World War IV: A Broken Union Read Online Free

the animal’s tiny arm.
    Sam made his way back over and poked the animal in the stomach. “Why do you have all of this stuff, Aunt Kemena? What does it do?”
    “It’s important to understand the world around us,” Kemena answered. “The more we know, the more we can help people, and the more we can help people, the easier it will be for everything to return back to the golden days.”
    “You mean before the Great War?” Sam asked, turning his attention from the squirrel back up to her. “What was it like back then?”
    With the boy’s interest elsewhere, Kemena slid the animal back into the jar then sealed the lid tightly. “It’s hard to know for certain, but from what we’ve seen from records and the exploration of the ruins, it was an incredibly exciting time.” She rested the glass jar back on the shelf with its peers. “People lived in buildings that towered into the skies, and drove around in carriages that were faster than a hundred horses.”
    Sam looked down, his feet stepping over one another awkwardly, and fiddled with his hands. “Would my dad still be alive if it was like it used to be?”
    Kemena knelt down and took Sam’s small hands into her own, rubbing the boy’s skin gently with her thumbs. “It’s hard to say, Sam. We still don’t really understand everything our people were able to do back then, but we’re trying. You miss your dad?”
    Sam nodded then wrapped his arms around Kemena’s neck, burying his face into her shoulder. Kemena lifted him off the ground and cradled the back of his head gently, rocking back and forth. “We all miss him, Sam.”
    When Dean stepped inside, she set Sam down, and the boy ran to his uncle, who tousled his hair. “You training to be a doctor like your aunt?”
    “No, just looking at cool stuff.” Sam smiled.
    “Well, why don’t you go back to the house? I’m sure your brother can’t wait to hear all about it.” Dean gave Sam a playful shove as he ran past, and watched him disappear out of the building. When he saw Kemena’s concerned face, he spoke up. “I have men watching them. They’re fine.”
    A tension Kemena didn’t even know she had was released, and she clutched her stomach nervously. “You’re leaving already?”
    Dean walked to her, pulling her close. She savored the strong, warm embrace she knew she wouldn’t feel for god knows how long. “The provisions are almost loaded for the trip, and the clan chiefs have agreed to meet with me.”
    A flash of surprise etched her face. “All of them?” The peace with the clans was barely a year old, and she knew that the tribes of the wastelands didn’t forget their enemies so quickly. Both Dean and his younger brother Jason, who was governor of the southeast, had been working tirelessly to establish communication and trust. Eventually it boiled down to the understanding that neither side could last alone forever. And the promise of taxes on the goods sent through their territory on the new rail they were constructing didn’t hurt either.
    “I’ll find out when I get there, but I’m hoping most of them will show.” Dean pulled the tight bun of hair centered on the back of Kemena’s head loose and let her long, brown, curly hair fall to her shoulders then ran his fingers through.
    Kemena took Dean’s hand and kissed his palm then pressed her face against the calloused skin. “You’ve already sent word to Lance?” With both Lance aiding the Australians and Jason being held by President Ruiz, she knew her husband was stretched thin. With all of his cunning, even he couldn’t command two armies from halfway around the world.
    “Yes, it should reach him soon.”
    Dean’s words were hopeful, but behind that she could sense the foreboding of skepticism. If what Lance had told him through his letter was true, then the Chinese would be a formidable opponent, even for the Australians. Kemena placed a sturdy hand on Dean’s face, pulling him close. “One thing at a time,