Read White Sands for Free Online Page B

barracks. He couldn’t see over them, but the dense cloud of smoke bellowing into the air gave him a sinking feeling.
    I’m too late.
    “Stay here,” he said sternly, exchanging glances with Jeff and David.
    Slowly, Michael trekked up the closest dune and dropped to his stomach. Sand seeped into his open wounds, stinging like hundreds of little bees. He grimaced but crawled farther. He had to know what lay beyond.
    When he saw the smoking crater that had been the civilian and staff barracks he flipped over onto his back and looked down at his boys. Paula, his friends, everyone. They were all dead.
    He tried to speak, tried to move, but his body was numb.
    He’d broken his promise. Everything wasn’t fine. Everything was totally fucked.
    When he saw Jeff and David looking up at him, he knew he had to get it together. For their sake. Whoever was piloting the black ships didn’t care about civilian casualties, which meant his boys weren’t safe.
    Michael lay there for several moments, blinking rapidly. He had to think. Where could they go? Where would they be safe?
    Over the wind he heard the distinct cough of a diesel engine. He knew the sound well. His father had been a truck driver after serving in the infantry.
    But how did that make any sense? Diesel trucks hadn’t been used in years. Unless . . . he thought of his own pickup and the X90s. Something had knocked out their modern systems; maybe only the old tech worked.
    He peeked back over the edge of the dune and saw two Humvees racing across the eastern perimeter of the smoking crater. A helmet with flaming-orange goggles bobbed up and down in one of the truck’s gun turrets as they raced through the desert.
    Without hesitation, Michael brought himself to one knee and then pushed himself up. Waving his arms he shouted, “Over here!”
    The guard tilted his helmet and locked onto Michael’s location. The man tapped the top of the truck and a moment later they had changed course toward his position.
    “Boys, stay put,” Michael said, gesturing with his hand before starting the trek down the opposite side of the dune.
    “Stay where you are!” one of the guards yelled.
    Michael froze and raised his hands in the air. “I’m Michael Fitz with NTC Unit 5, second watch, Bunker 14, at the spaceport.”
    The two soldiers exchanged looks and then one of them hunched over his turret to get a better view. “What the hell are you doing out here, man?”
    Michael stuttered before he spoke. “I took my boys shooting at a range a few miles back.”
    “You chose one hell of a lucky day to do that,” one of the men replied. “The base is under attack. We’ve lost contact with everyone. The only vehicles that work are the Humvees that were stored in a bunker underground.”
    Michael didn’t know what to say. He had more questions than he had time to ask, so he simply said, “Hold on.” Limping back up the sand dune he motioned his boys up with his chin. “Come on guys.”
    When they got to the top of the hill and could see the wreckage of the base, David let out a cry. “Was that?”
    Michael grabbed him and pulled him close. He could feel the boy shaking in his arms. The worst feeling he had ever experienced as a father was not being able to take away the pain of losing their biological mother. Now he had to find the courage to explain their stepmother was gone too.
    Letting go of David, he dropped down on one knee and locked eyes with the boy. “Son. Paula is gone.”
    Tears raced down the child’s dirt-caked face, forming tiny trails where the drops washed away the grime. Michael bit his lip and scrunched his eyebrows together to hold off his own tears before pulling the boy back to his chest. He embraced him there for a minute, letting David cry into his shirt. When the boy finally stopped shaking, Michael stood and glanced over at Jeff. His arms were crossed and he was staring at the smoking crater behind the trucks.
    “Listen boys. I need you guys to be