NEW RELEASE
Title:
Sudden Blindness
Author:
G. L. Didaleusky
Email: gosky1@earthlink.net
Genre: Mystery
Excerpt
Heat Level: 1
Book
Heat Level: 1
People in Ocala, a small city in
Florida, face an epidemic of sudden blindness. The head of Ocala Regional
Medical Center's emergency room, David Belmont, and his wife, Sarah, a high
school science teacher, seek answers to what is causing the blindness, where
did the blindness originate and why did it suddenly afflict people and animals
without warning or other symptoms? Their son, a high school senior, is one of
the victims. These questions are baffling an experienced investigative medical
team from CDC whom arrive later in the day from Atlanta, Georgia. Unbeknownst
to David, Sarah and the leader of the CDC's team, Russell Patton, has a mutual
amorous secret.
EXCERPT
April 17
A moonless night accentuated the meandering
headlights of a moving vehicle along a winding lakeside road near the city
limits of Gainesville, Florida. "Can't believe, how easy it was to break
into that home, Carl," Eddy said to his
passenger excitedly. "The owners were definitely sound sleepers. They
hardly resisted when we tied them up in their bed."
"It's got to be our easiest home invasion yet,
Eddy." He pulled out a flask from his pants' pocket and took a sip of
whiskey from it. He then handed it to his cohort in crime.
"I figure we should get a few thousand bucks
for everything. The jewelry looks expensive."
"Their laptops are high-grade. We should
probably get a good price for them too."
"Look out, Eddy," Carl shouted. The road
made a sharp turn to the left but their vehicle continued straight ahead. The
car shook violently as it sped down a wooded terrain's uneven incline toward a
lake.
Eddy, squeezing the steering wheel for dear life,
pushed down on the brake pedal as hard as he could. Nothing happened.
"Holy shit." The break lining obviously ruptured. His head struck the
steering wheel, followed by blood cascading down his forehead.
Carl's body lunged forward as his face slammed into
the dashboard. A cracking sound came from his neck.
They flew by sparsely spaced pine trees, coming
within inches of them. The car's headlights now lit up the water in front of
them. Neither of them saw it, for their unconscious bodies bounced around in
the front seat of the car like rag dolls. It took less than a minute for the
car to submerge into the deep lake. Unless someone saw the vehicle enter the
watery grave, no one would discover these two unhallowed residents.
Something in the back seat emitted a faint, yellow
glow as the car sank to the bottom of the lake.
April 23
A man who appeared to be in his mid-fifties
and moderately overweight sat behind the steering wheel of a tour bus. He said
into a microphone, "It's me again, Frank Murphy. I wanted to let you know
we're about thirty minutes to our destination, the Gulf of Mexico and Port
Hawk."
Some people on the capacity-filled bus exclaimed
enthusiastically, "Hallelujah." Others commented with less
exuberance. Most of the passengers were couples between fifty and seventy years
old.
Frank continued, "The casino ship's shuttle
boats will be leaving a little over an hour once we stop. There'll be time to
visit several little quaint novelty shops along the boardwalk."
The blacktopped two-lane road started at I-75,
south of Gainesville. Frank had been making the ninety-minute casino bus trip
for the past ten years. He knew every bump and curve in the road. There were
several other bus trips to casino ships on the Gulf and Atlantic side of
Florida, and to the Indian casinos. Frank couldn't figure out why residents of Florida hadn't voted for
casino gambling at hi jai facilities, dog and horse tracks in Florida. There
would be a tremendous increase in tax revenue for the state. The irony in all
of this, Frank didn't gamble.
"How often have you been on the casino
ship?" asked a passenger sitting behind Frank.
Frank chuckled. "Only once. I got severe sea
sickness."
"Was it a rough sea?"
"No. Hardly a ripple. I should've known
better, since I get motion sickness on airplanes and even some elevators. I've
been like this since I was a kid. I couldn't go on merry-go-rounds or any other
rides at carnivals."
"What a shame. Not able to enjoy the
rides."
"No big thing. I became extremely efficient at
those carnival games. I always walked away with an armful of prizes."
The bus suddenly veered to the right and onto the
shoulder of the road, its tires running over the ribbed warning strips causing
a whining sound to alert drivers their vehicle left the highway. The low
mumbling sound of passengers talking stopped, their attention diverted toward
Frank Murphy, who sat erect, his hands tightly grasping onto the steering
wheel.
"Is everything all right?" Panic engulfed
the passenger's words as he waited anxiously for an answer.
"I can't see." Frank cried out as he
applied the brakes. Within seconds, the bus jerked to the right as it headed
down a slight embankment toward a row of pine trees. A moment later, the front
of the bus crashed into them, killing Frank instantly.
No comments:
Post a Comment