Read Orbs II: Stranded for Free Online Page B

the payloads into the atmosphere.”
    “Impossible,” Bouma said.
    Jeff suddenly burst out of the hallway. “My dad said nothing was impossible. We have to at least try.” With a huff, he leaned against the doorframe.
    Sophie looked over at the boy. He was thin, with a strong jaw, thick black hair, and bushy brown eyebrows. He was probably the spitting image of what Emanuel had looked like at nine years old.
    “Your dad was right, Jeff, but that was in the old world,” Holly said, patting the seat next to her. “Come sit down, sweetheart.”
    Jeff didn’t move. His eyes darted from her to Overton. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you guys. But there are people outside that need help. Sitting around and talking about how impossible things are isn’t helping them!”
    A surge of anxiety rushed through Sophie as Overton stood. She knew exactly what was coming and braced herself.
    “The kid’s right. We can’t just sit here and let survivors waste away.” Overton paused, cocking a brow, the scar on his cheek stretching. For a minute he looked like a crazed old man. Locking eyes with Sophie, he said, “Should I have left you, Emanuel, and Saafi to die outside? ShouldI have let that alien drone take you?”
    Sophie cringed. The marine was a skilled killer, but he was also skilled at manipulation, and knew exactly where to strike. But she hadn’t built a career by letting others push her around.
    “I seem to remember saving your ass back at Denver International. Remember that Sentinel I dropped?” Sophie shot back. “Besides, the situation isn’t the same. Those people are heavily guarded.”
    Overton snorted his response, wiping a sleeve across his face.
    “That’s why we need to develop a weapon,” Emanuel said. He turned to Sophie. “I’m getting close. I just need more time. I’m modifying the RVM so it can knock out the Organics’ defenses on a larger scale than our electromagnetic grenades.”
    “Can you at least wait until then?” Sophie asked Overton. She turned to see Overton jerk his chin toward the exit. Bouma followed him across the room and they vanished into the hallway. Sophie closed her eyes and counted to five. The sergeant was really beginning to test her patience.

CHAPTER 4
    T HE brilliant tail of a shooting star filled Alex’s HUD before it faded into the night sky. He doubled over, desperately trying to catch his breath. Slowly the floating stars before his eyes cleared, and the dizziness faded. He’d been on the run for several hours, just narrowly evading hundreds of thirsty Spiders.
    He was deep in the desert now, lost in the endless sea of sand and guided only by the full moon above. His legs ached, his muscles groaning in protest with every step. He’d felt like this for days now. There was no reprieve. No safety. No salvation. And he couldn’t keep willing himself on. His body was nearing its breaking point. In hours, maybe minutes, he would collapse from exhaustion and dehydration.
    Fortunately, Alex was no stranger to physical pain or fatigue. He never would have thought college football had taught him lessons about surviving the apocalypse, but then again, he’d never believed in aliens before, either.
    Those grueling practices had given him more than physical stamina—they had given him the mental fortitude he needed to survive in the heat with little nutrition. He could remember the practices like they were yesterday: his face baking inside his helmet, the spike of pain when he would get speared attempting to catch a ball too close to a defender and, most of all, the thirst on those one hundred degree days. There was nothing like the lust for water . . .
    Another shooting star raced across his HUD. He turned to watch it disappear into the sky, eager to give his mind a break from his ownthoughts.
    Alex glanced at his mission clock, shocked to see it was 3:42 A.M .
    Had he really been traveling for over eight hours?
    He collapsed onto a nearby boulder, his body