Storm Shades Read Online Free Page A

they’d been investigating all day and prepares it for viewing. There is something that isn’t quite right about what she is seeing. On the surface it looks like your standard source rock, but that’s just the exterior. Underneath it, there is something much more interesting and, if she’s not mistaken, unique.
    While she was at the canyon, she saw that it was beautiful; anyone could see that. However, there was something more to the place than just beauty. The feeling that she had while she was there, she couldn’t quite explain. It was something that crept up on her, and she hadn’t expected it at all. There was a peace in that place that she hadn’t ever experienced, like nothing bad could ever happen there.
    The idea of the trees being bulldozed and the earth being dug up by those grotesque drillers isn’t something that she treasures but, looking at these samples, it seems impossible that the canyon would be left untouched. If what I’m looking at is correct, then all the signs point towards the potential for huge deposits of oil in the ground, maybe even the biggest ever found in the state.
    She looks over the samples again and again, and she wonders why she feels like she’s hoping to come to a different conclusion. This is great news for her and for the rest of the team. It was well-known among the employees of Shale Corporation that a big oil and gas discovery meant a big bonus. Lord knows that I could do with that extra cash now. But there is something that just doesn’t feel right about Shale invading this sleepy town. Sofie had seen it happen before.
    Luke bought off the local senators, so they would hand over their land. He wrapped up the oil discovery as the best news for employment rates in the area for years, getting the residents on his side. Shale sucked the sites dry and then moved on to the next. All the jobs that were created disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, the natural beauty of the place was destroyed, and Shale Corp’s profits just kept on going up. If Luke had any idea of the potential deposits in Beaumont, he’d be on his private jet quicker than you can say ‘entitled asshole’, and Sofie wasn’t quite ready for that.
    “I need to be sure,” she says out loud to no one in particular, as she decides what to do. She has a few friends in the lab at Shale HQ, and she’s covered enough shifts for other people to be owed a few favors. She packages up a couple of the samples and addresses them to Jennie Gray.
    Sofie pulls out her phone and hopes that the reception booster that Finn has fitted into each of their rooms is enough to get her a signal. “Jackpot.” She smiles as the coverage bars on her cell light up. She punches in the message and rushes to send it out before she has time to change her mind.
    Sending some rocks over but need you to keep them off the inventory. I’ll owe you one! S
    The response comes before Sofie even have has time to set the cell down. Jennie was one of the smartest women she knew, but she was always attached to her phone—like it were a fifth limb.
    No worries, S. I know field micros suck! :-) Give me a few days. But why the secrecy? x
    Sofie has to think before she types a response, not because she doesn’t want to tell Jennie, but more because she herself doesn’t really know what the reason is.
    Not sure yet, just a hunch. Keep me posted. S
    Sofie signs off, knowing that her reply will only give Jennie more questions. However, she also knows that Jennie will keep her secret.
    She grabs the package she’s put together and walks purposefully out to the motel reception. The guy on the desk, who looks like he should still be in high school, stands up hurriedly as soon as she comes into view.
    “It’s urgent that this goes as soon as possible. Can you overnight it?” Sofie asks, handing over the package to him.
    “Umm, sure. Overnight. I can do that.” The high school student’s words come out in a rush, and he hops from one foot to