Free Military / Time Travel Romance: The Stranger In Sector 27 - A Post Apocalypse Love Story (Book 1) by Lilly Babineau Page A

Branton.” He told her.

“Finally…” She whispered and closed her eyes and fell back unconscious.

Chapter Two: The Fog
    The next day, Branton woke up with a stir. The strange girl’s screams echoed in his head all night long and he found himself wondering who she was and how she knew him. He needed answers, and knew that if he didn’t get them he would be haunted for the rest of his life.

He quickly freshened up and decided to head over to the medic quarters where he learned she had been transported the night before. On his way, he received a call on his military-issued radio.

“Branton!” Cpt. Harold “Cap” Freightman bellowed from the speaker. “There’s been a breach in sector 27! You need to get over there NOW!” Branton suited up and grabbed his gun.

Entering sector 27, Branton knew something was amiss from when he was here the day before. A fog had settled over the streets and the air felt cooler than the other sectors. His team arrived to back him up.

Lt. Geoff Scott was a year younger than Branton, but he was just as skilled. He was also a trained sharpshooter and could shoot an enemy between the eyes from a great distance away.

Lt. Dashel Kline, fondly known as just ‘Dash’ by the women, was as handsome and rugged as they came. That didn’t take away from the fact that he could kill a man with his bare hands.

Trailing behind Branton’s dynamic duo team, was Private Thomas Decker. Seeing him, fury built up inside of Branton.

“Tommy! What the hell are you doing here?” He growled at the 17 year old. Tommy wasn’t the normal, upbeat boy he usually was. He looked upset, disturbed, like he’d seen a ghost. He was inexperienced, and had no business here.

“Lieutenant, Cap sent me here to help with this mission. But sir, I would really like to have a chance to speak with you about something before we go through this.” His voice was drenched in fear, but Branton had no chance to respond. The screams of several people echoed through the streets.

“Branton, we gotta get in there!” Kline ran ahead and Scott followed suit.

“Later, Tommy. Stay behind me and don’t leave my side!” He instructed, and they both ran into the fog.

The fog was as thick as stew, and it came seemingly out of nowhere. Branton made Tommy stick close by, as he inched through the fog.

“Kline! Report!” Branton called loudly.

“I’m not seeing anything past this fog, Branton!” Kline yelled back.

“Scott! Report!” Branton called out to his other fellow soldier. This time, there was no response. Branton repeated himself. “Scott! Report!” He started to move faster, and met up with Kline.

“We gotta find him!” Kline said, trying not to sound as frantic as he actually was.

Together, the small group felt their way around in the direction where Scott was last seen. The fog had become unbearably thick, and was almost choking them. All of a sudden, Tommy tripped and fell. Branton reached down to scoop him back up, but it was too late. Tommy had a glimpse of what he had tripped over and began bellowing blood curdling screams.

Geoff Scott’s body lay in pieces all around him.

Chapter Three: Branton Wants Answers
    Branton’s mind froze and went numb. His teammate. His best friend, a boy he had grown up with, was now nothing but a bloodied pile of corpse. He soon was able shake himself out of the state he’d gone into and realized a giant grotesque-looking claw was reaching for Tommy.

“Tommy move!!” He screamed, but even with Branton’s warning and Kline diving for him, Tommy was pulled off into the fog. His screams were cut short by the gurgling noises of him choking on his own blood. Branton grabbed Kline and the two bolted out of the fog.

Able to see once again, Branton radioed in for Special Ops. They were a branch of this army trained to handle creatures and unidentified species. The creatures, whatever they were, seemed to be contained by the strange fog.

Branton glanced over to