Legend of Michael Read Online Free PDF Page A

and victim, man and boy, was skewed, which was the case all too often, yet Michael had never gotten used to it. Today the boy could become a killer and a man, if Michael let him, but then Caleb would be dead. Because even as a GTECH, Caleb had little chance of surviving a machine gun unloaded in the back of the head.
    Michael fired his gun, hit the boy with a bullet in each arm, for good measure. The boy fell to the dirt screaming as Caleb jumped to the ground, a grim expression on his face showing he felt the same trauma over the boy that Michael did. “Michael,” he said, “you had no choice.”
    The wind rippled as Adam appeared beside the boy and shot him. Michael went cold inside, his gaze connecting with Caleb’s in shared discomfort.
    From the nearby woods, a scream cut through the air, and Adam laughed. “The wolves were hungry.” His gaze flickered to the boy. “Piece of shit human.” He kicked the bloody, limp body, and Michael flinched with the action. “They’re all pieces of shit, weak in every possible way.”
    He reeled back to kick the boy again, and Caleb grabbed him a second before Michael would have done so himself. “Enough!” Caleb said, glaring at his brother. “He is only a boy. A child and a victim, Adam. Probably trying to save his family.”
    Adam grabbed a handful of Caleb’s fatigue jacket. “Oh come on, brother,” he ground out. “Humans are no more than animals. They kill each other. We stop them. And for what? So they can try again. Maybe they are supposed to die so we can thrive.” He let go of Caleb and eyed both of the men. “We evolve as they turn more Neanderthal with every passing day.”
    “Damn it, Adam,” Caleb said, scrubbing his day-old stubble. “Stop talking crap. Sometimes I don’t even know who you are anymore. Let’s just do our jobs.” He yanked down the tail of the truck and slid the wooden box forward.
    “You’ll come around, brother,” Adam said, and glanced at Michael. “Once you’re a little less human, like me. And Michael.”
    That comparison shredded what was left of Michael’s gut. Like me and Michael . Michael glanced between the two brothers, so alike and so different—Caleb, who Michael knew would die to save an innocent human, and who might well have chosen that boy’s life over his own; and Adam, who would kick the child while he was down.
    Caleb pulled open the lid and exposed three airtight canisters, small, yet lethal—able to kill hundreds of thousands. Adam reached in and roughly removed a canister. “Eventually there must be an end so that there can be a new beginning.”
    There was an evil look in Adam’s eyes that said he was considering opening that canister. Michael readied himself for action as Caleb grabbed his brother’s wrist. “Enough. Put it down, Adam.”
    Adam laughed. “Maybe I’ll keep one of these babies for myself.” The wolves in the distance howled as if joining in on the joke. Another glare from Caleb, and Adam returned the canister to the crate and sealed the lid. “I’ll do the honors of taking these to Powell.” He grabbed the crate holding the canisters and faded into the wind.
    Caleb cursed and eyed Michael. “I’ll deal with Adam. And Powell.” He disappeared.
    Michael felt no compulsion to follow. He just hoped Caleb was truly as prepared as he claimed for what was to come, for the day when Michael would be forced to deal with Adam. A day that was coming sooner than later. The GTECH serum had done something to him, turned him into a monster. Caleb was a good guy, the one who wouldn’t break rules. The one who needed someone like Michael by his side, someone who would.
    He glanced down at the blood puddle at his feet, the blood of the young boy, the sight all too familiar, and told himself that every life he had ever taken had been necessary. He wasn’t like his father, who’d sold weapons to foreign countries without concern for who lived or died, or his mother who justified his