Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27296 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27296 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Colt raised a brow. “Is that a threat?”
The other man took several steps backward. “Just pointing out that karma comes in many forms. Besides, it’s come to my attention that your brothers are on the cusp of turning if they don’t find an acceptable piece of meat—I mean mate, this year. Would be a shame if all the prey gets eaten before they can claim one.”
Rolf grinned smugly and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he continued to back away. “All my boys are participating in the hunt as well. Good luck this year.”
Colt’s claws extended as the blood rushed to his ears. His gums itched as his incisors lengthened. The beast within threatened to burst free but he fought to keep it at bay. This was exactly what that asshole wanted. For him to lose control.
It was only when Rolf had driven away, was Colt able to regain his calm with slow deep breaths. It was now clearer than ever.
The injections were no longer working.
It was a miracle they’d worked this long. If he were to lose himself to his animal instincts it wouldn’t be long before his brothers followed suit and the council could claim their land.
Colt suspected that some of the mindless ‘zombeasts’ in the tank were victims of the council’s machinations but he couldn’t prove it. With Rolf and his buddies in charge they would destroy Serenity Falls by allowing the residents to run wild just for them to remain in power.
But as one of the handful of residents who was permitted to leave town to make a living in the outside world, besides the caretakers, Colt understood that if the wrong people became aware of Serenity Falls’ existence, then it would be the end of everyone who lived here.
His parents had drilled the town’s history into his head from the moment he could form words. Harlen Black wanted his eldest in particular to take pride in this heritage and be ready to lead the family in case anything happened to him.
Serenity Falls was founded by accident shortly before World War I when the government was looking to create the perfect super soldier. All kinds of experiments were done on the volunteers who the government considered perfect physical specimens. The experiments took place on a secret military base that was even more top secret than Area 51.
Their genes were spliced with animals and they were injected with a special serum that would make them stronger and faster but the result was something none of the scientists could predict.
They created real life monsters. Monsters too powerful to control. Thousands of these test subjects roamed the base, wild and unfettered. Wanting to keep these experiments under wraps, those in charge of that projects planned to destroy the base by bombing it. But that planned was 86’d when the country went to war and they couldn’t afford to give up precious resources on a failed experiment.
Were it not for the a group of scientists, doctors, nurses and their families who decided to remain on base and become caretakers for what they called at the time beast people, these experiments would be unleashed on an unsuspecting world that couldn’t handle them.
Serenity Falls eventually evolved into a self-sustainable town with its own businesses, restaurants and schools. And it was completely off the grid from the rest of the world. The only people who knew about it were people with high level clearances in the government. Not even the President of the United States was allowed to know about it.
The residents were allowed to govern themselves as long as the non-authorized didn’t step foot outside of town. In exchange for providing the residents with the supplies they needed such as fuel and its own electrical grid and cellular tower, some residents were offered up for the occasional experiment. It was usually from the pool of residents sent to the tank, Serenity Falls’ form of jail.
And on occasion when the government wanted to disappear certain person, they’d dump them off near Serenity Falls where the human reapers like Otis Smith and Terry Woods, patrolled the surrounding area for people who found themselves too close to their town.
Serenity Falls was a picturesque slice of Americana to the any outsider who stumbled across it but the residents were anything but. About two thirds of the residents looked human and could mask amongst the average human, but there were also members in the community with deformities that made it impossible for them to ever leave town without instantly being labeled mutants.
But beyond appearance, most residents were ruled by their animal instincts. Some were able to control them better than others while the rest became what Colt and his brother labeled ‘zombeasts’. Zombie like beast creatures who could think of nothing but feasting on fresh meat.
And then there were those like Colt and his brothers who were on borrowed time. They had what the scientist called beast regression where they would eventually give in to their animal instincts completely unless they found a compatible made with blood that would reverse the effects of their condition.