Clarity's Doom (Ancient Origins Book 1) Read Free Page A

was a sinkhole they’d be gone.” Then to the children. “Come on guys, out of the pool, daddy’s gonna get you ice cream.”
    “Dean can’t have ice cream. He pulled my hair. You said so.” A girl of twelve called back.
    “Did not.” Her twin brother howled.
    “Out. Now ,” Jackson demanded as the inky blackness began a slow creeping up the sides of the pool, covering the light blue and tropical fish pattern in an ominous ebony inch by inch.
    Grumbling, the children began swimming back toward their parents. When the oldest, a boy of fourteen, reached the side he put his feet down and floundered, then gasped in air.
    “Dad, where’s the bottom?”
    The twins stopped to look down. The young boy swam in a tight circle. The girl began screaming. “ Daddy, something’s got me.”
    Her father dove in, yanked his daughter into his arms, and grabbed her twin by the hand, or so he thought. When he pulled on the limp, large hand he gaped as he dragged a black man near his chest and released him. The body tumbled in a lazy fashion to reveal a face then turned again. The young girl, mouth agape, buried her face against her father. A few feet away a head and arms broke the surface, followed by another. One by one, corpses began appearing in the pool surrounding the man and three kids. Soon the entire pool filled with dead bodies until they spilled over the sides, thudding to the ground. The woman on deck covered her mouth as more bodies slipped onto the deck and she lost sight of her husband and children in the mass. Fists now clenched at her sides, one by one she screamed out their names, and screamed, and screamed, and screamed….
    ****
    “There must be a hole in the kiddie pool.”
    The man held the hose and glanced at his wife while she chased after their toddler. Not a fan of tub water, the child could always be coerced into the plastic backyard pool decorated with mermaids and sea horses. Her father was seriously considering painting their tub. The little girl was covered in sand from head to toe, her diaper sagging, and her father was losing his patience with the pool.
    “Honey I just bought it. Thank heaven the store has a surplus for the summer. Which reminds me, maybe we should invest in a few or two dozen before the fall hits.” The woman grabbed the struggling child up into her arms. The toddler was soon hanging upside down laughing uproariously. His wife was grinning cheekily at him, but the impish pair did nothing to alleviate the tension.
    “It seems to drain almost as fast as it goes in.” His frustration was growing. The pool held water, then didn’t, disappearing in an odd way. “Damn it, I want nothing more than to cuddle my daughter, my clean daughter, before her nap time.”
    His wife giggled and pulled the toddler upright. Finally the man stepped into the kiddie pool. The water washed over his feet. He tossed his arms up in agitation. He spun in a tight circle checking for any signs of bubbling.
    “I can’t make heads or tails of this.”
    Baffled, he stood for a second more, wiggled his toes, and scratched his head. He sighed and took a step to vacate the pool. The ground beneath his feet gave way and down he went. The bottom of the pool closed over his head. His arms and legs thrashed creating a whirlwind of bubbles. Screaming from under water he beat at the solid purple plastic, smashing his splayed hands repeatedly. The material wouldn’t give. It wasn’t plastic at all. The substance was harder than metal.
    “ This isn’t the child ,” a voice sounded.
    “Get rid of him.”
    Screaming, the man was washed away into a tube-like duct. His horror grew as his body was sucked down into an abyss. He was going to die, and something wanted his baby.
    ****
    The vast foliage surrounding the vacationing couple was breathtaking. Greenery as far as the eye could see—ultimate, intimate, seclusion. The hot tub frothy and bubbly added to the sensual moment. The high sun peeked a few rays through