SODIUM:4 Gravity (18 page)

After a long conversation I then asked to disconnect so that I could make an attempt to call my grandfather and parents. I was told the chances of their survival were low and that normal communications had been disrupted for years. I then asked if there was anything that could be done, anyway that I could find out if they were alive.

Several seconds passed before the comm officer on the other end came back with an attempt. He would try to patch me through to the base in Savannah, but from there it would be hit or miss.

I thanked him for his effort and waited patiently as the next comm officer connected. After some time I was patched through to Pensacola and then routed to Troy, Alabama. I next heard the old familiar sound of a land line ringing in the farmhouse. It went on for seven rings before it was answered. It was Zack's mother.

She immediately went outside and called in my father who raced to the phone. The tears flowed as I began sending texts. I dare not talk as I was fearful of them discovering that my comm had been enabled.

My grandfather had passed away two years since. It had been from natural causes, he had fallen over dead in the tomato patch, going out the way he would have wanted to go. Zack's father had also passed away from illness as there were no more hospitals or doctors anywhere nearby.

My mother was out tending to the animals and was doing well. I then asked about Zack and my father hesitated. In the second food war he had lost most of his right leg, but soldiers were in need and he was soon again on the front lines using a prosthetic to get around.

He was one of only a handful of BGS Marines who were left and had seen many days in battle and had taken many lives. My father was worried as the last time he had seen him, his face was sullen and his eyes had no life in them. Such was the life of a soldier in modern war.

I then told my father of my capture and of how I was still held prisoner on the alien ship. I was in good health, but was still a captive. With all the problems on Earth there were no resources being put in place for a rescue mission, I was likely on my own for the foreseeable future.

He was thrilled that I was alive, but unhappy at the thought of my continued captivity. I told him that such was war and that each of us had to make sacrifices if we wanted things to ever get better. Before I was able to say goodbye a comm tech came on the line and stated that he was sorry, but the connection had been broken. Other, official communications needed the lines.

The news from home was bleak. So many lives lost and so much devastation. A weakened Earth would be easily overwhelmed by a sizable alien force. And from what Hershen had told me we had only dealt with a mining fleet that had minimal assault capability. The Frekkin were far superior.

As I sat in my cell I contemplated what to do next when contacted by Command. My communications had come at a difficult time for Earth, but I was not being ignored. Discussions were in the works and I was to hold my position until such time as further questions could be asked and the proper resources diverted in an attempt to end my dilemma.

I was thankful and had relayed that I would cooperate fully. I laid back on my pad and looked up at the dull gray ceiling. For five long years I had waited for something to happen, some word from Earth. It was a good feeling to once again be known, a good feeling to hear my own language. I was once again a part of a team, of the race of Man, and I liked it.

As I settled back I consumed one of the tainted fish cakes. I then began scheming about what I might do next. I could easily overpower Hershen and the other guards up through level-two but I had no idea of what trouble I would meet if I moved beyond.

And what of my BGS suit and weapon? Should I risk another venture like the last in an attempt to find them? Would the power cell still have Sodium or could I find the stash of Sodium pellets that I once had in my thigh pocket? These were all risks to be contemplated on another day. I soon slept soundly under the influence of the powerful alien sleeping drug.

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