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Doc - Book #1 in the Daybreak 2525 series
by Jude Mason

ISBN: 978-0-85715-490-3

Genre: Futuristic - post apocalypse/ Sci-Fi/ MM/ MF

The son of a healer and a warrior, Doc is forced to take on both roles when his village is destroyed and his lover...gone.

Returning from a visit to one of the outland farms, Doc finds his village destroyed, his family either gone or dead and his lover vanished without a trace. The few survivors hidden among the ruins tell a tale of ruthless, sadistic marauders taking what they want and burning the rest. Doc finds too many dead and his heart breaks for those he finds alive. Mothers whose children are gone, husbands who have lost everything and everyone.

Pulling as many people as he can together and tending their wounds, Doc vows to find the rest of his people. His father is among the dead, but his mother, his sister and lover are not.

The hunt is on.

Excerpt:

He dropped the satchel filled with his doctoring tools and herbs to the grass and unslung his bow. It was a small affair, made of some mysterious alloy manufactured before the big war.  He’d discovered it in what remained of the old city to the north and found it easier to aim than the long bows he’d been using. With a great deal of practice, the small weapon had proven extremely accurate, and he rarely travelled anywhere without it. An arrow in hand, he automatically notched it but didn’t draw it back. When he leant down to pick up his satchel, he saw movement below and again froze.

Doc squinted, hoping to see Jazz crouched amid the piles of rubble. His mother and father would be there, and his sister Robin—unless they were dead. Just thinking about it made him cringe. The warriors, where were they?

He noticed several of the bodies ahead were very small. His stomach churned. More movements below caught his attention. The familiar figure of a white-haired elder shambled out from under one of the heaps of debris. Each tribe in the region seemed to have at least one person who kept the histories of what had taken place over the last few centuries, passing on stories from one to the next. Seth was one of these ‘Rememberers’, keeping the records of their tribe. Being the oldest person, he’d lived through much of what needed recalling.

The wind turned, and Doc got his first whiff of the fire and of the burned flesh. His belly rumbled. He swallowed bile and gagged.

Straightening up, he squared his shoulders and looked carefully around. The woods surrounding the village remained undamaged and quiet. There were a thousand places to hide. He watched for several heartbreaking moments, knowing he had to be sure those who’d attacked were gone before he ventured in.

When he was confident no one remained in hiding, he returned to the path leading down the hillside. His pace quickened until he was jogging. He scanned the brush on either side as he hurried on his way. Visions of the atrocities he’d seen, mingled with flashes of his family, and Jazz, his darling, sexy Jazz, leapt into his mind.

Jazz, the man he’d grown up with and had fallen head over heels in love with, a handful of years ago, kept returning to his thoughts. If these were simply marauders, Jazz would have fought and probably died trying to protect the tribe. But if the attackers were after slaves or trade goods, the outcome might have been much different.

He thrust both of those thoughts aside. He couldn’t bear to think of Jazz dead. Captive or slave might be worse in some ways. Doc’s heart lurched. At least you’d be alive, my love.

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