Apocalyptic Visions Super Boxset Read Online Free PDF Page B

command twenty minutes ago.”
     
    “Sir, I'm sorry to hear that.”
     
    “I know you don't give a shit about what happens to me, Lieutenant, but I do know that you give a shit about your country. Remember that.”
     
    “I will, sir,” Eric said.
     
    Howard looked out into the massive blue ocean rolling and tossing waves against the iron ship that kept them afloat.
     
    “It's going to be a dog fight until the end,” Howard said.
     
    Eric hadn't interacted with the captain much, but heard he had a reputation for being a hard-ass, and when those words left the captain's mouth, it sent chills up the back of his spine.
     
    Eric's pocket buzzed.
     
    “Excuse me, Captain,” Eric said.
     
    The number popping up on his phone wasn't one he recognized.
     
    “Hello?” Eric said.
     
    “Scratch? I mean, Eric?”
     
    “I haven't been called that in a long time.”
     
    “This is Brooke Fontanne. You were stationed with my husband in Iraq back in '04.”
     
    “Fontanne... Fontanne. Wait, Jason Fontanne?”
     
    “Yes! That's him.”
     
    “I haven't heard from him in a long time. What's that bastard been up to?”
     
    When Eric heard the pause after his comment, he realized that whatever answer came next was about to make him feel like a huge asshole.
     
    “He was killed in action last year,” Brooke said.
     
    “Brooke, I'm... I'm sorry to hear that.”
     
    It was all he could come up with—a heartfelt “sorry” that she was no doubt tired of hearing. That was one thing the military was really good at: beating a dead horse.
     
    “Thank you,” Brooke said.
     
    “What can I help you with?”
     
    “The last time Jason spoke about you, he said you were training to become a Navy pilot.”
     
    “That's right.”
     
    “Did you make it?”
     
    Eric looked to his left at the massive F-15 jet and adjusted his flight pin.
     
    “You could say that,” Eric answered.
     
    “I was hoping for a favor.”
     
    “Lay it on me.”
     
    “I'm trying to get myself and two children out of San Diego and over to North Carolina to stay with my sister.”
     
    “I'm not really that kind of pilot, Brooke.”
     
    “It's getting bad here, Eric. I'll take anything.”
     
    “Look, I have a briefing I need to run to, but once I'm done, I'll see what I can do, but I can't make any promises, okay?”
     
    “Thank you, Eric.”
     
    “You're welcome.”
     
    He stuffed the phone in his pocket and headed inside the ship. So far it'd made for an interesting day. Whatever this debriefing was about that had the captain forced out was sure to add to the excitement.

 
     
    ***
     
    For a moment, Brooke let herself believe that things were going to be all right. She didn't like having her future in the hands of someone else, let alone someone she barely knew, but if it got her family out of here, then so be it.
     
    Shouts and screams from downstairs caused Brooke to shift gears. Her feet thudded against the wooden steps as she hurried down.
     
    “Hey, knock it off, you two,” Brooke said.
     
    The yelling didn't stop. Brooke let out an exasperated breath and trudged back down the steps.
     
    “Take it back!” Emily said.
     
    “You shouldn't have taken them!” John said.
     
    “It's not true!”
     
    “You know it's true! Don't pretend like it isn't!”
     
    “What is going on, you two?” Brooke asked.
     
    “John said that I never cared about Dad,” Emily said.
     
    Emily’s eyes started tearing up, and the hardened resolve she had showed just moments earlier started to wash away.
     
    “John, why would you say something like that?” Brooke asked.
     
    “Because it's true! She said that she took Dad's dog tags to school today. She doesn't deserve to have them. She never cared when he was gone. She never worried what could happen to him. The only time she ever did anything was when he came home,” John said.
     
    He was pointing at his sister, his own eyes becoming red. His voice cracked, and his