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The Quest
by Richard Haberkost
196 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #05-0213; ISBN 1-4120-5318-8; US$19.50, C$22.00, EUR16.00, £11.50
An intelligent book for both adults and teenagers. Escape reality and enter a world which will captivate you.
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About the Book About the Author Excerpts Catalogue Information
About the Book
In the woodland world where the animals live, there exists a permanent struggle for survival. This type of life for survival is unknown to many people. Humans have colonized virtually the entire planet except where the environment cannot be molded or changed to meet the standards required for a comfortable lifestyle. When we change the environment, what does this leave for those living things that do not choose to change the way nature has designed the local environment. The answer is clear, wherever humans colonize parts of the planet, this means a virtual death sentence for the creatures, very few creatures can live alongside humans unless they accept the role as a pet or a scavenger living off the tide of garbage which people produce. In this book for adults and children, let's suppose that animals can think in the same thought processes that people use. Let's suppose that the animals' religion is the very nature designed environment in which they live. They have no time to worship gods, power, wealth or self enhancement. The animals are occupied with the course of nature and fulfilling their roles to live to survive.
How long would it be before animals that could think in the same processes as people start to ask questions about humans? Such questions would involve why do people destroy everything else in order to achieve some unknown goal, what do people respect and what do they fear? In one part of this world the animals meet and ask these very questions. They elect a semi mystical representative and send him on a quest to find the answers to these questions.
This is an, if the animals could do that story? For adults and children. It has everything, humor, love, violence, mystery, deceit, triumph and many more elements to intrigue a reader. Through this book enter the world of another society governed by the laws of nature and follow the adventures that will give you a glimpse into worlds that in the past have not interested you. Take a break from human reality and see us and life through the eyes of the creatures whose world we are destroying.
This ongoing conflict for survival is governed by the laws set down by Mother Nature. The rules are simple, struggle to survive, struggle to eat; the woodland creatures understand and accept the rules that nature dictates to them. Everything is balanced, the strong survive and the weak, old, and sick simply perish.
About the Author
The author is a very private person with a history in the armed forces, studying psychiatry, worked as a local government officer and currently teaching English overseas.
Excerpts
The leading terrier burst into the thicket, eyes glowing with the lust to kill. He saw the cub on the ground and moved in for the kill. The dog’s lips curled back from his teeth. Saliva dripped from them onto the dry woodland soil. Then he spoke “You cannot get away from me,; now you are mine”. The next instant the terrier felt himself knocked over by a powerful attack from the side of him. He looked up into a pair of white eyes, their dark centers showing no emotion. The voice from his attacker was brief and to the point “And you,, man’s killer,, are mine”. He felt powerful jaws snap shut on his throat, so tight that he could make no sound.
THE GATHERING And so the story of the confrontation between men, his dogs and the woodland fox was passed through the community. In a large clearing in the wood they began to gather. The wise animals of the community and animals not credited with being very wise. Soon the clearing was full to capacity. The sun filtered through the trees to fall in speckles on the gathering. They were packed together, shoulder to shoulder, small animals peeping from between the legs of larger animals. All eyes were now fixed upon the centre of the clearing and in the centre sat Stripe, the oldest badger in the woodland community. Stripe was so old; no one was left alive who could remember him being born.
The Valerians are two tree spirits, one spirit representing good and the other spirit the bearer of evil. As the story goes, when a woodland animal lies dying in a place he has chosen, the Valerians come to look for him. Their spiritual branches like huge bony tentacle hands, feel their way through the undergrowth looking for the dying creature. If the animal has lived an honest and fair existence, then providence will guide the good tree spirit to him and he will be carried gently to the heaven which God's creatures go to. If the animal has lived a wicked deceitful life, the evil Valerian's tentacle branches will snatch his dying body and carry him to the pits of hell.
The young beagle crouched in terror, and backed towards the rear of her cage, the place she knew as her only home. On her body there are small areas of her fur that have been shaved away. In the shaved area’s angry red sores oozed septic juices. The dog’s has badly burned eyelids from the daily foreign fluids introduced onto them via a glass eye drop container. This fluid will one day be on sale as a shampoo for humans but first it is be tested on the dog for any bad side effects.
Her teeth show signs of early decay, this due to the fact her daily meals were being laced with a little something extra. The something extra being added to her food is a new sweetener product that needs testing before it can be sold to people.
THE DREAM The man came towards him, his arm outstretched to take hold of him. On the man's hand was a thick rubber glove, the glove was red and shiny. Light from the light bulb above the both of them reflected off the glove, causing a shimmer in the air around the man’s hand. In the end of the man's outstretched fingers, blue piercing eyes stared at him. He looked up at the man's face, he recoiled in horror. Instead of the usual human features, he could see the man had the face of a dog, it was the face of the dog that he had seen die in the Research Centre. The fur on the dog’s face had fallen out in most parts to reveal decomposing flesh. Dried blood matted the fur which was still left. On the man’s shoulder a large black bird of prey stared at him with red malevolent eyes.
The gloved hand gripped him tightly by the scruff of his neck; the smell of rats' urine filled his nostrils.................
The big black evil cat. The huge black cat had been practically invisible in the shadows as it fed on what was left of a mouse. She hissed and spat her defiance at the two intruders. Her back arched high and her hair stood on end. Malevolent eyes glared and dared the fox to come any closer. Razor sharp claws dug into the ground and her tail puffed up to the size of a large brush and the her on her back stood up. In the dark of night with her black fur coat and piercing eyes she looked evil and menacing and she had no intention of giving any ground.
White Eyes studied here for a few seconds. Blood glistened in droplets on the fur around her mouth and dripped from her whiskers. Her fangs were streaked red with the blood from her prey. Tufts of grey mouse fur stuck to the cat’s claws. White Eyes could see she was a formidable opponent with the weaponry to do a lot of damage. He also knew that cats fought at an uncanny speed.
"Find them, kill them" the rat screamed. The rat pack clawed and heaved them selves to the top of the steep bank and streamed in the direction that the fox had run.
The lead rat was nobody's fool, he knew that one bite from a fox was enough to kill any rat, so he had urged the pack ahead of him; he rather fancied the idea of the pack dragging the fox down by sheer weight of numbers. Then he would arrive and at his own leisure, he would look into the eyes of the fox. The pack would urge him to deliver the killing bite and he would do just that. Then he would deal personally with the squirrel, he smiled to himself. Tonight was a good night indeed, generations of rats would tell stories of his bravery.
So he made it to the top of the bank, ahead his pack streamed after the fox, he shouted to the pack "Faster, don't let them get away, pull them down." From above him a sinister voice spoke. "Hello my brave friend, I will not let you get away." The rat turned and looked up; above him the shape of Thorn whooshed towards him, powerful hooked talons pointed towards his back.
Now Destroyer was very happy, never before had she been able to wreck her hatred so effectively. Freak weather conditions over the oceans had given her the power to travel away from the seas and assault the lands. Again, man finds himself guilty as charged, for it was his negligent and persistent pollution that helped the Destroyer. Because of mankind's pollution of the atmosphere and the sea's, she now knew she would find it easier and easier to attack the lands which were once safe from her.
Below her the humans cowered in terror from the entity which they had unwittingly unleashed. Roof tiles flew through the air, glass panels shattered at random all over the town. Families screamed in fear but she felt no pity towards them, as she was concerned, they had invited her.
The next thing he knew, the stoat had fixed its bite on to him, luckily for beech he had moved at the last instant. Spine had intended to bite the squirrel's throat but had missed and only managed to fix onto Beech's muscular shoulder. Yet that was enough once his teeth met through the yielding flesh, he hung on with grim determination. Beech felt the needle sharp pain inflicted by the stoat, he screamed in agony from the intense pain. He thrashed around desperately but the determined killer hung on. P
eech felt the stoat gripping his body with its needle sharp claws; slowly the wretched creature increased its hold on the weakening squirrel.
The three men stood grouped around something lying on the floor next to Sam's car.
He studied the scene and it dawned on him that they were standing around the body of a man laying on the floor.
Sam reeled back in shock, he recognized the body lying on the cold earth, and it was his body.
A cold wind blew around him as he looked at the cold prostate form of his own once living form.
The lead hound could smell that the scent was strong and fresh, but he kept quiet. He wanted to be the first dog to catch the fox and pull it to the ground. He enjoyed the praise that his masters dished out to the first dog to secure a kill. Gradually, but not too obviously, he eased ahead of the pack. After a few minutes, he had placed a good distance between himself and the other dogs. His mind was on full alert but he was not ready for what happened next. Thorn had seen his chance, he dropped towards the dog at an incredible speed, and his strong feathered frame became just a blur of speed. Thorn struck putting his full weight behind the attack, this combined with his flight speed, proved to be awesome. He struck the dog with devastating force; he hit the animal square on the side of its head.
With enormous self will power he spurred himself forward. His battered and bruised muscles screamed in protest. He knew that he had to ignore the pain and keep moving; to stop and give in would mean an even more painful death. Despite his pain he still managed to move fast, the adrenalin of fear fuelled his aching muscles. He knew that his trick back at the tree would hold the dogs up for a considerable amount of time so this was his chance to put a lot of distance between himself and the pack
White Eyes squirmed as he watched from his hiding place. He just did not know what to do? - he considered himself a brave fox and would risk any danger to help his friend, however, the humans had so far made no attempt to harm Beech. The feelings or emotions that he picked up from the people seemed to be good. None of their actions showed any malice or threat.
With their size and power, they could have easily hurt Beech by now.
NOW TRY THE BOOK.
Catalogue Information
