It started in the summer of 1960, when red hail fell from the sky.

I watched it fall, like frozen blood over my town, over Galena.

I thought the Red Hail was just a story.

A fairy tale people from Galena used to tell their grandchildren.

First came the Red Hail, and then the children disappeared.

We searched the desert for them.

But they were gone. After the children came back, that's when the plagues began.

I thought the plagues were something my grandparents imagined.

After the plagues began, the animals changed.

Everything changed.

My grandfather used to tell stories about how the plague spread.

There were other things, too.

Something hiding on the messa outside of town.

It was almost the end of everything. Now it's happening again.

Red Hale, a new novel by Jamie Killing from Red Adept Publishing. Order now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble,

or wherever you get your books.