Exclusive Excerpts for the Next Few Days - From Chapter 15

Today's excerpt is gonna be from Chapter 15: Base 026.

When Bay Unit is replacing devastated Russet Unit in New Guinea, Sheldon is not as close to the transport as he should have been when a bomb raid hits and... It's better if you read it. You know the drill, first draft out of context.

There's no strong language in this excerpt, but clearly being bombed, you know, I'm pretty sure that counts as violence. So maybe E10+ would be suitable for this.

***

The night came, and the next day took it over. We assessed their situation, and after the engineers had gotten the radio to work for a minute, Captain Rowery contacted HQ. I wasn’t there when it happened. But I do know they were pulling Ivory away from here. They were moving them to Ethan and Sosa’s vehicles. The ones in the worst conditions were brought in on makeshift stretchers. Raven was next to me, below but not directly under the overhanging ledge of rock. Heimer and the girl I subbed for were moving the last of Ivory’s stuff damaged but reparable. Ethan’s ship was too full with Ivory soldiers and Ivory-owned property, so a number of the stuff was left here. They moved in single file, stepping in as perfect unison as they injuries would allow.

I will never forget how I tackled Raven a full two seconds before the first bomb hit. The noise blew out whatever hearing I had in both ears. Debris skyrocketed into the air and upset the whole Earth. Rocks came crashing into our space just when another went off. The ledge caved and buried shrieking bodies, Raven’s and mine. More screams from above. Ground cracked and sucked in dirt. Another roaring crash wrung my guts and stomach and my heart was about to choke me if it stayed in my throat too long. Raven’s arms bent painfully on my chest, and I knew my over two hundred pounds including the wreckage on top of me was crushing her. So much broken boulder masked us, we could barely see the sunlight. The fourth explosion shoved the stones closer in on us. Fifth and closer. I started feeling sickeningly claustrophobic. The air was hot and close, and I was begging myself not to throw up on Raven’s head. The screams were gone, but the collapsed rock on me was so heavy, I could hardly think about anything else but for the humans not to drop a bomb right on our mound. We couldn’t move if we wanted to; my concentration was in too many different things for me to teleport, and we were better off not moving. I didn’t know how many other bombs there were. I couldn’t hear a thing, and I was terrified I was permanently deaf. But I got my answer soon enough. Tremors. Tremors I couldn’t count shocked the earth into sudden jolts that shifted the rocks into tighter, more painful positions for us. They came too fast, and they went on and on. They would not ever stop. We were going to die if we weren’t dying already. Less light now. Just the top of Raven’s head was visible. I started flickering Daisy, Ophelia, Mom, Father, Da, Jason, everyone I cared about, remembering things we did, fun times, happy times. I shouted when a rock dug into my side and cracked a rib. I clutched onto the last thing I had from my life. A ruthless shot of pain went into my head and shoulder. A stream of hot something flowed down from where the rocks stabbed. Over my right eye, cheek, and down my chin. I tried to tell Raven I was hurt, but all that came out was a whimper. And darkness took over.

***

Well, that's it. That's also it for the excerpts. If you haven't read them all, why not go back and read the three? Some of them have mature content, so if you're a minor living with your parent(s) or legal guardian(s), you might wanna check with them first before reading them.

Later.