A New World: Awakening Prologue

Michael Benson. He rolls it around on his tongue and in his mind; tasting the familiarity of it yet it feels foreign at the same time. There is a comfortableness with it if comfort was even really something he could associate with. Sitting in the darkened room that was once the lair to his pack, with the painful ball of fire in the sky burning outside, he feels certain memories integrate with his other thoughts. He feels certain abilities and knowledge come into being; more a nature of knowing what things are without actually knowing how to use them. New picture images roll around in his head like a fast moving slide show; none settling for any length of time before moving onto the next.

Michael, as he thought of himself now – more of a complex picture image rather than actual words – feels other packs nestled in their various lairs both near and far, resting the day away before heading out for their nightly hunt. It is more of an awareness of them than actual thoughts or images; much like a compass points to a magnetic source. He knows he can send out a call to gather them into a pack but waits wanting to get used to this new awareness. As the slide show of new thoughts flicker through his mind, they integrate with previous memories. The quick flashes of light he noticed on previous nightly hunts triggers a feeling that these are not good for him or the packs and should be avoided at all costs. He doesn’t know what they are but that they don’t bode well. Michaels also remembers the loud bangs heard at times throughout the night and the strewn, mutilated bodies of his kind lying on the paved streets when he investigated the noises. Without knowing the how, he knows the bangs were directly associated with the loss of pack members including his own.

He searches how to avoid these but without knowing how they work, the answer lies hidden but just on the edge of awareness. Sitting with his back to the cold wall with his knees drawn to his chest, he knows a frustration with this much like the frustration felt with prey escaping or his inability to gain entrance to a two-legged lair. All that settles into his thoughts are is the knowledge that both cases are somehow associated with the two-legged ones holed up behind the tall walls of their lair just down the road from him. Yes, he knows the word “road” rather than hard path now just as he knows the flashes of light and associated bangs that accompany his run-ins with the two-legged ones, resulting in the loss of many of his and neighboring pack members, are guns. The danger of the two-legged for him and others of his kind increases; the fear of them intermixes with an anger towards them for the losses.

He slowly rocks back and forth on the floor. The awareness of himself continues and he smiles inside, more of a pleased feeling rather than an actual smile, with knowing that his new found knowledge will give him an extra edge in gathering food and combating the two-legged ones. He plans to issue call forth to the others when the time is right but for now will keep to himself. The gathering will take place only when he is ready but for now he will scout and become more comfortable with his new self.

One uncomfortable though arises with his new cognizance. He knows he and the others are limited in their ability to travel distances in search of food; that distance dictated by the hours of the night and the ability to find shelter from the painful, deadly burning light of the day. He also becomes acutely aware of his ability to communicate in more detailed and complex images. The others of his kind won’t be able to understand so he will have to learn how to communicate these advanced thoughts into images the others will be able to understand. Michael knows this will require him to micromanage the actions of his pack more while out on the hunt but he also is more aware of how to trap prey. New thoughts surface of how to gain entrance to lairs he was previously unable to. These new thoughts and ideas are overwhelming to his senses and for that reason alone, he will hold off the call to the packs. He stretches his legs out and slides along the wall to the floor to rest until the call of the hunts brings him out of his slumber.

His eyes open to the darkness of the small room. He senses other packs also coming out coming out of their rest and readying for the usual nightly hunt. Rising, he becomes sharply aware of his missing pack members. The hunt will be more difficult without them but he needs to let the overwhelming aspect of his awareness settle before gathering others. He steps from the room, alone for the first time in a long while, and enters the vast area of the main part of the store. Safeway, the thinks remembering the sign on the building when he first awoke following the loud explosion of light and noise. Trotting to the broken glass entry, he carefully steps into the night, painfully aware of what happened the last time he did so.

Members of his pack lie scattered around the entrance, their bodies torn asunder and in pieces. Michael casts his eyes about the immediate area looking for anything outside of what he knows as normal. Seeing nothing, he steps further into the paved surface of the parking lot. He lifts his nose into the air to gather what smells the still air of the night holds. He glances towards the large lair of the two-legged ones situated a short distance away to his left. Standing amidst the mutilated bodies of his former pack members, anger begins to boil to the surface. Another time, he thinks as he catches a faint odor of prey riding on the night air. Turning to his right, he heads off down the darkened streets to track down the smell of food.

Running through the streets, he senses other packs around him searching the streets and adjacent fields for food. He knows that his new abilities will place him ahead of other pack leaders and he will be like a magnet to them. With them able to sense him as well and recognizing him as an advanced pack leader, they will be drawn to him. He doesn’t want that to happen as yet but to test his awareness before allowing others to join him. Practice makes perfect; the thought and phrase arise out of nowhere yet he knows this is just another memory of the past surfacing. He shuts out the ability of the others to sense him. He is surprised by his ability to do this and is taken back momentarily as his sense of the other packs vanishes as well. His head clears of any thought of and from them. He comes to a stop with this new feeling before continuing his hunt down the darkened streets; his pounding feet echoing off the sides of the buildings to either side. When I’m ready, he thinks cornering a small night animal in the back yard of a burned neighborhood. The kill is quick and he settles down to begin feasting.

John O’Brien is a former Air Force fighter instructor pilot who transitioned to Special Operations for the latter part of his career gathering his campaign ribbon for Desert Storm. Immediately following his military service, John became a firefighter/EMT with a local department. Along with becoming a firefighter, he fell into the Information Technology industry starting two large casinos in Washington as the Information Technology Manager and becoming the Network Manager for the Washington State Legislature, the Northwest Information Technology Manager for the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Network Systems Manager for Hollywood Video. Currently, John is self employed with his own Information Technology consulting company consulting and managing various businesses with their information technology needs. He also volunteers for a local youth center managing their computer lab. As a former marathon runner, John lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and can now be found kayaking out in the waters of Puget Sound, mountain biking in the Capital Forest, hiking in the Olympic Peninsula, or pedaling his road bike along the many scenic roads.

Web Site
http://anewworldseries.com/

Facebook Profile
http://www.facebook.com/JohnWBOBrien

Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/A_NewWorld

Books
A New World: Chaos
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W0CL2Y

A New World: Return
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OSXDE8

A New World: Sanctuary
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006PY6ZAY

A New World: Taken
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NP3XUE

All six of us – Todd Brown, Mark Tufo, Ian Woodhead, Armand Rosamilia, John O’Brien and Dave Jeffery – hope you’ll keep following us on the Summer of Zombie blog tour, and comment as we go along.

And… one lucky commenter for each blog will receive a Free eBook or Print book from one of the authors! Simply leave a comment with your e-mail address and we’ll pick a random winner each day! Simple as that!