Read Precipice: The Beginning for Free Online

going to see daddy?” Logan asked, finishing the sentence with a big yawn. His cheeks were red and there were sleep lines across his face. The right side of his head was matted with sweat.
    Annie couldn’t help but smile, letting her previous tension over the gun incident melt away as if it’d never happened. She left the keys in the ignition and got out of the car, walking around the front to open the back door for her son. She undid the seatbelt and helped him out of his car seat.
    “Carry me,” Logan said, resting his head on Annie’s shoulder.
    “Come on, you’re a big boy. You can walk.” Annie bent down to set him on the ground.
    “No, carry me.” Logie burrowed his head deep into the flesh of her neck and shoulder, like a cat rubbing against your legs to try and coax some treats out of you.
    “Let’s go. You’re walking Mr. Man,” Annie said as she got down on her knees, bending forward until he had no choice but to stand. This was a routine of theirs, no matter where they went. Normally she’d put in one or two firm commands and then eventually give in. It was hard not to when she was all he had. Annie felt responsible to make him feel as loved as possible since she was left to do it alone, even if the consequence might be slightly harmful down the road. But for now, this one time, she wanted her little boy to walk in their on his own, to stand tall and proud for his daddy to see. Annie reached over her son’s shoulder and grabbed the travel bag and Logie’s blankey off the seat. “Okay, march mister.”
    “Yeah, we’re going to see daddy!” Logan said as he hurried toward the door, hopping up and down with the argument moments ago already gone from his mind.
    Annie kicked the back door shut with her foot and hurried over to her son, taking hold of his hand. She held the door and allowed him to enter first, smiling down at how excited he’d become. Logan hopped up and down before the large sculpture of a glass hand holding a planet in the palm of its hand. Carved into the glass was the company’s mission statement: Building Better Worlds Today For A Brighter Tomorrow. A little corny for sure, but Annie thought the sculpture was perfect. A giant hand holding the planet in its grip is a perfect representation for how they saw things. Annie gave Logie a single tug and got him moving, following the dark blue floor to the metal detector and the guard stationed there. Much like the airport, Annie set their possessions on a conveyor belt, including the contents of their pockets. She walked through the metal detector, turning to see if she’d passed the test or if the green light would go red. It stayed green. Annie grabbed their stuff off the belt and held out her hand to Logie as he walked through. The green light dinged red.
    “Please empty your pockets son,” the man said, holding out a plastic container to Logan.
    Logan had a guilty expression, lowering his head as he pulled a spoon from his pocket and dropped it into the container. There was a faded ring of peanut butter around the tip, now coated in lint. The man took the container and gave Annie a little wink, waving them through.
    “Excuse me?” Annie said to Logan as she took his hand, giving him a playful shake.
    They followed the blue floor past a few offices and the break room, finally coming to the end of the hall where a man in a black suit was waiting for them.
    “Nice to see you again Mrs. Daniels,” Francis Sparks said with a slight nod. He was a giant man, standing at six-foot-seven, with giant banana hands she was always a bit uncomfortable to shake. “We have made an excellent connection with the Martian facility and are ready for you. If you and your son will please follow me to room three.”
    “Thank you,” Annie said, her tone fake. This man didn’t care if she thanked him or called him a Nazi baby killer. Either way he wouldn’t have heard her. And if he did the plastic smile across his tan face would have never