After an elemental apocalypse, the fate of Earth hangs in the balance.
The hunt for Micah in a world that has gone dim leads Kaitlyn straight to Shawn and One Less. While struggling to survive, she battles a side of her that is as dark as the rest of the planet. In the exciting conclusion to The Akasha Series, our heroine is no longer a part of The Seven or One Less. Now she is on Team Kaitlyn; who will join her?
Water, Book 1
Air, Book 2
Fire, Book 3
Earth, Book 4
Earth
By Terra Harmony
Copyright 2011 by Terra Harmony
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
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.
The scanning, uploading and distribution of this publication via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage illegal electronic distribution of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Editing Team: Jessica Dall, Cathy Wathen,
and Extra Set of Eyes Proofing
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Cover design by Keary Taylor
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For my kids; Caelyn, Tristan, and Jenna. You are my purpose, my passion, and the loves of my life. Hopefully my writing can make a difference for you, and for all children – now and in future generations. And I promise – I will let you read my next series!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Inside Voices
Chapter 2: Wondrous Qualities
Chapter 3: Dancing Flames
Chapter 4: The List
Chapter 5: Good Cover
Chapter 6: Pocahontas
Chapter 7: Dropping Anchor
Chapter 8: The Captives
Chapter 9: No Rhythm
Chapter 10: Afternoon Dip
Chapter 11: Nightmares
Chapter 12: Thunder
Chapter 13: The Spirit of Evansville
Chapter 14: Thirsty?
Chapter 15: Patterns
Chapter 16: Ladies Night
Chapter 17: One of the Guys
Chapter 18: Righting the Wrong
Chapter 19: Meditation
Chapter 20: The Great Rite
Chapter 21: Pieces
Chapter 22: New Energy
Chapter 23: Theories
Chapter 24: Fresh Scars
Chapter 25: Muscle Memory
Chapter 27: Tonight
Chapter 28: Kaitlyn, Left Behind
Chapter 29: Tainted
Chapter 30: Inked
Chapter 31: No More Tears
Chapter 32: Finish It
Chapter 33: An Unlikely Ally
Chapter 34: Hero
Chapter 35: What is it Worth?
Chapter 36: Favors
Chapter 37: Slow Ride
Chapter 38: The Best Thing
Chapter 39: Expediting the Process
Chapter 40: A Little Crazy
Chapter 41: Meet Fido
Chapter 42: Morning Mullets
Chapter 43: Stalkers
Chapter 44: Romance
Chapter 45: Control Freak
Chapter 46: Giving More
Chapter 47: Working Party
Chapter 48: Dinnertime
Chapter 49: Fragile Grasp
Chapter 50: It's a Date
Chapter 51: A Threesome
Chapter 52: To Say the Least
Chapter 53: Choosing a Name
Chapter 54: A Promise
Chapter 55: The Dragon
Chapter 56: Playing with Fire
Chapter 57: So Mote it Be
Chapter 58: Groupies
Chapter 59: The Messenger
Chapter 60: The Mark
Chapter 61: Prisoners
Chapter 62: Air
Chapter 63: Brothers
Chapter 64: Fire
Chapter 65: Water
Chapter 66: Laughter
Chapter 67: Elements of All Four Persuasion
Chapter 68: Two Peas in a Pod
Chapter 69: Akasha
Chapter 70: A Toy
Chapter 71: Retaliation
Chapter 72: Another Shade
Chapter 73: Earth Falling
Chapter 74: Moving Forward
Chapter 75: One More
Chapter 76: Our Solstice
About the Author
Forward
Earth is the fourth and final book in the Akasha Series, a set of contemporary eco-fantasy novels. This book is for mature readers only. It contains sexual content and some use of profane language. Comments and criticism are always welcome and can be sent to terra.harmony11@gmail.com. Readers can also find me on facebook, goodreads, and on my blog.
If you enjoy the book, please consider leaving a review. Happy reading!
Terra Harmony
Chapter 1
Inside Voices
Alex and I stood outside the gated fence, trying to figure out how to break into the Cold War-era underground bunker. Buried 720 feet into the hillside of White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia, it would not be easy. Each of the four entrances were protected by large steel and concrete doors designed to withstand a nuclear blast.
"The west and east entrances are vehicular tunnels," said Alex, handing me his binoculars. "That one there is the west entrance."
I focused the binoculars in on a large "high voltage" warning sign on the door.
"Do you think Akasha can burn through that baby?" Alex asked.
"Maybe," I sighed, handing back the binoculars. "But do we really want to risk a high-profile entrance?"
Footsteps in the woods to our backs caused us both to duck down. I peered under a thick, prickly bush. Susan's feet came into view. I stood, unsuccessfully avoiding the sharp thorns.
"Ow!"
Susan jumped at my outburst.
Bee squealed with delight, "Mommy!" She ran straight for me, and the thorns.
"Oh, honey – watch out!" I scooped her up before she suffered the same fate.
She squealed again.
"More!" she demanded as soon as I set her down.
Alex cleared his throat, "Um, excuse me everyone – we are in surveillance mode here. We need to use our inside voices."
"Tell that to the two-year-old," I said.
In a perfect world, Bee wouldn't have been there. But this world was far from perfect, and leaving Bee behind wasn't exactly an option.
Bee took the hint and ran to Alex. "More Unka Alek, more!"
He smiled down at her. "I can't refuse my best lady. But can you be quiet when I lift you up?"
She nodded her head as fast as she could, practically hopping in anticipation. Alex l
ifted her so quickly her feet flew in the air above her head, then came down again.
To Bee’s credit, not one sound escaped her lips. She could be quiet if she wanted; she just had to be properly motivated.
"What did you find out?" I asked Susan.
"Hotel is operational. Well, as far as hotels can be, these days. But the tours have been cancelled since Daybreak. Electricity is too unreliable to lead tourists underground."
"Either that, or the facilities are actually in use," Alex said. "All the perimeter alarms are deactivated – could be they’re conserving energy for ventilation systems inside."
"More!" Bee automatically demanded at his sudden shift in focus.
I dug around in my backpack for the stash of honeysuckle I’d found the day before. "Here," I handed her the entire bag. "Let the grownups plan their break in."
"Bake in, bake in," chanted Bee, plopping down on the ground, already diving into her new treat.
I smiled, then turned back to the west entrance and frowned. "Let's camp out for a night – see if there’s any activity in or out."
"What about the other entrances?" Alex asked.
"We could split up," I suggested.
Susan groaned. "I hate spending the night alone, outside."
"You won't be outside. You can go back to the hotel; find out more," Alex said.
"And you won't be alone, you'll have Bee," I said.
The three of us looked down at her, still sitting at our feet. Several white flowers already sat crumpled by her side, having been deprived of all their sweet nectar.
In a world with only intermittent power, traditional packaged goods – including candy – were scarce. Honeysuckle had long become a treat of choice.
"Let's meet back here an hour after dawn tomorrow," Alex said.
Susan stuck out her lip.
Alex rolled his eyes. "Ok, two hours after dawn. Put that lip back in before I bite it."
Susan smiled, raising one eyebrow. "Bite me and I'll bite you back." She moved a step closer to him.
"Is that a promise?" he asked, closing the distance between them.
I turned my back just in time to hear kissing sounds. The open romance between Alex and Susan was a long time coming, and I was happy for both of them, but with every passing day it made me long for Micah more and more. He'd been missing since a few weeks before Daybreak.
The kissing noises were still coming. I sighed and squatted down by Bee. "It's rude to stare, sweetie."
The few honeysuckle that remained were forgotten. She shifted her gaze to me, stuck out her lips and said, "Kiss, kiss!"
I laughed and obliged, then gathered her in my arms. "You're going to stay with Aunt Susan tonight. Be good, okay?"
"Otay!"
I kissed her again.
"Enough with the smooching you two," Susan interrupted. "We're going to be late for girls' night out."
"More like girls' night in," I said, passing Bee over. "Make sure she gets a bath – and check her for ticks." I dug in my backpack for the only bar of soap we had.
"We'll do the usual pampering session," Susan promised, taking the bar.
"Bye, Bee," I said.
Bee waved, and I watched them walk away as she fiddled with the soap.
"She'll be fine, Mama," Alex said, slinging his arm over my shoulder.
"I know. I just wish…" I trailed off. Alex didn't need to hear all about how Micah was missing out on Bee, again.
"You wish what?" he asked.
I leaned into him, nose first, and sniffed. "I wish we had another bar of soap."
Chapter 2
Wondrous Qualities
After scouting out each entrance, Alex and I picked the two that looked the most used. Parting ways, I traded the last of the honeysuckle for one of his apples, and headed back to the north entrance. It was uphill, but I told myself it would be a few degrees cooler than the south entrance, which was where Alex was headed.
I made my way to the top of a ridge that had just enough shrubbery to conceal me. After inspecting the area for thorns and poison ivy, I chose a bush and rolled out a blanket underneath. I laid on the ground, belly down, with the binoculars glued to my eyes for the next half hour. Absolutely no movement as far as I could see.
When my stomach started to grumble, I pulled out the apple and bit into it. turned on my back as I chewed. The stars were bright and numerous, especially with no more light pollution. Directly after the electro-magnetic pulse, or Daybreak, as the general population had named it, power for most of the United States had gone out. A few months later, we heard rumors of large cities back on the grid, only to be attacked and shut down again by roaming militias claiming to work for One Less. The National Guard wasn't very effective in thwarting the attacks. In fact, as time went on, there seemed to be fewer and fewer military personnel. Hell, some of them were probably joining One Less.
Eventually, power was deemed a dangerous magnet for One Less, so people stopped pursuing it. It wasn't until we hit Washington, D.C. that we learned of EMPs going off in other major countries around the world. Before that, I had half expected to see Chinese troops marching through the country, but it appeared most countries gotten hit even worse than ours. We had Akasha to somewhat contain our blast. Others had no such luck.
I turned the half-eaten apple over in my hand. Moonlight glinted off the dull red skin, reminding me of shiny apples in a supermarket. There were no more shiny apples. I looked at my watch; ten p.m. There had been plenty of watch batteries left over in abandoned stores, though no double A's for our handheld radios.
I sighed. Lots of time before I would be reunited with Susan, Alex, and Bee. I took another bite, hitting the core. I dug out the seeds and placed them in my pocket. Seeds made the 'rattle' in a few of Bee's homemade toys. Micah was right. Wondrous qualities was how he had described apples.
Or was that me, being sarcastic?
It felt like so long ago, memories were beginning to blend together. I half-considered reaching out for Micah through our telepathic connection. It was something I had practiced consistently right after Daybreak, until it led a platoon of One Less directly to us. Somehow, they’d figured out how to tap in.
The resulting skirmish separated me from Bee for a week. It was the absolute worst week of my life. Alex had her the whole time, but I had all her cloth diapers and prepared food. When we finally reunited, Bee was practically potty-trained, and covered head to toe in berry juice.
It took another two days to clean her. Every time I griped about it, Alex would tell me how that berry bush saved their lives. Every time Bee announced she had to use the bathroom, I caught a glimpse of a prideful smile on Alex's face. It was easy to potty train in the middle of the woods where there were no actual potties around to use.
Even still, the three of us always took care to divide Bee's supplies evenly among us. I reached inside my backpack, rummaging around for food. Nothing. I laid back down with a huff. Susan would probably be able to stock up. Bee's dimples led to a lot of much-needed acquisitions, even in today's world, where it was every man, woman, and child for themselves.
My thoughts drifted back to Micah, wondering if he was underground, possibly right beneath me. I thought back to all the clues that had led us here, most of them gathered while we were in D.C. Our former senate contact told us this was where the president and his entourage had retreated just before the EMP. Since Micah's trail led directly to the White House, hunting down the president was the next step.
So there I lay, underneath a bush by myself, setting my sights on the President of the United States inside a nuclear-protected facility, all because of Micah. I rolled back over, looking through the binoculars again. I was going to have rings around my eyes come morning, not to mention a dozen ticks.
Another low growl, and I silently wished I had another apple to settle my stomach. But the rumbling didn't stop. It grew until even the leaves on the bush above me shook with vibration.
I jumped to my fe
et. My hair tangled in the bush. "Dang foliage!"
The blast separated me from the bush, as well as some of my hair, throwing me back into the trees. I got to my feet, slower this time, ears ringing. The earth was on fire. The entire hillside danced before my eyes, consumed in flame. A large gaping hole was in the middle of it all. Another blast, further from me but closer to Alex shook the ground again. There was no need to break in; something else was breaking out.
Chapter 3
Dancing Flames
I scrambled back to my bush, rolled up the blanket, and stuffed it in my bag. I opted for the shorter, steeper route down, rather than using the trail I took up. Rocks slid out from the soles of my boots, and my butt hit the ground, hard. I continued to slide. Shrubs hit me as I passed but did little to slow my descent. In fact, I tried my hardest to avoid the plant life. I'd rather break a limb than get another bout of poison ivy.
The dancing flames grew as I raced closer to them. Dust and rocks churned up in my path. Just after I began a tumbling routine, flipping head over heels, I came to an abrupt stop.
I groaned, "Not cool," and removed an especially sharp stick from underneath me. Another earth-shattering blast got me on my feet. I picked up my backpack – again – and ran straight into the flames.
Dizzy from the fall, I had a hard time staying upright. In moving forward my options quickly became limited, and the blaze determined my path for me. I fought down the instinct to call out for Micah or to use any of my powers. I didn't want to draw any attention; Greenbrier was beginning to look more and more like a trap.
Heat licked at my face and hands, threatening to singe my bared skin. I approached the area of the first explosion. A giant hole scarred the earth. Trees and shrubs around the hole was already charred and smoking; the fire moving on to consume more. I looked back at the hole. One hand, then another, emerged. My heart raced. A man in a suit pulled himself up. His facial features gleamed by the light of the raging fire. I did not recognize him.