EMP
PRIMEVAL
S.A. ISON
EMP Primeval
Copyright © 2018 by S.A. Ison All rights reserved.
Book Edited by Ronald Ison, Esq. Editing Services.
All rights reserved. Except as under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system, without prior written permission of S.A. Ison.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the production of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons – living or dead – is entirely coincidental.
OTHER BOOKS BY S.A. ISON
BLACK SOUL RISING
INOCULATION ZERO WELCOME TO THE STONE AGE - BOOK ONE
INOCULATION ZERO WELCOME TO THE AGE OF
WAR - BOOK TWO
EMP ANTEDILUVIAN PURGE - BOOK ONE
EMP ANTEDILUVIAN FEAR - BOOK TWO
EMP ANTEDILUVIAN COURAGE – BOOK THREE
POSEIDON RUSSIAN DOOMSDAY - BOOK ONE
POSEIDON RUBBLE AND ASH - BOOK TWO
BREAKING NEWS
THE RECALCITRANT ASSASSIN
PUSHED BACK A TIME TRAVELER’S JOURNAL BOOK ONE
EMP DESOLATION
THE LONG WALK HOME
FUTURE RELEASES
THE HIVE
SMOKEHOUSE SMILES
Other books by S.A. Ison under the name: Stefany White
Dragon’s Fortune
Alaskan Heat
The Seeding
Future Releases
The Butler Did it
Little White Lies
CHAPTER ONE
Sarah Wright stood in line nervously as she waited for her turn on the box that hung from the cable, which spanned nearly seven hundred feet across a deep gorge, over a three-hundred-foot drop into an incredible lush green. The sound of the water rushing along the deep gorge was intense and there was a fine mist that crept its way up the three-hundred-foot gulf. She’d waited nearly a year and a half for this rare opportunity.
She and seventeen other people had arrived in Motuo China, one of the remotest places on the planet, for a chance at five million dollars, or rather half of that much, two million, five hundred. She would have to share that jackpot, and she was glad to do so with her teammate, who’d been chosen at the Beijing airport.
She and the others had arrived a week ago in China, she’d already been jet lagged from the cross-continental flight from Maine to San Francisco then on to Tokyo and then to Beijing. Once everyone had arrived they’d all been shepherded into a lounge. Their host, Christian Quinn had called everyone to attention, without cameras rolling. Quinn went over the rules and passed out wavers, which they’d already signed, but he told them all laughingly that the studio executives wanted things in triplicate.
Once that was done, the three cameramen turned on their cameras. While they’d been waiting for all eighteen to show up, she’d met some of the contestants. They’d all hung out at the bar in the airport. It was a small bar, but they managed and celebrated.
Connor Hill had come up and introduced himself, he was tall blond and blue eyed, a handsome man about her age, thirty. He had chatted her up and then had drifted on to a couple of younger women, Vana Klein and Carol Hipps. She’d snorted to herself, figures. Then she met Grayson Jiang, he was from Boston.
She thought he was in his forties or so. He seemed very nice. Once all the contestants arrived, the bar was loud and boisterous. They’d been herded together and sent to the lounge. Christian stood before them with a pith helmet, which she thought a little hokey. Everyone stood silently as the cameras rolled and watched as he pulled one name and then another. He called them out and dubbed them partners. Each of them would be partnered up with a stranger.
“This way, there is no true advantage or disadvantage, just the luck of the draw.” He said with a flourish, his over white teeth glinting. Her partner had been chosen, Aiden Sanchez, a very nice-looking man. Appearing fit and capable. She was pleased and hoped he’d be a good partner; she was really wanting half of the five million. Once everyone was teamed up, the group was then hustled out and loaded on a janky bus, the thing had no smog control and belched out black smoke as it took off, its body shuddering loudly.
Food in the form of bento boxes were passed out, filled with rice and pickled vegetables. She and Aiden sat together and ate and talked. She got to know him, he was originally from North Carolina, near Raleigh. He currently lived in Norfolk Virginia. He was an ex-navy SEAL, and she had to have him explain what that was.
“It’s kind of like a frogman..ish. We go into dangerous places and attempt rescues and that kind of thing. Some of it’s classified. Some not.” He’d grinned and shrugged. She’d smiled and laughed. Aiden was an easy-going man. The bus jolted them and their bones. It had been almost a thirteen-hour ride. The bus had stopped a couple times, allowing the contestants to eat and use the bathrooms, which freaked Sarah out. They were essentially holes in the floor. The bathroom she’d used at the first place they’d stopped had smelled terrible, and swarms of bloated black flies hovered over the holes. The second place was nicer and cleaner, but she wasn’t used to squatting over a hole.
She turned as she heard the strident voice of Carol, and rolled her eyes. Carol was a typical self-absorbed beautiful woman. She used her beauty to get what she wanted. She was finding that difficult now, and everyone heard about it. Sarah sighed heavily and tried to tune her out, her eyes roved around the absolute beauty of the place.
It was magical and surreal. The hills and mountains that surrounded the gorge were an unreal green, and wild, that was what struck her the most, it was such a wild
