Don't Cross This Line

by Michael Anderle

  Bethany Anne and her team had exited the base after searching through it multiple times. What they could grab, they did.

  The rest? Well, they planted devices to implode the caves.

  >> Bethany Anne.<<

  Yes ADAM.

  >>The G’laxix Sphaea has been attacked by a nuclear missile over the East China Sea.<<

  WHAT! Those near Bethany Anne watched as her eyes started glowing. They quickly looked around and then checked their own tablets for news.

  >>The ship and all crew are ok, but Captain Jakowski is asking if she should continue the operation or leave?<<

  Tell her we can do another run as necessary, leave Earth. Tell my commanders I want a meeting ASAP.

  Her eyes never dimmed during the whole trip to the QBS ArchAngel.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  QBBS Merideth Reynolds

  The attractive South American reporter looked into her compact mirror and checked her makeup and hair. Putting the compact away, she smiled and nodded to her camera woman.

  “Ready Giannini?” Sia asked her friend, who nodded to her. Sia moved the camera a little to the right, and really looked at her friend. “We don’t have to do this, if you want to stay on Earth.” She nodded behind her, “The last ship going to Earth leaves in three days.”

  Giannini shook her head, “No Sia. I’ve seen enough these last three years. I don’t know what the Earth’s path is, but my path…”

  “Our path,” Sia interrupted.

  “Our path, my heart, is to go to the stars and report what we find out there,” Giannini smiled, “I used to think that I needed to rise up in the eyes of my bosses.”

  “And now?” Sia asked.

  “Now, I need to rise up in my own eyes, to be what all reporters need to be,” Giannini answered, straightened her shoulders and looked ready to start her commentary.

  “Oh,” Sia asked, adjusting the camera so she could get Giannini’s profile and the large park that was part of the inside of the Merideth Reynolds in the background. “What’s that?”

  “Those that tell the truth, report on our government and support the people,” Giannini answered.

  “Wow, big pants to wear,” Sia’s muffled voice replied. “What do you think Bethany Anne is going to say about you reporting on the Government?”

  Giannini smiled, “Who do you think gave me the pants to put on?”

  Sia chuckled, “You are on in three…two…one…”

  “Hello,” Giannini spoke to the camera, “My name is Giannini Oviedo and I’m coming to you from the Mark Billingsly Park inside the QBBS Merideth Reynolds. This is our last report before the Etheric Empire’s ships cross the line separating this solar system, and the Yollin’s…”

  —

  The President looked down at his desk at the piece of paper laying on it. A knife, with an imprint of a vampire’s skull on the hilt, buried deeply into his desk pinned it in place. Neither had been there just three minutes ago, when he stepped out to use the restroom.

  He reached forward and grabbed the knife, moving it back and forth before he yanked it out.

  He opened the letter, his lips compressed as he read the words.

  “There are two ways I will finish this war you started. You can try to attack again and I will rain fire from Heaven on your places of power, completely obliterating your ability to wage war, or you can Leave Us The Fuck Alone. If you choose option one, I will start my attacks at the top, just as easily as I placed this knife in your desk.

  And, as I told the Chinese, there will be nothing left of your military except machines blackened by fire and people praying for the souls of your dead. You DO remember how that ended, don’t you?

  Queen Bethany Anne, Etheric Empire

  The Queen Bitch.”

  Dulce, New Mexico - USA

  Paula drove the last twelve miles in the Jeep she bought off of Craigslist. These damned vehicles cost an arm and a leg, even for something fifteen years old.

  She had shopped at the Goodwill back in Phoenix before purchasing the Jeep and driving out to Dulce. With no communication from Patrick, she had a good idea what must have happened to the base while she was making her way back from Europe.

  She parked the car at an old gas station a mile from the front entrance to the base. Once communications had stopped, Paula had started working hard to check her back trail, making blind moves, randomly choosing a different city to fly to and wait a couple of days before flying again.

  Eventually arriving back in New Mexico.

  She opened the Jeep’s door and got out, reaching back for her backpack to make sure she looked like she was just an average back packer this afternoon.

  Placing the aviator sunglasses on her face and the olive green baseball cap on her head, she pulled her hair out through the hole in the back and started walking the trail leading out from behind the building into the trees.

  An hour later, she stepped out from behind the tree she had used to study the building a couple of hundred yards away.

  No one moved, and nothing looked like it had been disturbed in days.

  QBBS Merideth Reynolds

  >>Bethany Anne, there is a female watching the Majestic-12 base.<<

  Bethany Anne stopped looking at the readiness reports and reached over to the fruit bowl to grab an apple. Cleaning it off, she spoke aloud, “Show me.”

  A video came up on the wall in her ready room and she bit into the fruit. She pointed with the hand that had the apple at the screen, “Hey, that looks like the chick in the MJ12 images.”

  >>There is a match on her jawline and mouth.<<

  “Call John and make sure he gets to watch this,” she said and took another bite of the apple. Her crunching filling up the silence in the room.

  Two minutes later, there was a knock on her door.

  “Come in,” she called and turned to toss the apple core into the trash. The noise of the apple landing in sync with the door opening.

  “Brought Jean with me,” John said and the two of them walked in, stepping towards Bethany Anne and looking at the wall to see what she was watching.

  “THAT BITCH!” Jean shouted pointing at the woman on the screen, “That’s the fucking twatknuckle that was stalking our men!” She snorted in disgust.

  “ADAM, are you recording this?” Bethany Anne asked.

  “Yes,” he responded.

  “Good,” Jean said and pulled out a chair beside Bethany Anne, “What are we about to do to the geriatric cuntquat?” she asked, sitting down.

  “Not so much us doing something to her as her previous friends,” Bethany Anne admitted and then reached back into the bowl of fruit a second time, “I need some popcorn.”

  “Heard that!” Gabrielle’s voice came from the hallway outside, “We got time?”

  “Yeah,” Bethany Anne called out, “Looks like she is studying the building to see if there is a trap.”

  “Well,” Gabrielle said as she came in, carrying two bags of popcorn and a coke and three other beverages, “there is one, right?”

  “Yup,” Bethany Anne admitted, “lots of alien explosives all around that area.”

  Five minutes later, the room was crowded with all the Bitches, Peter, Nathan and Ecaterina and little Christina Bethany Anne coloring on the table with her back to the video. The little girl, now almost five, reached towards the fruit bowl, her finger growing a claw and stabbed an orange before bringing it back. She pulled it off her claw and then her finger returned to her normal human looking finger again. She put it to the side and picked up the green crayon and started filling in the trees.

  Then, Frank and Barb arrived, with Lance and Patricia right behind them. Stephen and Jennifer arriving shortly thereafter.

  Jennifer asked what they were watching and Barb mentioned this was the bitch that had been stalking the guys during the camera shoot and who they had figured out was behind the ambush in Europe. “Oh,” Jennifer responded, “So, we going to kill her?”

 
“Oh, hell yeah,” Cheryl Lynn said from in front of Scott. She was leaning back against her man, his arms around her,” Can’t wait to see the pretty explosion.”

  “Hey, move over!” Bobcat called out to the general laughing as he, William and Marcus arrived. Those in the middle picking up chairs and handing it to those closer to the door to store out in the hallway.

  “ADAM, duplicate this image on the ceiling as well as the other walls,” Bethany Anne spoke aloud, “Except the one in front of Christina, don’t want anyone not able to see the ending to the movie.”

  Fifteen minutes later, the general conversation in the room quieted down to where the only noise was little Christina’s coloring.

  The woman started walking towards the building. She adjusted her backpack and walked up to the building, knocking on the door and calling out. She stood there for a minute, knocking and calling out before trying the open door.

  The picture went higher up in the air, at least three hundred feet and another two hundred north.

  Then, those in the room cheered and shouted in joy as the building exploded, raining shrapnel down for almost forty-five seconds.

  “Got you, bitch,” Bethany Anne said.

  “Now that,” Lance called out, “is good television!”

  Barb spoke out, with exasperation, “Frank, sweetheart, why are you writing this down?”

  “It ends my book,” his voice clearly heard by all in the room as he told his wife, “It’s perfect!”

  QBS ArchAngel

  Bethany Anne looked at the Yollin who was staring back at her, “Are you sure about this, Kael-ven? There isn’t an option for you to reverse this choice and I don’t want you to regret making it.”

  “There is no regretting my choice, Queen Bethany Anne,” he told her. “I have spoken to my people and we are in agreement.”

  “Even scientist Royleen?” She asked him, a smile teasing her lips.

  “Yes, even the ever hardheaded Royleen sees the truth, now.”

  Bethany Anne pursed her lips. “You will have to allow me access to your thoughts. If it were only me, I would be ok, but for me to accept this offer, I will have to confirm for the sake of my people.”

  Captain Kael-ven T’chmon nodded and lowered his head. Bethany Anne placed her hands on both sides of it. While not strictly required for her to read his thoughts, it helped her with the alien minds.

  Tell me when you have the thoughts, TOM.

  I’m in. Hold on a moment. TOM replied.

  Seconds later, he came back. He is being forthright, Bethany Anne.

  She pulled her hands off of the Yollin, “Stand up, Captain Kael-ven T’chmon.” She chewed the inside of her cheek. “You are an anomaly. I would like to know what has changed your people’s minds?”

  His large mandibles opened wide a moment before closing, “With us requesting your help, this is not an effort of subjugation.” He told her.

  “No?” She asked.

  “No,” he told her, “It is a Revolution.”

  FINIS

  Join us for more of

  The Kurtherian Gambit

  coming January 2017

  Right after…

  (turn page for the the next book).

  MICHAEL RETURNS TO A WORLD CHANGED…

  BUT HONOR DEMANDS HE FULFILL HIS PROMISE

  12.25.2016

  Author Notes

  THIS IS IT!

  ONE YEAR OLD A FEW DAYS AGO.

  Written November 11, 2016

  As always, can I say with a HUGE amount of appreciation how much it means to me that you not only read this book, but you are reading these notes as well?

  Just one year and nine days ago, I released the first book of The Kurtherian Gambit series titled Death Becomes Her. In that time, this series has taken off to become a sleeping hit. I’m probably one of the most successful authors no one has heard about because of FANS who love not just the first book, but ALL of the books.

  I say sleeping, because to date there have been a total of 11,019 of Book 01 sold, and 4,880,000 pages read (Kindle Unlimited). That would (based on 384 pages KENP V 2.0) be about another 12,708 full books read. Now, I know the total is higher (because books can be read, but author notes aren’t etc.) but it does mean that at a minimum, the first book as been sold (read) a total of 23,727 times.

  So, all of my success comes from approximately 25,000 readers. Readers who are then going on to read the REST of the books. Enough that as of last night (According to Amazon) I am the #172 top selling author on their store.

  172.

  There are over 200,000 authors minimum on Amazon. My original goal was just (sometime around end of November / Beginning of December 2015) to be in the top 2,000 authors on Amazon. Thanks to YOU and your sharing of the stories with friends, family, strangers in stores (this is literal, not figurative) I have been amazed to be counted in the top 500 authors on all of Amazon since July of this year!

  That’s freaking UNBELIEVABLE.

  Just rocking our little story about Bethany Anne and her people and those around her has been life changing for me, and over a 1,000 other Indie Authors who joined the 20BooksTo50k group that came out of my success.

  Trying to give back to other authors.

  I could share stories how that group of authors, helping each other, support them getting their own stories out and how YOU, my readers, help them make it happen!

  Just this week, readers of the snippets took a book that was listed as the 92,000th ranked book (based on sales) on Amazon and within 24 hours, moved it up to under 10,000 for two days. I didn’t know it at the time, but the author I was supporting (Boyd Craven III) was coming back from a sudden trip to check on his father who had fallen very sick and concerns were heavy about his health…

  The other author of the book the fans pushed up? His father, Boyd Craven Jr.

  His father recovered thankfully. But it was a sobering feeling that we helped make a good thing happen in the life of someone who could use another good thing to occur at that time.

  What’s going on with Audio?

  For those who love Audiobooks, I have some great news. I am this close (see two fingers pinched close together) to finding a narrator.

  I hope. Lord in Heaven PLEASE I hope. I’ve had 19 auditions so far, and 17 have been (some after MUCH review) put in the ‘no’ group.

  Two are left and I have one request out to a huge name to see if she has any interest. The problem? Well, it’s hard to handle the size of these stories without massive talent.

  She (and it will be a lady I pick) needs to be able to read the story in an engrossing way, do Bethany Anne well and men in a way that works. It’s a freaking HUGE challenge and I was pretty upfront about the issues.

  Think about it. One actress will be handling Bethany Anne, TOM and ADAM all in one head. Then, add in the Bitches, Gabrielle, Tabitha, Frank, Lance, Nathan etc. etc. ;-)

  But, however long it takes, it will be worth it because I’m setting aside the money to make the first seven books happen. I refuse to “Do one book to see if it sells.” model and leave fans hanging.

  So, I’m looking for one of the best, and I’ll pay her for her talent and skills because I really, really want Bethany Anne and the Bitches to come alive.

  What’s a Yollin look like?

  So, a fan on Facebook asked about what Yollin’s looked like (sorry, I looked but couldn’t find the fan’s name that asked). Now, that was an awesome question, the only problem was the artist I used for my Bethany Anne stuff (Andrew Dobell) doesn’t draw creatures / aliens. My artist that is working on the covers and spaceships (Jeff Brown) doesn’t do a lot of creature / alien work either.

  Where the hell was I going to find an artist that would work with me (that was dependable)? I asked Jeff Brown if he knew anyone and he suggested Eric Quigley.

  I looked over his artwork thinking…I want him! Now, If I can just afford him.

  So far (audio will easily beat this in the near future, but right
now) nothing costs me near as much as all the artwork and covers I am doing.