Free The Extinction Switch: Book three of the Kato's War series by Andrew C. Broderick Page A

nowhere else to go!” She turned around. “Etienne!” She scooped up the toddler, whose chubby mouth was covered in chocolate pudding. An ashen faced Annabelle appeared at the living room door. Her panicked eyes scanned from David to Vivianne and back again.
    Stunned silence reigned for a moment. “Prepare to fight,” David growled. “Get anything you can use, kitchen knives, anything. Let’s try and barricade the door.” He ran back into the kitchen and reemerged, huffing and puffing, carrying the solid wood kitchen table, on its end with its top towards him. The others backed into the living room to let him past. David grunted with effort as he moved it the six meters to the front door. He set it down on its legs, and then tipped it on its side so its top was facing the door. “These aren’t strong front doors. Hopefully this’ll help a bit.”
    The stark words from the loudspeaker got closer: “This area is now under the control of the New People’s Republic of France. All shops and homes are being appropriated. Prepare to evacuate in an orderly fashion.”
    “Oh my God! This surely can’t be happening!” Vivianne said.
    David blinked a few times. “Get the knives, someone! Let’s gather right here in the hall, and be ready.” Annabelle hurried off to the kitchen. Vivianne took Etienne into her bedroom. “Hide under the bed, baby. You remember hide and go seek?” Blank stare. “Oh well. Just stay here. Don’t come out for anything. You understand?”
    “Yes, maman.”
    Everyone but Antonio was in the hall, with black plastic-handled, serrated kitchen knives in hand. They varied in length. David craned his neck into the living room. Antonio cowered in the far back corner. “Get out here, pretty boy,” David growled. “We’re all going to fight.” Antonio took a deep breath and made his way out into the hall, where he was handed a paring knife. He hung at the back of the group, who were all facing the crudely barricaded door. “Don’t be afraid to use these, everyone. If they turf us out, we’ll have nowhere else to go. This is our home.”
    “Should I pack some things just in case?” Vivianne panted.
    “Nope,” David said firmly. “That’ll instill the wrong mentality. There is no backup plan. Failure is not an option.”
    “But, Dave…” she protested.
    “No!” Annabelle looked over at Vivianne with raised eyebrows. Vivianne looked sorrowfully back. The unspoken communication between them continued for several seconds. Kassandra looked at the door, her jaw set, her knife poised in a stabbing grip. She changed her face back to being disguised. Antonio ran the serrated knife edge over his left forefinger, examining it.
    Etienne began to crawl out from under the bed, towards the agitated group. “No! Get back under and stay there!” Vivianne said angrily, pushing the child back. Whimpers were heard from Etienne, as was a babble of voices from outside. Some were raised. The loudspeaker’s warning was heard again, more loudly this time.
    A few seconds later, a woman’s screams and shouts, much louder, but in the distance. “No! No! This is my home! Please, sir, let me stay! I have nowhere else to go!”
    “They’re on our street now,” David said, in a low voice. “But why are they clearing everybody out?”
    “Probably moving their buddies in, so they can escape the Extinction Switch,” Annabelle said. Kassandra tensed her body and gritted her teeth. More screams. A man yelling, slightly closer this time. Then, a gunshot rang out. The last yelling male voice ceased.
    “Oh my God,” Vivianne said, turning even whiter.
    David sighed. “They’re not afraid to use deadly force. Still, I’m not giving in without a fight.”
    “Dave, think about the baby! What use will it be if her parents are dead?” Vivianne protested. He didn’t move a muscle, but continued his fixed stare at the door. The harrowing sounds of screaming, crying, scuffling, struggling, things crashing and