knew it was the perfect time to go explore the now very unfamiliar world around us.

Silently as I could, I reached for my timber wolf hunting rifle and then climbed down the entrance of the cave to the rocky dirt path below. "Where are you going?" I heard the urgent whisper come from behind me.

I glanced back up to the entrance of the cave; Tina was staring down at me. "Go back to sleep; stop being a pest," I called up to her.

An angry sigh was all I could summon as Tina ignored me like usual and scrambled down the front of the cave, coming to a rest by my side. "Why do you always have to be such a pain?" I asked her through clenched teeth. She ignored me; I angrily turned on my heels, slinging the hunting rifle over my shoulder, and headed toward Dublin.

"What do you think them things are?" she asked, peeking through the leaves of the trees above as the aliens continued to fly by overhead.

"I don't know. They're definitely not human." was all I could come up with.

As we advanced closer to the city, the smell of smoke became more and more pungent, surrounding the air around us. The two of us began cresting a small hill, revealing the towering, now-burning skyscrapers of Dublin. We found shelter in a few shrubs and then peeked out at the carnage below through the safety of the thick vegetation's leaves.

There were burning cars, dead bodies, and craters littering the street below where a local market of shops and a Quick Stop gas station once stood.

"Help!" someone cried out in distress.

I spotted the man limping out of the burning Quick Stop. I was about to stand up and wave my arms to him but Tina grabbed my shirt, keeping me down.

"What are you doing?" I whispered to her, confused.

She pointed through the smoke where I could make out four glowing red eyes tucked away in an alley. They appeared to be focused on the man in front of us crying for help. "What are they doing?" she whispered.

"I think they're using him as bait," I replied.

Tina gave me a questioning look. "They want us to go out and help him so they can kill us," I explained to her.

She gulped, nodding as we lowered closer down into the grass. We both watched the injured man try to limp away to safety from the raging flames of the building he had just escaped from. Sure enough, not even a moment passed by before a Good Samaritan came out from the ruble of another building to help the man. This act of kindness was greeted by the sound of gunfire filling the cool night air.

The two humans slumped to the ground, probably dead before they even knew what happened. "Monsters," I growled in disgust.

Two creatures emerged from the alley they had been taking cover in and began to slash open and eat their kills as we watched in horror. "Don't look, Tina. It's okay; just don't look. Everything's going to be fine." I tried to console her by patting her hair as she cried silently into her arms.

When the two creatures finished feasting on the dead bodies, they bit into the legs of the completely disfigured humans and dragged them into the alley. A second later, they exited in human form. One of them sat down clutching his stomach and pretending to be hurt as the female one took a bloody rag and pressed it against his stomach to make it look realistic.

"Help! Somebody help me! My father's been shot!" She began screaming.

"I'll help you," I muttered to myself as I set up the stand of the hunting rifle. My targets appeared to be about four hundred meters away.

I adjusted my scope's elevation and then took a deep breath, calming myself down as I took aim before firing the shot. It found its mark; the female alien was killed instantly, falling into the other alien's lap. The creature stared at her in shock and then let out an angry snarl searching for me. He looked in my direction before scrambling for cover; he wasn't fast enough to escape my second shot, which sailed right through his head. He fell, joining the female in a pool of their purplish blood.

Tina gasped, staring at the two creatures in disbelief. "You killed them?"

I glanced over to her and gave an unsure nod. "I think so."

"No, wait. What are you doing, Lance?" She yelled to me as I got to my knee and stared through my scope, searching for any more enemies.

"Stay here," I ordered her.

She stared at me for a second and then nodded her obedience. I couldn't help letting out an inward smile. This would probably be the first and last time that she would ever listen to me for the remainder of my life. I jogged down to the bodies of the dead creatures, slowing down to a trot as I reached them.

The second monster who I had shot through its head was gurgling as purple blood oozed from the bullet hole. I reached into the pocket of the dead female and pulled out a man-made pistol. I cocked the gun then aimed at the gurgling alien, mercilessly firing three shots into its chest to end what little life he had left in him. I reached into his pocket and pulled out a note and another handgun.

Quickly looking around, I opened the note in an attempt to read it, but it was all in writing and symbols that I had never seen before. Shouldering my rifle, I kept the pistol by my side as I walked the short distance to the alleyway the fiends had been taking refuge in. "Oh God," I gasped. The stench was unbearable.

There were six or seven dead human bodies piled on top of each other at the end of the alley. Along the wall sat two backpacks and a pair of bulletproof vests. Leaning against the gear were two assault rifles.

I gathered all the equipment, knowing it would come in handy later down the road and then ran back through the ruble into the woods where I had left Tina. "Tina?" I called timidly.

"Over here," she called back.

I followed her voice and eventually found her hidden by a bush. To my surprise, there was another girl beside her who appeared to be the same age as us. "Who are you?" I asked while handing a bag, the vest, and assault rifle to Tina.

"My name is Rachel," she whispered.

The girl's hair was a mess, laced with the dust and dirt off the destroyed buildings. I could see the fright in her eyes; Tina was begging me to take her with us. I sighed, nodding for Rachel to follow us. I handed her the other assault rifle after loading it.

"Put that vest on," I ordered Tina, who did so obediently.

I handed Rachel mine. She smiled, thanking me as she put it on. It took us about twenty minutes to reach the safety of the cave.

To my shock, it was now filled with twenty-five to thirty masked men with guns smoking and joking amongst themselves. Across from the rebels were about fifteen women and children sitting along the wall of the cave. The only conclusion that I could come to was that these people must have been some of the survivors from Dublin.

Kate could be seen pacing back and forth. All attention shifted to us as Rachel, Tina, and I stood at the foot of the cave not knowing what to do. "Were did you two go?!" Kate exclaimed, her voice a mixture of joy and anger.

She ran over to Tina and me wrapping her arms around the both of us. "Dublin," I admitted.

Kate slapped me across the face. "What were you thinking, Lance Andrew Burns?!"

I nursed the cheek apologetically staring at her knowing I was in big trouble; she never used my three names in the same sentence unless I was in for it. All I could offer was a meek shrug followed by a timid, "Sorry, Kate."

I could tell she was about to continue yelling but then she spotted the extra weapons and equipment we had brought back with us. "Where did you get those guns from?" she questioned.

"Lance killed two of the monsters with Dad's hunting rifle!" Tina blurted out.

"Thanks a lot, Tina!" I muttered, giving her a punch to the shoulder.

"Ouch!" she cried.

Before Kate could resume yelling at me, one of the masked gunmen got between us. "That's enough," he ordered Kate. "Please remove those flak jackets, ladies," he added, taking the two assault rifles from Rachel and Tina.

"Wait! That's for my sister!" I objected as one of the masked men helped remove the flak jacket she was wearing.

"Sorry, kid, everything goes to the resistance. We can't fight these things with rocks," one of them told me.

A soldier came over, extending his hand to me. I stared at it, confused. "The backpack," he grunted.

"Oh," I muttered, unstrapping and then handing him the bag filled with supplies.

He tried to take my timber wolf, but I backed away from him defiantly. It had been a gift from my father; no one was going to take that away from me. Another man appeared from behind him and patted the soldier's shoulder, causing him to back off. The second man asked Tina, Kate, and the new girl we had found at Dublin to go join the others.

As he took off his mask, I could see that he was an older gentleman in his early forties, about six feet tall, his hair already graying. "So you killed two fiends, eh?" he asked.

"Fiends? Is that what they're called?" I questioned him.

He laughed with a shrug. "They're monsters, not humans. Could you think of a better word to describe them?"

"No," I muttered, feeling foolish for asking.

He smiled and gave me a wink, which made me feel better. "So you killed two of them?"

"Yes, sir," I said. My voice was quivering a little, but I tried to stand up straight as if I wasn't afraid of the man's presence.

"What is your name son?"

"Lance."

He paused, debating something as he gnawed on a toothpick staring at me. "Would you like to join the People's Liberation Force?" He offered.

"The People's Liberation Force?" I asked, confused.
(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Unexpected War by Jean-Pierre Breton. Copyright © 2013 Jean-Pierre Breton. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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