Hudson kept up his pace. Bishop was right next to him, holding his head while blood flowed down his face. Hudson grabbed him underneath his arm and pulled him along, making sure that his friend didn’t get left behind. The strain of holding Bishop up while running as fast as he could kept him from seeing if the five survivors were okay behind them.
He got to the shuttle door and turned around just to see the ripple of some sort of movement gliding across the space between them and the doors. Hudson could feel them getting closer. The inadequacy of their weapons was astonishing. They would not defeat their foe. They couldn’t even see them. The power and force behind the unseen might were palpable, however.
Jeannie Lee and Marcus felt them too and blazed their proton weapons into the space behind them. The beams made contact but didn’t stop the forward movement of the shimmering air.
Boyd reached them, but Sloan and the others had lagged behind. Their lack of food and water had weakened them and they were struggling to keep up. Hudson shoved Boyd into the shuttle and started after the rest of them. He took several strides forward when an arc of pure light exploded out of the empty space and hit the four other survivors. They disappeared as if teleported to another dimension. Hudson knew that was technically not possible but that’s the only way he could describe it.
“Behind you,” Hudson screamed at Marcus and Jeannie Lee.
Jeannie Lee sprayed fire onto the floor, reddening it with the heat. The shimmers stopped at the glowing floor. A blast hit the shuttle but did no outward damage. Lee rushed to the door and covered Marcus as he made up the remaining ground. He rushed past her and she slammed the door shut.
Newell started up the engine of the shuttle as Hudson pushed his way past an exhausted Boyd to the exterior window. The docking bay appeared empty but he knew they were out there. He could feel their anger. And Boyd wasn’t kidding about those weapons. He turned back to his team.
“You saw us fighting with air, right?” Marcus said, excited and horrified at the same time.
“I felt one. I think it touched me?” Jeannie Lee said. Hudson stood in astonishment as he stared at Boyd. They had just encountered the first sign of intelligent life. The reality of what they’d seen amazed him. Finally, the millennia-old question of whether or not humanity had been alone in the universe had been answered.
And, of course, the aliens wanted to kill them. His blood turned to ice as fear overtook every other emotion. They were on the front lines.
Their platoon would fight them first.
Extras
Thank you for reading Arrival! If you enjoyed the story, or even if you didn’t, I hope you’ll consider leaving a review. Reviews, good and bad, are vital to any author’s career, and I would be extremely thankful and appreciative if you’d consider writing one for me.
The first novel in this new military science Fiction series “The Saluco Fleet” is coming out this May. I hope you’ll join me in the continuing adventures of the motley crew of the USS Saratoga.
I’m excited to hear from you, and I read every message. To join my newsletter and get the latest news on all of my upcoming projects go to http://www.dominikawaclawiak.com and click on the subscribe button in the upper right hand corner. By joining my readers’ group, I’ll let you know of my new releases, sales and special offers. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Thank you again for reading, and I hope you’ll be back soon!
Yours sincerely,
Dominika Waclawiak
About the Authors
DOMINIKA WACLAWIAK
Dominika is the author of Grim Angel (formerly called The Elk), Missing Soul, Guilty Deeds and Silent Death, all in the Caine & Murphy supernatural thriller series. Her upcoming urban fantasy series, The Wildes Chronicles, is debuting March 2017 and her new military science fiction series “The Saluco Fleet” is debuting May 2017.
Dominika lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter and two huskies. When not running behind her toddler or running the dogs, she’s busy writing her next novel, several film and TV projects, and plotting a visual effects laden science fiction feature film project to direct.
SAMANTHA MAGUIRE
Sam is the author of the Tertiary War series. She lives in Florida with her husband and very spoiled cat. When she’s not writing, she spends her time saving humanity against the geth or the Lambent and playing paintball with friends.
You can find Dominika at:
@domWaclawiak
dmwaclawiakauthor
www.dominikawaclawiak.com
[email protected]
Dedication
For Phoenix Prime
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by Dominika Waclawiak & Samantha Maguire
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events or locales is purely coincidental.
I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read my work. Please consider leaving a review wherever you bought the book, or telling your friends about it, to help me spread the word.
Thank you for supporting my work.
Arrival: A Saluco Fleet Story Page 3
