If you’ve been waiting since 2018 for the next chapter in Clark Rich Burbidge’s StarPassage series, your wait is over! CyberPlague, the fourth book in the YA paranormal/time travel adventure series, is on shelves now.
StarPassage: CyberPlague, by Clark Rich Burbidge, (Oct. 2021, Deep River Books),
$15.99, ISBN: 978-1632695789
Ages 10-14
Excerpt from the Prologue:
Across time and space another dreamer was greeted by confusing images. Courtney moved rapidly through a long dark hallway. She was led by someone, who pulled her by the wrist. She seemed to have difficulty running. Something was wrong. But she couldn’t tell what it was. Moving with urgency, she sensed they were being hunted by something dangerous. A tug on her arm told her she needed to move faster. The danger was closing the distance.
They approached a double door with signs that were unreadable in the dark. She wanted to slow down and figure out where she was. What is going on?
Her guide burst through the double doors into a large space. It was pitch dark, but suddenly, as if Christmas tree lights had been turned on, small pinpoints of multi-colored light appeared randomly scattered around the room. Their greens, yellows, reds, and blues were not bright enough to provide real light, so she continued to stumble along behind her guide.
They ran, looking for something. The double doors they had just passed through flew open, banging against the walls, and she heard footsteps and voices—lots of them. An angry mob! Her mind flooded with fear. Everywhere she looked she saw the multi-colored pinpoints. The guide turned a corner, then another, and a third. The pursuing mob’s footsteps faded a little.
She heard someone fumbling with a doorknob and a door squeaked open. “In here,” a voice said. “Stay down. I need to think. Be very still.”
She followed the hand into the room, heard the door latch lock, and sat down against the cold metal door they had just entered. The footsteps grew closer and stopped outside the door. She heard rhythmic chanting as if words were being repeated in unison by the mob. Courtney couldn’t understand what they said.
Suddenly, she felt as if she’d sat on an ant mound or had burst open dozens of spider sacks. Thousands of little legs were crawling all over her. She let go of the guide’s hand and frantically tried to brush them off. Courtney wanted to scream but knew the pursuers would hear. Valiantly, she tried to swallow the cry. Her panic mounted as she felt the crawling things burrowing into her skin.
It overwhelmed her senses. Self-control vanished, and a blood-curdling scream exploded from her as she sat up in bed, viciously fighting to get the crawling things off her.
She felt arms wrap around her. “It’s just a dream, Court. You’re all right. I’m here.”
Website and Social Media:
Website: http://www.starpassagebook.com
Facebook: @clarkrburbidge
Buy links:
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