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  FATAL REACTION

  Battle of the Hunted

  M.A. HOLLSTEIN

  Copyright © 2017 M. A. Hollstein

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN-13: 978-1981424818

  ISBN-10: 1981424814

  Book Cover Art: SelfPubBookCovers.com/RLSather

  Fatal Reaction

  The Beginning

  Survival

  Battle of the Hunted

  Nightfall

  Books written under the name

  Michelle Ann Hollstein

  A Vienna Rossi Paranormal Mystery

  Awakened Within

  Beautiful Beginnings

  Cheating Heart

  Ghostly Gig, A Lost Souls Short Story

  Ms. Aggie Underhill Mysteries

  Deadly Withdrawal

  Something’s Fishy in Palm Springs

  Maid in Heaven

  A Hardboiled Murder

  One Hell of a Cruise

  A Prickly Situation

  Vegas or Bust

  Dead Ringer

  The Case of the Haunted Address

  Mystery of the Beautiful Old Friend

  Nonfiction

  Who Says You Can’t Paint?

  Night Crashes

  Joshua Tree

  Serenity

  Escape

  Chapter 1

  Heart drumming in her ears, Ellie bolted straight up. The room was pitch-black. She strained to hear what had awoken her from her sleep. She couldn’t hear anything other than her own heartbeat. Reaching over, she patted what she thought was the bed in search of Mike, but he wasn’t there.

  Feeling the cold hard floor, she remembered she’d been sleeping in a food pantry of a restaurant on base. She wasn’t in bed. Ellie shivered suddenly feeling chilled.

  “Mike?” she whispered, reaching further around her. Her hand came in contact with the apron Mike had draped over her shoulders earlier that evening. Ellie patted the floor around it. No Mike.

  Getting onto all fours, she quietly crawled in the direction of the door. Or at least the direction she thought the door should be.

  “Mike?” she whispered a bit louder.

  There was still no answer.

  Reaching out in front of her, Ellie’s hand encountered the wall. She ran her fingers across it until she felt the doorjamb.

  Sucking in a sharp breath, Ellie got to her feet and grasped the door handle. As she went to turn the handle, the door flung open, surprising her.

  “Shhh, shhh,” Mike hushed. “It’s me.”

  “I woke up and…”

  “Everything’s quiet,” Mike said. “For now.”

  Ellie nodded even though she knew he couldn’t see her in the dark.

  “Go lay back down.”

  “I can’t,” she said, her body suddenly aching from head to toe. Sleeping on the cement floor was paying a toll on her body. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “A couple hours,” Mike said softly. He gently took Ellie’s arm and led her back to the floor. They sat down, their backs leaning against the wall. He protectively draped his arm over her shoulders, and Ellie leaned into his chest.

  “Are they still out there?” she asked. She and the others had been watching the first aliens clean up the dead bodies in the parking lot with their ray guns that reduce the bodies to ash, when, out of the blue, with a loud thunderous bang, a craggy-looking, black spaceship appeared, chasing the silver ship away. The silver spaceship had been hovering over Oceanside, California for the last few weeks.

  When this happened, they had been standing right outside an abandoned restaurant that shared a parking lot with the commissary, on the Camp Pendleton military base.

  The first aliens from the silver spaceship that’d been cleaning up the dead bodies from the outbreak of the virus were obviously frightened. They immediately scattered, running in all directions. Some were yelling instructions in an alien language to the others.

  That was when Ellie, Mike, and the other survivors in their group, decided to take refuge in the restaurant until they could figure out what to do or where to go. The restaurant was the closest building to them.

  They decided it was best to stay away from the windows in the dining room. They’d immediately locked the front door, moved whatever they could in front of the entrance and hid in the kitchen, pantry, and storage area. Even though the booths in the dining room would be more comfortable than sleeping on the hard floor, they didn’t want to take a chance of being seen.

  Within twenty minutes of the dark ship arriving, the sun had set, and they could hear blasting sounds unlike that of gunfire outside. Luckily, no one, as of yet, had tried to enter the restaurant.

  “As far as I know the aliens are still here.”

  “Is everyone okay?” Ellie asked.

  “Yes,” Mike said. “Everyone is asleep, except for Hiro. He’s watching over the dining room.” Several men in the group had decided to take turns watching the dining room for any aliens that may try to enter the restaurant.

  Hiro was an older Japanese man that Ellie had found hiding in San Diego. He and his granddaughter, Yuka, had recently joined them along with a redheaded teenager named Aaron, and a young man name Jorge, and his little sister Bella. She and Mike had been searching for survivors in hopes of banding together. They believed they would be safer in numbers.

  Ellie pressed her cheek to the front of Mike’s chest and listened to the sound of his heartbeat. Feeling his warmth was comforting. Mike gently kissed the top of her head.

  “What are we going to do?” Ellie asked, not sure what the morning would bring.

  Mike was quiet for a moment. Ellie figured he was contemplating an answer. He kissed the top of her head again. “Stay put for now,” he said. “In the morning we’ll re-evaluate the situation. If everything’s quiet, we might want to look for a more permanent place to go.”

  “Do you still want us to stay here on base?” Ellie asked. The reason why they’d decided to move to the base from her condominium that was located a couple of miles inland was that they’d felt it’d be safer. A motorcycle gang called The Crusaders had discovered their whereabouts and weren’t happy that they wouldn’t conform to their demands. However, once on base, they’d learned that the first aliens had already infiltrated the military base. Ellie wasn’t sure where they could go that’d be safer. They didn’t know much about the aliens from the silver spaceship. They only knew that they didn’t seem to be bothered by the survivors and they looked similar in appearance. The only difference Ellie had noticed was the intensity of their eye color and waxy appearance of their skin. It was the new alien spacecraft, the black craggy looking one, which had them worried.

  When the new ship appeared, Ellie immediately felt fear grip hold of her soul. Then, not long after their arrival, the sound of gunfire and explosions occurred, solidifying her feelings of fear.

  “I’m not sure,” Mike said. “We’ll see what the morning brings.”

  Ellie nodded. “The commissary…”

  “I’ve thought of that too. After we pack up the food in this pantry, we can head over there to gather more supplies in the morning. Try to get some more sleep if you can. We have a long day ahead of us.”

  �
�Okay,” Ellie whispered, as she nuzzled closer to Mike’s chest. She concentrated on the sound of his breathing, the beating of his heart, and the warmth of his body for comfort.

  ***

  Feeling restless, Amanda sat up in bed. She couldn’t sleep. The arrival of the new spaceship scared the hell out of her. She looked over at Bill who was sound asleep, breathing heavily and lightly snoring.

  Amanda crawled out of bed and walked over to the bedroom window. She parted the metal slats of the mini-blinds and looked out over the parking lot and then over at the dog park.

  Glancing up at the black ship hovering in the sky, blocking out the stars and most of the moonlight, she shivered. Earlier, after the scary looking ship arrived, occupied by an alien race known as the Scourge, she and Bill had heard what sounded like gunfire and explosions. They’d immediately locked up the apartment and closed all of the blinds. The blasts went on for several hours. However, it’d now been quiet for quite some time. She’d probably only slept for an hour or two at the most.

  Crossing her arms over her chest, Amanda tried to control her nerves. Two aliens, Susan and Liam who’d helped she, Bill, and his son Benjamin, escape a hospital several weeks ago, claimed to be scientists working for their kind called The Order. They had explained to Amanda why they’d come to Earth.

  Originally, their species, The Order, were looking for a new home and planned to relocate, blending in with the humans on Earth. They were the cause of the virus that’d killed off most of the human race.

  Susan, a short, heavyset alien with mousy brown hair, had explained that the virus was supposed to be an inoculation to keep humans safe from the Scourge. The Scourge had followed The Order to Earth.

  Susan had explained that they were trying to taint the food source by infecting humans with Scourge DNA since they were not a cannibalistic race. On their home world, The Order had been slaves of the Scourge for many generations, forced to supply them with live food. Eventually, they’d run out of resources. Not only had they run out of live food for themselves, but they had also run out of purebred people to feed the Scourge. To escape their demise, and in search of food, the half-breeds, a mixture of The Order and the Scourge due to interbreeding, had escaped to Earth.

  Unfortunately, their plan to keep the humans safe had backfired. Most of the human population had an adverse effect to the virus and died.

  Amanda clenched her teeth still staring out the bedroom window from her second-floor apartment. The worst of Susan’s words echoed in her head, “They’re hungry!”

  Amanda glanced back at Bill. A pang of sadness swept over her as she thought of Bill’s son. Benjamin had contracted the virus but had somehow managed to survive. He was currently with the aliens, Susan and Liam, which claimed to be studying him for a cure. She knew that had been a difficult decision for Bill to make. He’d let them take his son.

  Returning her gaze to the parking lot, Amanda let the slats of the metal blinds slip from her fingertips and they closed with a clatter right when she thought she’d seen movement in the shadows outside. Quickly, she re-parted the blinds and stared at the fluorescent light coming from the security lamps near the parking lot. Nothing. She scanned the lot down below and then glanced at the dog park. The dog park was enclosed by a chain-link fence. Bill had been using the area to burn the infected bodies he’d found in the neighboring apartments to prevent the spread of disease.

  Amanda was about to close the blinds again, when she saw something dark move in her peripheral vision. Heart racing, she took a deep breath. Her eyes shifted to the right, and she noticed something large and dark around the corner of the building, hiding in the shadows.

  What if we’re in danger? She wondered if she should wake Bill. She moved to the side of the window to try to minimize the chance of being seen. She kept the slats in the blinds slightly parted and continued to peer out. Her ears were on high alert, listening for any unusual sounds. The only thing she could hear was the slight rumbling of Bill’s heavy breathing in his chest. He was on the verge of snoring. He’d been beyond tired and needed to sleep. She didn’t want to wake him unless she absolutely had to. However, she didn’t want to wait until the last second either. If they were in danger, they’d need to move fast.

  Not hearing anything other than Bill’s breathing, Amanda suddenly worried about the other rooms in the apartment. The movement of the dark figure worried her. Since she lived in an upstairs apartment, she felt it was safer than on the ground floor. The windows to the other bedrooms weren’t easily accessible without a ladder. Same was true with the balcony off her living room. The only access would be the front door. Bill had made sure all of the doors and windows were locked, and that the blinds had been drawn before they decided to try to get some rest.

  What if someone were to make it inside?

  The one downfall to being upstairs was that they’d be trapped. Bill had prepared a hiding place for them in the crawlspace above the bathroom in Amanda’s master bedroom. The apartment had high cathedral ceilings, and there was a cupboard door in the ceiling above the master bathroom leading to a crawlspace. Amanda and Bill had filled backpacks with supplies, also stored bottled water, and dried foods in the attic. They could either hide up there if needed or carefully crawl across the ceiling to a neighboring apartment to escape. The only drawback was that they’d need to climb up a ladder to get inside and then pull the ladder up with them. It wasn’t a fast or easy means of escape. But it still made Amanda feel a little better knowing that they had some sort of plan.

  Quietly letting the slats of the blinds fall shut again, Amanda decided she’d better try to get some rest. She had no idea what the day would bring, and she wanted to be able to think straight.

  Walking around the bed, she froze. She thought she heard something. Something made a noise, and it sounded like it was from somewhere within the apartment.

  Straining to listen, she held completely still and focused on the apartment. Nothing. After a moment of silence, except for Bill’s breathing, she sat down on the edge of the bed. Her mind was racing, and she was trying to calm down. She didn’t want to let her fears get the best of her.

  Lying down, she closed her eyes. That’s when she thought she heard a clattering sound. Amanda bolted upright. Heart drumming in her ears, she slid open the top drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a small Maglite. She didn’t want to wake Bill in case her mind was playing tricks on her.

  Tiptoeing down the dark hallway, Amanda kept the flashlight aimed at the floor. If someone was outside, she didn’t want to alert them to her presence.

  She scuffed her bare feet through the soft beige carpet, working her way down the hallway. It seemed longer in the dark. Amanda stopped in front of the closed door to the spare bedroom. It was the bedroom that Bill and Benjamin had been sharing up until recently. Tears pricked at her eyes as she thought of the little boy. It didn’t seem real that he wasn’t there with them.

  Gathering her courage, Amanda placed her hand on the brass doorknob and turned the handle. The door squeaked as it opened. Shining the light around the room, she stopped when she saw Benjamin’s stuffed teddy bear propped up on the bed, leaning against the headboard. Feeling nostalgic, she entered the room and picked up the bear. Hugging it close, she began to cry.

  “Hey.”

  Amanda spun around on her heel. Bill was standing in the doorway, watching her. He shielded his eyes from the flashlight. Startled, Amanda had accidentally shined the light in his face. Lowering the torch, she sniffled, “Sorry. You surprised me.”

  “You okay?” Bill asked.

  “Yeah,” Amanda said, setting the teddy bear on the bed. “I thought I heard something. Then I saw Benji’s bear… and…”

  Bill came up beside her and protectively wrapped his strong arms around her waist. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to.

  Amanda hugged him back, leaning her head on his shoulder when a clattering sound broke the silence. A gasp escaped her lips. Bill quickl
y rushed past her and rounded the bed to the window. The sound came from outside.

  “Turn off the light,” he whispered, waving his hand at her.

  With trembling fingers, Amanda twisted the end of the flashlight, turning it off.

  Bill parted the blinds and peered outside. The spare bedroom and living room faced a grassy hill that led to a canyon. It was one of the reasons Amanda chose that apartment over the others that’d been available at the time. Being near the canyon, gave her some privacy when sitting outside on the balcony. She never had to worry about nosy neighbors. The only drawback was that sometimes at night, she could hear the yipping of coyotes roaming the canyon, and it freaked her out. Whenever they caught prey, their yipping and howling echoed eerily through the night.

  Amanda came up beside Bill and looked out the window. She couldn’t see anything. There was a sidewalk down below.

  Like clockwork, the lamps along the path and been switching on every night since the electricity had come back on with the arrival of the first alien spaceship. She wondered how long it’d be before the bulbs burned out. She then wondered how long the bulbs in the stores would last.

  Would they have enough light bulbs to last the rest of their lives? Moreover, what about food and water?

  Amanda knew her mind was going over the same stupid questions she’d thought of a million times since the virus hit. She had no answers and worrying would just drive her crazy. She needed to only worry about the here and now. Not the future.

  Just then, two men dressed in strange looking cammies walked down the path outside. They weren’t our military. They weren’t human.

  Amanda had seen other men dressed in what appeared to be military attire earlier in the day. They were aliens of The Order from the first ship. The same as Susan and Liam. The two men were carrying weapons. They stopped walking just below the bedroom window. One of the men tilted his head to the side at an abnormal angle. He then peered up in their direction.

  Bill let the blinds close shut.