Awaken A Novel Squeezed Down to Just 5 pages Read online

AWAKEN

  A Novel Squeezed Down

  to Just 5 pages

  by Mat Clarke

  First release on February 2014

  ISBN 9781311487766

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 2013 by Mat Clarke Last Page Pty Ltd.

  This book may not be reproduced in part or whole digitally or on paper or in any other form. Information or permissions may be obtained by writing to,

  Factory 16, 12 Edina Road, Ferntree Gully,

  Victoria, Australia, 3156.

  Or email: [email protected]

  MPC1 Trust Trading as Last Page Pty Ltd

  Chapters

  Introduction

  About this book

  Chapters 1-22

  Links to Mat Clarke

  Introduction

  To write a novel is a challenge. To edit it well is art. To have it published is where the fun and anguish begin.

  Enjoy a novel which has been beaten and molded into a short, yet, exciting brief of what takes place in the small town of Kinglake, Victoria, Australia. Then extends to San Francisco, New York and the world of bioengineering, agents, greed and loss.

  Blurb:

  A man wakes up in the middle of the wilderness covered in cuts and bruises, wearing only runners and shorts. Not sure of how he came to be there, he sifts through broken memories to recall just one fact: he works for a bioengineering company on viruses, not harmful, but beneficial viruses. His only problem is that rival companies and government agencies will go through anyone to steal it.

  Thriller Fiction

  Full novel word Count: 98,000 (approx)

  Novel squeezed into 5 pages: 1,500 (approx)

  Basic Plot: A man with amnesia must find answers to his attempted murder

  Chapter 1-22

  His head pounds as he raises it from the cold earth. He can taste dried blood and grit in his mouth. Lying on his front in the dark he scrambles for a reason as to why he is outside and alone. Trees are in every direction.

  While struggling to remember who he is and walking through dense bushland toward civilisation, he experiences a flashback of semi-remembered events. He recalls his failed assassination and that he works for a bioengineering company on viruses, not harmful, but beneficial viruses. And that rival companies and government agencies will kill anyone to steal it.

  After two days of hiking over rough terrain and past endless trees, Larry stumbles across an occupied farm where he is thankfully given help. The police are called and an officer arrives to take Larry to be reunited with his family at his brother’s country farm. Once within the officer’s vehicle Larry remembers the face of the driver who rammed him with his car and threw him off a cliff leaving him for dead in the woods: the police officer at the driver’s seat.

  Noticing a spark of recognition in Larry’s eyes, the officer draws his revolver, but Larry is already upon him and grabs the muzzle of the gun just as a bullet is fired. Pain explodes up Larry’s arm as part of his hand is blasted away. Adrenalin fuels Larry’s will to live, enabling him to send two punches to the officer’s face knocking him unconscious.

  Larry binds the officer securely. He takes only a moment to think on how serious his situation has become. He revives the officer and asks him questions.

  He discovers that Simon Green, a US business magnate, recognisable by his East European accent, owner of Tech Dynamics—a rival bioengineering company—is hellbent on acquiring Larry’s viral drugs at any cost.

  With injuries beginning to drain Larry’s body, as well as his mind, he endeavours to find his family and get their help.

  A city detective is called to the country town to investigate and takes with him a sizeable team from the Melbourne precinct. They interrogate the local police and investigate Larry’s claims.

  The detective eventually works alongside Larry to discover the truth about the company, Tech Dynamics, and its involvement in the disappearance of Larry’s colleagues.

  Meanwhile, a US Colonel learns of the viral drugs while visiting Australian associates and so tries to acquire a sample for his own country’s purposes. He learns that Larry’s brother has a permanent strain of the virus within his veins—due to Larry testing the healing virus on his brother, Paul, (although without his knowledge) to repair a heart defect.

  Paul is persuaded at gun point to travel with the Colonel and his heavily armed associates to the US to undergo tests so that they may be able to extract the virus from his blood.

  As the plane takes off, the Colonel is killed by unknown assailants. The plane and the remainder of the passengers land safely in San Francisco. This leaves Paul free, but stranded in another country.

  Paul makes his way to the Australian Consulate-General in downtown San Francisco where he is able to take refuge. It is agreed that he is to sleep at the consulate’s offices for the night due to the Consulate-General and the authorities in Australia being unsure as to the extent of the US government’s involvement. It is that night that an attempt is made on Paul’s life and he is subsequently shot twice in the chest and once in the head.

  Further memories of Larry’s life and job return, including where he securely hid the viral research: the Reserve Vault building in Brisbane.

  Fearing his viruses and data will be found, Larry flies to Brisbane intending on arriving at the vault before anyone else who seeks it can steal it.

  Upon leaving the Reserve Vault building with the contents from the secure stores, Larry is ambushed by Simon and his men. Everything is stolen and taken back to the Tech Dynamics Testing Facility near the country town of Kinglake.

  Larry is then brutally tortured and almost killed, but escapes by savagely killing Simon Green’s two bodyguards after secretly injecting himself with his viruses before leaving the vault. This mix of many viruses aids his body in repairing and rebuilding muscle and bone into something beyond what any other tests had previously demonstrated.

  The Australian government has also become greatly interested in the viral drugs and is eager to purchase the technology. They therefore lend Tech Dynamics squadrons of military personnel for security of the complex and thorough viral testing on all the soldiers. The resulting experiments on the soldiers are significant in showing increases in overall fitness, better recovery from wounds and strength.

  This success encourages Simon’s team to go beyond what was authorised and so begins administering the drugs to civilian volunteers acquired from the nearby town. But the alterations are too intense. The patients become uncontrollable as mental strain affects their sanity and they attack each other, the soldiers and doctors.

  Most of the patients finally commit suicide.

  Larry alerts the military of the stolen drugs and informs them of the viruses instability if administered without caution. In reply, the military send an inspection team to Tech Dynamics Testing Facility. Once there, they discover soldiers putting out spot fires from a ruined complex with barely a building still standing. The grounds are littered with dead disfigured test subjects and the scientists involved are lying dead along with them.

  The soldiers are given the task of bagging the dead as the inspection team looks on with disgust at the waste of human life.

  Larry travels to San Francisco to check on his brother and is surprised to find him not only conscious but recovering with haste. The virus within his body has not only mended his heart but also enabled Paul’s blood to clot quickly and speed up tissue repair to avoid any long term damage to major organs and his brain.

  Satisfied his brother is recovering, Larry decides it is a good opportunity to take a trip to Tech Dynamics head office in d
owntown New York. Here he finds more of his viruses being developed. Also, another drug the company has begun illegally redeveloping; Carotranine, a Russian born drug useful to the Soviet government during the second world war. When administered, the drug messes with the medial prefrontal cortex, which represents self. This allows a person to be affected by strong suggestion, or in the military’s case; orders. Specifically canceling out conflicting moralistic concerns and care for personal injury.

  Larry also searches for his stolen data, but can see that all servers for the facility are off site. He decides the actual servers must be with Simon Green.

  Larry locates Simon’s home in the lush hills of the Bronx and covertly enters, but is quickly set upon by bodyguards. During the struggle Simon slips away into a hidden wall cavity. Larry searches for Simon after suppressing the guards, but believes Simon has escaped. Further to his annoyance, the servers are not to be found and could be anywhere in the world.

  Disgruntled, but not beaten, Larry searches Simon’s computer and finds an email in the process of being sent to Tech Dynamics Testing Facility. Somehow Simon has used this computer remotely to contact his people.

  Larry phones the military inspection team and alerts them that Simon is still in contact with someone at the Tech Dynamics Facility. Upon connection of the call he hears sirens in the background. The email sent was to initiate a fail-safe (controlled explosion) so no evidence of the tests at the facility could ever be found and traced back to Simon. The inspection team collects survivors of the tests and escapes just as an orange mushroom cloud collapses the entire complex.

  Simultaneously, within the town of Kinglake, a team of soldiers affected by the Tech Dynamics drug tests, are in the process of subduing the townsfolk permanently, which has the added benefit of allowing Tech Dynamics to test the effectiveness of the drugs and viruses on selected soldiers. They silently murder every person and create a ghost town in only a matter of hours. The orders are carried out expertly and without remorse.

  To completely destroy all evidence of any tests taking place, trucks loaded with explosives are driven by Tech Dynamics’ soldiers to Kinglake and Healesville to destroy both towns and all its people.

  Kinglake is the first to go, followed by the military inspection team and the test survivors.

  Word gets back to Healesville about Tech Dynamics, Kinglake and the cover-up. A brilliant plan is initiated by the city police to effectively and quickly evacuate.

  Hi, my name is, Mat Clarke. This is my first novel written in only 3 months, although edited over many years. The learning curve in this editing process was immense. I don’t mind telling you now that I had no idea what I was doing four years ago.

  I also have two other novels written. These are currently undergoing a greatly improved editing process

  If you liked the brief of this book then you can check out a fuller more in depth version which goes for around 100 pages when you buy “31 Odd Short Stories”, currently 99 cents depending on your exchange rate. (The 32nd short story is “AWAKEN”.)

  See the next page for links to my web pages and the list of all books written.

  Links to Mat Clarke

  matclarke.wranga.com.au/

  matclarkeauthor.wix.com/novelist

  facebook.com/matclarke.author

  facebook.com/MatClarkeWriter

  plus.google.com/MatClarke.Author

  sites.google.com/site/matclarkeauthorwriter

  au.linkedin.com/pub/mat-clarke/21/bb6/982

  matclarke.blogspot.com

  twitter.com/#!/MatClarkeAuthor

  If you live in Melbourne, Australia, and want to meet other writers:

  meetup.com/The-Melbourne-Writers-Meetup-Group

  If you live anywhere else in the world:

  facebook.com/MelbWriters

  Books by Mat Clarke

  Non Fiction

  Don’t Panic They’re Just Hemorrhoids

  Don’t Panic They’re Just Hemorrhoids, 2nd Version Bonus Extras: Repair Your Eyesight in One Week. Don’t Diet, Just Lose Weight

  Writing Games, Writing Tips, Writing Exercises

  Fiction

  31 Odd Short Stories

  Mark’s Way Out

  Awaken – A Novel Squeezed Down to Just 5 Pages