The Dying of the Light (Book 1): End by Jason Kristopher Read Free Book Online

glad that they recognized talent when they saw it,” I said, nodding to the silver birds on his collar.
     
    Maxwell snorted again. “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. Still, we lost some good people that day.” The colonel’s gaze went distant as he thought back, then cleared as he came back to the present. “So they tell me you’re going to be a consultant.”
     
    “Yes, sir. General Morrison thought it best when he offered me the spot on the team, since I didn’t have the training that your soldiers have. Still, he wanted me to go through all the new training alongside them, so that I can be ready for the field.”
     
    “That’s a big responsibility, son. And not a little hard work. Top-of-the-line soldiers fail in training like this all the time. You’re gonna be hating life pretty soon.”
     
    “I know, sir,” I said, looking down for a moment, thinking about the past. When I looked back up, I thought I saw a flash of concern in the colonel’s eyes. “But I’m game.”  I hoped he couldn’t see the real reason that I was up for this mission — that I had nowhere else to go.
     
    He looked at me, gauging me again, and then he cleared his throat and jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
     
    “Take the last chair, Blake,” he said.
     
    “Yes, sir,” I said, and moved to my appointed position, dropping my gear bag and attempting to match the pose of the soldiers, none of whom had even glanced my way. I counted eleven soldiers in the room, not including the colonel, who moved back to the front.
     
    Looks like I’m lucky number twelve.
     
    “Take your seats.” A shuffle of movement, and we all sat down, alert and ready for whatever was to come. The colonel took a remote from his pocket and activated the projection system of the briefing room. The lights dimmed, and the screen at the front of the room lit up with a logo that I would come to know well: the AEGIS shield, with the crossed machete and M1 Garand.
     
    “You have been selected for positions in a covert ops unit, codenamed AEGIS. You all come from various units and services. We’ve got SEALs, Marine Force Recon, Airborne, Delta Force, Air Force Pararescue, Rangers and Green Berets. Warrant officers, sergeants and chiefs. You all have one thing in common: you are the best at what you do. But let me tell you right now, nothing you have been through has adequately prepared you for this assignment.
     
    “This will be a unique assignment for all of you, gentlemen. As you may have noticed, it’s not just every branch represented here; you’re also a mixed-gender team. We need the absolute best, and we cannot afford to ignore quality talent simply because their plumbing is on the inside. This is the one and only time I will say this, so listen up: I expect each and every member of this team to work with the others without regard to their sex. Hooah?”
     
    “Hooah!” shouted the operators.
     
    This was going to take some getting used to.
     
    “AEGIS — known as the Advanced Experimental Genetics Intelligence Service — and its members are the front-line defense against the most fearsome enemy that our country, indeed our world, has ever known,” continued Maxwell.
     
    I shuddered as the colonel spoke, recalling why I was there and what I had seen. I can’t believe I volunteered for this , I thought. It was a refrain I was going to repeat over and over in the weeks and years ahead.
     
    “What I’m about to show you is classified above Top Secret.” Maxwell paused to reinforce the seriousness of his statement. “Let me be absolutely clear, gentlemen. If there is any evidence that you have shared what you learn here today with anyone, you will disappear. Permanently.” He stood back, crossing his arms over his chest. “There will be zero leaks in my unit.
     
    “If any of you have a problem with that, leave now, and I’ll personally put in your transfer back to your former unit.” I glanced at the others,