Horror Month Presents: Eli Constant Day 3

The lucky winners of the pre-release copy of Mastic are: Lauren Dootson, Wulf Francu Godgluck, Ken Mooney & Karen Perkins.

Congratulations. Contact me so that I can pass your details on to Eli and you can claim your prize, and don't forget to add the book to your Goodreads shelf, and leave a review when you're done.


So this is the third and final day of our Eli Constant takeover, and for todays giveaway, she's offering two lucky readers the chance at a part in her next book, Dead Trees 2.
This is a really fun giveaway too, so make sure to join in the fun please and share it around.







Eli Constant contact.

Find out more about Eli on her website: www.eliconstant.com 
Follow Eli on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Author_EliC
Follow Eli on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorEliConstant
http://authoreliconstant.wordpress.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6901568.Eli_Constant

Amazon: 

http://amzn.to/16RUIdW
http://amzn.to/16RUW4U

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Dead Trees 2 Contest 

After reading the first chapter (just below), write the first paragraph of the second chapter for Dead Trees 2. The chapter’s title is “The Afterbirth.”

Eli Constant will name a character in Dead Trees 2 after the best 2 entries.

*Entry winners can also provide a physical description of the character as a guideline for the author.

(Note: the entry paragraph is just for fun and will not be used in the actual book).
Leave your entry here or on the event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/151001158431798/

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Dead Trees 2 Chapter One Teaser 

The Birth

I turned over, my eyes still closed. Jason’s body felt warm and real next to mine. I needed that… after what I’d just dreamt.

I’d never forgotten him- the way he’d looked at me, knowing he was all male. How he’d stood in front of the others, clearly in command… how he’d escaped at the park, how he’d followed us to NORAD. He was truly a nightmare, but I’d never dreamt about him before, not until this night.

Pregnancy will do that to you- cause your dreams to go all wackadoodle. The past nine months of sleeping had been full of crazy images.

Tonight though, he’d been there and my face was wetted with salty tears.

On top of me, forcing me down, shrieking as… as… I hadn’t even known they had those. It had emerged from his body, between the now straightened legs, long and flexible as an overgrown eel. It was slick, coated in a brown salve that smelled like earth and sperm.

I shook my head, trying to dislodge the dream from my brain. It didn’t work. So I got up; Jason rolled away from me onto his side. His breathing was heavy and even.

I knew exactly what made me dream about him. The chorus of shrieking, so close to our little home, that arose after the sound of the helicopters’ thrumming wings had receded into the distance had brought the past flying forward in full color. Jason had stayed up most of the night on watch- squinting into the dark for signs of bestial movement.

Not that the day kept them at bay any longer. For some reason though, they hadn’t chosen to attack us yesterday when the Colonel and his men had left. Maybe there was no challenge in falling upon us unexpectedly. Maybe… maybe, he enjoyed the fear floating to him on the wind.

I’d called him the General for so long, but now, I did not wish to say that name and give him more human attributes. Two years. It had been two years. Why now? I’d voiced my fears to Jason, but he’d brushed them off- saying that he could not have possibly found us and that so much time had passed. No, the shrieks were just a few stray undergrounders; nothing to worry about.

And then I’d ranted about the H2H and that these ‘stray undergrounders’ should be changed by now, fully affected and humanized. Jason had countered with a- they could have been underground all this time and thusly unexposed or maybe they were too far North. “Remember what Benson said, Elise. Our area is too remote to have been affected; the nanotech isn’t stable enough to survive the distance. They could have been roaming these parts all this time or stayed safe underground.”  

His answers and his logic had not satisfied me. And, true to form, I’d beaten the dead horse until it was a rotting, reeking mass of flesh. He’d teased me, but not too harshly; I was carrying his child and that gave me ‘get-away-with-sin’ liberties.

I held my back, pushing gently. It ached this morning, like I’d slept on the stone floor rather than the thick pad. Looking up, my face was bathed in dim light- sunshine peeking through a carved out section of the ceiling. It was deceptive, our cavern home. Journeying into the caves felt like traveling miles beneath the earth’s surface, but in truth, we were less than ten feet from the surface.

I leaned against the hard wall and slipped my feet, one after another, into the leather slippers I always wore. Megan made them for me. They weren’t perfect, the maker obviously a novice sewer, but my daughter made them so I loved them dearly.

Our rooms were interconnected, but many nights, Kara would wake up and travel across the ‘hall’ to sleep next to me on the bed. In the beginning, Megan would follow suit and we’d all be stuffed onto one sleeping pad- a big, happy family. That left Meg alone in the girls’ room, but she never seemed to mind.

Jason used to say that it was the newness of the caverns and the girls would soon sleep through the night in their own room. He’d been right, to an extent. Megan always slept soundly now; Kara, more often than not, would still move in the middle of the night and I’d wake up to the sound of her soft snoring. I never worried about Meg. She was so much more than she looked. I think that’s why Megan felt comfortable staying in their room now- she felt safe with her adopted sister there. Of course, young Abram also had something to do with Megan adapting to this life.

She’d bonded to the young Vuntuta boy almost immediately. I’d seen the way she lit up when he stood in front of the class teaching the history of his people. Abram was several years older than Megan, but, strangely, I approved of their friendship. If it turned into more than that down the line, I’d be happy in the knowledge that Megan had found someone to take care of her and love her. It’s a strange thing to think about when your daughter is not even thirteen years of age, but in this world, archaic social conventions seem of little importance.

I walked across the hall to my girls’ room. Both Kara and Megan were huddled beneath a thick fur, only shiny brown hair escaped their cocoon of warmth. Their room was slightly brighter, the manmade skylight angled better for rays of light. Meg was not in the room, but that wasn’t unusual. She liked to get up before everyone else- enjoy the quiet of the dawn. She knew how to be safe and silent; I rarely worried about her.

I left our cavern wing, working my way through the twisting maze of tunnels that angled slightly upward.

The sun was not very high in the sky; dawn had passed several hours earlier. Normally, we did not sleep so long. We were all tired it seemed. I had less excuse than Jason. I had not stayed up all night on vigil. Many of our friends were already out and about- working the fields, gathering water. I saw several of our men patrolling the outskirts of our encampment. They were armed. I prayed those weapons would not be necessary today.

A strangely high, too-perfect bird call sounded above my head. I looked up, squinting against the light.

“Meg?”

A lithe form descended, branch by slender branch.

“Morning.” Meg smiled, her silvery-blonde hair a long waterfall behind her back.

“You should tie your hair up when you’re climbing.” I’d told her this before, worried the long strands would tangle in the twigs and greenery.

“I don’t like the way it feels tied up.” Meg said, her voice decisive, yet respectful.

I knew this, but it never stopped me from reminding her. She stood in front of me now and I rested both of my hands on her shoulders. I wondered when she’d stop growing. She was nearly five feet tall, signs of womanhood already sprouting. My left hand left her shoulder and I ran my fingers through her pale angel-hair.

“Is he moving today?” She asked, leaning forward and resting her check against my stomach.

“A little.” I continued to stroke her hair. “Why do you always say ‘he’?”

“A boy should be called he, not her.” Meg smiled, knowing she was being coy.

“You know what I mean, Meg.” I used a mother’s tone, but not too harshly.

“He’s,” she pointed at my stomach, “a boy. I’d start thinking up baby names.” With that, my beautiful hybrid daughter turned and sprinted off- her body moving gracefully.

I looked down at my swollen belly; I felt gigantic today, but so very happy. “If you are a boy,” I whispered, “your name is David. He always wanted a son and I only gave him daughters.” My hands were caressing now. When another pair of hands, this pair larger and calloused, covered mine, I was not startled. I knew these hands.

“David?” He asked.

“Yes. David. If Meg’s right and he’s a he and not a her.”

“I wouldn’t place bets against Meg.” He hugged me from behind and I could feel him smiling. I wiggled in his embrace, struggling to turn myself- large belly included- and face him.

“Morning.” A brief, soft kiss followed the word.

“Morning.” He returned my kiss- his less soft and a little longer.

“Girls still asleep?”

“Cuddled down like hibernating bears.”

“Good. I’m surprised Kara didn’t come and sleep with us last night after the…” I didn’t finish the sentence; he knew I was thinking about the screeching. I shuddered in his arms. He held me tighter.

“Elise, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“So you keep telling me.” I pointed to the men walking the perimeter. “They obviously think there’s something worth worrying about.”

“They’re just being cautious.”

A small voice sounded behind us. “Mommy?”

I looked around Jason at the mouth of our caverns. Kara was rubbing her eyes sleepily with one hand, Mr. Grubbykins gripped tightly in the other. It was amazing how long that corduroy bunny was lasting. I washed him weekly, sewing when necessary, glad that the pink material was thick and strong.

Pulling from Jason, I walked to Kara and picked her up with some effort. She was a heavy four year-old. Jostling her to my hip, I felt a sudden, building pain like my stomach was clenching and releasing in scream-inducing cramps. I gasped, quickly setting Kara down. Jason was at my side almost instantly. Kara pouted, upset that I hadn’t held her longer. The cramping lasted a moment longer and then, as quickly as it had come, it left.

“Are you alright?” His hand was on my belly.

“I’m fine. Really. It doesn’t hurt now.”  But I’d been in labor before; I knew what it felt like. Contractions. I wasn’t ready for this… not with the uncertainty in the forest. I could protect my baby… my son… better this way, with him inside of me- layers of skin, flesh and amniotic fluid between his fragile body and the world.

I doubled over as another contraction hit. Jason understood this time; he did not ask me if I was okay.

“Kara, go back to your room and stay with Megan. Wake her up if she’s still asleep.”

The contraction was over. They were short, sharp- like a filet knife cutting through monkfish.

“Jason, that’s too much for her to understand. She’s only four.”

God. It hurt. I should be used to this by now, but it had been so many years. I’d forgotten childbirth, the agony that bonded mother with child.  

“Okay, okay.”

I could see Jason was trying to keep a clear head.

At that moment, a wide-awake Megan walked out of the caverns. Jason sighed in relief, grateful that her appearance had saved him from further thought of Kara.

“Megan, take Kara back into your room. We’ll send Meg in with some breakfast.” His voice was fully calm again; his instance of near-panic completely banished.

I did not double over this time, but my face betrayed the contraction. Jason began to lead me down into the valley- our cavern mouth located at the top of a hill. The pain was strong enough that I stumbled this time. Strong arms caught me.

“I don’t think I can make it that far.”

Delia lived near the edge of the woods; she’d never been comfortable sleeping in the caves- said the hard walls kept her from feeling the earth. She’d been such a comfort to me, coming daily to check on the baby. Her knowledge of childbirth had ensured a safe pregnancy so far; I needed her now.

Jason paused debating and then helped me turn around. We began to walk back toward the mouth of the tunnels. He led me slowly through the passageways. When we were back in our room, he helped me gently down, rolling up our bed coverings and tucking them beneath my head.

“I’ll be back with Delia.” He kissed my forehead. “Megan, Kara?” He called. It took the girls only a moment to tumble over each other into our room, their hurry to arrive making them clumsy.

“We’re here.” They chorused; Kara’s voice so much shriller than her sister’s.

“Stay with your mom. I’ll be right back.” On his way out, Jason kissed both of their foreheads, just as he’d kissed mine moments before.

Not long after Jason left, Meg arrived, her face bright and shining with excitement.

I was struggling against the weight of another contraction when I heard the shrieking; the piercing, blood-curdling cries that could only mean one thing.

The beasties were back.

© 2013, Eli Constant 

I seriously can't wait for this book. As you probably know by now, Dead Trees is one of my personal favourite books, I may even have to enter this prize myself!

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Dead Trees 2 Cover

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I hope that you enjoyed meeting Eli and getting to know her work. She's a really lovely woman with a hell of a lot of talent. If you didn't manage to win any of the giveaways, be sure to check out her books. I promise that you won't be disappointed.
Don't forget to enter the competition, leave your paragraphs here or on the event page and the winners will be announced tomorrow night.

https://www.facebook.com/events/151001158431798/

Happy Reading

Claire ♥