Invasion (The Alien Wars #1) (37 page)

The lieutenant frowned. “George? Doug?”

Kenneth explained. “They helped us escape when the Seods were chasing us. So if I had thrown the briefcase away, they would still be alive.” He kicked the dirt in frustration. “I just want to know that I was doing the right thing.” He leaned against a military Humvee and stared up at the sky. “I just need to know.”

Lieutenant Davidson put a hand on Kenneth’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I can’t answer that question.
But only because I don’t know the answer.
However, I can help you get some food and a place to rest.”

Kenneth sighed. He looked at the teens and remembered what they wanted. He turned to the lieutenant. “I need to get to
Boise
.”

The lieutenant frowned. “
Boise
?
What for?”

Kenneth sensed that there was something that the man knew that he didn’t. Even the teens picked up on it.

“What’s wrong with
Boise
?” Derek asked.

“It’s a ghost town,” the lieutenant replied.

“We’ve passed through tons of towns that are empty of people,” Kenneth said, a thin smile appearing. “If that’s—”

“No, I mean it’s a ghost town.
As in ghosts live there.”
The lieutenant hurriedly glanced around and dropped his voice to a whisper. “The townsfolk fled the place about a week ago. Said they saw strange lights and heard strange noises.”

“Well, we’re going there anyway. We’re looking for someone who lives there,” Molly said. “We need to ask him if he knows where our parents are.”

“Well, there’s a group of people over by the relief
center
who came from
Boise
. Maybe the person you seek is there,” the lieutenant said.

“But there are thousands of people over there!” Derek cried out. “Can you help us?”

The lieutenant hesitated. “It wouldn’t matter. I’d have the same chance as you of finding your friend. Granted, most people register and put their names and addresses, but the size of the compound is so large, they could be anywhere. We’ve also had a huge influx of people coming from
California
lately.”

Kenneth sighed. “I guess we’ll just have to go to
Boise
then.”

“Well, I could help you there,” the lieutenant said. “I’m taking a convoy up north to check on some things and we’ll actually pass close to
Boise
on the way, though we’ll be going a different way back.”

“Great! We’ll go with you,” Molly said, smiling for the first time in a while.

“But how’d we get back?” Kenneth asked, turning to Molly.

Derek clutched his sister’s hand. “I’m sure we’ll find a way. Anyway, you don’t have to go with us.” He turned to the soldier. “Is it all right if just
me
and my sister come?”

“I suppose so,” the lieutenant replied.

Kenneth threw up his hands. “Okay, I’ll come. After all, you’ll need someone to protect you.” He turned to the soldier. “Our backpacks are still in the truck. Will you be using that one or another one?”

“Let’s go and see.” Lieutenant Davidson led the way back to the trucks. Reaching them, he saw that the backpacks had been thrown off the vehicle.

Kenneth saw that soldiers were in the process of filling the truck with crates and assumed it was them who had tossed them on the ground.

As Lieutenant Davidson had a word with one of the men, Kenneth handed a backpack to
Derek.
They then waited for the lieutenant to rejoin them, but just as he started to walk over, one of the men who
was
loading the vehicle dropped a crate.

It hit the ground hard and part of the top slid off. Kenneth bent down to help the man with the crate but paused in astonishment as he saw that the entire crate was filled with silencers.

Click Here To Buy It Now!