Legends: A Joint Task Force 13 Anthology by William Joseph Roberts & Philip K. Booker

Author:William Joseph Roberts & Philip K. Booker [Roberts, William Joseph & Booker, Philip K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781951768539
Google: R5d5zwEACAAJ
Amazon: 1951768531
Barnesnoble: 1951768531
Publisher: Three Ravens Publishing
Published: 2022-10-21T04:00:00+00:00

He was back in the playground, but this time he could feel the warm summer sun on his skin.

“Well done, son,” his father said from behind him. The unmistakably familiar Texan twang added, “You killed the monster.”

The sunlight grew ever brighter. He squeezed his eyes shut, but still the light grew more intense, like a laser beam drilling into his brain until…

His eyelids fluttered open. He was lying in complete darkness, save for a single beam of dust-studded daylight stretching from a point in the black. Mike pushed himself into a seated position, the point expanded into a crack, then a bright white circle. He heard voices, quiet murmurs, as if coming from a great distance.

“I can see him, Troy. Looks like he’s alive.”

“I don’t fucking believe it. Well, keep going then. Let’s get him out of there.”

As his eyes adjusted to the growing light, dim shapes in the darkness resolved into recognizable objects. A rock here, a pile of bones there, and-Jesus!

He pushed himself backwards in shock until he slammed up against the cave wall. Just a few feet in front of him lay the head of the Queen harpy. Its face was a rictus of pain, a gaping maw displaying rows dagger-like teeth. It was big enough to devour him in two bites. Behind the head, the supine body of the immense beast disappeared underneath the rockfall that had crushed it to death.

“Mike Travers, I presume?” The voice still sounded distant. He looked up. Troy stood next to him.

Mike nodded, choked with emotion. His shoulders shook as huge sobs of relief racked his body.

“It’s alright, son. You’re safe now. Sorry it took us so long to reach you—after the queen went down, we had to mop up the rest of the grunts.” He flicked his powerful flashlight upwards. The cave extended a hundred feet straight up, reaching high into the bowels of the mountain. “At least we know there aren’t any left in here. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be talking to you now.”

Mike started to answer, then realized he couldn’t hear his own voice. His eyes opened wide in panic.

“It’s ok,” Troy said. For the first time, Mike noticed the sergeant was shouting, even though his voice sounded quiet as a whisper. “The blast damaged your eardrums. They’ll recover. And so will you. You up to walking?”

“Hell yes,” Mike yelled. He clambered to his feet and put his arm around Troy’s shoulder. The two of them walked to the gap in the rockfall and clambered out of the cave that had become a tomb. Outside, Mike could see Cherish crouched over Doc. The tall man had bandages over most of his body, but he was still breathing.

“Helo inbound. ETA 30 mikes,” Cherish called out to Troy. Then she looked at Mike, and for the first time since he’d met her, flashed a smile. “Good job, soldier. Ever thought about a career change?”

Mike smiled weakly. Time to go home.

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