Evolution Read Online Free PDF Page A

mean? I got your back already.”
    “I know that. Sometimes, everything goes to hell and there is nothing you can do about it. That shot with Brux...we were lucky it was just my shoulder. Just a few inches and it would been my chest.”
    “What are you saying?”
    “I could die out there. Any of us could. If it’s me, I need to know...are you good to lead the crew?”
    Me, lead the crew? I had expected it to be someone like Makara, or even Anna, to be a better first choice. They were both better fighters than me. I can tell Samuel saw this question in my eyes, unasked.
    “We’re all here because of the xenovirus,” Samuel said. “Out of the crew, I think it’s me and you who understand the heart of this mission the most. It’s more than just survival. It’s saving the world, nothing less. We’ve both seen firsthand what the xenovirus can do. Not that Anna and Makara haven’t. They’re both great fighters. But I want you to run things if I die down there.”
    “You’re not going to die.”
    “I hope I don’t. But it’s a possibility we must be prepared for.”
    “Why me?”
    “You have a level head. You are in it for the mission. You want to avenge your father, and to do that, you must stop the xenovirus. That’s all true, isn’t it?”
    It was true. But the mission had grown into more than that. I was fighting for my friends. And yes, I was fighting for the memory of my father and Khloe, who both died because of the xenovirus.
    “I don’t know if I’m ready for that kind of responsibility,” I said.
    “The xenovirus didn’t ask if we were ready,” Ashton said.
    “I hope you never have to do it, Alex,” Samuel said. “But you don’t have the luxury to be yourself anymore. You have to always be tough, putting yourself on the line day after day, keeping everyone focused on the goal. I want nothing more than to find a place to rest and call home. I can’t have that, anymore. I’m fighting for that future, and for the future of everyone else. We all are.”
    He paused, letting me soak that in.
    “I need you to step up if anything happens to me. It can’t be Makara. It can’t be Anna. It has to be you.”
    “I can’t imagine someone like Makara ever following me.”
    Samuel nodded. “She’s stubborn, but you’ve changed. She’d be a fool not to follow you. I don’t think you see it yet, but you have yet to reach your full potential. You don’t realize what I see in you. When we go down there, something in you is going to flip. You’re going to feel it. It might happen instantly, like a switch, or it may be more gradual. I don’t know. You’ll become who you were always meant to be, and everything will be different.”
    I sighed. There was no getting out of this.
    “I don’t pretend to know exactly what you’re talking about,” I said. “But I’ll do it.”
    Samuel nodded, and turned to Ashton.
    “You won’t be alone, Alex,” Ashton said. “I’ll be up here, letting you know the latest information. If anything changes, you’ll be the first to know. Right now, it’s just Samuel and I, trying to figure out everything and make sure we make the right moves. We let you guys know as soon as we discover anything. We just want to be ready for any possibility.”
    “I’m not easily killed,” Samuel said.
    “I guess all that’s settled, then,” I said.
    “Get some rest,” Ashton said. “We’ll see you all off in the morning.”
    Samuel and I walked out of Ashton’s office. Makara and Anna waited against the wall. I could see both of their eyes, questioning. They could sense something was different, even if they didn’t know exactly what it was. Anna gave me one last glance before going into the office. The door hissed shut behind her.
    Samuel and I walked quietly back to our habs. His hab was close to Alpha Tunnel. He turned off, and pressed his hand to the entrance button.
    “You alright?” I asked.
    He forced a smile. “As good as I can be. I know it isn’t easy,