Page 8

Dad’s brows drew together. “What’s bothering you?”

“Nothing.”

“Greer, I can read you like an open book. I know when something’s worrying you.”

“It’s probably nothing. I’ve seen something moving in the water. Something big.”

Dad’s face snapped into serious in the blink of an eye. “Call Jameson.”

“Dad, I didn’t get a good look at it. I don’t want to overreact.”

“Just call him, and give him a heads-up. He’s the expert when it comes to monsters.”

Or at least the expert when it came to killing them. “All right.”

“Good. Any chance you can get home soon for dinner? Your mother misses you.”

My mom was busy training new recruits at the New Sydney Military Academy. My parents were both former soldiers, part of the infamous Hell Squad, who’d been instrumental in defeating the aliens.

To the rest of the world, they were both legends, but to me, they were Mom and Dad. Mom was a badass soldier, and dad was a brilliant sniper. He trained recruits at the Academy, as well.

“Maybe I can make it for a quick visit. If I can make it happen, I’ll let you know.”

“Good.” He glanced to the side. “I’ve got to go. Marcus is here. We’re going to drive into New Sydney to check security at some power installations.”

Marcus was Jameson’s father. “Say hi to Uncle Marcus.”

“Will do. He’d like to see you too, baby girl. Come home soon.”

“Love you, Dad.”

“Love you back.”

I lowered the communicator just as someone called out my name.Time to get back to work.

As I turned, I glanced at the water one last time.

It was smooth and still.

Yep, I was clearly overreacting.

Still, this would give me the perfect excuse to talk to Jameson.

Jameson

Feeling morehuman after my shower, I pulled on fresh cargo pants and a T-shirt. I noticed a hole in the bottom of my shirt.

Damn. It was one of my favorites. I wasn’t ready to recycle it, yet. We’d all grown up more frugal and careful than the stories I’d heard of life before the invasion. Fast fashion wasn’t a thing anymore.

I’d been held up in the infirmary way longer than I’d hoped. But all my injuries were healed up, thanks to a shot of nano-meds. I poked my ribs and didn’t feel a twinge. The microscopic machines could heal up just about anything.

I headed out of my house.

My teammates and I all had wooden eco-houses on the edge of the town of Dawn. It was built above an underground base called the Enclave, inland of the coastal town of Wollongong. We were about an hour south of New Sydney.

After the invasion, some people had moved back to the ruins of Sydney, and started growing the new town. Others—like my parents—had stayed here and built Dawn. It was nestled amongst beautiful hills and rolling green fields, surrounded by a large security wall that kept out the monsters. It had been a good place to grow up.

The Squad Command headquarters were close by. All the squads were based there. Most were tasked with general security, acting as law enforcement and providing security for the entire area.