A New World:
CONSPIRACY
A Novel by John O’Brien
This book is dedicated to my father, John P. O’Brien. A Vietnam War vet and a great man. I didn’t get to know you as well as I’d have liked to, but the times we did get to share will forever remain with me. You are in my heart when I stroll through the woods and always in my thoughts. I miss you.
Author’s Notice
The New World series is a fictional work. While some of the locations in the series describe actual locations, this is intended only to lend an authentic theme. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First thanks goes to my mother, June O’Brien. She takes first crack at my scribblings and turns them into something that others can read. Each time I seem to develop a new quirk. This time I seemed to fixate on ‘begins to’ and ‘to an extent’. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Thank you for all of the hours you put in. And that’s aside from publishing your second book in the series, The Blue Child Series. I highly encourage everyone to read The North Road. You won’t be disappointed.
Thank you to the beta readers who take their valuable time to read through and correct my many errors. I truly appreciate all of your input!
I owe a special thanks to Amanda with Cave of the Winds. She spent a lot of her valuable time answering my questions regarding the cave systems located in Manitou Springs.
A thanks goes to Matthew Riggenbach for your help with the cover art. You delivered once again in record time with a masterpiece.
And a very special thanks to all of my readers, thank you!!! Your encouraging messages and support is humbling. I feel truly fortunate to have such great fans. You aren’t just fans, you’re friends and part of my extended family. You have journeyed with me through this story and made it a part of you just as much as it is me. I said it before and I’ll say it again, this story is as much yours as it is mine.
If you do happen to enjoy the story, feel free to leave a review. Reviews are important for two reasons. One is that’s how the books get up in the listing which of course means more sales. But more importantly, it lets me get a look at everyone’s perception. Looking though the online reviews, I feel that I become a better writer.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Well, here we are on the eighth book. Who would have guessed it would have come this far. I, for one, am absolutely thrilled it has as I enjoy writing about this group of survivors. They have become more than just characters in a story, they have become a part of me that I enjoy spending time with. Yes, the voices in my head. The fun thing about writing about them is that I never really know what is going to happen. Within certain set parameters, the tale unfolds as I set the words down.
I’ve had a few messages regarding UV lighting so I thought I’d take the opportunity to talk about that. I truly wish that UV lighting could come into play and work it into the story line with teams pushing into night runner lairs. UV lighting operates on a shorter wavelength than that of the visual spectrum. It’s really divided into three different UV types but I won’t go into that. The sun emits all three types and it’s UVB that is the most damaging. Most of the artificially produced light, i.e. tanning beds and handheld devices, operate in the UVA spectrum. This light can be harmful if overexposure occurs but that exposure takes some time for it to be effective in that manner. I can’t see that anyone would want to hold a lamp to a night runner for an extended period of time, and I can’t imagine that the night runner would be cordial enough to hold still during that time. Well, enough about that. I’m not meaning to come across negatively, I just want to mention it and show that it wouldn’t be a very feasible option.
I’d also like to mention that there is a lot of planning that involves Frank so there is a lot of interaction there. I just don’t write about a lot of the pre-planning that goes on as I’m sure you’d be skipping over those sections just as I would be falling asleep at the keyboard writing it.
This book is a little different than the others. There are a few threads going on, and an introduction to a new one. I won’t spoil it here but you’ll see it. Speaking of which, here I am prattling on, keeping you from the story. So, let’s get on with it shall we. I hope you enjoy the continuation of Jack’s and the group’s tale. And, if you happen to enjoy it, please head back and leave a review. I’d be forever grateful.
Prologue
Tired from a night of hunting, and with the bright light bringing an end to his time outside, Michael eases down to the hard, wooden floor of his lair. The noise of the pack jostling to find places to rest echo in the large arena, eventually settling to a few grunts and groans. Michael wants to slump down and sleep with the rest of them, but thoughts, racing through his mind, keep him awake. With the two-leggeds occupying the top position, anxiety about his pack fills most of his waking moments. They are by far the most dangerous threat to the pack’s existence.
There had been a chance to destroy the two-leggeds when Sandra had somehow managed to get into their lair, but then she inexplicably left with one of their females in tow. However much he has tried to make sense of that move, he hasn’t arrived at anything that adds up. Now his worry extends to what the two-legged’s response will be. Michael has no doubt that they’ll react, but he isn’t sure of what that will entail. He has warned his groups heading out on the nightly hunt to be alert for the sounds of the thing in the sky that rains down death; but so far, nothing has materialized.
Through images from some of her followers leaving and arriving on their hunt, he knows where Sandra has laired the remains of her pack. Thoughts circle through his mind about eliminating her as she has endangered the whole pack through her actions. Instead, he has purposely kept a wide separation between their two packs. There is no telling when the two-legged ones will react, and he doesn’t want to be caught in the middle or in any way draw their attention his way.
Michael knows the two-leggeds must be destroyed if he and his pack are to have a chance at surviving and that Sandra’s actions are now likely to make that a more difficult endeavor. His choices are to attack the two-legged lair and hope for the best, destroy Sandra and hope that his own pack isn’t discovered, pull farther back until things resolve themselves, or keep things as they are. Each time he thinks of one of the options, it seems to be the right choice, but the problems associated with each one quickly appear and he discards the idea.
Attacking the two-legged lair would decimate his pack in the process, and he doubts he would be successful. That would bring about an even larger retaliation. Attacking Sandra would accomplish very little unless he recovered the captured female and released her, but what would that really solve? There is nothing to be had there except for destroying Sandra and the danger she keeps bringing. Pulling back to another location could possibly bring them to an area with limited food sources. They are able to sustain themselves where they are for the time being so moving might bring on additional problems. No, he will watch from a distance in the hopes that he can learn more about the two-leggeds from their reaction.
He sits bolt upright, coming out from a dead sleep and into a panicked awakening. It has been several nights without any sign of a two-legged reaction to the intrusion of their lair. Michael wondered if there is going to be any retaliation at all. The image that flashed through his mind and brought him from the depths of sleep makes him think that the time of the two-legged reaction is at hand.