Invasion (The Alien Wars #1) (36 page)

He had meant to stay awake as much as possible in case any more wild beasts came back, but the exhaustion must have overcome him. Luckily, it didn’t look as though any animal had returned. He glanced at the teens,
who’d
just awoken. “We’ll need to move if we want to stay dry.”

The three of them quickly put on their shoes and put their stuff back into the backpacks. Then with the rugs from the boat slung across their shoulders, the group left the campsite.

Five minutes later, with the rain still coming down, Kenneth kicked open the back door of a run-down house. It was the first one that they had come across. Not wasting time, they climbed up onto the back porch and hurried to the door.

Dropping their backpacks in the entryway, he led the search of the house. It wasn’t much to look at, pretty messy and unkempt, but whether or not it was due to vandals or if that was how the homeowner had lived, he didn’t know.

With the rain really pounding down now, the group made their way to the two bedrooms and lay down, Kenneth taking one bed and the teens taking the other. Their fatigue and the early hours had them all sound asleep inside ten minutes.

Two hours later, as the rain ceased and the sun shone through the bedroom windows, Kenneth awoke. He sauntered to the window and gazed up at the sky. Most of the clouds had dissipated, but the ones that remained looked pretty dark. Not wanting to travel in the rain, Kenneth decided that they’d start the trek to
Sparks
.

After walking to the other bedroom, he awoke the teens. While they prepared to leave, he went to the kitchen to see if he could find some breakfast. Food had been pretty sparse lately, and it wasn’t that much different in this house.

There was a crusty loaf of bread and that was all. He broke the loaf into three pieces and gave a piece to Molly and Derek.

“Thanks.” Molly sat down and chomped on the bread.

Derek was halfway through eating his piece when he paused,
swiveled
his head, and hurried to the window.

“What’s wrong?” Kenneth asked, strolling over.

“Look!” Derek pointed to where three army trucks were rumbling down the nearby road.

Kenneth took one look at the trucks before he raced to the front door, swung it open, and rushed down the path.

The teens followed Kenneth but at a much slower pace. By the time they joined him by the side of the road, he had managed to attract the attention of someone in the back of the third and final vehicle. Within seconds, the truck rolled to a stop.

As the first two vehicles continued on their way, Kenneth hurried up to the third one. “Thanks for stopping. Where are you heading?”

The lieutenant rolled down his window and, with his steely blue eyes, gazed at the
disheveled
-looking man.
“Sparks.”

“Great. Can you give us a lift?” Kenneth asked.

“Please! Can you, please?” Molly asked.

The lieutenant looked at the two teens and then back at Kenneth. “Is it just you and your children?”

“These aren’t my children, but yes, it’s just me and them.” Kenneth gazed at the middle-aged man. “We don’t have food, transport, anything. Plus, I need to speak to General Loreto urgently.”

The lieutenant frowned at Kenneth.
“You?
You have business with the general?”

Exasperated, Kenneth quickly explained. “I’ve been to hell and back these past two days. I encountered a soldier who gave me a briefcase, which he stole from the Seods—”

“A briefcase?”
The lieutenant quickly climbed down from the vehicle and gazed earnestly at Kenneth. “Was it a white, rectangular one?”

Kenneth nodded. “Yeah, how did you know?”

“Was it Captain Williamson who gave you it?”

Kenneth turned to the teens. “Did the man tell you his name?”

The teens shook their heads. “By the time we found him he couldn’t speak that much,” Derek said.

“Do you still have the briefcase?” the man asked, looking between the three.

Kenneth shook his head. “The Seods took it last night.”

“Damn!” The lieutenant paced back and forth, clearly annoyed.

“How did you know about the briefcase?” Derek asked.

“That’s not important right now,” the lieutenant stated as he stopped pacing. “Do you have any idea where the Seods took it?”

“No, sorry,” Kenneth said.

“Get in the back,” the lieutenant ordered, climbing back into his seat. “I’m taking you to see the general. I’ll explain everything once we get to
Sparks
.”

“Can we get our stuff? It’ll only take a few moments,” Kenneth asked.

The man frowned. “Okay, but be quick.”

The three rushed back to the house and grabbed the backpacks and rugs. Then, after having a quick look around in the bedrooms to make sure they hadn’t left anything behind, they hurried to the truck.

A soldier gave them a hand as they climbed into the back of the vehicle. The three barely had enough time to sit down before the truck started moving again.

As it rumbled through the town, Kenneth looked at the worn-out faces of the soldiers sitting beside them. Most, if not all of the twenty or so men that were beside them, had bloodied uniforms. Almost all of them were half asleep.

Kenneth turned to the soldier beside him and gave him a smile. “It’s good to see you.”

The man nodded and closed his eyes. Kenneth contemplated asking him a question about the Seods, but seeing that he looked half asleep already, he decided to let him enjoy the quiet. Whatever they had been doing had clearly worn them out.

Kenneth turned toward the teens and found that Molly was leaning against Derek and had her eyes closed.

Derek made eye contact with Kenneth. “Thanks for helping us.”

“No problem.” Kenneth sighed, leaned back, and closed his eyes, wanting to get as much sleep as he could. He had no idea what lay ahead for him and the teens. Hopefully their parents would be in
Sparks
and he’d be able to make his way back to
Stinson
Beach
straight away, but the chance of that happening was slim, very slim.

On the other hand, the chance that they’d have to visit one town after another, all the while being pursued by the Seods, was a very real possibility. Only time would tell what happened next.

The End

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Here is the start of the next book in the series…

STRIKER

Kenneth awoke with a start as the convoy of trucks arrived at
Sparks
. He peered out the back of the vehicle as they drove down the main street until they reached the other side of town where they turned left. He caught sight of a handmade sign that read
Sparks
Relief
Center
, but before he could see anything else, the trucks turned to the right and headed toward a military checkpoint.

The vehicles were waved through without delay and stopped beside another convoy of trucks a few moments later.

Kenneth leaped out first and gave a hand to Derek and Molly. He and the teens spent the next few moments looking around in amazement. There were thousands of people sitting on the grass just outside the checkpoint where a tent city had been set up.

Although none of the people looked hostile, just worn out, Kenneth saw that there were quite a lot of men by the entrance to the military compound. And they were all armed to the teeth.

As this place had previously been the headquarters for some high-tech electronics company, a wire fence encircled it.

“Come with me,” a voice called out.

Kenneth looked around and spotted the lieutenant they had met earlier. “We’re coming.”

They followed the man as he made his way toward a building. They entered the building and walked behind the man as he moved down a hallway and past a couple of doors before pausing.

The man held up his hand. “Wait here.” He turned and showed his pass to the two guards standing beside the door. After examining it, they let the man through.

The group waited in silence for a few minutes before the door opened and the man beckoned for them to come in.

Kenneth went through first and found himself in a large room that was lit up by a row of computer screens on either side. Three men were bent over a huge map of the
United States
in the middle of the room. The man in the
center
raised his head and walked over, smiling gingerly.

With a limp, the
gray
-haired man approached them. He thrust his hand out to Kenneth. “I’m General Loreto. Welcome to my command
center
.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kenneth said as he shook the man’s hand. “I’m Kenneth, and these are two friends of mine, Derek and Molly.”

The general nodded and glanced at his watch. “I don’t have a lot of time, so I’ll get straight to the point. Lieutenant Davidson told me you were handed a briefcase by Captain Williamson, which the Seods stole from you last night. Is that correct?”

Kenneth nodded.

“While it was in your possession, did you see what was inside it?” Loreto asked.

Kenneth shook his head. “No, it was impossible.” At the man’s puzzled expression, he quickly explained all that had happened in the last two days.

Interrupting him from time to time, General Loreto asked him several questions. Then he walked back to the other two men he had been studying the map with earlier on.

A few minutes later, Loreto returned. “Thanks for telling me all you know. Lieutenant Davidson will escort you to the relief
center
, where you can get a bite to eat.”

Kenneth frowned as the man turned away. “That’s all? You’re not going to tell me what’s so special about this briefcase?”

Loreto hesitated. He turned around. He raked his hands through his
graying
hair. He shook his head. “I don’t have a definitive answer. I’ll just say that if you do get your hands on the briefcase again, contact me.” He walked away.

Lieutenant Davidson walked up to them. “Follow me, please.”

Without saying a word, the teens followed the man through the door. Kenneth hesitated a moment longer before he followed them.

As soon as they were out of the building, the lieutenant turned to Kenneth. “Do you want me to take you to the relief
center
, or can you find your way there?”

“Do you know why the general wants the briefcase?” Kenneth asked. “Has he seen what’s in it? Does he—”

“I know you probably expected that the talk would last longer, but the general does have a lot going on at the moment, as you can imagine, and—”

“Just answer one question,” Kenneth pleaded. As the lieutenant hesitated, Kenneth continued speaking. “I just want to know what’s in it and whether or not it was worth George and Doug dying.”