Earth Reborn (Earthrise Book 7) by Arenson Daniel

Author:Arenson, Daniel [Arenson, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Moonclipse
Published: 2017-03-10T16:00:00+00:00

* * * * *

As dawn rose, they sat in the living room, Steve with a blanket wrapped around him, the others gazing at him.

"Steve," Addy tried again, voice softer this time. She touched his cheek. "Can you—"

He recoiled from her touch. A whimper fled his lips. The strong man she had known, bluff and powerful and so brave, had been reduced to a cowering wreck. She barely recognized him. His cheeks were so gaunt. The chicken soup they had been feeding him had barely returned color to his ashen cheeks. He had been back for hours now. He still had not spoken.

Addy looked at him, and everything inside her seemed to shatter, to melt. She had to fight not to weep.

What did they do to you, Steve? she thought, gazing at what remained of him.

"All right," she whispered. "No touching. I'll get you more soup. I'll make you strong again. And when you're ready, you can talk. You can tell us what happened."

Tomiko, who stood farther back, said, "I'll get the soup." She hurried into the kitchen.

Marco said, "I'll go get you another blanket, buddy, all right?" He made to walk upstairs.

And for the first time since coming home, Steve spoke.

"Wait!" He began trembling. "Wait. Don't! They'll come back. Stay. Guns! Stay with guns. Stay. Stay. They'll come back . . . They'll hurt us . . ."

Addy embraced him. Steve whimpered again, cowering at her touch, but she refused to release him. She squeezed him in her arms, rocking him until he calmed. Finally Steve's eyes closed, and he sank into sleep. Addy gently laid him across the couch.

She retreated to the back of the living room with Marco. Both still wore pistols on their hips.

"How did this happen to him in only two days?" Addy whispered. "How did he become so thin, so . . . broken? His hair is white. How can a man lose half his weight in just two days?"

"Because it wasn't just two days," Marco said softly. "Not for him. Time dilation."

Addy spoke in a whisper, not wanting to wake Steve. "What's that?"

"Remember when I flew to the Cat's Eye Nebula to fetch the Ghost Fleet?"

Addy nodded. "Of course. I was fighting the marauders here on Earth that entire year."

"Only it wasn't a year for me," Marco said. "It was just six months for me. Time is relative. It flows at different rates depending on where you are in the galaxy. Your velocity and gravity can change how time flows for you. More than two days passed for Steve. For him, it's been weeks, months, maybe even years. It's the only explanation."

Addy's eyes widened. "But how? Where was he? What was changing time for him?"

Marco's eyes were dark. "I don't know. But we saw a flash of light the day he vanished. And another light over the forest when he returned. When they returned him." He scowled. "The grays."

Addy shuddered. "Marco, a few days before he vanished, I saw one. A gray. It was between the trees just outside our house.

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