Earth (The Invasion Trilogy Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

rifle to fight off alien machines which have already shown that bullets don’t hurt them.
    I’ve handled weapons before. Dad had taken me and Hannah hunting several times. I didn’t love it, but I was good at it , and I liked making Dad happy. He may not have gotten any sons, but he could still enjoy a good hunting trip with his girls. Hannah mostly cried, covering her ears. She always hated the crack of a gunshot, and if she saw a wounded or dead animal, she’d cry for days.
    Even though Dad loved that he could take me out hunting, he also loved how girly Hannah was. She was afraid of the dark, so she would sneak out of our tent to snuggle up to Dad when we were camping. He doted on her and so did Mum. She got most things she wanted and always was considered the baby. I’d been jealous of that when I was younger, but as I grew older, I appreciated that they treated me differently. I wasn’t afraid to work for what I wanted and was proud of where I’d gotten myself.
    I trained hard to be as fit and strong as I am now. I got this scholarship based on my grades, which I studied hard for, and the extra training I put in with basketball. The proud look on my parents ’ faces was worth all the hard work and sacrifices. I earned their approval and I was a better person for it.
    Hannah was so spoiled that it turned her into a brat. She whined, cried and would guilt her way through anything. When I left , she was going through the beginning stages of boy mania, so I was happy to miss out on the drama she would bring with that.
    Now , she won’t get to grow up into an adult. Now, I’ll never know what type of person she would have been. When we were little, she said she wanted to become a vet. She wanted to heal all the wounded animals she saw. I doubt she would have had the stomach for it, though. She has a heart too big to cope. She would bring home every stray animal she found and sob constantly for the ones she lost. No, that job would have eaten away at her.
    She was smart at school, smarter when her mind was focused on her work and when she put in effort. I had always pictured her being a teacher. In fact, I had imagined that teaching young students would suit her. I think it would also have been a way of karma finding her. She had always been so horrible and annoying to so many teachers, she just had to have students being like that to her. It’s only fair, right?
    But now I don’t know if she’s even alive . That future she thought she had and I had envisioned has been lost.
    I shake my thoughts away. It’ll only upset me to stay on this track. My mind is a minefield these days.
    I eye my hands, which hold the handgun and rifle. We’ve been given a pouch that can be clipped onto a belt that is full of bullets. It feels so final to be holding the weapons and definitely surreal.
    “Listen to me,” Sergeant Casper’s voice brings me back out of my thoughts. I can’t seem to stop getting distracted. “I know this is scary . I know you may want to run and hide, but we need you. You’ll be given a specific area to guard, and I expect you to fight. This is our home, and no one is taking it from us. So put away your fear, keep those fucking tears in and grow some balls!” the Sergeant yells. If he’d been hoping for some sort of agreement or fist pumping, he’d been wrong. It isn’t that people don’t also feel this way, but right now, we’re all in shock. I should have been preparing for finals, not holding a gun and going into a war to most likely die.
    “Mattie, I think I’m going to throw up ,” Lisa whispers to me. She then passes me her two weapons and pouch before turning away and fleeing. She only makes it a few steps before she vomits and many people around us, me included, wince. My own stomach twists uncomfortably.
    “Wow, I haven’t seen a girl puke like that since that chick at Mal’s party drank half a keg of beer,” Hank says quietly to me. He’s been standing on my other side.
    For