The Bureau of Time by Brett Michael Orr

Author:Brett Michael Orr
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Time travel, parallel universe, parallel worlds, nuclear winter, genetic mutation, super powers, dystopian world
ISBN: 9781925442786
Publisher: Fontaine Publishing Group
Published: 2015-12-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE OTHER

“Are you sure this is the right place?”

Ryan hung out of the cabin as the gunship touched down at the edge of the cornfield.

An ocean of green stalks stretched for miles, swaying back and forth in the hot summer’s breeze. From a brilliant blue sky the sun beat down on the field. The ground was dry and hard beneath Cassie’s feet as she jumped out of the helicopter. Rising above the emerald sea, an old wooden barn stuck up on the horizon, and further away, a dilapidated shack that might have once passed for a house.

“What could the Adjusters want out here?” Cassie wondered aloud, squinting into the bright sunlight.

“Rural Indiana doesn’t seem like their usual criteria,” Shaun agreed, standing beside her. Sweat beaded along his brow, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand. “There’s not even a decent-sized town for a hundred miles.”

“We were all at the same briefing,” Tallon commented, dropping down beside the Timewalkers. “Eaglepoint’s been seeing Temporal spikes from coast-to-coast. Whatever the Adjusters are after, they’re becoming unpredictable.”

“So we’re the ones chasing every shadow?” Ryan complained, not bothering to keep the disdain from his voice. “The Bureau’s stretched too thin – we shouldn’t be out here. We should be back at Brightwood, defending the base.”

“Defending against the ramblings of a psychopath?” Tallon argued, shaking his head. “If the Director of Time says we should be out in the field, then we’re out in the field. Now enough chatter. There was a Spike somewhere around here, and we have to find it. Clockwork, move out.”

Ryan muttered something distasteful under his breath and glared at the back of Tallon’s head.

Cassie groaned. She was already sweltering under the mid-west sun, and the desert-colored variant of their usual camo was doing little to deflect the heat. Sweat pooled against her skin, slick on her back and under her sports bra.

Shaun followed behind her, swigging from a canteen of water. She slowed to match his pace. It was too hot – and they were too on-edge – to do anything more than grimace at eachother, but his presence comforted her, pushing away her doubts and fears.

They entered the field, tall ears of corn passing them on either side. The unit followed a small dirt path toward the barn, still a quarter-mile away.

“What if Ryan’s right?” she wondered aloud, trudging down the path. The sweltering sun was giving her a headache. “What if something is coming? What if the Adjusters are trying to destroy the Bureau?”

The barn slowly grew larger against the clear sky, the soldiers drawn toward it.

“Brightwood is prepared for an attack,” Shaun said, wiping his forehead. “The fence is entirely anti-Temporal. Nothing can teleport inside, and if Adjusters turned up outside, there’s a hundred agents and operators in there, with guns and helicopters.”

“Briars is right,” Tallon called out. “There’s nothing to worry about – Zero’s just trying to get inside your head.”

Several crows circled overhead, croaking and cawing. Cassie had the unsettling thought that the birds were watching them, waiting to descend for a fresh meal.

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.