Read Online Stone Soldiers: Catching Fire by C. E. Martin - Free Book Online

 
    STONE SOLDIERS: CATCHING FIRE
     
     
     
    As Daniel Smith dove for the grenade on the dusty rooftop, he could not help but notice the irony of it- it was an American grenade. An M-67, anti personnel grenade, probably brought to the region during the Soviet-Afghan war.
    Smith landed hard on the grenade, covering it with his body and closing his eyes. He hoped that his sacrifice would give his team enough time to hold out until the evac helicopter arrived.
    The grenade exploded beneath him and he felt himself lifted upwards even as shards of metal ripped through his body. Then he felt nothing.
    For a moment.
    When he opened his eyes, Smith found himself completely submerged in warm water. Bright light surrounded him and he briefly wondered if he was in heaven. Then strong hands lifted him- one under his neck, and another under his shoulders. He sat up and gasped- water spraying from his mouth.
    "Welcome back, Commander," a kindly, elderly man said as he was patted on the back.
    Smith squinted against the light- it wasn't as bright as it had been seconds before. It was more of a harsh fluorescent light than the bright sun of Afghanistan. He reached up and rubbed at his eyes, clearing the water obscuring his vision.
    Smith looked around, bewildered. He was no longer wearing camouflage fatigues, body armor and gear. He was in loose, white medical scrubs. And he was sitting on a cold metal operating table submerged in water.
    "How are you feeling, young man?" the kindly voiced-man asked.
    Smith turned to his left and started when he saw the labcoated man watching him.
    Tall, over six feet, with curly gray hair, the elderly scientist seemed friendly- save for his left eye- an eye completely turned a hard, gray. Not milky white like a glaucoma, but gray, like stone. The elderly man's other eye was perfectly normal- brown colored.
    "Deep breaths," the man said, still smiling.
    Smith looked slowly around. He was no longer on the rooftop of a remote village in the mountains of Afghanistan. His team was nowhere to be seen- nor were the Taliban insurgents that he had been shooting at.
    Smith wasn't even outside anymore. He was in some vast chamber, well over a hundred feet across. Work stations, desks, cabinets and a score of technicians in labcoats moved around the edge of the high-ceilinged chamber.
    Smith and the elderly man beside him were in the middle of the chamber- surrounded by a pool of warm water, nearly fifty feet across.
    "Bring us up," the scientist called out, waving.
    A technician near the edge of the pool nodded and worked a control box. The table Smith was sitting on jerked then began to rise. He quickly saw that the table was secured to a metal grating platform that stretched bridge-like across the large pool of water.
    "I'm sure you must have a number of questions," the elderly man said. Smith was now able to see he wore hip waders under his labcoat.
    "Where am I?"
    "Florida, my boy." The elderly man answered. He then took Smith's left wrist and felt his pulse. "How are you feeling?"
    "Confused. What is this place? Who are you? How'd I get here?"
    "I'm Doctor William King," the doctor answered. He pulled a small penlight from a pocket and shined it briefly in Smith's eyes. "You were flown here- on a military transport."
    Smith squinted and turned away from the light. "And where is here? This doesn't look like a military hospital."
    Dr. King tucked the flashlight back into a shirt pocket. "This place? Why, you've discovered the Fountain of Youth."
    "Doctor?" A new voice called out from the side. Smith turned and saw a man in woodland camouflage uniform, walking out onto the platform.
    The man was large- well over six feet tall, with black hair cut in a very short flattop. He had smooth skin and looked young for someone wearing Colonel's wings on his collars. He had wide shoulders and an imposing presence.
    "He seems quite fine, Colonel," Dr. King said, gesturing for Smith to step down.
    "What's going on here?" Smith