The Tunge Pit - Sample
The Tunge Pit
Kevin Kato (author)
Prologue
Jon Dolan speeds along the winding coastal road, heading for Los Angeles. Far below the waves crash against the rocks; the late afternoon sun darts in and out of his eyes. From his speakers blares Machinehead, a frenzy of drums, guitars and a guy named Gavin. Jon spits out the lyrics, unaware what they mean. All he knows is that they make him feel strong. Stronger than he is. Stronger than any human.
Invincible, he thinks as he hugs another curve.
A faint rumbling rises up under his tires. Jon doesn’t notice. He feels only his adrenalin, sees only his Nokia, blinking on the edge of the passenger seat. Blinking blue. Blinking fast. Blinking for only one reason.
His girlfriend is out there. She’s waiting for him, playing with her dirty blond hair. Caressing her collarbone. Purring his name. Soaked with a lust for life.
Jon leans to the side and gropes for her, straining against his seatbelt. He paws the vinyl. He thinks of her legs and her lips. Curse words taint the breath on his teeth. He shifts his shoulders, pushing and stretching. Pleading with heaven and all hell.
The dashboard rises in front of him. The glare of the sun and the rollicking ocean and the winding road disappear.
Screeching squealing tires. Gavin howling in desperation. A torrent of awareness drowning Jon’s senses as he looks up at the cerulean monster heading straight for him.
He yanks on the wheel. The car screams past his window. The image of a young Asian woman floats in his eyes. Her mouth is curled in eternal anger; in her eyes he can see forever. Thoughts of fate and bad luck flood his head.
They never even knew each other.
Jon’s tires hit the gravel. The sound explodes through the floorboards. Jon feels his world skidding and slipping right out from underneath him. His heart starts to dance in macabre understanding. Gavin’s words ring in his ears, suddenly as clear and dire as Jon’s immediate future.
Invincibility, after all, is mere fantasy.
The ground gives way to oblivion. The guitars and the gravel evaporate. Two people in a boat float on the water far below. They are the only ones who can save him now.
Jon gazes at the sparkling green ocean, memories flooding his head.
He reaches for his girlfriend, one last time.
