Escape: Omega Book 1 (Omega: Earth's Hero) Read Free Page B

hurried movements and efficient mannerisms evidenced such. The center of the activity was a small chrome structure no more than a few feet off the ground. Straining, Darrin saw that the object rose from a large hole… meaning that. By the size of the exposed portion and the circumference of the hole. it was most likely deep. and what it held big. The ants continued their work as if telepathically linked. and Darrin couldn’t help but admire their conformed grace. But…
    …speaking of ants…
    A yell escaped his mouth. Realizing his mistake, there was no way he could capture it.
    Little pinpricks of fire ran up Darrin’s leg. He looked down, but couldn’t see much in the meager light. He did see a large earthen mound that he’d almost managed to miss. There was small clump knocked out of the base and the boy’s quick mind processed what had happened. The fire ants bit as if they hadn’t eaten in a week. The burn was unbelievable.
    Biting down on his lower lip as hard as he could, tears brimmed in his eyes. He used both hands to try to shake off the red ants, but in such darkness, it was just like swatting at invisible flies. His hands weren’t off limits to the little angry pests, either, but nothing could be done about it. When the pain subsided, Darrin remembered shouting.
    He moved quickly away from the anthill, still hugged up to the rock. He tried not to imagine stepping on a similar hill, or worse yet, a rattlesnake’s nest.
    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sight that stopped him cold. Fifty yards away, amidst the bustle of the men, one lone man stared straight at Darrin. A thick, barrel-chested older man,  dressed differently from many of the soldiers, was giving Darrin a cold, frightening stare.
    Surely he can’t see me, the boy thought . It’s impossible. Then he remembered the events that led him out to the deserted piece of land. Was anything really impossible to Darrin anymore?
    What must have been the officer in charge of the group held his gaze, as if it were noon and he could see the intruding boy as clearly as if he were ten feet away. Darrin didn’t move a muscle, didn’t even breath.
    A young soldier ran up to the older officer and his attention diverted. Darrin made his move and hustled to the other side of the boulder, giving the ant mound a wide berth. He’d be lost in the darkness if the leader of the soldiers decided to come have a look or worse yet, send a squad to investigate. That being said, Darrin wasn’t ready to leave. He would hide as best he could, but there was no way he was getting out of there until he saw what mystery that strange crater held.
    What Darrin Reddick did not know, however, was that what he would find out in the desert, among the soldiers, would change the course of his life.
     

     
    “Captain,” someone called.
    “Oh Christ—”
    “Arms at the ready—”
    Captain Fallow looked on. Men scurried this way and that. Confusion had descended upon his little operation in the blink of an eye, and he had to struggle to understand just what was happening. The peaceful desert night just become a whole lot rowdier.
    From below, in the crater, an eerie light bled out over the dirt mounds surrounding the hole. Strong enough to dispel the spotlights, men scampered away as if a bomb was about to detonate.
    “Stand your ground, soldiers,” Fallow commanded, but only few listened.
    A soft, gentle sound: water through a drainpipe. Steam roiled up from the front of the buried ship. 
    Fallow drew in a single deep breath. His chest rose high and he steeled his nerves. “I said stand your ground, soldiers.” Again, if anyone heard, they failed to acknowledge. A private, his eyes locked on the wrecked spaceship, stumbled and fell into Fallow. Hard. The captain threw the younger man down and went for his pistol on his side.
    Determined that he would not turn tail and run, Fallow gripped the handles of his gun tight enough to turn his knuckles wide. A brave man that