Crow - The Awakening (87 page)
"Mr. Bradly is not available at the moment. He is at the infirmary."
"Is he hurt bad?" Laurence was not ready to break in a new commander.
"I'm not sure, sir. However, he is still in active command."
"Who attacked us?"
"We detected at least four aliens sir."
"Four aliens wiped out our base?" Laurence was incredulous. He would have figured that it would have taken an army.
"Any alien casualties?" At least that could present dissection opportunities.
"That's a negative, sir."
Laurence sighed. "Are there any agents in the field?" He sat down in the grass again, trying not to breathe too deeply.
"We have one coming in from the coast. The rest have been recalled."
"Have him swing my way on his way back then." He hung up. Jacob had ended up capturing Steven after all. Then aliens destroyed the base. He got up and started walking east. He had to get to a highway to wait for his ride, then figure out what the next step was. Being able to instantly travel to other worlds should probably rate at the top of that list.
My wife, who has stood beside me... okay, a little to the left... more... back... to the right... yeah... who has stood behind me all these years of marriage... ow... while bapping me on the head whenever I annoy her. She took it upon herself to edit my work because of her insatiable appetite for correcting me. I am pleased to have given her ample reason to... correct me. She is my best friend, my muse and an excellent motivator.
My children, Kenan and Noah, for tolerating me and all the hours I spen
d
at the computer writing and insisting on a little bit of peace and quiet while they are playing their infernal games. I mean, I'm doing something important here. On my computer... in my fantasy world... Go clean your room!!!
My circle of childhood friends whos
e
creativity helped shape mine over the years. You know who you are. Yeah... you. Don't hide...
My proof-readers and beta-readers... perhaps gamma-readers, theta-readers... a few omega-readers, and let us not forget the... ooh, pretty butterfly...
My Facebook friends who avidly hung on every word I wrote in my frequent updates about the stories I was writing. Because... you know... if they missed it, I'd just post it again. And again...
a
nd again...
My chickens who gave me such excellent input during my projects. Hey... don't laugh. I've caught my wife talking to them too. What a gossip...
The Aliens who consulted me and gave me good direction for the... totally... fictional story that I dreamed up all on my own and without any... Alien... help. Why isn't my backspace key working?
I have been daydreaming my entire life, oftentimes to the consternation of my parents and teachers. I
would frequently
go off into my own worlds and get lost for hours on end. Sometimes I'
d
draw what I see, other times
write it down. I
've
had the benefit of growing up with like-minded friends and we would often find ourselves creating wonderful and complex universes and stories together. Those are my best memories of childhood.
I am avidly interested in everything around me. How stuff is made, how nature works, social interactions, all of it. Hopefully, I have been able to do my lifetime of daydreaming, creativity and diverse interests justice in these books that I am writing.
For updates on my creative projects, please visit my website and Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/MichaelJVanecek
