White Sands by Nicholas Sansbury Smith Read Free Book Online Page B

forth.
    They’re hunting.
    One heartbeat passed before the image sank in. By the second heartbeat, Michael’s paternal instinct took over. He looked away from the advancing creatures to the Humvee where he had left Jeff and David. The vague outline of their heads was visible through the tinted windows.
    Michael felt the nervous kick of his heart for the third time as he watched the Spiders move quickly toward his boys, their high joints clicking as they scampered across the desert. The lead alien was seconds away from the Humvees—seconds away from Jeff and David.
    “Nelson! Watch out!” Oakley yelled, pointing behind the trucks.
    On his fourth heartbeat Michael swung his pulse rifle from around his back and leveled it at the trucks. By the time he was down the hill, the first Spider had leaped onto the first Humvee and then jumped onto the hood of the second, where Nelson stood guard. Nelson turned just as two of the alien’s claws tore into his chest. The creature lifted the man from the turret and into the air like a trophy, unleashing a high-pitched shriek through its mandibles.
    The aliens’ bodies gave off just enough light for Michael to see a fountain of blood explode from Nelson’s chest.
    The crack of gunfire followed, and the sound quickly drowned out Nelson’s screams.
    Michael wanted to turn away, to pretend that what he was witnessing wasn’t real. But his boys were in that truck, and he’d be damned if he let the creatures do to them what they were . . . he suppressed the morbid thoughts as Oakley raced passed him.
    The Spider tossed Nelson through the air and leaped from the roof of the truck into the sand. With frightening speed the alien positioneditself between the men and the trucks.
    “Shit!” Michael yelled in between bursts from his rifle. He concentrated the spray on the creature’s head, but every round seemed to bounce off.
    Do these things have fucking shields?
    He continued firing, until he heard the click of his dry magazine. Not a single round had penetrated the alien’s invisible shield.
    Not a single shot.
    Connor and Oakley ran out of ammo a few moments later. The Spider tilted its head and scanned them with dozens of eyes. Michael wasn’t sure if it was studying them or if it was waiting for the other three Spiders to join it before it attacked.
    Michael could see David’s face plastered against the Humvee’s window. It pained him to know that his son was about to watch him get torn to shreds. But where was Jeff?
    The blue light enveloped the men as the three other Spiders flanked them from all sides, their claws dragging through the sand as they slowly approached. The lead Spider released another shriek into the night. The sound was deafening, like something out of one of the Jurassic Park remakes Michael had seen as a kid—something prehistoric.
    Before Michael had a chance to reload, Connor took off running. Two of the Spiders took off after him. Oakley simply slapped another magazine in his rifle. Somehow Michael had to figure out a way to get to the truck. He glanced over at Oakley and gestured to the truck with his chin. Oakley nodded.
    Jamming his last magazine into his rifle, Michael concentrated his fire on the creature separating him from his children. A wave of sand suddenly exploded from behind the tires of the Humvee where his kids were trapped. And then the truck was moving, crashing into the Spider in front of Michael, crushing the alien under its weight.
    Without hesitation, Michael turned to Oakley and yelled, “Let’s go!”
    The soldier was already running toward the truck, the final Spider following close behind. Michael shouldered his rifle, squinted into the scope, took a deep breath, and squeezed off several rounds at the alien.The concentrated fire was just enough to knock the Spider off balance. It stumbled over two of its legs and crashed into a sand dune.
    The driver’s-side door popped open and Jeff’s head appeared. “Get in! What the