Davis was no stranger to the sound of a drone. He knew one when he heard one. What he didn’t anticipate would haunt him later. Thinking the sound was in his head was a mistake he’d regret.
Suddenly he knew. If he could catch the droners…his family might survive. He just might be able to save them.
In a split-second action, there was suddenly no searing pain to deal with. Davis ran like hell after the drone to save his family. He was barefoot then, shredding the bottoms of his feet on the glass- and debris-strewn pavement. He stopped when it stopped, turned and darted into the forest. The operator could be close by or a few miles away. He had no way of knowing but there was the smallest of chances. However slim it was, he took it to save his family’s life.
The drone accelerated, and Davis found himself losing speed. The distance between them lengthened. Then the damn thing stopped in midair, moved to the right, and into the forest more slowly.
Davis slowed his own pace, crouched to catch his breath with sweat dripping freely off his face. When the little machine veered into the tree line, Davis said, “Oh, no you don’t,” and took off again after the thing. But within the forest, he lost track of the machine. It was nowhere to be found.
“He’s got to be close by. He’s hiding it.” Scurrying back to the road, Davis picked up speed again and continued his relentless pace. A bend in the road came into view and once he curved around…he saw someone in the distance.
Never before had Davis wanted something so badly. Not in wars in foreign lands, not on his own soil. That person, whoever he was, held value like none other. But the closer he came into view, he realized the person wasn’t a he…the damn drone operator was a woman…a young woman…a teenager, maybe. It didn’t matter to him. She was the commodity he needed to save his family. Her life meant nothing to him.