Void

by Matt Thomas

  Bryan looked him in the eye, seeing the frustration. "You did good getting him out of there."

  Jedynak shook his head. "For all the good it did."

  The team leader pointed at the windows looking out onto the courtyard. Surprisingly, a few Metic Ahai faces risked peering out to watch the fight. "People saw it. That can be huge." He looked at his medic's legs, where red blood had soaked through his pants. "You okay?"

  It took him a moment to realize Bryan asked about his physical health, not offending him by asking about his psychological condition while doing his job. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just got nicked by some shrapnel." He changed the subject. "I'm going to take Bridget to some of these buildings and make sure there aren't any more Metic Ahai hurt."

  "Good idea, just stay within sprinting distance. If Jess finds us a route we're out of here as soon as I feel a drop of rain."

  "Roger. Got it." Jedynak grabbed the other medic and they ran off toward a nearby building getting pock-marked with stray Hetarek shots.

  "Kendrick, you still paying attention up there?"

  A rifle cracked in response, the distinctive report of Kendrick's firearm among the laser fire.

  "Please tell me we're not relying on him." O muttered.

  "Only until the rain starts." Bryan started to catch his breath as he settled in to the routine of holding a position under fire. "Or he runs out of ammo."

  "...Thomas has thought through the mindsets of victors and vanquished, skillfully shading in the psychologies of the opposing forces before small feints and ambushes bloom into full-scale war... A well-written, fiery sci-fi tale about human warriors battling an alien regime." - Kirkus Reviews

  We hope you enjoyed this sample chapter from The Oppressed. If you'd like to read more, you can find it on Amazon by clicking here.