Warship Independence (The Invasion Series Book 1) by Matt Ryan

Author:Matt Ryan [Ryan, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 32 Novel Publishing
Published: 2023-08-03T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Captain’s Quarters

90 Days Until the Sixth Invasion

The last drops fell into Trent’s glass, and he tossed the empty bottle into the trashcan. Then he twirled the gun on his desk and swirled the bourbon in the glass. When he set the glass down, it tipped over, spilling its contents across his desk. The liquid spread over the faux wood grain, finding little grooves to run along.

The invaders had taken too much from him, from everyone. And, in a way, he felt as if the Passives might be right. Maybe they should just let the Void take over and do whatever it was that they intended to do. That was the easy way out that would take him back to his family—if heaven was real. He hoped it was. That hope gave him something to lean on when days like this came along.

The fourth invasion had begun on that day, nine years ago—the day the invaders had taken his family away from him. The day Dax had lost his family as well. Trent had been stronger in the days that followed; he had to be. His brother had all but lost his mind. He felt he had been the weaker one in the years following.

Trent kept the gun Dax held that day. Each year on this day, he brought the gun out and thought about his brother, wife, and son. Maybe he’d been wrong to take the weapon from Dax’s hand that day. The easy way could be the right one.

He took the handgun and checked the power meter on the side. It still held the bolts that could have ended his brother’s life. It haunted Trent.

A projection of his wife and son at the beach was displayed above his desk—a moment of happiness.

A tear fell down his face, and his hand shook.

The door dinged, and the camera displayed Daisy standing at his door. He wiped the tears from his face and stuffed the gun back in his drawer.

“Come in,” he said, and Daisy entered.

“Hey, Cap,” she greeted him.

“Hey, Daisy.”

Her eyes narrowed as she walked closer. “You okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Oh, I don’t know. This isn’t exactly the brightest day of the year for you.”

“It’s a day when we won—again. We have a great record against the Void, thanks to you.”

He hoped he didn’t look like he’d been crying. He sniffed, then regretted it as Daisy gazed at him with a sympathetic expression.

“You have a pool of booze on your desk, and you aren’t a drinker. Do we have to go through this again, Trent? We can talk about it, you know. I’m your friend.”

Daisy had been there with him when Dax lost it. They’d worked in shifts, ensuring Dax made it through—the weight of what had happened lightened over the years but never lifted. Not being with Dax on this particular day was tough to bear. His brother hadn’t written much and never sent videos. He hoped he wasn’t slipping back into darkness.

Daisy walked around the desk and stood next to him.

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.