The 6th Extinction Read Online Free PDF Page B

Vining,” she said, almost shouting. “Also any of the area’s campsites.”
    “I didn’t . . . et that. What’s that about an evacuation?”
    She closed her eyes, exasperated. She took a couple of breaths.
    Maybe if I get on the roof of one of these barns, I could get a better signal .
    Before she could consider the best course, a low thumping sounded. At first she thought it was her own heart pounding in her ears. Then Nikko whined, hearing it too. As the noise grew louder, she searched the skies and spotted a blip of navigation lights.
    A helicopter.
    She knew it was too soon for Bill to have sent up a search-and-rescue team. With her nerves jangling a warning, she flicked off her flashlight and rushed toward the shelter of the ghost town. Reaching the outskirts, she ducked alongside an old barn as a helicopter crested into view.
    She recognized the sleek black shape of the aircraft. It was the same bird she had seen lifting off from the military base just prior to the explosion.
    Had they caught sight of my truck racing away from the blast zone and doubled back? But why?
    Not knowing for sure, she kept out of sight. Reaching the gaping barn door, she hurried inside with Nikko. She rushed across the dark confines, halting only long enough to check her phone.
    Her call to Bill had dropped, and the screen now showed no bars.
    She was cut off, on her own.
    Reaching the far side of the barn, she peered carefully out through the broken glass of a window. The helicopter lowered toward a meadow on that side. Once the skids were close enough to the ground, men in black uniforms bailed out on both sides. The rotor wash of the helicopter pounded the scrub brush around them.
    Her heart thundered in her throat as she noted the shouldered rifles.
    This was no rescue party.
    She touched her only weapon, holstered at her hip. A taser. By law, California Park Rangers could carry firearms, but it was mostly discouraged when assisting with tours like today.
    Nikko growled at the growing commotion outside.
    She waved him silent, knowing that their only hope of surviving was to stay hidden.
    As she slunk lower, the last man—a true giant—hopped out of the helicopter and strode a few steps away. He carried a long muzzled weapon. She didn’t recognize it—until a jet of fire shot out the end, lighting up the meadow.
    Flamethrower.
    It took her a moment to understand the necessity for such a weapon. Then her fingers tightened on the sill of the barn’s window, noting the dried and warped wood. She was hiding in a veritable tinderbox.
    Outside, the cluster of armed men spread wide, preparing to circle the small outcropping of buildings.
    They must know I’m here, hiding somewhere in the ghost town .
    Their plan was clear. They intended to burn her out into the open.
    Beyond the men, the toxic sea swirled around the hill’s crown. There was no escaping this island. She sank to her heels, her mind feverishly running through her options. Only one certainty remained.
    I can’t survive this .
    But that didn’t mean she would stop being a ranger. If nothing else, she would leave some clue to her fate, to what really happened out here.
    Nikko sidled next to her.
    She hugged him hard, knowing it was likely for the last time. “I need you to do one more thing for me, buddy,” she whispered in his ear.
    He thumped his tail.
    “That’s a good boy.”

3
    April 27, 11:10 P . M . EDT
Takoma Park, Maryland
    When it rains, it pours . . .
    Gray Pierce sped his motorcycle down the wet suburban street. It had been storming solidly for the past week. Overtaxed drains left treacherous puddles along the road’s edges. His headlamp cut a swath through the heavy drops as he aimed for his father’s house.
    The Craftsman bungalow lay midway along the next block. Even from here, Gray spotted light blazing from all the windows, illuminating the wraparound porch and the wooden swing that hung listlessly there. The home looked the same as it always