Read Online Striker (The Alien Wars Book 2) by Paul Moxham - Free Book Online Page A

asked.
    “It probably
doesn’t see us a threat,” Derek said. “Isn’t that right?”
    Kenneth nodded absently
and focused all his attention on Carl, who had wound the explosives around his
waist and was crawling across the top of the Destructor. Even with the wind
buffeting him, Carl didn’t stray off course.
    “He must have
pretty good shoes to do that,” Molly said.
    Despite the
situation, Kenneth smiled. “Imagine what would happen if humans and Seods
worked together and shared their technologies. The world would be an amazing
place.”
    “Much better than
all-out war,” Derek said.
    The three of them
watched as Carl opened up some sort of hatch and disappeared into the heart of
the Destructor.
    Kenneth glanced
at his watch before he stared at the screen. Everyone fell silent as the
seconds ticked by.  
    “Hey! It’s
changing course,” Derek said.
    Kenneth muttered
to himself as he saw that the teen was right. The beast had been going around
in a circle for the last few minutes, but now it swooped back in the same
direction it had come from.
    Molly sighed.
“That’s not good.”
    “No.” Kenneth
stood up and hurried back to Mike. “What do you think happened?”
    “I don’t know.”
Mike slowed the Striker and climbed fifty feet. “If they shoot at us, I want to
be ready to flee. Our armor isn’t quite as thick as
theirs, so the closer we are to them, the less chance we’ll have of surviving.”
    “He must have
been captured,” Kenneth said. “It wouldn’t have taken that long to plant the
explosives.” He frowned as he saw the expression on Mike’s face. Something was
off, as he didn’t look too distraught. “He’s trying to turn them, isn’t he?
Trying to get them to work for the Alliance ?”
    Mike gazed at
Kenneth. “You’re a smart man. You catch on quick.”
    Kenneth leaned
forward and hummed at the giant shadow rising through the gray clouds. “Hey, I recognize that mountain. Isn’t that Mount Shasta ?”
    “Yep. And also the
site of our base.”
    Derek frowned. “Of course. It all fits.”
    “What?” Molly
asked.
    Derek glanced
between his sister and Kenneth. “George said something about a mountain
northwest of Lake Tahoe . The one nicknamed Death Mountain .”
    “ Death Mountain ? Where everyone
dies?” Molly cried out.
    “Yes, but don’t
be afraid. We’re not going …” Mike paused as Carl emerged from the Destructor,
waving furiously. “Ah, that does not look good.” He quickly adjusted the
controls and the Striker increased speed. “Tell me when I’m above him,” Mike
said, glancing at Kenneth.
    Kenneth raced
back to the other room, all thoughts of Mount
Shasta forgotten. He stared at the sight
on the screen as the rope ladder got closer and closer to the Destructor. As
soon as it reached the surface, he yelled, “It’s touching.”
    “Can he reach it?”
Mike shouted back.
    “Yes, he’s going
toward it now.” Kenneth stared as Carl marched toward the ladder. Suddenly, a massive
blast ripped through the inside of the Destructor.
    The ship took a
nosedive, with Carl running for the ladder. Before he could grab it, the ladder
spun off into the open air.
      “He can’t get it!” Kenneth roared. “You need
to descend faster!”
    “I’m trying to!”
Mike howled.
    The Destructor
steepened its dive. Even though the Striker tried to follow the same path, it
couldn’t match the trajectory of the other aircraft as it started to spin.
    Kenneth stared
helplessly as Carl ran back to the hatch and disappeared from sight. Kenneth
hurried back to Mike and the teens, who were gazing through the glass in shock.
“Did you see that?”
    “He must be
trying to land,” Derek said.
    “He’s crazy,”
Molly said.
    “It’s his only
choice,” Mike muttered. “I hung back too long. If the ladder had been in the
right position just a few seconds earlier, he’d be here right now.”
    The conversation
ceased as the aircraft approached the ground. It was still