The Dragons of Men (The Sons of Liberty Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

Eric the only one not out of breath. “We need at least five vehicles,” he shouted as he bashed in a window to an ancient SUV from the nineties. “Make sure they’re older. We won’t be able to hotwire any of the newer cars.”
    The group spread out quickly, the sound of shattering of glass barely audible over the distant thunder. It wasn’t long before they were all piling into six vehicles that were running idly, Eric shouting at the others to follow his lead. Eric was the last to load up in a large SUV with Sarah, her kids, Rick, Judi, and Elizabeth crammed in the back. Within minutes they were speeding west through the parking lot.
    “What now?” Sarah asked.
    “The first thing we’re doing is getting as far away from this base as we can tonight,” Eric replied as they approached the exit. The road ahead split to the right and left, and he paused momentarily as though he was deciding which way to go. “We’ll need to clear the….” His words trailed off as he looked in the rearview mirror, his eyes narrowing momentarily before widening in horror. “Everyone down!”
    Time seemed to decelerate as Sarah looked behind them with a curious fright. The first bombs struck the base with a pounding like that of a mad titan’s drum, a blinding light causing the pupils in her wide eyes to constrict. A wave of fire and debris traveled toward them with a reverberation that shook the SUV. Eric floored it through the intersection and up a grassy embankment, crushing small trees as the vehicle sped into a residential area. Sarah cried out to God as she shoved her kids down to the floor—waiting for the boom that would inevitably close the curtains to this world. The engine roared and Eric bellowed as a brilliant flash followed by an earsplitting concussion blew the windows out, filling the SUV with the sharp smell of smoke.
    This is it, Sarah thought as she clutched her children. I am about to die.
    She could feel the vehicle shift in midair and hear the snapping of steel. For a moment, the SUV seemed to drift weightlessly through the air before sinking into the ground as it came to a jarring halt.
    Instead of a searing fire, cold water quickly filled the interior as they slowly descended, coming to rest on the right side of the vehicle. It was so unexpected that she cried out in surprise. However, her shock was only momentary. She was still alive and had to protect her children.
    She grabbed Eva and Grace as the frigid pool water leveled off chest deep. Elizabeth and Rick were moving, dragging an unconscious Judi out the shattered back window. Judah was slowly crawling out one of the broken windows. Eric, however, was nowhere to be seen.
    “Eric,” Sarah called out, frantically searching for him. “Eric!”
    Nothing.
    “Rick!”
    “Come on, Sarah!” Rick yelled back. “We have to—”
    “I can’t find Eric!” Sarah shouted.
    “Damn it, Sarah, we’ve got to go!”
    Sarah quickly handed Eva and Grace to Rick through the back window and began crawling over seats toward the front to see if Eric had been ejected through the windshield. As she made it to the driver’s seat, a hand grabbed her from underneath the surface. She ducked down in the water and felt around frantically before a hand clutched her wrist. The fires outside barely illuminated the dark water, but she could see the whites of Eric’s eyes staring back at her as he struggled to free himself. His arm had been trapped between the pool’s tiled floor and the metal frame of the vehicle. She tugged on his free arm, but he didn’t budge. The vehicle lay on his forearm six inches from his hand, and unless they could lift the vehicle, Eric would drown.
    Sarah rose from the water, holding Eric’s free hand as she did so.
    “Rick, Judah—Eric’s trapped!”
    “Where?” Rick shouted back.
    “His hand is stuck under the vehicle. You have to…you have to somehow shift the SUV.”
    “Elizabeth, you get Judi to the side of the pool,” Rick