Drafted (Homeworld Trilogy #1)[A War of the Worlds Retelling] by Holly Hook

Author:Holly Hook [Hook, Holly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Holly Hook
Published: 2017-10-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

At first, I kept my eyes shut. Back home, Mom and Dad would have told me to be brave and to put on a show. Earthers were always to be brave and willing to fight for the world. But I wasn't an Earther right now. This place had already sucked that right out of me. I was just Tess, nothing more. Bravery had abandoned me. Mars changed people, and not for the better.

"These vehicles are pretty good," Matt explained as we rolled over bumps (possibly those fossilized microbe mats?) and through dips (probably ancient river beds where the Grounders evolved.) "We can go for kilometers. If we have to use them, there are oxygen tanks under our seats. That won't make up for the loss in pressure, but at least we'll be able to breathe."

"Matt, you are not making me feel better."

"I'm trying. Comfort's not my strong suit. You can't have that trait here. We have to be real."

"I know that." At the same time, I appreciated his honesty. Mom and Dad couldn't even do that for me. Matt was the one who had introduced me to the real world.

The longer I kept my eyes closed, the dumber I felt. I forced myself to open them. The metal ceiling remained overhead. There were no sunroofs in this world. The wheels crunched red rocks while rolling hills of the same color surrounded us. A distant dust devil swirled across the dead landscape. I felt like we were riding through the remains of a world after the worst nuclear apocalypse. Nothing formed on the horizon. Old tire tracks lay on the ground, leaving a hard-to-see trail through the death and despair. People had driven this way before.

"Don't worry," Matt said. "This glass blocks most of the radiation."

"Most," I said, pulling my sleeves down over my hands. I kept my breaths shallow. The air was down to eighty-five percent. We had already used four and been in the vehicle for less than five minutes. I turned in my seat and looked behind us. Colony N appeared as a distant collection of square buildings and domes, just like M had.

Was that movement in front of the bunker we had just left?

Matt drove us down a dip, punching the accelerator. I grabbed onto my seat and bit my lip. Pain followed, and a metallic taste filled my mouth. We were driving into a crater, but Matt didn't seem to mind.

"Whoa!" I said.

"I've done this a ton of times," Matt said. "The craters can be fun. Don't worry. These vehicles are very hard to tip over."

"That's the first thing you've told me that does make me feel better," I said. At least I knew that I could believe that. Matt hadn't lied yet. "I thought I saw something behind us."

Matt gripped the steering wheel harder and faced me. We rose on the other side of the crater. "You saw something?"

"Well, I thought I did. It looked like a bit of movement."

"Keep an eye on it," he said.

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.