Orion Colony Complete Series Boxed Set J.N. Chaney (books for new readers .txt) 📖

The roaming crowd of infected on the beach were calm, even quiet. There were only the rare mumbles or sporadic shrieks rising from one of their infected throats. Every once in a while, I could pick up a few words from them or a phrase.

“Just wait for them here,” a raspy voice said.

“We’ll kill them soon,” another voice answered.

“The invaders must die,” a third voice added, followed by an inhuman shriek.

“Buy as much time as you can without putting your safety in jeopardy,” Elon said as everyone lit their Lestrium canisters using the second light source from the flashlight we had. “Just give us a few minutes.”

“I got it,” I said as my eyes found Stacy’s.

The woman was as hard-nosed as they came. There were no tears in her eyes, just a resolute gaze. She nodded to me. “Let’s get it done.”

I leaned out around the corner of our level and let out a low whistle. “Mutt, Mutt, buddy, you’re going to want to stay where you are for this one. Stay.”

Mutt had taken up a place down the beach away from the group of infected but still within seeing distance. He gave me an excited bark. I doubted he understood what I was saying, but he did understand the command “stay,” and right now, he was far enough away to be out of the danger zone once we started lobbing these things.

“All right,” Boss Creed said. “One by one, start hurling the Lestrium. Spread out your throws as far as possible. When you make the toss, run to the opposite side of the Orion. Jump into the water and swim for shore.”

Everyone nodded in the light of the starry sky. My stomach rumbled and told me that I was not only hungry from missing a meal but nervous as well. Everyone seemed a bit jumpy and understandably so. We had no idea if this was going to work, let alone if we would survive the night.

“Light ‘em up,” Boss Creed said.

One by one, the members of our expeditionary force lit the cloth on top of the canister of Lestrium. Hannah held the exposed power core of the flashlight that would act as the fire starter.

Boss Creed and David went first. They were the two who were going to carry the rover power core back through the jungle. Stacy and Elon would act as their front-runners, fending off any infected that noticed their escape.

It was my job to make sure they weren’t noticed.

Boss Creed lit his canister of Lestrium. The glare of the fire bathed his face in shadows. The man I had known as a foreman for the better of four years looked like something from a nightmare. Muscles bulging, face stern, he walked to the side of the Orion where I stood and chucked his canister of Lestrium so far, it nearly ended up past the beach and into the jungle itself.

BOOM!

The first canister exploded in a billow of angry red and yellow flames. The infected screamed in anger.

“Kill them!” one of them shouted.

More took up the cry as they surged forward.

Lucky for us, we had more canisters to keep them busy before they were able to charge into the ocean again. David, Elon, Tom, Hannah, and Doctor Allbright came next. They each threw their canisters at the approaching throng in quick succession, choosing different parts of the beach to light on fire.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Each explosion rocked the beach, sending sand flying through the air as well as the bodies of the infected. A small part of me felt bad for the infected that were getting fire-bombed on the beach. As soon as that feeling made its way to the surface, I thought of the strangled man we found in the escape pod and Mark. I didn’t feel so bad anymore.

Lou was second to last as he hurled the canister of Lestrium at the monstrous horde rushing the water.

“Just because you don’t believe doesn’t mean there’s not a plan for us,” Lou said after he hurled his canister. “You’re going to survive this.”

I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that the crazy old man was still trying to convert me at a time like this. Before I could form a response, he was running down the level. Boss Creed had already reached the opposite end and jumped into the water. Everyone else besides Stacy was in the process of doing the same.

Stacy aimed her canister right where the water met the beach. It was a perfect shot.

BOOM!

A wall of flame caught the first infected who gathered themselves, rushing this side of the Orion. They went up in a burst of fire.

Stacy turned and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Hurry.”

That was all there was time for. She joined the rest of our expeditionary force, running down the level and jumping into the water.

Damnit, I thought to myself. One’s trying to convert me, and the other is giving me a peck on the cheek. I needed to focus.

I pushed away anything from my mind except for what I had to do. Like a fight, I saw the events happen in my mind’s eye. Then it was time to act. I made sure the last four canisters of Lestrium were secured to the back of my belt. I climbed down one level then leaped into the water. It was a fall of nearly eight feet. I held the flamethrower above my head when I landed to make sure the spark on the end stayed lit.

As soon as my boots hit the ground, I began to roar into the night.

“Hey! Hey, you infected spore-fed aliens, whatever you are,” I yelled as loud as my lungs would allow me. “I’m right here. Here you go. You want me off your planet then come and get me!”

I moved slowly through the water, leveling the flamethrower in front of me. What I saw now was something out of a