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

gave me about wanting to set up a contingency plan, you went and sent one to your daughter?”

My father held his daughter’s hand. “They needed to know it wasn’t them. It was something bigger.”

“Well, we do now. But the question is, what’s next?” I set my half-empty plate on the coffee table and waited for the answer.

“We locate the seventh Token and carry it across the Bridge. There, we’ll revive a second Bridge, one that will lead us to the only people who can save us from the incoming Objects.” Dirk spoke with passion and enthusiasm, and despite everything that had just happened, I was optimistic.

“Where is this mysterious Token?” Veronica asked.

“We don’t know,” Clayton confessed.

Dirk Walker had returned, the Objects were two months from arriving at Earth, and we had no means to stop them from invading. With the Believers after us every step of the way, I didn’t expect the next part of our adventure to go any smoother than the first had.

Veronica met my gaze. Marcus already had his computer out, asking for any details on this seventh Token, and Tripp and Saul were quietly discussing provisions.

The team was assembled, and my father leaned over, whispering to me.

“It’ll all make sense soon enough, Rexford.”

I nodded, but his cryptic words only added to the mystery.

Epilogue

Dirk Walker listened from his bedroom and waited until the entire house had retreated into late-night silence. The mansion had plenty of rooms to seek shelter in. He adjusted the pajamas, sliding into a pair of old slippers that were slightly too large for his feet.

He crept to the door, slowly opening it to keep it from squeaking. His steps were light as he shuffled through the hallway. Someone coughed, and he froze, waiting to see if there was movement following it. Nothing.

Thirty-five years. How had time gone so far here, while by their judgment, they’d passed eight Earth years on Rimia? While it didn’t seem fair, he could understand to an extent. Brian had warned them that time dilation might be a possibility, but he’d never expected to be stuck across the Bridge for any considerable length.

His children were an oddity to him. He’d been gone so much during their first few years, and today they were grown, almost as old as he was. But he still felt a bond with each of them that couldn’t be broken. It was difficult to explain, even to himself.

The loss of Rebecca was tough, a sting he hadn’t anticipated. They’d once been in love. Real, passionate exuberance, which had dwindled to companionship with marriage and children and his obsession with the Bridge. She’d never understood him, nor had he comprehended her. By the end, they were as alien to one another as the beings destined for Earth.

Marcus had shown Dirk images of the Objects, and seeing the aliens’ ships was bizarre. Hunter and Brian had been so sure they were coming, but Dirk and Clayton hadn’t been as confident, though they’d left on the Bridge just the same. Their period in Rimia had been far from a waste.

They could save Earth.

Dirk walked to his son’s room and opened the door. Rex was sleeping soundly, his medication strong enough to knock out an elephant for a few hours. The Case was under his bed, in the original burlap sack. Dirk crouched on the floor, slipping the device out, and he opened it, setting a hand on the Tokens inside.

Anticipation burned through him as he slid it back under the bed. He stood beside Rex and smiled. He’d grown up to be a spitting image of Dirk. He hoped Rex and his sister would understand everything in the long run.

He left the room, moving farther into the house. The patio doors were locked, and he flipped the switch before stepping out into the chilly night air. The sky was clear, and he walked over to the edge of the deck. The moonlight cast its serene glow across the sweeping vineyard, crossing the entire valley’s many hills and mounds.

His gaze drifted to the stars. “I’ll be back. I just have to do something first.”

His thoughts drifted to the incoming ships, and he sighed. This should have been a heroic return, but it was filled with regrets and sadness.

Dirk returned to the living room and saw the man on the couch. “Tripp, I’m sorry if I woke you,” he said quietly.

The man had a killer’s stare. “I don’t sleep much.”

Dirk didn’t engage and softly plodded his way to bed before closing the door and locking it.

He’d seen too much across the Bridge. They couldn’t know it all yet. But one day soon, it would be revealed. It was imperative that they locate the last Token. He wished Hardy was alive, because he was the only person Dirk knew that might be able to discover its location.

Sleep found Dirk Walker, and for the first time since he’d vanished from Earth, he didn’t dream.

The End

Lost Contact (The Bridge Sequence Book One)

Continue the story with

Lost Time (The Bridge Sequence Book Two)

The Bridge was opened.

The promised land is real.

A seventh Token is needed.

The Bridge has been triggered, but the surprises don’t end there. What Rex found on the other side was unsettling, and with fresh information, he must race against time with his new allies as they search for their salvation.

The mysterious objects are closer, nearly at Earth, and the efforts of the alien cult have reached a devastating level. Fear escalates as the entire planet senses the global threat, but Rex is more determined than ever to prevent what’s coming.

With the startling revelation of a team member’s identity, and the news of a second Bridge, Rex must cast aside his frustrations and focus. Otherwise the imminent arrival might just be as catastrophic as the cult predicts.

Rex Walker finds himself at the precipice of history, but which side will humanity land on? Lost Time is a fast-paced