Everything sped up then.
Jet shifted with a shout as my finger brushed the trigger. I faltered, and Kale noticed. He threw his body in front of mine to aim at Hera.
“No!” I screamed, tapping the trigger and eliciting a sharp bang.
Kale spun and dodged my bullet, his gaze floating from me to Hera to watch the bullet collide with her chest, instead. She slumped to the ground. Kale’s expression twisted into anger as an earth-moving, gut-clenching roar detonated from Jet’s direction. Jet charged forward, hauling his body on top of Hera’s, closing her up like a cocoon. His cry ripped into me, tearing me open and grazing against my bare bones.
“No,” I whispered, eyes falling to my firearm. I grew dizzy, stumbling to the left as Jet’s big body covered Hera’s, which now lay in a pool of dirt mixed with a garish, unreal maroon. His torment reverberated beneath my feet, reaching up my legs and dipping inside me, wrapping tight around my lungs.
Somehow, amidst the dizziness overtaking me, I could make out Kale’s form as it hovered over Jet. He’d quickly recovered and moved to snatch Jet’s weapons away, and for the first time, Jet’s finger was not on the trigger. He barely registered Kale’s presence at first, but began fighting him the second Kale tried pulling him from Hera’s body. Kale managed to grab him and pry him off her, and Jet’s grief wrapped tighter around my lungs when I caught a glimpse of this strong, handsome, courageous man reduced to wailing sobs and the inability to stand upright while Kale led him away from the scene.
Rage seemed to fuel Jet with a second wind, but as he lashed out in retaliation, Kale snatched a Venom Sphere from his belt and lodged it into Jet’s back, rendering him a limp heap.
Kale wasted no time. He adjusted Jet to drag him by the underarms toward our Capsule. I just stood there, my gun dangling at my side. I let it drop to the ground and stared down at Hera’s body.
I did not have all the answers. I did not know what awaited us on Foundation Zero, or if our race would ever recover from all that we had lost.
But I did know how to shoot a gun.
THE KEEPERS TRILOGY
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Aqua Bomb – Invader-designed weapon. Fills lungs with water upon impact. Death by drowning.
Black Holes – Human underground bunker communities designed as hideouts for protection from invaders
Capsules – Main method of invader transportation. Used for air, land, and sea travel.
Collectors – Keeper Agents in charge of collecting human recruits for invader camp sector assignment
Foundation Zero – The primary model Earth created by the invaders, designed for human permanent settlement
GuardCore – Fast-acting, advanced antibacterial injection designed for wound care
Invaders – Foreign species responsible for Earth’s invasion, takeover, and downfall
Keeper Agents – Humans pre-selected by the invaders as servants at or before birth, or humans who volunteer or are placed into invader-led service. Implanted with identification chips that activate upon prototype invasion or service placement
Lucenta – The invaders’ underwater city located in the Pacific Ocean, on Prototype Seven. Houses the Creators. Houses screening and training sectors for human recruits collected from Prototype Seven, for preparation for transfer to Foundation Zero
Prototype Seven – The seventh prototype of planet Earth, created by the invaders
The Maker – Head Creator of the invaders
The Shepherds (Sacred Seven) – Seven humans (also known as the Head Keepers) pre-selected by the invaders at or before birth to activate upon prototype invasion and lead human recruits from prototypes to Foundation Zero
Venom Sphere – Invader-designed weapon. Temporarily paralyzes victim and renders them unconscious.
The Keepers Trilogy - Book Two
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachael Wade is the Amazon bestselling author of Love and Relativity, The Preservation Series, and The Resistance Trilogy. When she’s not writing, she’s busy learning French, watching too many movies, and learning how to protect wildlife and stop animal cruelty. Visit her at RachaelWade.com and LightsOnOutreach.com, and come chat with her on Twitter via @RachaelWade.
Table of Contents
Title
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Glossary
Table of Contents
Title
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Glossary
End
Table of Contents
Title
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Glossary
End