2nd Earth: Shortfall by Edward Vought Read Free Book Online

what are considered rare treasures to these people. To me they are survival tools if we are going to make any kind of life for us and our new found family. Even her dad is excited for a change, he says he knows how to read and is happy to help the others learn as well. First though Tim, Billy, and I want to at least start teaching our young men how to fight.
    The days turn for the worse weather wise and it’s better to stay inside and work with the young men for a few hours a day. After that we work with everyone learning to read. I have never seen more willing students. They seem to hang on every word that we tell them. I say we are teaching the young men how to fight, and it really did start out that way, but after the first half hour we have just about everyone in the family down here with us. We cleaned up the first floor of our home to be similar to a dojo. When the weather gets better again we are going looking for some weights and other equipment to help get these young people in shape. One of the young ladies, who joined our family, has a very nice bell that looks like she found it at a fire house or it may have even been one of those bells that people play and make music with sometimes. Either way she brought it down with her to practice and when we want to get everyone’s attention if they don’t respond she shakes that bell and that definitely gets their attention.
    I must be conditioned because whenever I hear it I think back to the hours, days, and weeks of SEAL training. When someone had enough and wanted to drop out they would ring the bell signifying they were quitting. There were some great guys in that class, but not everyone is cut out to be a SEAL. The training is extremely physically demanding, but it’s the mental toughness that usually separates those who drop out and those who stay. That’s not to say those that drop out aren’t mentally strong, in most cases it’s a question of priorities in their lives. Being a part of any Special Forces group like that is a total commitment. For me it was what Gunny had talked about since I was seven years old and I just never even thought about doing anything else. I am starting to realize that if I had someone like Dayna in my life back then, I may have rung the bell myself. There is no way to know for sure, but I know when you are worried about staying alive more than completing a mission, it can cost the whole team their lives. Even a moment’s hesitation at the wrong time can be fatal for everyone. It’s not that I didn’t want to live before, it’s just that I didn’t worry about dying as much as I would now that I have someone who loves me.
    As big and as strong as Billy is he doesn’t really know much about fighting. With his size and strength he doesn’t need to. So rather than embarrass him we act like we are letting Billy demonstrate with one of us while we talk them through the moves. He really seems to be enjoying himself. He told me last evening that we are the first people who have treated him as an equal. Tim and I joke around with him like we do each other and he seems to really enjoy that as well. I know we should probably treat him better than that, but if he wants to be one of us, that’s what he gets. Believe me he is very sharp witted and has at least as many comebacks and harassing things to say as we do and we have had a lot of practice. Those of us who can read spend most of our free time teaching the others. They are all excited about learning and will work as hard and as long as we are willing to teach them.
    The second day of the rain we have another family show up and ask if they can join us. Naturally we invite them in. Some of the families are familiar to some of the others because they have seen each other around. Until recently though, everyone was afraid to trust one another. Besides it’s easier to find shelter and the essentials when there is a smaller group. Our group really doesn’t have what you can call a