The Cloudy Skulls (Cloudy Sandbox Book 1) Read Free Page A

bit big for my ramrod thin frame. ‘Are you guys going to leave on the aircarrier?’ I asked as I tossed aside an unidentifiable panel of metal that had come free from somewhere. All we needed to do was make sure that the runway was clear, the aircarrier that was bringing the rest of my team over was en route and we didn't want a second crash.
    ‘ Yeah,’ Parker said, grabbing a brush and sweeping up glass shards. ‘We’ll do a nice handover presentation when your team is all here, take some promo photos for the spin doctors and all that and then we’ll hitch a ride on the aircarrier back home when we're sure you're all settled. Be warned; they're going to want lots of photos since we've got Major Cartell with us. She was the one that championed the whole dead zone reclamation project, so they won't get enough pictures of her by the base and with you and your soldiers.’
    ‘ I'll make sure my hair looks nice,’ I said.
    He ruffled my shoulder length black hair and grinned. 'You'll look like a model,' he said, just as another officer came jogging over.
    ‘ Ten minutes to landing, thought you might want to come inside and guide the aircarrier, Sir,’ the officer said.
    Parker nodded and handed me the broom he had been using. ‘Duty calls. It’s tough being in charge, you’ll find out soon enough.’
    I didn’t think telling an aircarrier where to land was particularly demanding, but there were other aspects I wasn’t looking forward to. I swept away the last of the metal bolts and wondered who would get the honour of informing the relatives of the deaths of the pilot and soldiers.
    -
    The sun was beginning to set when the aircarrier gently coasted to a stop in the hangar, thankfully their arrival was significantly less eventful than my own. I stood shoulder to shoulder with the other officers as my squadron disembarked, and my eyes focused on each one for a few seconds before moving on to the next as they stepped down the metal staircase and formed neat rows. Each of them wore the black uniform of cargo pants and a t-shirt, and each had a tactical vest over this. The belts at their waists held no weapons for now, but that would change as soon as they were officially welcomed onto the base. You never knew when an attack would come so it paid to always be armed in some way. The new soldiers were a complete mix; from tall, heavily muscled men that stood tall and proud, to a red haired girl that stood with her hands clasped behind her back and her lips drawn tightly together. Some were happy to be here, most were not. Recruitment was mandatory, though; one child from each family was sent to join the UR army so they ended up with a lot of unsuitable candidates, but at least they made up the numbers. Even the most nervy of soldiers could be taught to squeeze a trigger if required. When you’re in a battle instincts usually take over anyway.
    My gaze fell on a small blonde boy that barely looked old enough to be there and I sighed. The age limit had been dropped recently because there simply weren’t enough soldiers and the new government plans to take back dead zones required a lot of man power. And sacrifices. So they needed bodies to replace those that fell.
    Parker was addressing them now, welcoming them to the base and thanking them for joining the war effort as if they’d been given a choice. Half of them were probably dragged away from their homes kicking and screaming. As I scanned the faces old and young, male and female, short and tall, my gaze locked on a pair of eyes similar to my own. The guy should have been looking forward, giving Parker his full attention, but he was watching me with those eyes. Devil eyes, they’re called. When you enter the army you’re given a genetic test and if you have a specific gene then they’ll consider you as a candidate for the Enhancement Project. That involves taking a modified form of the virus that causes humans to turn into flesh eating victims, as giving diluted