SPOILER ALERT!!!
Yes... yes... yes... IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FIRST TWO BOOKS OF THE FALLING SCION SERIES (THE SCION'S DESCENT & CONFESSIONS OF THE ELECT)... THEN... THIS AIN'T
FOR YOU!
So, I wanted to GIVEAWAY the first three chapters of Carnage For Truth for FREE. This is the THIRD AND FINAL BOOK, in The Falling Scion Series. This is the end of Yoli's saga. Reeling from the massive cliffhanger at the end of Confessions of the Elect, Yoli will have to face the last part of her journey head-on, and alone. Then there are other parts where she will have to rely on the people that have wronged her, abandoned her, and some that have tried to pull her to the depths of despair. She has realized that her choices have torn apart the family that she has found herself at the center of, and she will sacrifice herself to keep them alive. Stripped of everything she knows to be true, Yoli fights back hard to create a life worth living. The only problem is that nothing is guaranteed for her.
Also, if you subscribe to my website, I'll send you the full copy to your email. That's my way of saying thank you for rocking with me and reading these wild stories that I come up with, I appreciate you. Now, this is only good until the end of January. So this offer of getting a free copy of Carnage For Truth is only good until January 31st, 2022. You guys are so dope, thanks again.
Click the photo to find it on Amazon and to get the first two books in the series.
Enjoy and you've been warned about the spoilers... Happy Reading!
SDJ
Chapter One - Into Oblivion
Yoli
I wasn’t running just for my life, but for every life that had been altered because of me. I ran for every foolish decision I made, and for all the horrible things that happened to me. It was now up to me to correct all the wrongs. No one else was going to do it. Stacia, my mother... had been elevated to lead the people at Casa De Leon in the Cumbres Forest. Magda had once spoken highly of my position as her successor, and it all crumbled right through my fingertips like wet sand. I had been demoted to just ‘get out of everyone’s way,’ and then I almost got my head blown to bits by a gun in the hands of a psychopath. Solomon wanted no parts of me, but he had also confessed his love for me. That just confused me and made my heart wrench within my chest. All of this in one night... I had to get away and make all of this right. I had to find favor with my people again, so I decided to execute my own plan. I waited until the guards were situated and on their posts of the compound wall. Then I filled a bag with supplies, a handgun, a box of bullets, and I took a sword from the armory. I hit the kitchen and took as much food and water as I could, in another bag. I went to the basement and opened the door to a hidden tunnel that led to the coast. I had no plans of heading in that direction, but I knew if Ryan was in charge, he’d track me quick. I knew that this move would only buy me just a little time before he figured out where I really went. Ryan was like a bloodhound dog when it came to tracking. For that short moment in time when he was under my charge, I could always count on him to find what I needed and in a timely manner.
So there I was running through the compound in secrecy. The halls were dark and cold and the only light I had to guide me were a few strategically place lanterns on the walls. I made sure to dodge the roaming night guards and any other sign of life that was going to rat me out. I slipped through a first-floor window and fell into a shrub next to the garden. A long sharp thorn tore at the fabric on my pants on the way down. Luckily it didn’t break my skin and make me bleed, but it hurt like crazy. The night air was much cooler than I had anticipated. I inhaled deep as I stood and stifled a cough, as the cold air filled my lungs. A thin sheen of fog hovered over the ground and the dew had already dampened the squishy turf under my boots. I grabbed my bags and cut through the garden and ran right into the cemetery. My legs were pushing into the ground as fast as they could go, while carrying my heavy load. I didn’t care if I stepped on burial placements, and I high jumped over the tilted tombstones.
I had to get out of the compound before anyone realized I was gone, especially my mother. Stacia would be sure to pitch a fit and kill me, if she knew I was running around in the night. The spotlight that spun on the ceiling of the highest rooftop of the compound floated over the ground, and I dove into the soil lying flat on my stomach, as it passed over my head like a bright white ghost. Once it sailed by, I hopped to my feet and ran even harder to the cement wall. It was about ten feet high, but there were holes and grooves embedded in the rocks. I knew for sure that I could scale this and disappear in a matter of seconds. I readied myself to throw all my things over, but I heard the faint sound of someone calling my name. My heart nearly burst out of my chest and my whole body went rigid with a jolt of shock. I turned and peered through the dark, and I could make out a figure running towards me. I wasn’t about to get caught before I had a chance to execute my mission. I threw my supplies over the wall quickly, and the figure grew closer and closer. Their voice kept on calling my name and I realized it was Shir. She ran up to me panting and carrying a bag. She looked alive and excited, and that was a first, since losing Sonny. I didn’t know what she thought she was doing and she for dang sure wasn’t coming with me. I didn’t need anyone slowing me down. The last thing I needed was to walk toward uncertainty with a thirteen-year-old girl in tow. That would give Stacia a whole new reason to kill me.
“What are you doing Shir, go back inside?” I scolded her. “I’m coming with you.” “What? I said, go back inside.” Just over Shir’s head, I could see the searchlight making its way back to our direction. I grabbed the front of her jacket and threw her to the ground. We both hit the dirt flat on our stomachs in the high weeds along the cement wall. When the high beam light passed us by, we rose to our knees again, and I questioned Shir. She persisted telling me that she was coming with me whether I wanted her to or not. I couldn’t understand why she would want to go with me, because I thought that she blamed me for Sonny’s death. It had only been a few weeks since Sonny’s passing, and she hadn’t talked to me since the day it happened. Not a single word… We used to be so close, and I loved her like she was my real blood sister, even though she was the daughter of our enemy. Either way, I didn’t have time to argue with her, Ryan would be on my tail soon, and the sun would rise exposing my position.
“Shir no.” I fussed back to her, and she shook her head staring me down with her big brown eyes.
“I’ll explain later. Please Yoli, please. I’m coming with you.”
I knew that I would regret it, but I launched her bag over the wall, and we waited for the searchlight to roam over us one more time and then I helped Shir scale the wall and slide over. Then I did the same, and we evaporated into the night leaving behind the glowing lights of the compound and everyone that we loved. I was out to reclaim the name of the Scion and make things right with my loved ones, by putting an end to everything that was wrong. Now I had to add protecting Shir with my life, to my task list. No sweat... right?
Chapter Two - Misled
Solomon
The day broke with utter chaos because Yoli and Shir were missing. Ryan, myself, Chap, and a handful of guards led the way in a search effort. In the basement of Casa De Leon, we all jammed ourselves into an escape tunnel that was two miles long. It was narrow, only about four feet high and wide and it was short on oxygen once you got going. We found ourselves fighting to the end of the tunnel not just to find the girls but also to find air. We began to see daylight at the end of the tunnel, and we crawled, scrambled, and tore at the dirt beneath our hands and feet, straining to take in a deep breath at the opening. I had never seen six other grown men kissing the ground and gulping for air the way we did that morning sprawled on the ground giving thanks to God for getting us through the tunnel.
It only lasted for a few minutes, and then Chap had two guards scouting out in all directions, he took a guard with himself, and put Ryan and I together. We fanned out in an extensive search behind every tree, rock, and mound of dirt that was before us. Ryan was just as determined as I was to find Yoli. Yoli was family, and we were going to survive this new life in Casa De Leon as a family. As much as a headache that she was to everyone... I still loved her... All I knew was that the girl that held my heart was out there somewhere fending for herself. Not to mention she had a thirteen-year-old girl that she had taken from the compound with her. We walked for hours, and Ryan was one of the best trackers I had ever met. He came up with no signs of Yoli or Shir. It was like they walked out of the tunnel and vanished into thin air.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Ryan said growing frustrated.
He lowered the gun he was carrying to his side and took a long drink of water from his canteen. The fall air was growing cooler into short winter days and long cold nights. It would only be a matter of time before it would be too cold to be outdoors with no shelter and food to survive. We were racing against the changing of a season, and we had little time to find the Scion and her hostage. Soon we all would need more than a jacket running around in the forest. I honestly began to wonder what Yoli was thinking when she took off and took Shir along too. She must really be desperate to prove herself.
“What do you want to do Chap?” Ryan asked as he walked up to us.
Chap was the man... He was an older gray-haired guy, and he always had the butt of a stinking cigar hanging out of his mouth. He looked like he could run a militia on his own and kill innocent women and children. Yet, this loud talking, six-foot beast, was a softy. Everyone in the compound called him Chap. He was Magda’s right-hand man and he had been with her since the beginning of her time at Casa De Leon. His daughter passed away years ago from an illness and his son-in-law left the compound in a fit of depression from his wife’s passing. Chap said that he believed Santana and Jared IV had something to do with it, but he never had the proof. During that time, Chap was left to take care of his six-year-old granddaughter. Over the years, he raised her by himself, to a very kindhearted and well-respected young woman. Gia was a beautiful girl, and she and Ryan had been spending a lot of time together. I just had so much drama going on with Yoli before she ran, that I never noticed Gia spending more and more time with our little family unit. Chap being the over-protective grandfather that he was, didn’t yield so easily when Gia and Ryan started showing interest in each other. So, he kept her close and Ryan even closer.
“I don’t see any signs of the girls.” Chap said and he scratched at his beard, with a sound like his nails were racking over gravel.
“Me either... We should go back.” Ryan said, and Chap and I followed him all the way back to the tunnel.
Once there, Ryan was still in tracker mode. He walked around in circles with his eyes glued to the dirt. There were several pairs of footprints in the layers of dust on the ground near the entrance. He walked a few feet inside the tunnel and then back out again. Then he was doing that spinning thing again like a dog sniffing for a bone. He did it several times before he looked up at us like we saw the same things he did.
“See that?” He asked with his eyes flashing frustration.
“Naw man...” I shrugged, and I looked at Chap, and we both gave a second shrug at each other.
“They didn’t leave any tracks. The tracks on the ground aren’t from us, but they can’t be from Yoli or Shir either. Everything you see here; these footprints are from men. They are a little older and the fresh ones on this side are from us.” Ryan said pointing to the ground like it was all obvious to us.
“How can you be sure?” I asked, and Ryan looked at me like I just insulted his intelligence.
“Yoli didn’t come through here Solomon. Yoli is clever and all, but she would never think to cover her own tracks. She would high tail it fast to wherever it is that she’s headed and not look back. I think she led us to the basement tunnel, just to throw us off her scent. We got to go back and tell Stacia.”
“What if they are out here?” I asked him, and that seemed to frustrate him even more. “Look man, you can stay out here and look all you want, but I’m telling you they didn’t leave out of this tunnel. We have to think like Yoli thinks; she’s sneaky, not stupid. I’m going back now; you do what you want.”
Chap told Ryan to get the other guards and meet him back at the compound for further detail. Ryan gave him a lazy salute and did as he was told. Then Chap stood there staring at me with droopy old eyes, chewing away on his nasty cigar, like an old lazy bear. After he rounded up the men, Ryan told me to trust him, and he took a deep breath and dove back into the tunnel. I had no choice but to trust Ryan, this was his calling, not mine. Just like a dang bloodhound dog... He knew how to find things, people, and take orders from his leadership. He was good at getting people together and organizing a movement. That’s why Magda put him second in charge to Chap, to one day head of her military.
~
It took us about an hour or two, to crawl back to the compound, and again we dove into the basement gasping for the stale air. Ryan had taken only a second before he was off to report back to Stacia. She and Magda had come up with a plan to get the remaining people to safety. The Casa De Leon compound was still anticipating a lively siege from our enemies. From what we understood, we were surrounded by corrupt heathens from the Pit, Hilltop, and Red River. The three camps of barbarians had merged into one massive movement, looking for Yoli’s head and to wipe our people out of existence. With our impending doom at hand, Ryan had no problem stepping into their meeting and letting them know that he was on a new search for Yoli and Shir. They told him to report back immediately once he found something and he was off running again.
I stayed behind listening in on Magda and Stacia’s plans. Casa De Leon had a significant threat from the Pit just the night before with Selah leading the charge. Selah was now like a predator out for Yoli’s blood. From what we could understand, they wanted Yoli and Shir now, if Carlito had told us all the truth. Yoli, because her Scion markings were encrypted with a map to what they believed was the ‘promised land.’ They wanted Shir for a sick and twisted game of spoiling her in any way possible. Jared IV was a pervert like that and none of us forgot what he did when he tried to keep Yoli as his own. He abused her and tortured her. We all assumed that Shir would meet the same fate if Jared IV or Santana got their disgusting paws on her. Selah was coming to take lives, and we just weren’t certain when that was going to happen. So far, the plan was that Magda was sending for help beyond the area of Casa De Leon. She told Stacia that she had connections along the coast, and she sent some men to bring in a squadron. I had no idea that Magda was so full of tricks up her sleeve. She said that these people owed her a solid, whatever that meant. In the meantime, she began moving all the elders, women, and children through the tunnel and to the coast in groups. This way the Pit people that surrounded us wouldn’t be tipped off of their escape. She wanted to spare the lives of as many people as she could before Selah returned. Stacia took note to everything Magda said, and she excused herself from Magda’s tearoom and met me in the hallway. I stood there waiting to talk to her and to make sure that she was doing okay, in spite of what was going on. I could tell how worried she was by the solemn look on her face. It looked like she hadn’t slept at all since she found out the girls were gone.
“How are you holding up?” She asked, giving my arm a squeeze. “About as well as you are...”
“That bad, huh?” Stacia laughed, but it was only to shield the grief that was eating us both from the inside out. “Ryan will find her; he knows what he’s doing. I have to trust God with this one. I just don’t know what Yoli was thinking, running off and taking Shir with her.”
“Yeah, I keep wondering the same thing.” I sighed.
“She loves you Solomon, you know,” Stacia smirked, squinting her big brown eyes at me. “She’ll be back, I know it. You guys will be back on the same page before you know it.”
Stacia’s words hit me differently than I expected them too. I thought she was trying to give me hope that Yoli would return to me and we’d reconcile all the fighting we had done before she fled. Only now, I just felt guilty down in my gut. What if it was all my fault for pushing her away for the mistakes that she made, for the incident with Russ in the basement, and for throwing the ring I gave her back in my face? It had only been less than a full day since I last saw Yoli standing at her window in the moonlight. I stood there looking at Stacia’s smile that looked so much like my Yoli’s smile. That’s when I realized that Yoli had been planning her next move last night and not just overthinking the issues that transpired between us. I should have been softer to her and forgiven her. I should have listened to her when she was trying to talk to me and Ryan in the basement. I should have been there to stop her from making such a stupid decision. Now she was out in the Cumbres Forest among the wild men that tried to murder us on first sight. She was too close to the wandering enemies of Selah and the Pit. I had to do something, instead of sitting inside with Stacia. I needed to be out there with Ryan hitting the dirt to find my Yoli.
Chapter Three – Landslides
Yoli
We didn’t have much time for conversation, as we spent the whole day ducking behind trees, abandoned rusted trucks, and giant rocks. The sun came up quick and beamed above us all afternoon, exposing our location. We snuck slowly through the Cumbres Forest heading as far north as we could get, and it wasn’t easy. Those wild Cumbres men that attacked us before roamed this way and that way aimlessly. Every time I thought we were in the clear another man would walk by just a few yards away from where we hid. I covered both my face and Shir’s with dirt and our clothes so that we could blend in with the dark greens and browns of the forest. I felt my emotions bottoming out, when I realized that my mother had once done the same thing to me and Crispin when we had to make it through the Pit. It felt like a lifetime ago. I found myself lost in my thoughts with my hand paused against Shir’s cheek with a palm full of dirt. She grabbed my hand and held it tight, and I smiled nervously and went back to covering her up.
Our knees ached from crawling and squatting on the ground, and I prayed that we stayed incognito. We kept our weapons in front of us, loaded and ready just in case one of the savages saw us. Luckily, we made it to the north end of the forest undetected, but it took us all day. Most of the wild men of the Cumbres Forest stayed right in the middle and ran throughout causing havoc to innocent victims that didn’t know any better. After spending the day crawling through the mud, and using hand signals to communicate with Shir, I was overjoyed to see the clearing of the trees that let out into the dry prairie of yellow grass and sand the color of red clay.
I kept a steady and watchful eye behind us, as we pressed forward. I kept my back against Shir’s back as I walked backward with my gun ready to empty my clip if necessary. I made sure that no one was following us, and once I felt like we were in the clear, I grabbed Shir by the arm, and we ran. Even though our bodies ached, and we needed to rest, we ran into the setting of the sun huddled close. We didn’t stop until night fell and we found a place to sleep. We found the old, rusted truck that my little family left at the edge of the prairie floor during our initial escape from Red River. Our old mobile home, the Bounce House, was still sitting there covered in dirt. The kids had named the truck that because regardless of how fast or slow you drove, it bounced with tremendous force. I approached the truck slow with my gun drawn and made sure it didn’t have any other visitors that had taken over. Once we made sure that the truck was clear, I hopped into the back of the covered truck bed and found that it had been stripped of all the supplies. No lanterns, no blankets, and it looked like whoever ran through the truck even siphoned the gas from the tank. We couldn’t even drive away if we wanted to, and this was the only shelter that I had for Shir and I for the night.
We huddled together to keep warm in the back of the truck bed, and I was exhausted, but I couldn’t bring myself to fall completely to sleep. I didn’t want any surprises during the night. Then I realized that this was the first time that Shir and I would be able to speak since Sonny’s death. She kept herself from me for days and days, until last night when we escaped the compound. Before Sonny’s passing Shir was always by my side, and she talked to me about any and everything. Anything I did, she wanted to do, and anything that I promised her, she made me keep my word. I promised her at one point that I’d protect her, Sonny, and Morgan. Yet, I failed miserably, and it cost everyone Sonny’s life. From then on, I felt like I was walking around the compound with the words, ‘complete failure’, written across my forehead. I sat there in that truck next to Shir with my eyes shut tight trying to squeeze out the memories that were racing in my brain.
“Are you sleep?” Shir whispered to me.
“Yes,” I replied, and took a peek at her then closed my eyes again, leaning my head back on the side of the truck covering.
Shir sat close, snuggled to my side trying to warm herself.
“I’m freezing.” “Me too,” I said, and then I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about everything that went wrong. Just me and Shir, with no distractions... “Why did you want to come, Shir? You should have stayed with Stacia and Morgan.” “I just wanted to come. I have my reasons, I guess.” “Oh really? Do tell Shir...” I teased her, and she smacked her lips and rolled her eyes at me. “I wanted to come because I know where you are going, and I want in on it.” “What do you know about where I’m going? And you want in on what?” “Look.” Shir began, and she sat up straight but still close. I could feel her body shivering every time the wind whipped a breeze through the truck bed. “I was mad at you for what happened to Sonny, but Stacia helped me see things differently. She reminded me that Sonny wanted to leave on his own and that he wasn’t happy at the compound. She also reminded me that you were the one that went out to look for him. Stacia told me that life isn’t always fair, but God can use bad situations for our good, even if we couldn’t see it at the moment. After we buried Sonny, I was so sad, and I didn’t really know what to do about it. I just kept everything inside... and the more I thought about it... the more I felt like I needed to do something about my feelings. So, I stopped hating you... I started following you around, and you never really saw me.”
“You little creep. So you turned into a spy?” I laughed, but Shir remained serious, and she nodded at me and I felt the pit of my stomach drop.
“I saw everything Yoli... I saw Russ and how creepy he was towards you, and the fight between you two before he shot himself. I know what he was trying to do with you in the basement. I saw you fight with Solomon, and I waited until Magda left the room the night the Pit came and threw my father down in the courtyard. I watched from your bedroom window, and I heard everything that Selah girl said to us. Then I snuck down to the basement. I saw the whole thing. I know what Russ did to my father... I’m still not really sure how I feel about that part... Anyway, I ran up the stairs and hid in my room when Stacia came up with Magda. I waited for them to go to Magda’s tearoom to talk and then I saw you in your room by the window. I almost got caught by Solomon when he was headed to his room. Then when I saw you packing your bag, I went and did the same, and I followed you outside.”
“Why Shir? Why are you doing all this? You want to run up in the Pit and take care of Santana and Jared IV, by yourself?”
“No,” Shir snapped and looked surprised at me with her big eyes glowing against the moonlight beaming into the truck. “I want to make things right by helping to free the people of Red River, and the Bottoms. I heard what my father said about the Pit keeping them locked up like slaves. That’s not right. I can avenge Sonny’s death by doing the opposite of what they did to him. I want to help you set those people free. I knew you were going to make things right and that’s why I wanted to come.”
“Oh...” I sighed. This was the biggest mistake ever.
I plotted out a massacre in my head and ‘Shir The Saint’ was coming along to set her people free. She made me feel like I was about to get a one-way ticket to hell for my plan of destruction for Jared IV and Santana. I even had Selah on my roster for shooting Solomon back at Red River. I felt horrible, and it showed. Shir studied my face and then she backed up a little as I hung my head debating if I was going to tell her my truth.
“Wait.” She said, figuring it out on her own. “That’s not why you left, is it? You’re not going to help those people?”
I let out a loud growl. I was so frustrated... I should have left her butt at the compound and left on my own. Shir was making a simple plan more difficult than it had to be for all of us.
“Shir, I had a plan, okay... and it didn’t involve you. I don’t want you to be a part of this, I shouldn’t have let you come.”
“Well too bad. I’m here now, and I’m not going back.” Shir said puffing up with a challenge.
“Okay then, check this out. I guess the people were going to be freed in a violent type of way, but that’s only going to happen if the bad guys are gone. I was going to get rid of them and let the people do whatever they felt necessary. Then I was going to go back to the compound and let everyone there know that we were safe. I was going to make things right with my mother... and Solomon.... and.... and... That was my plan.” I stalled as Shir’s dark eyes pierced through me with conviction.
“You were going to kill people? Yoli, you can’t kill people just because you want to. I mean, they are bad and all, but you can’t just walk in there and kill them.”
“I wasn’t going to just walk in there,” I mocked her. “Shir, I’m going to be bait. I’m going to surrender and give them what they think they want. Then when the opportunity is right, I’ll do what I have to do, to put an end to everything. They will never stop hunting us down, if I don’t to this as soon as possible. Do you understand?”
I almost hollered at her. I wanted Shir to know that I meant business and that it was too late to turn back now. I unraveled a little more of my plan, and Shir sat looking at me like I was a stranger. She spoke of bringing peace to the people, and I told her that it wasn’t going to come without war first. She realized I was serious when I told her how deep things ran for me. Somehow, I started telling Shir in graphic detail about how Jared IV tortured and raped me, and my repugnant uncle Santana, sat there and let it happen. He turned a blind eye when he thought he had the map in his clutches. I told her about my broken relationship with Selah, and how she was once my Daily and my best friend when we lived in the Shore Delegation. I ranted for what could have been hours, and in the end, this thirteen-year-old girl said something that stung worse than a wasp and stuck with me.
“Magda says, God don’t like ugly... Besides, I thought this was about Sonny, and it’s all about you Yoli.”
“It’s about all of us.”
That was the only come back that I could say to Shir. This thing was so much bigger than me and Sonny. I wanted to make sure that they couldn’t torture another young girl, push people from their homes, and ruin our lives by chasing us from every place we tried to escape, just hoping to avoid from them. We sat in silence a while longer and the cold of night didn’t seem so piercing. The breeze had died down a little and I knew that we needed sleep, to make it another day.
Right before Shir went to sleep on my shoulder, she told me that I was stuck with her. She said that by the time we made it to the Pit to stand before Jared IV and Santana that God was going to deal with my heart, and I would do the right thing. I wanted to believe her, I really did, but I knew what I felt inside and what I had to do about it. It wasn’t going to come easy, and it wasn’t going to come without casualties and maybe some regret. I just had to make sure that Shir wasn’t a part of the body count. I had to come up with a plan ‘B,’ now that she had become an accessory to my mission.
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