Final Invasion (Oblivion Book 3) by Joshua James & Daniel Young

Author:Joshua James & Daniel Young [James, Joshua]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-11-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

“They gave you a medal?” asked the Pale Man.

The inside of the sphere-shaped ship changed and morphed all around him, adapting to Lee Saito’s memories as the two of them went through it.

Lee knew he was sitting in a nondescript chair in front of the Pale Man. His mind told him that was true. But his eyes told him a different story. The chair was refashioned into one he remembered from his childhood.

The Pale Man put his hand on Lee’s forehead, like he was checking for a fever.

Back in the memories, Saito was standing on stage behind a UEF general. The general was addressing a group of press and military members who gathered on Europa after the UEF’s victory. He couldn’t make out what was being said but felt it was about him.

“They did,” answered Saito. “They rewarded me.”

“Interesting,” the Pale Man said. He stood on stage with him.

“Private Lee Saito!” The general presented Saito to the audience.

Nervous at that point, and never good with crowds at his best, Saito slowly walked up to the podium. He looked out at the audience which completely changed. Instead of reporters and military, they were all the dead young AIC soldiers.

The dead slumped in the audience chairs, jaws slung open. Blood covered their uniforms, holes in their chests, stomachs and heads. Lee felt their cloudy, dead eyes gazing back at him.

“This isn’t right,” said Saito in a whisper as he stepped away from the podium, shaken. “This never happened.”

“Are you sure? Sometimes the human memory is—”

“This is like something out of a horror movie,” Saito said firmly. “Not real life.”

“Or out of your guilt? This system, this technique, it isn’t perfect. Tell me, why did you feel guilty about killing them? Were they not your enemy?”

“Yes, but…” Dead AIC soldiers were now on stage with Saito, surrounding him. Their dull eyes didn’t blink. No breath escaped their lips. He felt very cold. He could feel his own breath quickening. He was starting to panic. He could feel his vision blur.

“Very well.” The Pale Man grabbed Saito by the arm and gave him a good yank.

Saito blinked and he was back on Earth. He was at Bev’s childhood house in Virginia, the one her parents still lived in. He knew it well. They were marking his return home from his tour.

“What is this?” asked The Pale Man as he walked around and closely observed everything.

“A barbecue.”

“A what?”

“A celebration.” Saito found himself sitting on one of the lawn chairs outside. On one side of him sat Beverly’s father, Cal, nursing a beer. The chair on the other side of him was empty.

“So, are you happy to be back home, son?” asked Cal before taking a sip of his beer.

“I’m not sure yet,” answered Saito in a quiet voice.

“What’s that?” Cal said sharply.

“I’m very happy sir,” Saito said.

“I can’t imagine what you boys go through out there. Fighting those ungrateful ingrates…on behalf of our whole family I want to thank you. Thank you for your service.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.