Read Peace Army for Free Online

to achieve that illusive ideal of Peace. Individuality, personal choice, and self-expression have been casually traded away for the false comforts of social conformity and moral complacency. While that might rid the world of war, it comes with a price.
    “In my time, there was a saying, ‘variety is the spice of life.’ Although I didn’t appreciate it at the time, there was a lot more truth in that than I ever considered.”
    Exhaustion caused him to stop talking. He released a long, tired breath, gathered his thoughts, and focused on the positive. Despite sharing his pent-up emotions, not everything in the present world was drab and flavorless.
    “There’s one thing the old world didn’t have, Avery. One thing that makes this world so much better than the old one.”
    “Really? What is that?”
    “It didn’t have us.”
    Avery scooted close and draped her arm across his chest.
    Grant lost himself in the scent of her hair.
    Slept.

 
    Chapter 4
     
     
    Grant awoke to the sting of his nose being flicked by a five-year-old finger.
    His first thought was that he had overslept. His internal clock told him it was late morning—much later in the day than he typically awoke. He rarely overslept and the knowledge that he had done so now, with the Minith approaching, was an indicator of how tired he had become.
    His second thought was that his son needed attention as much as his troops did, and he had been lax in giving it. Grant’s arms snaked out, snatched the boy from his feet, and pulled him into the bed. He wrapped him in a tight embrace and Eli giggled at the rough treatment.
    “Why, I oughta…” Grant teased. He tickled his son’s ribs, eliciting squeals of laughter and a sudden staccato of reflexive kicks, one of which caught him squarely in the family jewels.
    He immediately stopped tickling.
    “You oughta… get up, you… you big sleepyhead,” Eli sputtered as he recovered from the tickles. Grant groaned and waited for the pain to subside.
    “Yeah,” he agreed. “Give me just a minute.”
    Eli extricated himself from his dad’s arms and tumbled from the bed.
    “I’ll give ya two,” the boy quipped. He leaned his elbows on the bed. He rested his chin on his hands. “Mom says it’s time for breakfast.”
    Grant closed his eyes and nodded. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept long enough to be woken for breakfast. Usually he was out the door before either his wife or son woke up. It was a reminder that he was late and had some ground to make up. So much to do.
    “Okay. I’ll be right there.”
    “’Kay. I’ll tell her,” Eli said as he pushed himself off the bed.
    Grant took a deep breath and opened his eyes just in time to see the finger snap against his nose again.
    His halfhearted attempt to grab the boy failed and Eli ran from the room, laughing.
    “Mom! Guess what I did!”
     
    * * *
     
    Tane and his R&D teams had taken over the Third Square in the weeks following the liberation of the inmates at Violent’s Prison. After a year, their work had grown to a point that they also took over much of the Fourth Square. Occupying nearly a fourth of the space inside the prison, the size of their work area reflected the importance of the duties they performed and the equipment they produced.
    In addition to the inner Fifth Square that held the headquarters offices, the former prison had been turned into living space for the scientists and soldiers who worked at the facility. The Second Square was used to house workers with families, and was where Grant lived with Avery and Eli. The outer First Square housed the remaining soldiers of the N’mercan forces, as well as the non-fighting civilian support personnel assigned to the facility.
    As he knew he would, Grant found Tane in his lab. The scientist spent the majority of his waking hours there. To Grant’s surprise, the scientist was involved what looked to be a heated conversation with the N’mercan Culture Leader. Tane stood