Dark Creations: Hell on Earth (Part 5) by Jennifer Martucci, Christopher Martucci Read Free Book Online

particularly that of his future wife. 
    “So I guess we’re all in then,” Jack said and snapped Gabriel from his thoughts.  “We have to move soon, guys.  Get your affairs in order.  There isn’t much time left. People are dying and the number of members Terzini is creating is growing as we speak.”
    Everyone exchanged concerned glances, but Gabriel’s eyes remained locked on Melissa.  He had almost lost her not once, not twice, but three times.  He could not risk a fourth.  An inexplicable feeling cautioned, powerful and unlike any he’d ever experienced before, and began beating in time with his heart, pounding through him.  He wondered whether anyone could see what he was feeling; see that his hands trembled in his lap.  He wondered whether they knew that, for the first time in his short existence, he was truly frightened.

     
    Chapter 5
     
    Amber Herald had been afraid since the day she was born.  This day was no different.  In fact, at present, she was more terrified than she’d ever been in her entire life, even though her entire life had only consisted of eleven months, three days and nine hours. 
    Dread tiptoed down the length of her spine and she worried the team she led up the narrow stone walkway in front of a stately Victorian could hear the frantic beat of her heart.  It wouldn’t surprise her if they could.  They were capable of so much, yet used their capabilities so sparsely, and never for good.  They only served the cause for which they were created.  Missions such as the one they were on were part of it. 
    The mission , she thought and felt as though she’d hyperventilate.  She still couldn’t believe her time had come, that she’d been assigned to do what she’d been trained for.  She’d never taken a human life before, loathed thought of it.  Yet here she was, about to do just that.  The rhythmic patter of work boots at her back reminded her that those behind her were her team, that she was leading the mission, her first mission.  She needed to rein in her emotions.  Panicked breathing reeked of fear.  And fear could get her killed. 
    Standing before the freshly painted red door of the home they were about to invade, Amber glanced over her shoulder and nodded to her three teammates then swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat before knocking at the door.  She waited several moments, listening to the sounds of the household: the television, the drumming of feet padding across the floor.  A voice called out, “Get the door, Jim!” and Amber’s legs no longer felt steady enough to hold her up.  There was a “Jim” in the house.  One of the men was named Jim.  Knowing the name of a person about to die only worsened an already awful situation.  Her knees threatened to buckle and her heart slapped madly against her ribcage.  She worried she’d collapse, the intense stress of the situation suddenly overwhelming.  But she needed to remain on her feet.  She had a job to do, a very specific job.  Lord Terzini had been explicit in his instructions.
    Once the house had been cleared of its current inhabitants, the three members with her were to assume their identities.  It did not matter that inside, a family of five lived, and would be substituted by only three.  According to him, a husband, wife, eighteen-year-old son and twin eight year-old daughters needed only to be replaced by three adults.  The male and female creations would supplant the husband and wife while the remaining male would replace the adult son.  Lord Terzini refused to replace children, ever.  He believed they would not be missed by the outside world, that they held no real role within society other than to burden those around them until they reached adulthood. 
    Amber had never met a child .  She had no idea what they did or didn’t do.  However, she imagined that if they were simply smaller, more vulnerable humans, they still maintained a place within the social order.