A Shrouded World 5: Asabron

A Shrouded World 5: Asabron is the fifth book published in the A Shrouded World Series by Mark Tufo and John O'Brien. This novel takes place during Zombie Fallout 12: Dog Dayz, and works as a sidequel to the Zombie Fallout series. Jack Walker slips out of his A New World universe during A New World: Dissension, Chapter Nine "The Rain Cometh" - about two thirds of the way through.

It was published **December 28th, 2019**

## Synopsis

Our heroes have gone their separate ways in an effort to save Trip and unify their fight against the Overseers who have an evil plot to take over not only this world but all worlds. Mike asks for and receives help but not in any way he could have prepared for as Jack finds himself in the uncomfortable position of filling Otter’s shoes. Can Jack and Mike find a way to destroy the evil that has been unwittingly unleashed or will they succumb like every other civilization the enemy has encountered?

## Summary

Continuing from where the last novel ended, Jack Walker and Otter leave the cabin they’d found safety in to find a helicopter – following the last request of Trip who’d been taken by an archangel. The archangel had viewed Trip as a threat and he was taken – his ability to “trip” through realities was ripping holes in realities and letting hole Melaforms like the Whistlers in. However, Overseers/ Archangels were serving their own interests while trying to fix things.

Jack, desperate to get home, considers just talking to the angels – after all, getting him back to where he belonged made sense for healing the various realities, right? He eventually thinks better of it. Part of them still wondered if everything was just a weird dream but, dream or not, he had to stay alive. Otter considers whether they're on the wrong side of the fight if their enemy is Angels, but Jack and Otter agree that they can’t be sure who is good and bad in which reality. Otter mentions that he knows Trip from military maintenance

Otter then reveals that he lied about his ability to just walk onto a military base and borrow a helicopter. Yes, he did serve, but he wasn’t exactly on good terms with them anymore. So they decide that, since they need a helicopter, they're breaking onto a base to steal a helicopter.

While hiking, they smell the decay of zombies. They continue cautiously, wary of just walking into the undead. However, Jack begins to suspect that everything beyond the town is an illusion of sorts. He’d been told that the nation was at war, but had seen zero evidence of that. No military or news or supplies are being moved and Jack begins to question Otter’s memories. Otter is certain his memories are real and even questions Jack’s sanity.

Spying the undead, they vow to return to town to warn them of the impending horde. Additionally, they decide to get a vehicle to aid their journey. However, the undead spots them and begin to attack and surround them.

After heavy fighting and losing ground, the pair decide to a tactical retreat to make a final stand against zombies is the best option. Otter comments that they’ll be "like Bambi" – this realities version of Rambo.

Their retreat is a success and they defeat most of the undead. However, nightfall is getting closer and they start to reclimb the hill back to the cabin and draw the remaining undead. Unfortunately, Jack and Otter become separated and night runners descend onto the area. Jack, knowing he doesn’t stand a chance if he isn’t careful, brings the undead and night runners into conflict with each other – killing those that spot him as he continues to fight his way to the cabin. Jack makes it to the cabin, which Otter has reached before him, and lets Jack in. Jack passes out from exhaustion.

Jack wakes, washes in a nearby river once it’s confirmed to be safe, and then heads into town to warn them. He notices a heavy storm is also approaching the town and the lack of action adds to Jack's belief that something is wrong with the town.

Unsure what to do, Jack goes to Police Department and tells them an armed man is approaching the town from where he came from. He knows zombies are unbelievable unless they see them for themselves. They still don’t believe his story until he poses as Otter, which seems to convince them to send two officers with Jack.

Heading out, the trio sees the undead and heads back to town with Otter. They arrange defences and get weapons from the town armoury. The zombies descend on the town and their armed force holds them back for some time, before unleashing a combine harvester that mows down a lot of the undead.

Suddenly, white light with silver sparks encompasses Jack, who then appears outside the town of Valhalla with zero evidence of zombies or the defences

Switching to Mike and Kalandar, we see a version of BT arrives from the multiverse in tiger print yoga leggings. This BT is less muscly and even fat. This BT knows Mike through his wife, as their wives work at a children's hospital. When Mike asks about this version of Tracey, he is told he is married to someone called Jandilyn – this revelation causes a chill to run up his spine but he does not know why.

Mike explains the situation to BT, who had been having dreams about Callis Rose - which convinced him not to be a cop in his world and take a different path. Additionally, Mike and BT aren't friends from that world. And, beyond that, BT actively disliked his version of Mike for being rude and meanspirited. They settle down for the night, but Kalandar soon wakes Mike because he can sense vibrations in the ground. BT can't move and has sunken into a crater that wasn’t there when they went to sleep. Almost like his weight has increased. Neither can move him.

Mike shoots the ground in a panic but this causes something to begin moving underground. Tendrils come out and Kalandar unleashes a hellfire-like attack, melting actual ground. BT is released from the tendrils, but the ground and everything around them is destroyed. They escape. Kalandar explains the creature was a Blugeon and had travelled between worlds somehow

Unfortunately, BT was injured and they need to choose between heading to Trip and getting medication for BT. Mike chooses BT, despite the latter's hate for the former. So, Kalandar takes a human form and heads into town. BT thanks Mike but says his Mike isn't just an asshole but mean-spirited. BT thinks he's there for a reason.

Suddenly, Mike hears Otter and Jack's weapons – the conflict from earlier. But even they eventually stop and Mike wonders if they’re dead. However, the zombies are suddenly after Mike and begin to strategically surround him, hunting him through the woods.

Mike runs and hides and silently takes out zombies when he has to, but they continue hunting him. But eventually, Mike gets surrounded by the undead, which Kalandar comes back and saves him just in time.  They rest for the night before eventually returning to a frightened and shivering BT. Kalandar gives him the antibiotics he found. However, Kalandar reveals that he believes the world they are in has been created for unknown reasons.

They continue their travels, entering a gas station they came across. The road maps in there are blank, almost like they’re just props. Even stranger, they find a miniature replica of Stonehenge - which is revealed to be a portal to view other worlds

Mike enters the barrier and is in a bubble, seeing static. Suddenly, Mike sees himself from a third-person view and the Overseers are there also, looking at something. Suddenly, one of them senses something is amiss and begins looking around.

Mike sees the Overseers talking as they're huddled around Trip. Mike shouts out for him. Trip hears him but the Overseers cannot. Trip separates from himself like astral projection and uses it to talk to Mike.

He explains they've stepped out of time and that the Overseers aren't controlling time but ensuring time happens. Whistlers are a virus and are infecting everything. Either nothing exists or it all exists at once. What’s worse, the Overseers want to use the Whistlers to control everything.

Suddenly, one of the Overseers once again senses something is wrong and begins moving towards them.

We then switch to BT and Kalandar watching Mike’s physical body as his mind views what he sees in the portal. BT sees a column of hearses on their way toward them, so they hide in the gas station. Twenty or so hearses pass by, but four pull over outside.

Whistlers get out, form a circle, talons extending and they all begin rotating, spreading black fluid and creating new Whistlers. They then upturn a silver coffin, causing three bound humans to fall out and are fed on by the young. The Whistlers leave but newborns find BT and Kalandar – a conflict ensues.

Switching back to Mike, Trip tells Mike everything is in the notebook and he needs to get to Hvergelmir. Suddenly, Mike returns to BT and Kalandar, helping them fight and kill the newborns, but Mike is incredibly out of sorts

Switching back to Jack, everything Jack has was renewed and untouched by whatever switch happened. There are still no zombies around. He begins to search through the town, finding not another soul. Additionally, everything else is brand new, as if it’s on display. Jack finds a vehicle and takes it, the radio giving off nothing but some Geiger Counter-esque static.

Suddenly, the truck cuts out, so Jack gets out and begins walking away. Looking back, the truck had vanished. Jack goes into the forest and begins his hike, hoping to go back to the cabin. However, the hearse convoy appears in the distance.

Jack heads to where the cabin was, only to find it isn't there this time. With night descending, he needs to get to safety, so heads to the cave where cultists tried to summon a demon in the previous novel, but he finds some sort of shimmering barrier. Knowing that it’s certain death with the night runners, he passes through the barrier to escape.

Once inside the cavern he hears the voice of the demon from before who wants to eat him. Jack quickly tries to retreat through the barrier, but the demon pulls him back. The demon tells him to breach the barrier so he can escape also or be eaten. Jack goes through but comes out in the daytime and there's some sort of battle happening below, with an artillery barrage raining down around him.

Soldiers sight in on Jack and he avoids them with relative ease. Backup arrives for one side and Jack continues fighting the initial squad. He severely injures one soldier and puts him out of his misery with painkillers.

Blackwatch approaches, which Jack blags his way by with a similar uniform and understanding their friendly call signs as something similar was used in his world At that moment, the demon emerges. Blackwatch realise Jack isn't Blackwatch and agrees to get Jack to a helicopter to lead the demon away.

Jack arrives at a base and takes a helicopter by force. He has an air battle with the demon, firing missiles and such and avoiding the dark energy thrown by the demon. Jack crashes the helicopter into the demon and Jack passes out.

As Jack comes to, Mike is there, Mike undislocates his arm and claims the demon disappeared in light. Mike and Jack update each other. Both acknowledge BT is a liability so they make a baby backpack for Kalandar to wear and into which BT sits. They realise they need another helicopter.

They see a tower and head towards it. With night falling, the night runners charge the tower. Light takes Kalandar and BT, but Jack and Mike fight off the night runners and make a run to a vehicle.

Eventually, while fending off the night runners, they get the vehicle going and escape the descending night runners.

Switching to Mike, he takes the first watch for the night once they’re a safe distance away. Jack takes over and later wakes Mike as the temperature is increasing unnaturally fast

To escape the heat, they start travelling in their vehicle – which starts to overheat too quickly. They use urine to fill up the coolant and begin seeing signs for Asabron. Their tyre blows as the road heated up too much until even their vehicle stops. They have to get out and start walking.

Both begin overheating and slowing. They see a black wall "a cold front" they're heading for. But the temperature keeps rising until the ground is so hot Mike’s boots start melting.

Jack disappears through the black wall, and it's revealed to be extremely cold and moist.  Jack comes back to rescue Mike and they head into the arctic cold. They find zombies and night runners torn apart, likely by the demon. And in the distance, they see hundreds of Whistler bikes and semis approaching. They get on motorbikes to escape but the temperature keeps dropping.

They come across a truck full of pillows, which they hide in for the night. They sleep, wake and come out into the sun. There are many dead Whistlers, apparently killed by the weather – they begin to wonder if even that was weaponised against them. When they come out, the sun is shining and loads of dead whistlers from the weather.

They arrive at a blockade, feeling watched. Kalandar and BT are there. They continue on and find a helicopter just sitting there. They get it ready and tie Kalandar to it. They’re attacked by the night runners and undead, struggling to take off because of Kalandars weight.

The novel ends with them eventually taking flight and escaping.

## Trivia

* While travelling, they find that Jeeps are called Yeeps in their current world
* Blackwatch appear to use the World War 2 friendly signs of flash/ thunder
* Christmas does not appear to exist.
* "Asabron" likely refers to the Asir Bridge in Nordic mythology and is the name of the location at the end of the novel.
* The creature on the cover is likely to be the demon that Jack met in the cage and later fought.