Praetorian Series [3] A Hunter and His Legion Read Free Page A

slab of concrete.
    Or, finally, when I’d watched the woman I loved die for a second time, a memory only exacerbated by the fact that she’d been carrying our unborn child.
    Then again, maybe none of that should matter, because through the grace of God, science, and/or magic… whatever… the man with the shattered head had recovered.  The crushed man had regained his lower half.  And the woman I loved had been raised from the dead, and our baby preserved.  But while they’d all come back, the pain I felt at the memories lingered, building and growing and becoming harder to handle as the days rolled on.
    Archer was right.
    I could do without the gory details and soliloquies I was sure the Other Me was bound to add.  I was prone to them myself, and if what I’d just read was true, and if he’d repeatedly operated the orb, reliving the same moments over and over, thinking and thinking, trapped in a voluntary Groundhog Day scenario with nowhere to go and no one to interact with for what may have been years…
    Well, I didn’t want to think about it.
    Without another thought, I pulled up the pages again, peeled off the top three and placed them behind the rest.  I angled my head down and read.
     
     
    believe it’s come to this.  We were ready .  Prepared.  So prepared.  Shoulda listened to Helena.  Should always listened to Helena.  Never again. But never more.  Dead.
    Must find way to fix.  Had two weeks to think.
    How to fix this.
    I’ve thought of something.
    My name is Jacob Hunter.  I was born in Greenwood, Indiana.
    August, 199…
    At 6, family moved to Columbus.
    Dartmouth U .
    History an Classical Studies. 
    B ecame Navy SEAL
    F ind my sister.  Diana Hunter.  Should be a astronaut.
    I don’t know how the orbs work.  Not really.  Been using mine.  Feels good to use.  Been using mine for months but have no idea how.  It just work.  But the first time I connected with a Roman. Marcus Varus.  Hes dead, but we connected.
    I think.  I thnk Diana and I can connect.  Just like Varus and me.  I… I dont know.  Maybe she can help me. Help me somehow.  Brng some light.  So dark.
    I need help .
    I …
     
     
    “How’s the ending?”
    I didn’t jump at this latest voice, because it was far more recognizable than the last and I was used to it popping up when it was least expected – or wanted.  I glanced up, only two pages left, and searched for the unwanted voice.  I looked to my left but found nothing, and to my right, but also nothing.  I hadn’t thought the voice had come from behind me, but maybe it had.
    “Over here.”
    This time it clearly came from my left and I looked at the small shrub that sat there. A shadow moved and grew taller, revealing the shape of a man.  I sighed and stacked the pages against my knee and tapped them there to realign them.  Neat and orderly, I held them up to cover my face.
    “This really isn’t a good time,” I said.
    The man in black strode closer, clad in his combat fatigues and gear, complete with face concealing balaclava.  Acting as our quick reaction force should our Listening Post/Observation Post call in a bogie, he could react instantly while the rest of us geared up.  It was standard operating procedure these days, and one we took very seriously.
    T he man in black shrugged.  “Just curious.”
    “Do y ou want to know what happened?  Really want to know??”  I asked, anger rising in my voice.
    “Well, yeah,” he answered.
    I flipped through the pages in my hand, tearing free the skipped few, and flung them at him.  He caught them in midair, but no more than ten seconds passed before the pages were held out before me again.
    “Never mind,” he said.  “I don’t want to know.”
    I nodded and retrieved the pages, placing them back in their proper places.  The man took a step back, just beyond the glow from my light source, but I could still see him cross his arms as we contemplated each other in companionable