Human Nature (Book 4): Human Nature IV by Borthwick, Finlay (book recommendations website .TXT) 📗

commented, pointing towards the road alongside the river where many members of the community had stepped outside their houses and were now looking up into the sapphire evening sky.

The noise grew louder, though Annabelle remained completely unfazed.

The three women at the window looked up and were all blown away.

There, in the sky, five fighter jets flew overhead. They were in a perfect V-shaped formation, all at an unchanging constant speed.

“How....How is—How’s that even possible?” Erica was at a total loss for words.

Tina shook her head, still transfixed on the aircrafts as they passed into the horizon.

“The army?” Petra suggested.

“Pfft.” Tina scoffed and stepped back from the window as the jets went out of view again. “What army?”

“Czechian army!” She presumed, given their location.

“I don’t think so…” Erica rebutted this notion. “We’ve scouted for miles and miles in any given direction around this place and not once have we found any signs of a military presence. If it is the army, then they’ll be from somewhere else without a doubt.”

“People!” Petra was feeling overjoyed by this revelation. “There is hope. There is a future! The world is not over!”

“Whoa, whoa, don’t get ahead of yourself.” Tina raised her hands in a gesture that meant ‘Stop’. “We don’t know what we just saw. For all we know, they could be evil. They may not even be an official army!”

“I agree. I think they’re a militia if anything.” Erica added…

“They can see us, Loveknot!” Bales alerted him in a panic.

“Keep your cool, lieutenant,” Loveknot calmly instructed him, “We’ll just go back to base and alert the corporal that we’ve found something. Then, it’ll be his decision what happens next.”

Although Leo squadron carried on zooming westwards, their base was actually North-East from the town which they had just flown off. In order to cover their tracks, they would continue flying onwards until they were extremely out of view of the town before heading back.

KIELCE, POLAND

LATER THAT DAY…

 

Leo squadron had returned to base.

Due to Loveknot radioing in their discovery to his superior whilst on the way back, he and the rest of his pilots had instantly been summoned to speak with him.

Loveknot was the one seated on the other side of the corporal’s desk, whilst Grossman, Bales, Faustus, and Izumi were stood looming either side of him.

The corporal wrote down his report as he asked Loveknot questions about what he and his squadron had seen, “How many people do you estimate there to be in this… Town?”

“Well, Corporal Ulysses,” Loveknot cleared his throat before answering, “It’s difficult to give an accurate answer. There were lots of houses and the people outside were all scattered.”

Corporal Ulysses had a disgruntled expression on his face, seeming to be slightly annoyed that Loveknot had not actually given him a straight answer, “Estimate.” He ordered him.

“Twenty at the very least, sir. I think it’s safe to safe there were at least twenty people down at the riverbank.” Loveknot nodded, sufficed with his estimation.

“And if we are to assume that were people in these houses of which you speak,” Corporal Ulysses continued to write as he made a mental calculation, “Then we can likely triple that figure at the very least… Sixty residents.” Although this number was not quite accurate, it was enough for him to have reached a decision.

“So, what do you want us to do, corporal?” Loveknot asked.

Corporal Ulysses grunted, “I’ll take it from here. Leo squadron, you are dismissed.” He signed the bottom of the report as he rested his pen down on his desk and looked up, waiting for Leo squadron to depart from his presence.

“Yes sir, thank you sir.” Loveknot rose from his seat as he led his pilots out of the office, closing the door behind them as they left.

As soon as his door had been closed, Corporal Ulysses reached for the old-fashioned telephone on his desk and spun the numbers into the dial…

The young lad had been told to wait in the barracks all day for a call from his commanding officer; he was the only one in his platoon who was fluent in both English and Polish, and as such, was perfect for the task.

Finally, the phone rang out. It was vintage and hooked up with a wire, just like it was straight out of the 1950s.

The lad wiped his palms down his trousers and then hesitantly picked the phone up. “Hello?”

On the wall in front of his desk there was a large wooden board. The sheet of paper pinned to the centre of the board read ‘PROJECT ZODIAC’. Above this sign, there was a photo of space station with several portraits of its’ crew members around it; the station was labelled as ‘GEMINI’.

There were other projects on either side of the board as well, labelled as ‘AQUARIUS’, ‘CAPRICORN’ and ‘LIBRA’.

“Yes sir, I understand…” The lad complied with ease, as his eyes drew up to the bottom of the wooden board in front of him to a photo of a stealth bomber aircraft. “Operation Libra is greenlit…”

SEVERAL DAYS LATER…

 

Just as piece had come over the riverside town, there was a deep booming and whirring echoing out from across the horizon.

“What’s that?” Tia asked, her eyebrows dipped in curiosity.

Gradually, all of the residents came crawling out of the buildings they were in, as their attention was directed towards the sun.

“Look!” A woman called out, covering her eyes with one hand, and pointing outwards with the other.

Erica turned around to see what everyone was looking at, “…I don’t believe it.” She was completely awestruck by what she was witnessing.

“That… That’s a plane!” Adela proclaimed.

And indeed, it was. As the plane came closer, it blocked out the sun’s rays and provided artificial cover.

“The hell kind of a plane even is