Blue Plague: War (Blue Plague Book 6) (25 page)

“All of your life?” Stephanie asked.

“Please don’t start,” Bruce begged. “I don’t even know how to respond to those two.”

“Buffy is Omega’s daughter, Bruce,” Stephanie grinned. “They all look at her like that. Granted, she scares the shit out of them, but they love her like a daughter.”

“When I get back, I’m going to sleep for a decade, and I want everything fixed when I wake up,” Bruce announced, stepping over to the table and putting his backpack on his chest.

Angela was explaining what had happened to Gene, who stepped over to Bruce. “I’ll take care of it,” Gene assured him and walked off.

“Aw shit,” Bruce moaned, looking up, but Gene just went back to his gear, putting the rest on. Thankful, Bruce turned to Stephanie as Angela walked over. “I want you two to pull Danny aside and tell her what transpired here. She scares people more than Buffy,” Bruce said.

“Bruce, out of all your kids, everyone fears Jake the most,” Angela informed him, shocking Bruce. “They figure they can outrun the others, but with Jake, they know they will only die tired when he pulls out his rifle.”

“We’ll tell Danny,” Stephanie assured him.

“Assault team, prepare to load,” a voice called out over the radio and loudspeaker outside.

Feeling like he had aged several years since he walked in the shop just a half an hour ago, Bruce headed to the door, following the others. Several trucks were outside that the team was loading up in. Bruce climbed up in a truck with Angela and Stephanie joining him. Knowing getting comfortable was out of the question, Bruce just knelt down, watching the kids climb up with them.

“Ted, Carl, keep your mouth shut,” Bruce growled as Buffy climbed in the back of the truck with others helping her.

They both knelt like Bruce with their girlfriends beside them. When they reached the airfield, several A-10s were taking off, and a C-130 was sitting in the middle of the runway with its engines running. The huge props sent a strong wind back as the team unloaded from the trucks.

Jumping out of the truck, Gene walked to the end of the ramp, and the troops started loading as Gene called them out. Bruce looked at his family and smiled. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Danny ran over and hugged him. “I love you, Daddy.”

“Love you, sweet pea,” Bruce said, trying to hug her back with all of his equipment on. The others filed over, hugging him.

“All accounted for!” Gene yelled from the back of the plane over the engine noise.

The family let Bruce go, and he walked over to the ramp and stopped beside Gene. “Don’t ever remember having my family hugging me before I jumped into a hot zone,” Bruce shouted as the engines roared louder.

“I think it’s a great idea!” Gene shouted as they walked up the ramp, and the load master closed it. “Lets us know what we are fighting for.”

Bruce dropped in his cargo seat, adjusting his gear. “I’ve always known what I was fighting for,” Bruce said in a low voice as the plane started to roll down the runway. Turning his watch over, he looked at a picture of Debbie with the family. “I lost part of it, and be damned if I lose any more.”

The family, along with the clan, watched the large plane take off, carrying friends, loved ones, and members of their clan off into the night sky. In small groups, they started leaving the runway as other planes taxied out, preparing once again to fight a war that no one could see the end of.

A
bout the Author

Thomas A. Watson lives in Northwestern Montana, but grew up in Doyline, Louisiana and Grenada, Mississippi. He moved to Shreveport, Louisiana to start a family. He graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelors in Science. Watson’s love of reading, which was instilled in him at a young age by his parents, inspired him to begin his writing career.

Working currently as an RN in an emergency room in Missoula, Watson loves the outdoors and taking time off of work.

By the author:
The books in my Blue Plague series are no holds barred about the end of civilization and are not for the faint of heart. The language and actions are harsh, even by the main characters. It is my portrayal of what it would take to survive an event of this magnitude. It deals with the harsh reality of those that prey on the weak when no one is around to save and protect them. There is humor, honor, family, and hope in this series, because a world without these is another name for hell. The world has seen small scale deterioration from disasters, but nothing on the scale of this series. If you don’t think society would not break down like this then you are sorely mistaken. Bad people are everywhere in our society. If your neighbor was starving or scared, could you trust them to leave you alone or help protect your family?

I wrote this series based on what I saw after hurricanes Katrina and Rita about what would happen if society broke down worldwide.

A
cknowledgments

Thank you to my readers. To all those who provided support, read, wrote and offered comments. I would not be where I am today without all of you.

To my family: Thank you all for giving me the courage and strength to pursue my dreams. I love you very much. Nick, Khristian, and Phillip, you three make my days brighter.

To Monique Happy: Thank you. You have been a pleasure to work with, and your work is amazing. Thanks for the recommendation, Shawn Chesser, she truly is the best.

And finally to my wife, Tina. Thank you for putting up with me and keeping my side of the bed warm on the long nights I was clicking away at the keyboard, for all your insightful input, and for just being there for me. I would have never made it this far without all your help and encouragement.

T
he Worlds of Thomas A. Watson

Thomas A. Watson has created an exciting and often terrifying array of worlds, including
The Blue Plague
series and
Dark Titan: Journey,
both available from Winlock Books in 2015.

Learn more about
The Blue Plague

More about the
Dark Titan
series can be found on
The Dark Titan: Journey

…
and you can stay in touch with Thomas and all his work at

Thomas A. Watson on Facebook

and

Thomas A. Watson on Twitter

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