Read Online Divided (#1 Divided Destiny) by Taitrina Falcon - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Taitrina Falcon
Ads: Link
for a response, ending the call.
Leo stared at his cellphone for a long moment. He didn’t care who had pulled the trigger, not really; they were just a symptom. The cause were those damn Roswell Grey aliens. They had started this mess; they had caused the chaos and the panic. It was their fault. Their fault, and they had to pay.
“Goddamnit!” Leo screamed. He turned, swore, and punched the wall. Then for good measure, he threw his cellphone against the wall and kicked it once it smashed against the concrete floor. He grimaced and looked at his hand; his knuckles were scraped, but there was no serious damage. He’d gotten away with that blinding moment of fury.
“Leo, what the hell, man?” Don jogged over, his face a mask of concern.
“My mom and dad are dead,” Leo told him. “Someone started a firefight in the grocery store.”
Don swore. “I am so sorry.” He put a comforting hand on Leo’s shoulder. “You going to be okay?”
“Yeah, of course.” Leo laughed harshly. “Is it wrong that I wish we were heading back to New York? I really feel like kicking some alien ass right now.”
“We’ll get our shot,” Don promised.
Leo nodded. He couldn’t think about this right now; he had to focus on the mission. There was nothing he could do for his parents. With a start, he realized that he was now alone in the world. His mom and dad had been his only family, aside from the family he had in the marine core, his brothers in the unit and beyond.
It was wrong, and it was reckless, but somehow he didn’t mind the fact that this could be a suicide mission anymore. There was no one left who would miss him; he was a perfect candidate to send. Don wasn’t. He had a mother and a younger brother, and Leo wished he could keep him safe. He was his best friend, but nowhere was safe now, not even areas that weren’t under active attack by the aliens.
They were all in danger no matter what. This mission gave them a slim hope of ending the threat. That was worth pursuing, no matter the cost.
Chapter Six
Night had just started to fall the day before when the robot probe had disappeared in a flash of light. It was less than twenty hours later that Leo’s squad arrived at the makeshift camp by the shrine. Leo stood with Don at his side, along with Jakeman and O’Flynn, the other two remaining members of his tactical squad. They had been shown footage of the robot probe’s disappearance, so they knew what to expect.
Now they were just waiting for the all clear to depart. It was somewhat bizarrely comforting that even in the chaos of an alien invasion, the military was still very much hurry up and wait. Leo raised an eyebrow as the resident scientist berated three of the military members of his escort.
“That’s Doctor Julian Braden,” one of the gunnery sergeants whispered. “Apparently he’s legendary around Area 51 for being difficult. Ran off all his research partners until no one would work with him.”
“I really can’t imagine why,” Don muttered to Leo.
A few more minutes passed, and Leo came to the conclusion that Julian Braden must either be brilliant or he had some powerful friends, given his rather abrasive personality. The man in question was currently scowling and tapping away on a tablet furiously.
He had no idea what Doctor Braden was doing; from what he could gather, it wasn’t as if there were any adjustments that could be made. He might just be a dumb marine staff sergeant, but it seemed fairly simple to him. They stood on the platform, someone touched the pedestal, the beams of light shot up, and they either died or hopefully were transported somewhere else. There was nothing anyone could do to control it. How could they, given they didn’t understand it? Although he was sure it wasn’t magical, as had been suggested in the book they’d been told about.
Leo certainly didn’t believe in magic; he followed the principle that any suitably advanced
Leo stared at his cellphone for a long moment. He didn’t care who had pulled the trigger, not really; they were just a symptom. The cause were those damn Roswell Grey aliens. They had started this mess; they had caused the chaos and the panic. It was their fault. Their fault, and they had to pay.
“Goddamnit!” Leo screamed. He turned, swore, and punched the wall. Then for good measure, he threw his cellphone against the wall and kicked it once it smashed against the concrete floor. He grimaced and looked at his hand; his knuckles were scraped, but there was no serious damage. He’d gotten away with that blinding moment of fury.
“Leo, what the hell, man?” Don jogged over, his face a mask of concern.
“My mom and dad are dead,” Leo told him. “Someone started a firefight in the grocery store.”
Don swore. “I am so sorry.” He put a comforting hand on Leo’s shoulder. “You going to be okay?”
“Yeah, of course.” Leo laughed harshly. “Is it wrong that I wish we were heading back to New York? I really feel like kicking some alien ass right now.”
“We’ll get our shot,” Don promised.
Leo nodded. He couldn’t think about this right now; he had to focus on the mission. There was nothing he could do for his parents. With a start, he realized that he was now alone in the world. His mom and dad had been his only family, aside from the family he had in the marine core, his brothers in the unit and beyond.
It was wrong, and it was reckless, but somehow he didn’t mind the fact that this could be a suicide mission anymore. There was no one left who would miss him; he was a perfect candidate to send. Don wasn’t. He had a mother and a younger brother, and Leo wished he could keep him safe. He was his best friend, but nowhere was safe now, not even areas that weren’t under active attack by the aliens.
They were all in danger no matter what. This mission gave them a slim hope of ending the threat. That was worth pursuing, no matter the cost.
Chapter Six
Night had just started to fall the day before when the robot probe had disappeared in a flash of light. It was less than twenty hours later that Leo’s squad arrived at the makeshift camp by the shrine. Leo stood with Don at his side, along with Jakeman and O’Flynn, the other two remaining members of his tactical squad. They had been shown footage of the robot probe’s disappearance, so they knew what to expect.
Now they were just waiting for the all clear to depart. It was somewhat bizarrely comforting that even in the chaos of an alien invasion, the military was still very much hurry up and wait. Leo raised an eyebrow as the resident scientist berated three of the military members of his escort.
“That’s Doctor Julian Braden,” one of the gunnery sergeants whispered. “Apparently he’s legendary around Area 51 for being difficult. Ran off all his research partners until no one would work with him.”
“I really can’t imagine why,” Don muttered to Leo.
A few more minutes passed, and Leo came to the conclusion that Julian Braden must either be brilliant or he had some powerful friends, given his rather abrasive personality. The man in question was currently scowling and tapping away on a tablet furiously.
He had no idea what Doctor Braden was doing; from what he could gather, it wasn’t as if there were any adjustments that could be made. He might just be a dumb marine staff sergeant, but it seemed fairly simple to him. They stood on the platform, someone touched the pedestal, the beams of light shot up, and they either died or hopefully were transported somewhere else. There was nothing anyone could do to control it. How could they, given they didn’t understand it? Although he was sure it wasn’t magical, as had been suggested in the book they’d been told about.
Leo certainly didn’t believe in magic; he followed the principle that any suitably advanced
Similar Books
