Ascendant Saga Collection: Sci-Fi Fantasy Techno Thriller by Brandon Ellis (easy to read books for adults list txt) 📕

Drew took a step onto the sidewalk. They walked around the building, still holding hands.

35

J-Quadrant, Solar System - Namuh Farms, Callisto

Jaxx walked through the ship’s cabin. The walls glistened as if they’d just been shined and his shoes squeaked as he made his way to the cockpit. The ramp began closing, sending a slight hum through the craft. There weren’t any seats or windows in the cabin. Reaching the cockpit, he sat down, the chair immediately conforming to his body.

The control panel in front of him beeped and two gold handprints appeared on the console. He put his hands on the prints and electricity ran up his arms and to his spine. His head shot back against the seat’s headrest and every muscle tensed in his body, his toes curling on their own. He clenched his teeth and yelped in pain.

His entire body was in a spasm.

His body relaxed and then began to vibrate, the seat along with it. The entire craft shook back and forth. His stomach lightened and a free-falling sensation took over.

“Whoa!” yelled Jaxx, his mouth open, his eyes darting back and forth.

The craft shot forward at an incredible speed, piercing through the pyramid as if it was invisible, and thrust forward into a spiraling tunnel. His back suctioned to the seat and wind flew into his face, rushing at him like the gushing waters at the head of a river. The tunnel twisted right and curled around, then turned left, up and down, and up and down like a roller coaster ride. At every turn, electric sparks shot outward.

His hands shook, though they were still planted firmly on the handprints.

The wind died down and the craft slowed. Up ahead was what appeared to be the end of a tunnel. It was a pinpoint of blue light, but nothing more.

“Where am I going?” asked Jaxx out loud.

Before he could get an answer, the craft bulleted forward and the tunnel around him exploded into a billion tiny pieces of white light and in front of him was the most beautiful planet in the galaxy—Earth. It’s brilliant blue glow and striking, wispy white clouds and green, brown, and white landmasses called to him.

He was home.

A voice spoke. “Thank you, Jaxx. We are on our way.”

“Who are you?” questioned Jaxx. And where were they on their way to?

“It’s Mya.”

“Take me to Mya,” ordered Jaxx.

A beam blasted from the ship’s nose onto a portion of the United States. The cockpit opened up and Jaxx gasped, his eyes going wide. This wasn’t what he meant by taking him to Mya.

A frigid cold engulfed his body and all air was sucked out of the craft. He put his hand around his throat, trying to get air, but couldn’t.

The beam jumped up from the ship’s nose and moved backward, encapsulated Jaxx, throwing him headfirst toward Earth and into Earth’s atmosphere. He fell through the clouds, his arms flailing and the cold rush of wind smashing into his skin.

A loud static pierced his ears and everything stopped. He jerked back in a startle, placing his hands on the ground.

He had landed. Shockingly, he was in one piece. Didn’t see that coming. He gulped down the cool, sweet air. How good it was to be back on Earth.

He was in a seated position, cross legged, and his hands were on a bed of rocks, and a body of water was before him. He was on a beach. This, however, wasn’t the ocean. It was a massive lake.

He looked around. He was on an island as water surrounded him. He could see shore on the other side of the lake, but how the hell was he going to get over there?

Swimming would be impossible, unless he wanted to die of exhaustion halfway. He slapped his hands together. He had Chi, but dammit, he didn’t like the idea of swimming.

He stood and walked over to the water’s edge. He put his hand in the water and pulled back. It was freezing.

He turned and lurched. A man was walking down a grassy hill and in his direction. The guy had on a buckskin coat, jeans, and a flannel shirt. He wore a cowboy hat. A gob of chew was under the man’s lower lip and he spat black saliva on the grass as he made his way toward Jaxx.

“Are you Jaxx?”

“Yes.” How the hell would he know who he was? Jaxx had never seen this guy before in his life.

He gave Jaxx a frightened look. “I can’t believe it.” He bent a few inches forward and took off his hat in greeting, then put it back on. The guy was a definite cowboy. “My name is Kip.”

“How do you know who I am?”

The man put his hands on his hip and spit on the ground. “I had a dream of you last night. Apparently, I’m supposed to take you across this lake and to the shore yonder.” The man pointed over Jaxx’s shoulder.

“You had a dream of me?”

He nodded his head and took the chew out of his mouth and threw it on the ground. He wiped his hand on his pants. “If these aliens hadn’t invaded, I’d have just let that dream go. You know?”

Jaxx pointed to the ground. “Aliens are here, now?” Were they on this island?

“Not here, at the moment. They were here not too long ago, but they went south.” He got on one knee and eyed the shoreline. “You see that smoke?”

Off in the distance were a range of mountains, but he couldn’t see the smoke. “I don’t see it.”

“Well, when you do, that’s where you’re going to go, I reckon. That’s Whitefish, but go in that direction, but not necessarily to Whitefish, okay? That’s what my dream said. So just follow the line to Whitefish and you’ll find what you’re looking for.” He picked up a rock and threw it into the lake. “Poor old Whitefish. They got hit hard, but they fought back and