M. L. Banner - Stone Age: Volume 1 (Stone Age Series)

Denver City, Western Kansas Territory

R ussell Thompson knew he was about to die.

A fiery projectile from the heavens hit only a few feet from where he stood. Churning earth and burning debris lifted him up and over the camp, and discarded him into a pile of timber already ablaze. The flaming hell which was enveloping him and his mortal injuries worked at his consciousness. Before succumbing to the cruelness of his fate, Russell pushed back, willing himself to remember the euphoria of the providence that was supposed to be his.

He was going to be rich. His father would have finally respected him. A tip from a dying man brought him here, leading to a vein of gold, and his destiny.

Then destiny changed.

He was wakened this morning by the same unearthly forces still jarring him from oblivion. It started as a sparkle, what seemed like the early morning light bleeding through his little tent, in an urban encampment.

Maybe two hours past Midnight, it was too early for sunlight. Yet prospectors were stirring in their tents, and outside, others were preparing their breakfasts and getting ready to stake their own claim in the mountains nearby.

Exiting the tent, he witnessed a sky beyond explanation. There were red, green, and even blue snake-like tubes of sparkling light, slithering in the sky above them. They were like gigantic ghostly serpents suspended above by unseen wires and moving in unnatural ways. The light from these celestial beasts bathed everything below in an eerie shimmering luminescence; bright enough that it looked like the sun had already partially risen.

Then sparks and fire along the telegraph line, followed by the telegraph office exploding, and finally the Cherry Creek Saloon erupted an inferno, launching flaming cannonball-like debris into the air.

A roar from the sky called him. He looked straight up and saw a reddish snake slithering out of the hellish nightmare above. It seemed to look right at him, just as his father often looked at him, with anger and disappointment. His snake-father then started to shake and pulsate, looking now more like a giant dragon, who glared his scorn and hatred right at Russell. It grew before his eyes, swollen by all the years of angry words and disdain towards his son, which could no longer be held back. The father-like dragon snake opened his mouth and erupted violence in the form of one of those fiery cannonballs. This one was reserved just for him.

Dreaded realization hit him. He was about to be consumed by flames. There was no running away from his punishment. He would not realize his destiny after all.

His eyes flickered open, aware he was moving, floating, his legs smoldering. Trying hard to focus, his vision cleared just enough to see. Pete, his best friend, mouthing words he couldnt hear or understand, was carrying him. Finally, he could no longer hold his eyes open, allowing the peace of unconsciousness to take him away.