Free Alien Invasion 04 Annihilation by Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant

wouldn’t be discussing her otherwise. Not that Clara, who had a way of knowing everything, would ever stay in the dark.
    “She said they were coming. ‘Grandma Piper, Mr. Cameron, and their three friends.’” Again Lila sighed, her worried eyes on the tablet’s screen. “She didn’t mention Trevor.”  
    “Did you ask?”  
    “I was afraid to.”  
    “And you believe her?”  
    Lila gave him a look. “Chris. When has she ever been wrong?”  
    “Then Trevor is in the group that’s not doing something dumb. The group that’s doing what they all should be doing.”  
    “We need to send them a message, let them know the network is out here, too. Maybe they can sneak in. Past the usual security systems. Your monitors must be going too, right?”  
    Christopher nodded.  
    “Tell them how to find their way in. Or meet them at the gate, if they’re here for us. They need to come around. The cameras by the fences at the rear, near the church? They’ll be out. But not the guards in front.”  
    Raj had a chance to level up. To be a next-level hero, by bringing some intruders to justice.  
    “We can’t send a message. There’s just no way.” Christopher seemed to think. “But I can talk to Jons. If you really think they’re coming, maybe he’ll help make them a hole.”  
    Lila seemed uncertain. “He’s the chief of police.”  
    Christopher gave a little smile. “And he’s also one testy, irritated fucker. Let me feel him out. Jons doesn’t always play well with others.”  
    “And Trevor?” Lila asked, her eyes getting freshly wet. “You really think he’s okay?”  
    Christopher pulled her into a hug. “I’m sure,” he said.  
    Raj made notes on a pad.  
    Maybe Trevor was safe.  
    But whoever had plans to sneak up on Heaven’s Veil? They weren’t safe at all.

CHAPTER 15

    Nathan found Charlie Cook’s long and lanky form around the RV’s side while the others were loading up. They were about to do something that felt — even in Nathan’s mind, now — necessary. He wasn’t convinced that Benjamin Bannister’s doomsday weapon was hidden in plain sight beneath the Apex, but he hated the thought of running or hiding. He’d always been in charge, and when someone fucked him, he fucked them back harder. The Andreus Republic, which didn’t have the same importance to the Astrals as the Moab facility, had probably been obliterated. Nathan didn’t like the idea of lying down and taking it. Heading to Vail — to die in a blaze of glory, perhaps — felt like a fitting response from a warlord scorned.  
    Charlie was standing under the far side awning, alone. He was still staring at the mothership. Now that the light had shifted, Nathan could see what the others had pointed out: the thin, perfectly straight line of light stretched, like a tether, between the ship’s belly and the stone arch.  
    “We’ve got a problem, Charlie,” Nathan said.  
    Charlie turned. Despite the world’s end, the man still looked like he belonged in an office, poring over actuarial tables. He had his glasses, his bug eyes, his short-sleeve, business-casual shirt, and his mismatched brown tie. His hair was a mess but managed to be unstylish at the same time — cut wrong in a new world where there was no such thing as cut right .  
    Cook didn’t reply other than to stare. So Nathan continued.  
    “I think this is the Salt Lake mothership. There’s really no way to be positive, but I’d bet my life that it’s not the one from Heaven’s Veil — the one that was here before.”  
    “And?” Charlie asked.  
    Nathan pointed. “I see an animal at a watering hole. It’s fueling up. For what?”  
    “We assume they’re powered with fusion reactors. They probably scoop hydrogen from the atmosphere.”  
    “I’m not talking about what makes them fly.”  
    Charlie looked for a second like he might argue because trying to seem superior during a dispute is what he did. “I’m not