Air

Will Phelps

Description

A new solar shield technology will change the lives of every living organism on earth…only if its developer can be found and brought back into the fold of the US scientific community! The President’s black ops team has been assembled and given special training to do whatever it takes to regain control of the solar shield and the key scientist that developed the breakthrough technology. A chase on a global scale ensues as the special team closes in!

Sujets

• Atmosphere of Earth
• Fiction
• Air

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 03 janvier 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665576321
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

AIR
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
WILL PHELPS
 
 
 
 
 

 
AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: [phone]
 
 
 
 
 
 
© 2022 Will Phelps. All rights reserved.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
 
Published by AuthorHouse  11/29/2022
 
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7631-4 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7633-8 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7632-1 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022921759
 
 
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgement
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
T he writing of my first book has been an eye-opening and rewarding experience. As is true with many things in life, one does not achieve success without help from others.
I must extend great thanks to my wife, Lisa, for the continued support and encouragement through the highs and lows of the process. She was also extremely key in the editing process. Her keen eye for detail and helpful suggestions made a world of difference.
My son, Adam, took a basic layout for the cover and turned it into a work of art. His patient listening and creative excellence achieved far more than I could have asked.
My son, Cameron expressed continuous enthusiasm for the book and his personal pride for what I was doing. That encouragement from him made me want to finish the book and be a positive example.
My daughter Nicole expressed her support by “spreading the word” about the book I was writing to everyone! Apparently, there was never any doubt in her mind that I would get it done!
I am blessed by a wonderful and loving family and am very thankful for each of them.
INTRODUCTION
I t was a little after 3 a.m. Dr. Holmsby was hunched over the lab table playing with the controls on a laser generator. Behind him and several feet below were the objects of his attention - a dozen or so small orbs that were set up in a circular array. As he applied the subtle changes in the control settings, a minor miracle began to evolve. In the center of the array, a disc shape began to appear hovering in midair. Beneath the hovering disc was the shadow of the disc directly under the hovering image. He turned and looked with pride at the image, and more importantly the shadow under the image. He had done it, he had really done it. The achievement had taken most of his career at MIT. He had written grants for funding and begged and pleaded the University for funding for laser research. Despite the fact that no one had paid much attention, he had published a number of groundbreaking articles about his research, and the University was satisfied about receiving an adequate return for his research. But now he had the coup de gras - this was new technology that had earthshaking implications.
Dr. Holmsby powered down his equipment and put on his top coat to head home. Tomorrow was another day, and would be a new beginning for him and his family. He turned off the lab lights, locked the door and started down the hallway.
As he pressed the down button to call the elevator, Dr. Holmsby sensed a presence behind him and turned to see if he was seeing ghosts in the night. As he turned, he was startled by a figure that stepped out of the shadows. At the same time and from behind, a hand with a cloth and a pungent odor closed around his mouth. He inhaled to yell for help, and when he did, he inhaled a big gulp of the pungent odor. Immediately his periphery vision began to close and he lost consciousness.
Allison Stewart had stowed away on board the transport aircraft and was huddled down behind bundles of illegal drug cargo. Her back rested against a steel bulkhead, where she felt every bump and vibration in the airplane. The pilot was flying a low altitude route, twisting and turning through canyons and quickly up and over hills and small mountains in an effort to stay out of sight. The abrupt and severe change of direction and altitude was literally beating Allison to a pulp. She had a gash above her forehead, she was bruised, and her legs ached from squatting behind the bundles for hours.
She peeked above the bundles to see if she could at least stand up and stretch, and she was horrified to see one of the armed guards just three feet in front of her sitting on one of the bundles. As silently as possible, she slid back into place in her very tight spot.
The cut-off shorts and tank top Allison was wearing were not giving her any protection from the beating she was taking, courtesy of the airplane, and she was just about to the point where she couldn’t take it anymore.
Suddenly the aircraft banked hard and began a steep descent. The whine of the flap gear motors being actuated indicated that a landing was eminent. Allison’s hiding spot would be revealed if the aircraft were to be unloaded.
There was no doubt that the people on board would kill her without hesitation and dump her body in the desert. She was also sure that rape and torture would be part of the treatment. With all of these thoughts running through her mind, she had to find a way to get off the airplane undetected.
As her mind raced through her options, an opportunity presented itself. The transport rear ramp began to open as the airplane leveled out for the final approach. Apparently this was the spot they were going to unload. The nearby guard had moved up to the front of the airplane to operate the ramp controls and prepare to unload the pallets of drugs.
Allison knew this would be a very quick stop. She also knew she had to get off before the unloading began. She began to slip her slim body between the bundles and the aircraft bulkheads to work her way towards the ramp. Her plan was to dive off the ramp while the airplane was still moving down the runway and take her chances.
Finally, she was on the ramp behind the rear-most bundles, waiting for the aircraft to slow up a bit. As the airplane began to taxi, Allison figured she could at least survive a tuck-and-roll landing if she dove off the ramp. She moved into place and jumped. Just as she leaped, the airplane hit a bump on the primitive runway, causing the loading ramp to propel her 10 feet in the air. She landed unceremoniously in the sage brush, gathering even more bruises and scrapes, and rolled to her feet to see if she had made it without detection.
Just as she stood up behind the sage brush, Allison heard a bullet whiz over her head. She had her answer and was off running for her life, zigzagging though the brush. She had no idea where she was or where to seek refuge, but knew she had to get clear of the immediate area if she was going to live another day.
After five minutes of hard running, Allison stopped to look back and reassess her situation. Her evasion had taken her up a slight hill, and she was able to look behind her down the hill to the runway and aircraft all while staying hidden behind the sage brush.
The runway was nothing more than a very rough bulldozed strip in the middle of a desert that had no sign of civilization as far as she could see. She could see the transport aircraft she had jumped off of, as well as three smaller aircraft on the runway. The transport had pushed the pallets off the ramp as it taxied, and it was now turning around to prepare for take-off. Armed men were pushing the pallets off the runway to clear it for the transport’s departure. One other man was standing near the airplanes. He was holding binoculars and a rifle with a scope, and he was scanning the area looking for Allison. She quietly ducked down and began to move with more deliberation up the hill away from the runway.
Even if she escaped the group on the runway, Allison knew she was in trouble, what with no food, no water, very little clothing and being stranded in the middle of the desert. If she didn’t die from exposure, she could be injured or killed by any number of desert predators.
Allison began to think about her survival training and next steps to prepare for a prolonged stay. Just as she was contemplating her situation, she stepped on the side of a rock. Her ankle folded and collapsed under her. There was nothing she could do to prevent her fall, yet she reached out to catch herself as she went down, hitting the ground hard. The last thing to hit as she fell was her head, but unfortunately it landed on a small rock. She rolled onto her back after she fell, looked up at the sun and realized that her chances of survival ju