Extinction Read Online Free Page A

the worst. The cat had enough length in his arms to rip Seth’s throat out
without him even being able to get close to the beast with his knife. The cat
let out a spine-chilling growl and pounced. Seth ducked but it didn’t matter; the
cat hadn’t jumped at him but rather over his head.
    He twirled on his heel and saw the cat
on top of an enemy soldier. The beast had already started pulling the limp
carcass away before Seth could help. What a terrible way to die , he
thought, becoming a meal to some creature on an out-of-the-way planet while
washing off at a watering hole .
    The soldier had apparently gone down to
the watering hole to wash up and had taken off his shirt, which allowed the cat
to smell his presence. His scent was obviously more appealing to the beast than
Seth’s scentless body, which was mere meters from the cat’s tail. He couldn’t
do anything for the soldier now, so Seth decided on his course of action.
    Locating the fuel dump and weapons
locker, he decided that the best plan would be to blow up the entire base. He
knew that even if he did retrieve the battle plans, he’d be shot before getting
two hundred meters from the compound, much less back to his own base. If he
couldn’t have the plans then no one could.
    Crouching low, he approached the edge of
the water with the idea of swimming quietly up to the outer edge of the base where
concealment was waiting behind two armored personnel carriers. As he slipped
into the water, he realized, much to his dismay, that the water was only about
two feet deep and not very concealing.
    Angrily, he slithered up the muddy bank
and grabbed a hold of a sapling’s small trunk to help himself out of the mud.
The tree began to move backward. Confused, he looked up only to find one of the
six-legged pack animals staring at him with a dumbfounded look. It then began
licking Seth’s forehead. Seth tried to breathe but couldn’t. Was the animal
trying to figure out what he was or what he would taste like?
    He couldn’t believe that he had made the
same mistake twice, and in less than ten minutes of the first one! With a sigh
of relief, Seth began to breathe again as the animal let out a soft cooing
noise that he decided was a sign of affection. The animal nuzzled Seth’s
forehead and licked him again.
    Then the light went on! Why not use the
animals to hide behind to get to the compound? He crouched behind the huge
bulky body and found he was able to get the animal to go wherever he wanted
with some minor pushing here and pulling there. He headed back to the herd and
was able to start ten of the herd animals towards the enemy compound.
    Apparently the moving herd was not an
unusual sight for the enemy because they were not at all alarmed. Some took out
cameras for photos to send to whoever might be missing them back home. A couple
joked about making steak the special for tonight’s menu. He hoped no one
followed up on that last comment.
    He got to the depot and although
unguarded, it was locked. He pulled off the key panel and hot-wired the
circuitry. Not too difficult a feat for someone who had an advanced degree in
electrical engineering.
    Seth could still remember the way his
mom cried for weeks after he joined the Marine Corps. She couldn’t figure out
why he would want to go off and die somewhere out in the galaxy during some
stupid battle that no one really cared about. When instead he could work for a
big corporation with his talents and make big bucks back on Earth.
    His dad was also upset but more for the
fact that he spent a lot of money on Seth’s education. His father repeatedly
told him that if he wanted to be a marine, he should’ve done it before so much
money was spent on his schooling.
    He got the door open and found exactly
what he was looking for. He decided to select only one rifle because he knew
he’d be dead after placing the explosives anyway so he wanted to travel light
for better speed.  A smile played across his face as he picked