Chapter Two The second I come to, I grab for my weapon. I hit an empty holster and swear. I dropped the damn thing on the way up. Without pause, I go for the knife in my boot, eyes darting around for any imminent threat. I’m ready to go at some alien bastards. Where the hell are they? I’m surrounded by humans, about a hundred other victims. The low vibrations of large engines fill the air, muffling the worried noises that come from the people. I scan them for a familiar face, but I don’t know any of the men and women in the holding tank. Many of them are injured, some bleeding. They probably got hurt running from the tractor beam. Some other colony was hit hard. We lucked out with the sandstorm in Dallas. Everyone who was outside when the storm started had probably headed in. I pull off my goggles, then my mask. My freaky red hair spills down my back, full of sand. It always is. Nothing we have invented so far can keep the dust out when the wind blows that hard. I brush a few stray strands from my face and do…