Novels by Taylor Caley

“Anna, stop!” Jason shouted. He grabbed Anna by the shoulders to try to pull her away from Abigail, but she only shook him off and tightened her grip around her neck. Abigail’s eyes were clenched shut and she could no longer breathe. “Please, Anna! Let her go!” Daisy squealed, tears falling down her face. Anna ignored their pleas. It was as though she could not even hear them. The only thing she could feel was the burning rage inside her. There were no thoughts, only anger. Jason wrapped his arm around Anna’s neck in a last ditch effort to pull her away. Anna suddenly whipped around to face Jason and Abigail collapsed like a rag doll, struggling to catch her breath. Jason was caught off guard as Anna tackled him to the ground. He was completely unprepared as she pinned her arm against his throat. He tried in vain to push her off of him. She was far stronger than he ever imagined. All Jason could do was stare up into her eyes of fury. “Anna,” he uttered feebly, the weight of her arm

The doors of Fort Pershing military installation's command center flew open as a battle-hardened officer stormed into the room, a black-leaf insignia on his chest.“What’s going on?” he demanded sternly.“Colonel Conrad!” a young E-5 greeted him, a look of apprehension and uncertainty scrawled upon his face. “Sir, we’ve just been given clearance to mobilize by General Floring from Division. The Pentagon is reporting an assault taking place in Meadowvale and is requesting ground and air support immediately.”“An assault?” Conrad responded in disbelief. “From what? Do we have any eyes on?”“We have a Reaper inbound, sir.”The MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle was already in the air, traveling at over 200 knots across the barren rural landscape toward Meadowvale. In no more than seven minutes, the drone was already circling the small town and aiming its Multi-Spectral Targeting System down upon the small town that had been turned into a battlefield.The camera zoomed in on Adams Street,

Nearly three miles outside of Meadowvale, Cerberus stood firm as a sentinel on the hilltop overlooking the small, rural village in the distance. The last few hours had been deathly silent since his team had begun infiltrating the town in search of their target, and all the while he knew that the Pentagon was eagerly awaiting his report more than a thousand miles away. It was only a matter of time.“Cerberus! Cerberus, come in! This is Nexus!”Cerberus raised a hand to the earpiece he was wearing as Nexus’ voice broke the intense silence like thunder. “Go ahead,” he said steadily.“I have positive locations on Andromeda and Ajax! Both are here right now!”“Ajax,” Cerberus muttered to himself as his eyes twitched in surprise. “He must be trying to reach her first.”“He is,” Nexus responded. “What’s the plan? Should we split up to take them both?”“No,” Cerberus answered. “Andromeda is the target. Once we take her, we’ll deal with Ajax. All units, switch to the uplink and converge on the

Anna tried to ease her tension as she drove James’ truck into town, keeping no less than five miles under the speed limit so as not to become reckless and draw attention to herself. So far this venture was going smoothly, but she knew she was not out of the woods yet. The biggest hurdle she had to cross was the fact that the only way to get to the school was to go down Adams Street, directly through the town center where she knew her parents to be.The town center was always bustling with people swarming around the markets on Saturdays, as this was one of the last chances to acquire goods before the onset of autumn and winter to follow. She navigated the traffic slowly, holding her breath every time she stopped at a red light. Much of her refused to look around at the crowds of people coming and going, half afraid that she might inadvertently draw the attention of her parents. Her mind was racing as she sat at another red light that seemed to last for an eternity. There was so much ri

Anna hardly slept a wink that night. For one brief moment her life seemed to be going her way, and in the span of a few hours it had all been torn apart. She sat on the edge of her bed and watched the dark canvas of the predawn sky outside her room, which felt more like a prison now than a home.Abigail had not said a word to her the previous evening. It was quite unusual for her to not try teasing her in any way she could, and Anna guessed that she already knew what had happened and was told by Lynn not to speak about it. Despite her compliance, Anna still felt a twinge of anger as she wondered how Abigail would feel if she was taken away from them by the court. It made her want to punch a hole through the wall. Abigail had treated her like an intruder in her home for over a year, and the more Anna dwelled on it, the more she wanted to take her frustrations out on someone.The hours ticked by ever so slowly. Anna did not go down for breakfast, so Lynn brought her a dish which she lef

The entire day was as much a haze as it was a nightmare. Anna sat in the passenger seat of James’ truck and stared quietly out the window the entire ride home. The sun was beginning to make its final descent upon the horizon as she watched with eyes that burned with the residue of tears. The wind that whipped by bothered her eyes but she barely blinked, almost as though it was the only thing she could still feel.James and Lynn had taken her out of school immediately after their meeting with the police and the principal was over, per her suspension that was issued by Mrs. Hoffman. Tamara’s mother had gone on a loud tirade all the way out of the office, never so much as looking at Anna but spewing the worst names and accusations she had ever heard. Lynn had some less than godly things of her own to shout back. James was the most composed of anyone and had convinced the police not to cart Anna out of the building in cuffs. The rest of the day was long, quiet, and stressful to everyone a