White Sands Read Online Free PDF Page A

more he realized something was very wrong.
    The country could be under attack.
    The thought released a flow of adrenaline into his bloodstream. He’d made a promise to Paula that everything was going to be okay. A promise he fully intended to keep.
    He focused on the road. Losing his cool now wouldn’t do them any good. He had to stay calm. Like a man possessed, his eyes darted from the sand ahead to the rearview mirror where he was tracking the jets. They were quickly catching up with the truck. In seconds the X90swould fly overhead.
    Michael caught a glimpse of David and Jeff. David reached out for Jeff’s hand who took it in his own.
    “It’s going to be okay guys. We’ll be back soon. Safe and sound,” Michael said in the most reassuring voice he could muster. As he shifted his focus, something flashed in the rear mirror just above David’s head.
    A second later another flash caught his attention. Were the jets changing course?
    “What on earth . . .” Michael eased the truck to a stop and spun to look out the back window. One by one the X90s began to shake violently. Their noses then turned a sharp ninety degrees and dove toward the sand below—directly at Michael and his boys.
    “Oh my god,” he said, slamming his foot against the pedal again. This time the engine puttered, shook, and died. He flicked the start button, but there was no response. The truck was dead.
    A sinking feeling gripped Michael’s gut, anxiety rushing through his body. For the first time in years, he felt the intoxicating fear of war.
    “Dad?” Jeff shouted.
    Michael snapped back into motion. He didn’t need to turn around to see what the boy was looking at. Six jets were headed right for them. Ticking time bombs that were about to rain down fiery hell if he didn’t get his kids out of there.
    Jumping out of the truck he rushed to the backseat, grabbed Jeff’s hand, and yanked him onto the sand. The boy fell to his knees while Michael reached back in for David. Out of his peripheral vision, he could see the black jets spiraling through the sky. He didn’t have much time.
    “Come on David!” Michael yelled. The boy was curled up against the other door crying. There was no way Michael was going to get him to move without force. Sliding on his stomach he grabbed David’s hand and pulled him across the seat.
    Holding the whimpering child in his arms, Michael turned just in time to see the first X90 crash into a sand dune a few thousand feet away. The jet exploded in a poof of flames, sending red-hot shards of glass and metal soaring through the air.
    An incredible wave of heat engulfed Michael before he had a chance to react. By the time he dropped to shield his boys, he could smell burning hair. The ground shook as he draped his body over Jeff and David, the skin on his back burning from the overwhelming heat of the explosion.
    Several more short quakes rippled through the ground as the other jets began smashing into the sand around them. Michael risked a short glance behind them just in time to see a wing sailing through the air. He closed his eyes and pulled the boys closer.

CHAPTER 6
    D R. Hoffman felt surprisingly relaxed. With the Secundu Casu free of the mesosphere, they had made it through one of the biggest hurdles of the flight. Now all they had to do was avoid the armada of alien ships heading for the planet.
    The holographic interface displayed the Secundu Casu ’s current trajectory. They were now in the thermosphere, orbiting the Earth until the pilots could plot a new course around the alien threat.
    He scanned the diagnostic reports again. The quantum propulsion engines were one hundred percent functional and the centrifuge tucked deep inside the ship’s hull was producing near-Earthlike gravity.
    Dr. Hoffman smiled. The Secundu Casu was operating better than he ever imagined. A fantastic victory in a day that was turning out to otherwise be a disaster.
    A few feet away, Amy moaned. She had thrown up several