NEVERLAND SERIES: The Hook of Eyes Excerpts

A couple of excerpts from my nine-part dystopian series in the making inspired by the movie, The Quiet Place. This clan fight and defeat this alien species called the Xomrix or the Xim by the locals. This sequel is after the events of the first book. Hope you enjoy!! Part 1 will be out soon.

CHAPTER 1: SOARING AGAIN

...

“The name’s Iris. You can call me Eyes,” the girl said. She had a cheerful confidence about her. “And you are?”

“Jayson Yohan McClaren,” Jay subconsciously greeted in a daze.

“What kind of a name is that?” Iris joked.

“A name…” Jay said slowly, still in his little trance.

“Does everyone call you that?” she asked, turning to me in a whisper. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. He’ll snap out of it,” I replied unconcerned with a slight smirk on my face.

“No, I mean, everyone calls me Jay,” he finally said, returning to the world with a deep crimson blush creeping across his face.

“Well, great to meet you, Jay and…” she lingered, unsure of my name.

“Lily,” I chimed with a real smile.

‘Nice to meet you both. See ya ‘round,” Iris winked as she casually saluted before taking off down a path between the rows of tents with a large fanny pack refilled with assorted foods. We were one tent in a sea of them– the food supply tent.

“Yeah, see ya,” Jay mumbled, trying to hide his red face.

Iris was a pretty girl. Her tan skin shone in the summer sun like bronze. Her long hair, half held in a high ponytail to keep away from her hazel and teal eyes, flew with the wind in wild raven curls. Her eyes held the color of the valley on the outskirts of the tent city, where the soil and the grass worked together to rebuild what was trampled down. Yellow primrose started to rise higher to the sun in the teal blue sky everyday. The sky, slowly with lazy clouds, was reflected in the glossy lake at the center of the hilly valley like one big eye. She wore a black racerback tank top and dark green camo cargo pants with a crinkled and dark green long-sleeved shirt around her waist and worn-down gray sneakers.

...

CHAPTER 7: THE SHADOW

“Found them. There’s two others with them. Never seen them before. Sliding down the hill will be faster,” Iris reported before running again for a good while.

“Guess those eyes aren’t just for sweeping the boys off their feet,” I acknowledged teasingly. They slowed down as they reached the low summit and slid down the hill, leaving a trail of disturbed dust behind. Iris waved it off.

“What do you mean?” Iris asked, oblivious, as she slid down after her. Her question wasn’t answered. Before I could respond, they broke into a breathless sprint and joined the group.

“Finally, you guys are here,” Rico sighed.

“Sorry, had a little change in plans,” I panted as I pointed a thumb at Iris. “But, boy, can Iris run! She spotted you guys from miles away.”

The two newcomers, a raven-haired guy with dark brown eyes and a guy with short auburn hair and pear-green chartreuse eyes, took a look at both of us. Giving me a passing glance at me, they stopped and just stared at Iris. She didn’t look flashy but her eyes held everyone’s attention. She was pulling her hair into a low messy ponytail, indifferently looking down at a short cluster of goldenrod, as she waited for Kam to introduce the guys. Silence ensued as the world seemed to revolve around her.

“You see what I mean?” I muttered under my breath as I leaned in and subtly nodded toward the new guys. She looked from her gaze at the flowers to the stunned faces of the new people. She shook her head, confused and annoyed with me. She tied her hair back quickly and waited for Kam to speak.

“This is Chance and Ian.”

“We’re from the south side of the valley,” they managed as they tore their eyes away from Iris.

Four more people came from the North and West sides, meeting by the common Valley Side leader rendezvous by Glass Lake.

“What do you have to report?” Kam asked curtly. “West, you first.”

“There’s been strange things happening in our section. Lots of instances where someone has torn down a tent leaving no trace to catch them except the number 8 scratched in the dust. Food’s been stolen right from under our noses.”

“We’ve had similar things happen to us too. Some have been killed by an unidentifiable shadow,” Ian said. “We tried to catch them but they’re too fast.”

“Some of our things have been stolen too– everyday things from lighters to pots and pans,” a girl from the North side butted in.

“When do they usually strike?” Rico asked.

“Dead of night,” Ian replied.

The others nodded in agreement.

“We’ve put our best watchmen on shift but they usually never see them coming and if they do, they never live to tell the tale.”

“Whoever they are, they’re always one step ahead of us and they’re always ready to take someone down,” Chance put in.

“So we need to be one step ahead of them. You all know what that means,” Kam explained.

“Hook, line and sinker,” I smirked excitedly as I cracked my knuckles.

…

CHAPTER 19: RECURRENCE

Jay was silent, betrayal sinking in like a boulder into a lake.

“Listen, Jay,” Iris tried to explain as she took hold of his arm.

Jay shook her off.

“No!” Jay shouted as he walked off.

“We can’t trust you, Iris,” Kam sighed.

“I figured that from the start,” Iris mumbled as she drew a dagger out of nowhere. The dagger glowed and her eyes turned bright gold. A dark swirling force swept around her. Her back hunched over in one demonic convulsion growing black scales and spikes, her arms turned black and scaly and her teeth became as sharp as the shining dagger that suddenly disappeared. Her hair calloused into spikes. Only we knew what this meant. The Xim had never given up. Ivy had been right all along. The heart by the base of the neck glowed red with rage and heartbreak.

“Shoot, not again,” I groaned as I grabbed a retractable dagger tucked in my boot and ran toward Iris the monster.

“Jay!!” I shouted. He had completely ignored the whole earthquake of transformation by his sulking.

“I don’t want to talk,” Jay yelled back, still walking away up the hill and oblivious to the encroaching disaster.

“You don’t have to. Turn your head around NOW!!”

I guess the urgency and annoyed emphasis in my voice made him turn around. His eyes widened. The sienna brown in his eyes turned night sky black with traumatic rage as he ran back to the scene.

“Jeez, we never get a break, do we?” Jay scoffed viciously.

“Nope, no, we don’t,” Millie muttered.

“But break or not, 4-36 Nero!” Ivy cried out, giving the secret battle formation code to the group.

Meaning, we’d make a circle around the beast and close in while one jumped on its back unknowingly and stabbed the creature in “the spot”. We had mastered Ivy’s battle formations from so much hands-on experience with these aliens that it was automatic positions no matter what name she called it to confuse the aliens from figuring out our tactics.

We never really thought of Ivy as the leader type but when she brought battle tactics into our defense against the monsters, she became Kam’s right-hand woman in all strategy. Battle and strategy aside, Kelly was still one of the sweetest people you could ever know but it was clear that no one should mess with the warrior just like anyone else.