Lost Contact (The Bridge Sequence Book One), Nathan Hystad [primary phonics books .TXT] 📗

land among the fields. Then it leaves before you’ve had a chance to investigate. Would you be able to return to tending the crops, to hunting for food, to building your hut?”

“I’d probably need to eat, so yeah,” Marcus joked, but Hunter wasn’t fazed by the comment.

“I’ve known about the Bridge for years, and suspected that aliens existed since before the Believers showed me proof,” he told us. Hunter’s eyes were watery, his knuckles white as he held the Case.

Something he said stuck in my brain. “Proof? What’s your evidence of alien life?”

He seemed to notice his blunder, but he dismissed it. “Never mind. This is important, Rex. Humanity has been waiting for this moment for ages. Since every culture has looked to the sky for answers, now we must do the same and find them.”

I expected him to say more, but he went silent.

“We need more money,” I said quietly.

Hunter’s rheumy glazed-over stare met my gaze, and he smirked. “Where are they? You found the Tokens, didn’t you? You Walkers are brilliant; I’ve always said it.”

“I haven’t found them, but I think I know where they’re hidden,” I admitted.

The change in his expression caused me to step away, trying not to make the motion obvious. “Where?”

I glanced at Marcus, and he protectively placed a hand on his laptop. Hunter noticed.

“I’m not ready to tell you that. It’s… I want to be the one to gather them. If I offer my only bargaining chip to you, I could be left in the dust.”

Hunter made a tsking sound with his lips and relinquished the Case over to me. “You have two options, Rex. You can give me this Case, along with the coordinates for the Tokens. Right now. I’ll pay you one million dollars, and your friend here half of that. It’ll become common knowledge that you botched your task, and that I’m disappointed in your failure. The Believers will give up, and you’ll return to life as you know it.”

Marcus had a hard time retaining his poise, and I had to admit, the idea of stopping and taking the cash was enticing. “These sightings. The ones near Pluto. What are they?”

“The Believers will say it’s their saviors, returning to Earth.”

“But not to give us the answers to life?” Marcus asked.

“Quite the opposite. I suspect, as they do, that destruction is more likely,” Hunter said.

I considered this and downed my whiskey with a quick tilt of my hand. “What’s my other option?”

Hunter flashed another look, one that betrayed his emotions. He knew I was going to continue, and his answer came in a hurry. “We make a very small team and spend the next two weeks gathering each of the six Tokens. You can hold on to the coordinates if you please, but I will be a part of this. You run the team, but I run the show. Understood?”

I saw the dying man, his desperation seeping through his composed speech.

“Marcus, you have a stake in this.” I didn’t keep a lot of friends, not ones I could trust with my life. “What do you want to do?”

He waited a minute, clearly deep in thought as he contemplated the money versus the adventure. If aliens were coming to destroy us, as Hunter suggested, he might not have a lot of time to enjoy the cash, and I could see him evaluating these very facts as I waited for his answer.

“What the hell. If there’s a Bridge, we’re going to find it,” he said, standing up.

The three of us were close together, and Hunter stuck his arm out, palm facing the floor. “What do you say, boys? All for one?”

I hesitated but added my hand after Marcus did. “I’m in.”

Part II

The Team

 

1

December 12th, 2025

I thumbed through the journal for the tenth time that morning, unable to determine where the Bridge cavern was located. Hunter wouldn’t tell us, and with the Believers searching for it too, I didn’t blame him. He’d been there, and so had my father, but Dad had abandoned Hunter, leaving him behind and out of the loop. It was probably a good thing for the wealthy entrepreneur; otherwise, he’d be dead like my dad and Clayton.

“Dead.” I said the word out loud as I set the book on the desk, and wondered if he wasn’t really gone. Maybe he existed somewhere. A bridge, by definition, was a structure that carried across an obstacle. They connected two places. By this logic, Dirk Walker could have taken this Bridge and arrived elsewhere.

But why had he never returned?

I glanced out of my office, seeing my luggage beside the kitchen table. The car would be here shortly, but I didn’t feel ready. While everyone in town was settling into the holiday season, thinking about their final days of work before their families came to visit and Santa rolled into their chimneys, I was prepared to embark on the journey of a lifetime.

I flipped my computer open and scrolled to the saved bookmark. The syndicated radio show played on the app after I clicked on the latest episode.

“Welcome to Across This Great Nation with Bill McReary. As most of you are aware, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the mysterious shapes continuing toward Earth. One first appeared near Pluto almost a month ago, and shortly after, we discovered there were two of them. Identical in size and shape as far as we can tell, and I’ve been told they have increased velocity. Scientists are baffled, and we’ve had various professionals on the show to speculate, but no one seems to have the answers we’re seeking.

“Today, we’re speaking with Isabella, and she claims to have been part of an organization that centered their beliefs on this moment in our history.”

I stopped fidgeting with the computer and leaned back, listening closely. This sounded revealing, and even though I’d been ignoring the whole “mysterious objects in space” for the most part, I felt confident there was a connection to the mission