Finished Book #6- Chapter Sample- Though still editing, No Cover art yet.

The Sara Chronicles Book Six Into Darkness We Go- Up Above and Down Below Chapter 1 All was quiet on the surface of the worlds, as the very last living, non evil, life-form landed gingerly on the ground. The small brown bird was breathing heavily, thoroughly exhausted from evading the large dark mutant versions of its species, the ones that had eaten all the real birds days ago. Having had no trees to land on, the winged creature had been flying almost non-stop for days now; the small areas of brush it had hidden under from time to time were gone and it sensed that death was near. No food, no safe places, and no other animals visible for weeks now, it was only a matter of time before it too, was gone. Pecking at the surface in a vain search for any form of food, the tiny animal looked nervously around the barren field, preparing for attack from any direction. Too weak to attempt to take flight again, the bird glanced from side to side anxiously as it tried to find something to give it strength, a chance to survive. Scratching halfheartedly at the broken and pitted earth yielded absolutely nothing for the animal’s efforts; the dry rotten soil held nothing worth eating. All living nutrients had retreated far beyond the surface, well out of the creature’s reach and the dirt it had managed to break through with its beak tasted foul. The earth beneath the sparrow’s thin legs trembled beneath the weight of something very large moving a few miles distant. It stood still, small heart beating rapidly, waiting for whatever was heading toward it. The scent of death and decay covered the earth and this one natural winged creature’s clean soul would surely attract a destructive evil entity soon. The presence of anything that wasn’t like the bad things seemed to draw them to it pretty fast; they liked to kill and could smell a pure object from miles away. As if to confirm its greatest fear, a flash of lightning appeared in the sky just a few feet from the animal, followed by a movement in the dark clouds above indicating that it had been discovered and something was rapidly approaching to claim it. As fast as it moved though, something else moved faster. Before the darkness could approach, a shifting in the air sent a gentle breeze to ruffle the bird’s feathers and a shimmering white light settled over the frail form bringing a total change in the bird’s behavior. The tiny little brain housed in its skull was thinking very non-bird thoughts as another presence settled inside its small frame, changing the manner in which it surveyed its surroundings. The winged creature watched with interest the large hulking structures now standing in place of beautiful mountain ranges that had been here for thousands of years. The massive stone landmarks had all been crushed beneath the constant enemy assault. They had been replaced by buildings composed of crushed human and animal remains bonded together to form dull grey blocks piled hundreds of stories high. Instead of those blocks however, the sparrow saw the shapes of all the dead things used to make them. It could identify each and every one of the lost lives, man, woman and animal within the square clumps that formed the structures. The names of the victims were all burned in the animal’s memory as clearly as the day they were created because the entity inside the bird had known them personally. The lumpy, misshapen buildings towered over the barren land around it, casting eerie shadows on the ground in the small amount of light that managed to slip through the black clouds covering the sun. Gaping holes appeared in random spots in the front of the structures, some large, some small; they might serve as either windows or doors but their location did not make sense. There was no rhyme or reason to the builder’s technique; in fact, it was a miracle that these hulking masses were standing at all. The base of some of the buildings looked far too narrow to support the top half and yet they stood solidly in place, not moving even a little when the ground beneath them shook constantly. Hideous shadows moved back and forth in the dull green light shining from the building’s windows. The shapes standing inside and looking outward were twisted and unnatural to any living thing. Nothing down here was really alive anyway; they were all just poor animated imitations of Iam’s creations that managed to defy logic and exist in a place they should not. Pin-sized eyes beaded up with moisture, in a show of emotion that wasn’t natural for the animal. It all looked so different up close. This place was very familiar to the spirit inside the bird; it had been one of the first places created when the worlds were made. It now bore no resemblance to the original design. The destruction had looked bad from a distance, but up close, the feel of the injured planet really hit home. Gone was the fresh air and the clean, life sustaining soil was laced liberally with decay. All the water had been either dried up or been replaced with oily goo not fit to drink. The beautiful golden sun that had been one of Iam’s greatest gifts to the planet was covered up by dark clouds and the bloated bodies of mutated flying creatures. Even though it had been understood this was inevitable, it was still heartbreaking to see the results of the change in power. Close inspection of the battered landscape was interrupted by a shimmering wave of powerful energy moving through the air. Whatever traveled overhead was going fast. The force it generated was visible against the sky as a silver wave pushing at the black clouds, allowing the sun to highlight the darkened sky with a brief flash of yellow. That small amount of light was just bright enough to reveal a red object streaking through the sky in the middle of the silvery gust of air. The red thing looked large, even from this distance, it raced across the sky like it had been shot from a cannon. The unidentified projectile landed about a mile away from the sparrow who had received strength from the spirit occupying its body to leave the ground. Renewed and full of energy, the bird took flight with no fear of attack from anything above or below. Nothing was going to touch this winged creature, for now it had an unearthly light about it that every beastly, evil thing in the area shied away from. A swiftly moving wind carried the small body closer to the thing that had hit the ground with a heavy thump. Dirt split and flew into the sky from the force of the impact causing the winged beast to dodge the flying debris. A few fancy evasive maneuvers later, it swooped down to circle over the item, studying it with interest. The pure creature had no fear, just a sense of satisfaction as a shrill scream sounded from the object below it. The situation in the worlds was still bad, but this one event made the occupying spirit quite happy. The tiny sparrow’s eyes blinked and if a beak could have formed a smile, it certainly would have. After one last pass over the object on the ground, the clean, living animal was rewarded with a way out of this nightmare place. As a thank you for the use of its body and the desire of the spirit to save this true living thing, a shining white doorway opened in the sky immediately in front of the bird. The animal flew quickly flew through to safety, narrowly avoiding a stream of flame sent from the ground. The bird’s escape was accompanied by another scream of anger from the ground as it disappeared into the portal.