Station Hope (Book 1): Humanities Last Stand Read Free Page A

them, turned and headed back with a smart ass reply, “always am!”.
       Each man of the WDT had done this several times before. Each man knew even a scratch from the creature could turn them. With great care the creature was restrained, its mouth gagged. It was taken to a holding cell in Doc's makeshift laboratory. The restrains were removed and all the men quickly exited the cell. The creature dragged itself to the bars, growling and hissing as it clawed across the floor. I stood back looking down at it. Suddenly it stopped and looked up at me, its eyes bloodshot, full of evil. I looked into them, it stopped growling and hissing, just for a split second I thought I saw fear. The evil soon returned along with the growling, I turned and walked away shaken by the eye contact. I have seen other creatures up close before, but this was different, very different.
       I made my way to the main cafeteria where most of the members of the WDT gathered. Hot coffee was enjoyed as stories about what just took place were told. Who had the best shot, who shot the most creatures were popular topics discussed at great length. But why the creatures were dressed up dominated the conversations. This is a time for the group to unwind, to enjoy the comrad`ery and to bond. There was no class system within the WDT.
       Dawn was only a few hours away, no one in the compound was sleeping anymore. I made my way down the main corridor to cell block F. Ivy lived there along with her family, I was very anxious to see her. We had grown up together and were seldom seen apart. I entered the common area of the cell block, she was sitting at a metal table reading a book we found on the last scavenging trip. Her long jet black hair hung down around her face. One hand was keeping the book open while the other rested near the trigger guard of her trusty rifle. She seemed to be reading all the time and was never without her rifle. The book had her full attention which enabled me to walk up to the edge of the table undetected. I waited there silently until she felt my presence. As she raised her head to look up, I could see those piercing blue eyes though a few hair strands. I am in love with her and she with me, everyone in the compound knows it too.
       “Reading so early in the morning?”
       “I have a few minutes before I have to help Doc Hendricks.”
       “Whats Dr. Frankenstein working on now?”
       Ivy slammed her book shut and began to stand up. “Don't call him that,” her voice had a touch of anger in it, “he's doing some important work that will help everyone, especially you.”
       “OK, OK, don't bite my head off, I'm sorry.” I stepped closer and put my hands on her shoulders, I looked into those eyes. “You know I was just joking; I really am interested in what you're working on.”
       She looked back at me and knew she was not really mad. That familiar, beautiful smile told me all was forgiven.
       “He is attempting to produce a chemical that would be an irritant to the creatures, maybe even kill them if they were exposed to a large quantity.”
       “Really, that would be great. How would it be delivered?” She turned away causing her hair to brush up against my face, she smelled so good. I followed Ivy like a puppy as she made her way back to her cell.
       “We are just in the beginning stages of development, but I think it could be delivered in a spray or even in a dart. The hard part is going to make it safe for humans to be around it.”
      I knew she was the smart one and happy that she never made me feel stupid. She was Doc Hendricks apprentice and was well on her way to becoming a great doctor. As we reached her cell, I realized she didn't know yet about the newly captured creature.                                                                                                      With excitement