The Fifth Kind: Awakening (Dark Nova Series Book 2) by James D. Prescott

Author:James D. Prescott [Prescott, James D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Prescott Publishing
Published: 2023-12-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 30

Atacama, Chile

The mood in the command module was subdued. On the bright side, they had escaped certain death more than once within the anomaly’s hostile and unforgiving environment. The entire team was present, including Nash, who never let a little bruising sideline him. Jake was the only one who wore a grin that lit up his entire face. And why shouldn’t he be thankful? Only a few weeks ago, he’d been an amputee, forced to forgo the one thing in life that had brought him any joy. Now, thanks to a few strips of titanium and some hydraulics, he was new and very much improved.

Capt. Mathis quickly brought the meeting to order. “I’m sorry to report we lost three airmen yesterday, their bodies mutilated by the enemy and any number of monstrosities currently living underneath that crimson-colored dome. I shudder to think what might happen if we fail to stop it from spreading.”

Fort Apache had already been forced to pull back several miles as the anomaly continued to expand.

Alvarez, who was leaning on the charting table, raised a hand. “Am I the only one who sees exactly why the Drax created this thing? They’re trying to divert our attention. Keep us tied down dealing with a manufactured nightmare while they put the finishing touches on their plan to do us in for good. That’s what I think.”

Nash nodded his approval. “Makes perfect sense to me.”

“That was what I thought too at first,” Shepard admitted. “But we also have to be open to the possibility that the Drax might be just as confused by this as we are.”

“Don’t forget,” Peters added, “as far as the Drax are concerned, we’re like livestock to them. We know their MO is to destroy an over-harvested planet by pushing the host star into a supernova. Why then would they risk killing everyone prematurely? I’m with Shepard on this one. The Drax are just as worried as we are.”

“Is there any news on Murphy?” Shepard asked, troubled.

Capt. Mathis bobbed his head and punched a button on the charting table, turning on a monitor behind him. It showed a nude man strapped to a table. Around him stood figures in biohazard suits studying him.

“As you can see, he’s currently in quarantine,” Mathis explained. “We’ve been running a battery of tests to try and understand what he was exposed to out there.”

“But he wasn’t the only one,” Mateo said. “When the solar storm struck, it clearly affected Murphy just as much as the arachnid. I’d also be willing to bet that all the genetic and organic components comprising the flora and fauna in that ecosystem were present prior to the anomaly’s arrival.”

“What exactly are you proposing, Dr. Vargas?” Singh wondered.

Mateo laid a folder on the table, its pages filled with charts and graphs. “Take a look at the lumitron readings. Some unknown force is causing them to go wild. It can’t be dark matter, or else that place would be lit up like Buenos Aires on New Year’s Eve.

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.