The Cloudy Skulls (Cloudy Sandbox Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

contact.
    ‘I’ve been meaning to talk to you in private,’ I began, trying to find the words I needed. ‘About Thomas Keswick. The soldiers he was stationed with didn’t seem to have many injuries, but victims are berserkers, they strip flesh from bone-’
    Parker sighed. ‘Rin, let it go. Nobody knows why victims do what they do, or what drives them. Maybe they didn't have enough time to do so much damage as usual, maybe they really did get spooked by the airslicer.’
    ‘I wish we’d had a clinician here to do an autopsy.’
    ‘Rin, calm down,’ Parker said, and stopped walking so he could turn me to face him. He had to stoop as he was a lot taller, but when his warm brown eyes met mine I felt much more relaxed. ‘You’re seeing what you want to see. Keswick is a good engineer. And a good man. He lost a lot of friends today so he’s shaken up and not acting himself, but that’s no reason to go accusing the poor guy of anything. Just relax. We’ve had some bad luck, but things will be better in the morning. You’ll see.’
    We went back inside after that and the rush of warmth was welcome. Another officer came to speak with Parker and he apologised and left me.
    I didn’t know quite what to do since my “kids” were happily settling in and I hadn’t been officially made commander at the base then there wasn’t really much work that could be done yet. Instead my thoughts drifted back to the power cut, and I remembered what I’d been about to do when Parker found me so I went back outside, this time with a warmer jacket and a handheld p-luma. The light wasn’t great, the crystals needed recharging, but the beam was strong enough for me to find my footing as I did a perimeter check of the base. I passed another couple of officers who were doing the same, but while they were keeping an eye out for victim activity, I was looking for something else. I had no idea what I was looking for, but I was sure I’d know it when I saw it.
    Behind the hangar was particularly dark as there were no wall mounted luma panels. The gravel crunched beneath my boots and I had to shine the p-luma down to make sure I didn’t twist my ankle or anything. This turned out to be rather fortunate, as I might have otherwise missed the lump of charred plastic on the ground. I crouched down and shone the light at it from several angles, but it was hard to tell what it had once been. Was it debris from the construction? If so why was it burned? I shone the light out over the rest of the gravel but there was nothing else that I could see. Not satisfied I pocketed the item and began kicking around in the gravel. Eventually I unearthed another of them. Then another. The first one had just come free from where it had been hidden. Were they supposed to be there? They didn’t look like anything I’d ever seen before. I reburied the others and took my prize in with me, but when Parker noticed me coming in he asked me if I was okay and why I was obsessed with going outside. I just smiled politely and told him that I enjoyed the fresh air.
    Until I could stop these uneasy feelings in the back of my mind, I wasn’t going to trust anybody.

Chapter 3
    I addressed my soldiers briefly and turned the dormitory lights off myself once I’d done the rounds to make sure they were all in bed. As soon as the door slid closed behind me I heard the hum of the luma panels coming to life again but I couldn’t bring myself to go back in there and tell them off. It was their first night, and they’d just been dumped into a dead zone where death stalked outside the gates. There was no harm in letting them enjoy their first night here in peace. Come tomorrow I’d whip them into shape and show them what they were in for.
    My room was in the officer’s suite, down the corridor from the dormitories. Though that night it was bustling with people as we had officers staying in the guest quarters, once they all left in the morning I’d be all alone. I’d have