After Image (Tony Downs Book 2) Read online

  His father was trapped in the center of the northern clearing, the area his father had named the killing zone. The killing zone was semi-circular and his father always hid in the brush at its edge and waited for unsuspecting deer to walk across the path. But now, his father was the deer. The phantoms had him trapped at one end with bullets flying into the brush around him.

  Tony watched as three figures tried to flank his father. The old man turned quickly and sprayed more ammo at them. The figures fell flat into the brush as another four opened fire from the southern edge. With a shout, Tony turned his weapon toward the phantoms and fired. He was rewarded with an inhuman scream from the southern end. His father turned toward him.

  "Get cover, marine!"

  Tony blinked in confusion as a hail of bullets struck the brush near him. He dropped to the ground cursing. "Dad!" he screamed. "Stop this!"

  There was no response. His father had crept back into the brush, rifle still firing out across the killing zone. Tony closed his eyes. He could hear steps in the brush, men moving around in the dark trying to find a way to get the old man in a cross fire.

  "You need to stop," he said softly and reached out. His mental hands immediately grabbed onto a live wire, wriggling and dancing with rage and fear.

  KILL THEM ALL! the mind screamed. He shuddered with the force of the mind's push.

  Tony gritted his teeth and pushed hard. Give it to me, he told his father. Give it to me.

  IT'S MINE! the voice shouted in return.

  GIVE IT TO ME! Tony mentally screamed and pulled instead of pushing. The mind in his grasp expanded, seemed to gain weight, and then it exploded.

  Tony watched the rolling horror movie. Young men, some nineteen, some just a fraction older, were blown apart from land mines. Others caught in crossfires of bullets. Skulls broken open, legs blown off, arms shattered by rifle fire, their blood gracing the green jungle. Friends lying prone on the ground, holes in their chests. Men he didn't even know buried in shallow, water-filled graves from mortar rounds. Black-clad Asian bodies, burned nearly beyond recognition in the wake of an airstrike. Villagers torn apart by collateral damage. A young Asian face crying something foreign as a bullet smacked between his eyes. Tony screamed as the visions burrowed further into his brain. But he held on, taking it all in.

  Blood dripped from his ears and nose. Steam rose from his chilled body. The wound in his face opened again, more blood flowing down. He felt every wound, every scar from his father's tour burning in his body— the sharp pain in the leg were the bullet had torn through muscle, the long rip in the face from a stray bit of claymore shrapnel tripped too close to the squad, the dark burned patches of skin on the back from the heat of a napalm drop.

  Tony screamed and then everything went black.

  Warmth cradled him in its embrace. Tony slowly opened his eyes and looked up.

  "You awake, kid?" Reg asked. The man's face was covered with stubble. A thin white scar ran from the corner of his left eye to the bottom of his forehead. He grinned at Tony with yellowed teeth and flecked lips. "You okay?"

  "Where--" Tony croaked. He looked down at his hands. They were swathed in gauze. "What--" he tried to say.

  Reg shushed him. "It's okay kid. You're in the ER."

  Tony glanced over to his left and saw the I.V. dripping fluid down its transparent tubes. He glanced right and saw a white curtain.

  "Where's Dad?" he managed to say. His lips felt like concrete and his ears burned.

  Reg sighed. "Your old man's in the bed next to you," he drawled. "He's going to be okay. You both have frostbite. So they're gettin' you some fluids. You're goin' to stay here for the night."

  Tony's face relaxed and nodded. "My ears?"

  "And fingers. I don't know how long you guys were out there. Your old man was walking to the lodge with you in his arms when we found ya. You were both covered in dirt and looked like you’d been through a war." Tony flinched. Reg's face filled with concern. "You okay, kid?"

  "Yeah, Uncle Reg. Just—“

  "What happened out there?" Reg asked.

  Tony opened his mouth to say something and stopped. The image of a soldier stood behind Reggie. A young man's face twisted and gnarled by stress and violence, helmet cocked high on his forehead. The ghostly vision stood there, smoke curling from a phantom cigarette.

  "I don't know," he said.

  "Wake up, Tony," his father's voice growled.

  Tony opened his eyes and shuddered. His father stood at the side of his bed in a white hospital gown. The old man's ears were covered in gauze just like Tony's.

  "Dad?"

  The old man smiled. "You okay, boy?"

  Tony nodded. "Are you?"

  His father chuckled. "Can't believe we got frostbite in goddamned east Texas." Although his father was smiling, Tony saw bewilderment in the man's eyes. "Tony? Do you—“

  Tony shook his head. "No, Dad. I have no idea what happened." The old man blinked back. "Do you?" Tony asked.

  His father's eyes slowly moved to look out the window. "I remember something. Just— I don't know, Tony. I must have fallen asleep out there or something. Dreamed something bad."

  "Like what, Dad?"

  Tony's father looked back at him. "The past, boy." For a moment, neither man said anything. Then Tony's father let out a shuddering sigh. "Your mother," Tony's father said as he sat on the edge of Tony's bed, "was forbidden from telling you certain things."

  Tony nodded. "But she did anyway," Tony said back. "She gave me your pack. The one you kept in that old locker." Tony's father slowly nodded. "You never talked to me about it."

  "No," his father agreed. "You were a smart kid, Tony. I knew you'd figure it out eventually. I just--" The old man looked down. "I just don't like talking about it."

  "I know, Dad," Tony said and placed his bandaged hand on his father's knee. "Can you talk about it now?"

  His father slowly shook his head. "One day, Tony. Not now. One day." The old man's eyes blinked and a single tear struggled its way out. "You know when I once told you to bury the dead?" Tony nodded. The old man choked back a sob. "I can't do it anymore, son.”

  "I know, Dad."

  "But they're not here anymore either."

  A cautious smile appeared on Tony's face. "No, Dad."

  The old man blinked. "All gone, but for Jennifer." He paused and stared down at the floor. "Where did they go?"

  Tony sighed. "The dead only rest when we let them, Dad. They bury themselves in memory. We just have to let them rest."

  His father smiled and wiped away a tear. "Rest, son. Rest." He pointed a finger at Tony, his smile turning into that familiar, expressionless line. "Don't you bury Jennifer. Don't you dare." His father strode forward, gently kissed Tony on the forehead, and walked back to his bed.

  The old man snapped off the light on his side of the room, plunging it into darkness. Tony stared at the ceiling for a moment. Something moved at the foot of the bed. Tony sat forward and stared at a shadowed figure nearly invisible in the darkness. A pair of Asian eyes glowed in the dark.

  After Image

  By

  Paul Elard Cooley

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2012 by Paul Elard Cooley

  www.shadowpublications.com

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States of America by

  Blue Moose Press

  ISBN: 978-1-936960-12-5

  Edited by Sue Baiman

  Cover Art by Starla Huchton

  www.designedbystarla.com

  About The Author

  A writer, podcaster, and software architect from Houston, Texas, Paul Elard Cooley has been writing since the age of 12. In 2009, he began producing free psychological thriller and horror podcasts, essays, and reviews availa
ble from Shadowpublications.com and iTunes.

  His stories have been listened to by thousands and he has been a guest on such notable podcasts as Podioracket, John Mierau's "Podcast Teardown," Geek Out with Mainframe, Shadowcast Audio, and Vertigo Radio Live. In addition, he is also a co-host for The Dead Robots’ Society Writing Podcast. In 2010, his short story Canvas and novella Tattoo were nominated for Parsec Awards. Tattoo became a Parsec Award finalist. He has collaborated with New York Times Bestselling author Scott Sigler on the series "The Crypt" as well as contributed his voice talents to a number of podiofiction productions.

  For more information about this series, as well as current and upcoming projects, please visit Shadowpublications.com.

  Contact the author:

  Email: [email protected]

  Twitter: twitter.com/paul_e_cooley

  Facebook: facebook.com/paul.e.cooley

  g+: http://gplus.to/PaulECooley

  Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/paul_elard_cooley

  Tony Downs Stories

  The Hunt

  Tony Downs has a gift enabling him to see into the minds of others. After his sister’s murder, the telepath purses those responsible and finds himself in a fight for his life.

  A beloved character from the Parsec Nominated stories, Tattoo and Closet Treats, “The Hunt” is the first of many stories to chronicle his life.

  Purchase now from Amazon.com

  After Image

  What happens when the hunters become the hunted?

  A year after his sister’s murder, Tony Downs joins his father for a winter deer-hunting trip. The ghosts of his father’s past turn the experience into a dangerous nightmare.

  A beloved character from the Parsec Nominated stories Tattoo and Closet Treats, “After Image” is the second story focused on Tony Downs.

  The Garaaga’s Children Series

  Legends

  In a time before the written word, a young warrior, the last of his kind, does battle with the ancient evil threatening his people.

  Pursued by the supplicants of an ancient religion, a man travels from the Indus Valley to Akkad to seek those who can write the symbols of history.

  Legends is the first installment of the Garaaga's Children series. The stories of the god Garaaga, its half-human progeny, and its worshipers, blend history with supernatural fantasy and ancient mythology. From the cradle of civilization to the modern world, Garaaga's Children transports readers through time and the rise of a new religion.

  Both stories, “The Last Hunter” and “Keepers” were 2012 Parsec Award Nominees.

  Purchase now from Amazon.com

  Lovers

  In ancient Babylon, the nephilim Drimesh has lived a brutal, if ethical, life. Once pursued by the Tribe of Abraham, Drimesh has taken refuge in the great city. Living off his wealthy matrons has provided him a comfortable existence.

  When he meets a Priestess of the Goddess Ishtar, his life becomes a struggle between his human desires and those of the beast that lives inside him. Will he succumb to the beast and suffer his mother's fate, or find a way to balance the duality?

  Lovers, the second volume in the Garaaga's Children series, is steeped in the history of Hammurabi's Babylon and the beginning of Judaism. Mixing elements of ancient history, dark fantasy and erotica, Lovers is sure to leave readers wanting more.

  Lovers was a 2012 Parsec Award Nominee.

  Purchase now from Amazon.com

  Interlopers

  They fought in his wars. They were the best of his army. But now, Alexander the Great has exiled the last of his scouts to wander the Indus Valley and find their fate. Fighting disease, strange animals, and a hostile climate, the four remaining scouts encounter something as deadly as it is beautiful.

  Interlopers, the third volume of the Garaaga's Children series, progresses the epic tale and gives hints to the mythology of the god Garaaga and its children.

  Interlopers, a 2012 Parsec Award Nominee, is a novella from the Garaaga’s Children collection.

  Purchase now from Amazon.com

  The Fiends Collection

  Fiendlettes

  A professor explains his understanding of ethics...

  During Hurricane Ike, an old house settles a score...

  Faceless agents work to spread anarchy...

  And an artist discusses his medium with his next piece of art...

  "Fiendlettes" is a collection of four stories from Paul Elard Cooley's Parsec Award nominated series: "Fiends." These tales of paranoia, delusion, and horror are told by the nameless, faceless killers that inhabit our everyday world.

  Purchase now from Amazon.com

  Tattoo

  Scars. They remind us who we are, what we are and where we have been.

  But when a scar takes away your identity, what would you do to get it back?

  Jackson, a journalist in Houston, discovers links between several murders that have taken place in his city. His investigation draws him into the world of body art where he discovers an obsession worth killing for.

  Tattoo, a 2010 Parsec Award Finalist, is a novella from the Fiends collection.

  Purchase now from Amazon.com

  Closet Treats

  Reality is a slippery slope for Trey Leger, but he's managed to carve out a somewhat normal existence in spite of his mental illness. But when an ice cream truck starts making the rounds of his neighborhood, Trey can no longer tell reality from his delusions.

  Closet Treats, a 2011 Parsec Award Nominee, is a novel from the Fiends collection.

  Purchase now from Amazon.com

 

 

  Paul E Cooley, After Image (Tony Downs Book 2)

 

 

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