The Pride
Richard Tabaka
Author Bio
Richard Tabaka lives and works in Central Wisconsin. He is a life long fan of horror in books and film. “Growing up in central Wisconsin, Halloween was just about my favorite day of the year,” says Richard Tabaka. “I recall reading stories by Edgar Allen Poe while in Middle School and I subscribed to Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. Comics like Creepy were also some of the things I cut my teeth on.”
Richard went on to read books by Stephen King, Dean R. Koontz, James Herbert and F. Paul Wilson among others. “I always dreamed of being a writer and then, one day, I set a goal to do just that.” Richard joined the Long Ridge Writer’s Group and studied with them in the 1990’s as well as the Writer’s Digest School of Novel Writing. “Little by little it came together.” In 2003, spurred on by a job he hated, Richard renewed his writing efforts. “In time I had a complete novel written but life got in the way.” Following the death of his son Richard shelved his writing for a few years before finally picking up where he left off. The Pride is a culmination of his efforts to date. “There just came a time when I decided to dive in and do it. There’s nothing worse than reaching the end of your years knowing you never took the chance.”
Richard has other novels under construction and a few short stories planned for release in the near future. You can keep up to date with his works at his website.
Description
Nightmares aren’t supposed to walk among the living. But they do. Deep in the northwoods of Wisconsin, hidden among the pine forests, a group of preternatural beings exist. Using the cover of a group of reclusive religous monks they have created an underground world in which to hide, venturing out only at night to hunt their human prey.
Nick Barnett is a shell of his former self. Once a Special Forces soldier he has lost his wife, his daughter, and now himself. He lives only because he hasn’t the will to die. Then, one dark night, on rain slicked roads he collides with another vehicle and with his destiny.
Suzanne Reynolds searches for her missing daughter. The police have given up but this determined mother never will. Her search takes her to the small northwoods town of Spirit River Falls where she meets a retired police detective who takes her under his wing. Together they will look for Suzanne’s thirteen year old daughter, Heather.
Kelly Kryshack is just a young woman looking for love, life and acceptance. Until she is abducted by creatures she cannot fathom. Hunted for sport Kelly becomes the only person to ever escape.
Together with a Vietnam Veteran and bar owner, Ernie Montgomery, they for a rag tag army of five that must face an adversary that has preyed on man since the dawn of time. At stake are the lives of two young girls and maybe the fate of human kind.
The Pride takes you on a page turning thrill ride through a world where man is not at the top of the food chain and death stalks the night with lethal efficiency.
Book excerpt
Earlier there had been a man with her. She didn’t know his name. He ran ahead of her not caring in the least if they would catch her. The woman chuckled insanely to herself. But wasn’t that the old joke about bears? She thought. Two men encounter a bear, one says to the other, “run”. His friend says “don’t be stupid, you can’t outrun a bear.” The other man replies, “ I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you.” She laughed at the truth to this madness. He was out here somewhere. He’d outrun her. Suddenly she wished she could find him. She didn’t want to be alone out here any longer. She didn’t want to die out here. Not like this.
The ground came up fast as she landed with an audible thud. A rock lay hidden. Invisible in the pitch black darkness. Cold water flowed down her arms as she pushed up from the ground. The icy rain ran in rivers between her breasts and stripped her naked in the face of the cold. She felt her skin draw tighter as millions of capillaries constricted in an effort to preserve her body’s core temperature. Wiping the hair, now matted to her face, with a muddy hand before stumbling ahead a horrible sense of despair filled her. The downpour continued. Even if they didn’t catch her she realized she’d die within the hour, maybe less. Hypothermia was beginning to set in minute by agonizing minute. The shivering was almost uncontrollable now, her brain now slowed from the frantic pace of only a few minutes earlier to a detached bewilderment as the penetrating cold rain stripped away precious body heat ever more rapidly. The cold had come to her, wrapped it’s arms around her in an icy embrace. It had become her unwanted lover. She realized it would never leave her again, not ever.
If not for the lightning she would have walked past him, without even noticing the man. He was sitting with his back against a tree. She dropped to her knees in front of him, wincing as she did. Thank God she’d found him. Apparently as exhausted as herself. Her teeth chattered as she tried to speak. And then the next brilliant flash of the early spring storm lit up the night and placed in her mind a photograph of the moment. A macabre Polaroid. Her mind reeled. His face was a horrible rictus. His throat was more than half gone and his mouth hung open wide as did his lifeless eyes. His skin looked leathery and stiff, like something from a jar of formaldehyde. Lightning flickered once more and she saw a muted reflection in his distant, clouded stare.
Her body forgot the cold in an instant. She snapped to her feet and spun about. Her legs drove her feet deep into the soft, slick earth as they launched her body forward. It was no longer fight or flight. It was only fight. She slammed into the solid form, dropping like a stone. Reaching out into the blackness her numb, frozen hand finally rested upon an unfamiliar object. Still reeling, her mind sifted through the maze of useless files her brain had now become. It told her that her hand now rested on a thickly muscled leg. Her fingers probed the thick, coarse hair. A rumbling growl reached her ears. Crunching preceded the blackness.
Author Website
Best place to buy your book