Sophie hesitated, looking at Emanuel for assistance before turning to face her team. Holly’s advice from days before echoed in her mind. Now was the time to make good on her promise to Holly and to herself. “We tell them they’re not alone,” she said firmly. “And then we tell them that we’re working on a way to defeat the Organics.”

In the distance, the sun had finally disappeared behind the black mountain range. Sophie took a moment to admire the dazzling, star-filled sky. As she scanned the heavens, she couldn’t help but wonder if one of the tiny dots of light was Secundo Casu on its way to Mars.

—End of Book I—

‘Orbs II: Stranded’ Excerpt

Check out this sneak peak for the second book in the Orbs series from the bestselling author Nicholas Sansbury Smith!

Orbs II: Stranded

Coming in October from Simon451

PROLOGUE

THE WAKING SUN cast a brilliant glow over the wasteland as it crawled higher into the morning sky. Rays of scorching light carpeted the remnants of lakebeds and extinct rivers, unveiling sun-bleached bones of dead trees that littered the harsh landscape.

Alex Wagner cleared his visor of grime, wishing he could wipe away the beads of sweat forming inside his helmet. The ventilation system in the suit he had swiped off a dead NTC soldier had stopped working a day ago.

He adjusted his lean, athletic body inside the oversized suit. The damn hunk of armor was more of a detriment than anything. He glanced down at the exposed skin of his forearm beneath the foot long claw mark in the suit. Standing there under the blistering heat of the sun, he imagined what the soldier before him must have been thinking in the moments before his death. A blur of images entered his mind and then solidified into a vivid picture. The razor sharp claws slashing through the air, the guttural shrieks of the aliens hunting the NTC soldier. Alex had seen the same thing happen to his friends, and the memory made his skin crawl.

A gust of wind whistled passed his suit, peppering his visor with dirt. Alex flinched and snapped from the morbid thoughts. Squinting, he blinked several times to avoid the burning sweat dripping from his forehead and checked the temperature reading on his HUD.

100 degrees.

Could that be right? He checked his mission clock; it wasn’t even 0800 hours yet. If the reading was correct, it meant the temperature was rising faster than he thought. But maybe it was wrong? Maybe things weren’t as bad as they seemed.

Cursing under his breath, he pushed on through the hissing sand. When the wind cleared, he caught a clear glimpse of the wastelands around him.