AtF: Hunter’s Edge Excerpt 1
Posted By GL Drummond on February 22, 2009
Filed Under Alternate history SF, Excerpts, Science Fiction, Space Opera | Leave a Comment
After the Fall is the scifi series we’ve begun. You can find our currently available stories as e-books here, or visit Amazon if you have a Kindle. 
© GL Drummond, 2008, All Rights Reserved
Earth, 2078
Two weeks after the Drac invasion began
Twelve year old Linzi Throckmorton ran for the barn like her mother had told her to. Inside, she climbed the half wall of her horse’s stall and from it, onto his back. Nudging the bay gelding over to the door and grabbing a handful of his coarse mane, the child leaned to open it.
Tracer stepped out into the breezeway with a soft snort. Tightening her legs and gathering a second handful of mane, Linzi quickly urged him out of the barn. Tracer took two steps before breaking into a lope. Clear of the barn, she urged him into a gallop.
‘Go to Mr. Peters’ place’ her momma had told her while pushing her out the back door. ‘Stay there.’
Girl and horse raced away as shots cracked through the quiet morning air behind them. The first was from Daddy’s rifle; the deeper boom that followed from the old shotgun. High pitched whines sounded that Linzi didn’t recognize.
Tracer plunged down the path to the gully, shod hooves ringing on the rocky ground. Hitting the level area, the gelding really stretched out. Linzi held on for dear life as the wind made her eyes water; she’d never ridden Tracer that fast before.
The sounds of rifle and shotgun faded as they ran. Tracer slowed briefly to navigate an incline; Linzi leaned back as he reached the top and began to slide down the other side of it. The trail was trickier here, so she sat still and let her horse pick his careful way through the rocks.
Another two miles, and they’d be at Mr. Peters’ cabin. When the aliens had first shown up and begun blowing up the big cities, Mr. Peters told Daddy they should come stay with him. There was a cavern not far from his cabin he’d said would be a good place to hole up.
Daddy had said they would, when the aliens started on the smaller places. They had faster than anyone expected. Linzi hoped her parents would be along soon.
Tracer broke into a jog as the path smoothed out again. He knew the way. Straining, Linzi tried to hear whether there were still shots being fired, but they were too far away to hear anything. Tracer suddenly stopped, his ears flicking as he raised his head. Holding her breath, Linzi tried to urge him forward, but was ignored. He side stepped, then half-turned as a big lizard looking thing came out from behind the big rock they were next to.
The gelding reared, striking out with his front hooves and knocking the alien down. Linzi screamed as she began sliding off, only her handfuls of mane keeping her partially on the horse. He spun and took off while she desperately tried to pull herself back in place. Arms shaking, she managed to just before he slid to a stop.
The sudden halt threw Linzi forward; blood began pouring from her nose as she collided with the horse’s neck. Tracer spun in a circle, snorting loudly. Dizzy and blinking, she held on. Tracer screamed; the sound he used to make when he’d challenged Daddy’s old stud horse before they’d had him gelded.
There was another of those high pitched whines and Linzi bit her tongue when Tracer leaped sideways before turning and taking off again. Terrified and hurting, the girl held on while blood dripped heavily from both her nose and mouth. Another whine; Tracer screamed in pain, lurching, then moved into a flat out run.
Tears poured down Linzi’s face as the wind battered at it. Her terror faded to numbness; reality narrowed to the horse laboring between her legs. Tracer was hurt. She should make him stop, because you were supposed to take care of your horse.
The gelding refused to slow down when she tried to halt him, pinning his ears back at the sound of her voice. Linzi slowly realized they had to have passed the turn off to Mr. Peters’ place. Tracer didn’t begin slowing down for several more minutes, finally coming to a stop in a small grove of elm trees.
He stood with his head hanging and sides heaving as she slid off his back. Falling to her butt as her legs gave out, Linzi ran anxious eyes over him. Blood dripped slowly down from something that looked like a raw burn on his left thigh. Pushing herself up, Linzi tottered to him while swiping at the blood still trickling from her nose.
Petting him, she looked around to orient herself. Mr. Peters’ place was about a half mile north of where they’d stopped. Tracer whiffled softly at her hair as she tried to decide what to do. She couldn’t ride him anymore, even if she managed to get back up on him. There wasn’t anything to stand on, and he was hurt.
“You stay here,” she told him while hugging his lowered head. “Don’t run unless you have to. I’ll go get Mr. Peters.”
Hugging him again, Linzi took a deep breath and checked his wound again. The bleeding had stopped; she decided he’d probably be all right. Giving him a last pat, the girl began walking.
She made it about halfway; another alien dropped down from a tree and grabbed her before she could even think of running.
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