As he neared the surface, the material grew dense, which meant it was definitely coming from above and not being pushed into the area by ocean currents. The material had to be coming from a boat, or a plane, or... Well, he didn’t want to consider the last possibility, and wouldn’t, until he confirmed it with his own eyes.
Through the haze he found the umbilical cord that connected Aquarius to its Life Support Buoy, or LSB. The LSB supplied power and provided wireless communications and telemetry to the station and held air compressors, as well. It also made for a convenient viewing platform. While standing on top of the LSB, which was shaped like a super-sized, yellow chess piece, Miller would be able to see from horizon to horizon. If someone was dumping this garbage, he’d spot them.
Approaching the buoy, Miller kicked harder, building speed so he could launch himself onto the platform. As he broke the surface, clumps of wet slime slid from his back and arms. A glob clung to his hair, but he paid it no attention. What he was seeing distracted him from doing anything else. He didn’t stand, remove his goggles or take out his regulator. He simply gaped.
The world was red. As far as he could see, a crust, like refrigerated pudding, coated the surface of the ocean. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen, yet crimson flakes fell like snow from a sky that looked more purple than blue.
Heart beating hard, he stood up and looked in every direction. He spotted a sailboat off to the north, its sail limp as wilted lettuce, but nothing else caught his eye.
Miller tentatively held out a hand and caught another flake. Its surface felt rough and porous to his touch, like a petrified snowflake. Curious, he removed his regulator and placed the flake on his tongue. The flavor of blood struck him immediately. He gagged and spit several times, then took a deep, shaky breath. The air did no good. He felt winded, as though he’d just run a sprint.
He took another breath. His chest began to ache. He grew lightheaded.
He took a third, deeper breath—
—and fell to his knees.
Was it poison? Could these flakes kill so quickly?
Spots danced in his vision as he realized the truth.
He was suffocating.
Drowning in the open air like a fish.
He shoved the regulator back into his mouth and breathed deeply, this time relishing the metallic tasting air. He continued taking deep breaths until his head cleared and he felt relatively normal again. It wasn’t until then that he let his mind fill in the blanks.
He couldn’t breathe in the open air! What did it mean? What...
Oh shit! Miller thought. I can’t breathe because...there’s no oxygen!
###
-SAMPLE-
RESURRECT by KANE GILMOUR
Available for $2.99 on Kindle: Click here to buy!
DESCRIPTION:
In the 1850s, a madman proclaims himself the Son of God and raises an army, taking over half of China.
A century and a half later, his descendent and legions of devoted followers plan to take over more than just China.
When alpine engineer and mountaineer Jason Quinn, a man with a past mired in tragedy and violence, meets archeologist Dr. Eva Rayjek after a plane crash in the high Himalaya, neither of them are expecting wave after wave of Chinese assassins.
Pursued to America, the frozen ice of the Gulf of Finland, and the heights of Hong Kong, Quinn and Eva connect her investigations with the machinations of charismatic shipping magnate and cathedral-builder, David Hong. As a scheme to obtain a private audience with the Pope at the Vatican comes to fruition, Hong’s fanatical followers are preparing for global warfare.
If Quinn fails to stop Hong’s plan, the entire Catholic Church just might crumble.
RESURRECT is the first book in the Jason Quinn series. Fans of Matthew Reilly, Jeremy Robinson, James Rollins, and Clive Cussler should all enjoy this first adventure in the exploits of mountaineer Jason Quinn.
EXCERPT:
CHAPTER 14
“Doesn’t he look like a damn gunslinger?” Curtis asked Eva with a smile.
They had been hiking for a while. Johnson carried the backpack with the climbing gear, and Quinn was loaded up with the camping equipment, two ice axes hanging from the waist belt of his harness by short slings with carabiners. These axes had been specially designed for him with carbon-fiber blades made from Buckminster-Fullerene, a special form of carbon reputed to be harder than diamond. On his feet were huge clunky white plastic boots that looked to Eva like skiing boots, but these had metal teeth that retracted into the toes and soles. Eva knew what ice-climbing crampons looked like, but she had never seen any that were a part of the shoe itself. Usually, she knew, they resembled a foot-shaped metal cage with teeth, and were attached to the bottom of climbing or hiking boots. What she didn’t know was that the boots on Quinn’s feet had also been made specifically for him, and to his own original design specs. The climbing crampon teeth were spring-loaded and could be ejected from the soles of the boots at the push of a button.