Critical Path (The Critical Series Book2) (35 page)
Explosions echoed along the valley below, the sound hitting Charlie in the chest.
Charlie staggered down the hill. The group clustered together. Denver wiped dust from his hair. Layla gaped up and pressed her hand against her forehead.
“Move from ship,” Hagellan said, pointing to the descending prism.
That was a ship? Shit.
It got to its feet and headed for an area of undergrowth to their left. Charlie sprinted after it. Denver grabbed Layla’s arm and followed.
Charlie grabbed a handful of Hagellan’s suit and managed to slow it down. “You need to start talking. If that’s not the destroyer, what is it?”
“Scion ship. Destroyer no more if that here.”
“Scion? What are you talking about?” Denver said.
“Croatoan enemy. If you thought us bad, Scion five times worse.”
“That’s just wonderful,” Charlie said.
He followed Hagellan, not knowing what else to do, and pushed his way through the big leaves dangling from plants that towered over his head.
The two aliens stopped in a small clearing. Charlie, Denver, and Layla crouched next to a small pink shrub.
“What do we do now?” Denver said.
“God knows,” Charlie said. They were way out of their depth and now faced a new enemy. “Hagellan, any bright ideas?”
A whining sound grew louder. A small black craft, sleek and fast, roared overhead. An explosion boomed on the other side of the undergrowth, and fire shot into the sky.
“Quick, before it returns” Hagellan said. “We must find Tredeyan underground system.”
Charlie’s instinct told him that if he couldn’t fight an alien, then
running was the only course of action. As he and the others sprinted after Hagelllan, pushing through the alien flora, a sickly dread weighed heavily in his stomach.
Earth was safe—for now, but they now faced a new enemy.
The shadow-black prism hung in the air like a malevolent icon, promising a dire future for Charlie, Denver, and Layla. Charlie gritted his teeth, pulled Denver and Layla further into the alien landscape.
If he had to fight again to get home, he couldn’t have wished for anyone more loyal and capable as Denver. Charlie looked into his son’s eyes.
“We’ll win,” Denver said. “We always win.”
Click here to read book 3: Critical Strike
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