Free Critical Path (The Critical Series Book2) by Wearmouth, Barnes

about his future.
    The root wine made him feel strong. He powered away from Unity, back and forth up the switchbacks until he reached the upper edge of the basin. He rested his hands on hips and surveyed the town. Twinkling lights came from the main cluster of buildings and from the houses built on the five large steps around the east edge.
    Glowing pink rings of a hover-bike shot over his head, going in the direction of Aimee’s residence.
    Soon, this would all be his. And that would just be the start.

CHAPTER NINE
    Denver adjusted the pack’s straps on his shoulders and lifted the rifle to his chest as he led the way through the dense forest with Venrick and Gregor by his side. Khan, Maria and Layla were close behind.
    Even though it was real early, approximately 0600 hours if his instincts were correct, he felt wired and alert like his old self again.
    They had travelled through the night, following Venrick’s map coordinates on the hover-bike’s computers for over seventeen hours, only stopping twice for short breaks.
    The others wanted a longer rest, but Denver pressed on, wanting to get to Charlie as soon as possible.
    If Venrick’s version of events were to be believed, Denver didn’t want to wait around. There was no telling what would happen to Charlie if another group of aliens had taken him.
    Especially after what he did.
    The root in his system helped him blaze forward with no lack of energy.
    Even Venrick with her three-toed feet and long limbs had trouble keeping up. The forest this far north, into Canada in what used to be Ontario, had grown dense and thick. They had left their bikes back at an old ruin town, safely hidden in a tumbled-down factory.
    Venrick assured them they were just a few kilometers away from the site of the battle.
    After an hour of relentless trekking, Layla spoke up. “We need a break, guys. We can’t keep this up; we’ll be exhausted.”
    She stopped and leaned on her knees. Sweat dripped from her forehead onto her beige cargo pants. They had torn on thorns, and blood beaded in long scratches.
    Maria pulled up next her and sat on the ground while she stretched out her calf muscle. Khan extended her leg, bending her foot forward to relieve the cramp. He didn’t look as tired, being used to long extended forays into the woods, but without the root he certainly wasn’t as fresh as Denver and Gregor.
    “Okay,” Denver conceded. “You guys take a rest. I’ll scout ahead with Venrick and Gregor. We’ll be back in thirty minutes.”
    “Update over comms every few minutes,” Khan added, reminding Denver of the alien comm units Mike had given to them.
    Before Layla could protest, Denver looked at the alien and nodded before heading off further into the trees.
    They passed through a thick canopy of pines.
    The sap littered the ground, making their steps sticky and scented as they disturbed the dirt beneath their feet. More than once Denver reached his right arm down to pet his dog only to find his hand dangling in the air.
    On excursions like these, Pip made the perfect companion, unlike Gregor and Venrick.
    He couldn’t think of a worse pair of travelling partners. What would his dad think? His son allied with a damned alien and Gregor.
    These thoughts ran through his head as they came out of a clearing and crested a small grassy hill. Overgrown bushes lined the edge of the trees, making the hill almost perfectly spherical. At the top he looked down and saw it.
    Venrick pointed. “Battle there. See pod mark in ground?”
    Gregor whistled and put his hands on his hips—clearly his root wasn’t doing as much for him as it was Denver.
    Bringing the riflescope to his eye, Denver surveyed the ground below.
    A wide expanse of field stretched east to west at least five hundred meters and double that north to south.
    Along the sides the tall pines leaned in, their green needles bleeding into the grass and shrubs of the field.
    Littered all over the ground were bodies of croatoans