Andrew’s stare never left the wolf. The gap between them was down to twelve feet. Keller swooped behind, but it backed up a step and angled its body to face them both, baring its teeth with a sharp hiss. The creature’s long tail lashed the air restlessly, and Keller hesitated as its head spun toward him.
Andrew was tempted to sneak in and attack while the wolf’s attention was divided, but what could he possibly do to it with bare hands, and with one of his arms injured?
That momentary hesitation brought the wolf’s gaze right to him. Too late. It advanced another ten steps, and then it was close enough that Andrew could smell its rancid rotting-meat breath.
It bent at the knees, ready to pounce, and Andrew’s whole body tensed. Just like a matador fighting a bull, he thought. The wolf sprang up—
And he dashed to the side.
But the wolf twisted in midair, its long body more flexible than Andrew might have guessed. It fell on top of him, jaws snapping as they went for his neck. Andrew put his good arm up against the monster’s throat, and used his left for added support.
His head swam with putrid gusts from the monster’s throat. Thick strings of drool dripped down, splattering on his chest. So this is how I die, he thought, his arms shaking under the alien’s weight.
“Hey!” Keller yelled. Andrew heard the dull thud of a boot or fist connecting with flesh, followed by several more. The creature hissed and turned its head.
Andrew was about to take advantage of the momentary lapse of attention to gouge the animal’s eye with his weakened left hand when its giant paws shifted. One of them pressed a pair of spherical objects into his groin. The translators. He still had both his and Kendra’s in his pocket.
Before the wolf could return its attention to him, he reached into the jumpsuit and pulled one of the devices out. Fumbling blindly in his left hand, he touched the catch to open it up and slipped the spider-like device over the creature’s head. It snapped at him with a growl, but Keller’s assault continued, his fists and feet hammering the beast incessantly as he screamed. The monster lunged for Keller, and its weight abruptly left Andrew’s chest. He pulled out the second translator and slipped it over his head.
Keller cried out as teeth sank into him. “Andy!”
“Stop!” Andrew said, springing off the floor to see Keller pinned and one of his arms in the wolf’s jaws. Andrew hoped to God that the device would be able to translate into whatever passed for a language among the wolves. “We’re not your enemies!” The alien froze, and bright yellow eyes flicked to him. “We need your help.”
It spat out Keller’s arm and stepped back from him, replying with a series of hisses and growls. “I am hungry. You are food.”
Andrew blinked and slowly shook his head at the creature’s simplistic reasoning. “Please. Our people are about to go extinct. Hound... the being who built this place, the one who claims to be your master—he is going to kill us all. We have to stop him.”
The wolf bared its teeth in a snarl. “You are fighting the cold one?”
The cold one? Andrew wondered. Maybe it meant because Hound’s avatars weren’t as warm-blooded as they appeared. “Yes,” he replied.
The wolf’s giant head turned to Keller. He scuttled away from the creature, cradling his bloody arm to his chest. “What if I eat this one and let you go?”
“No. I need him alive. He’s the only one who can fly us out of here,” Andrew said.
The alien hissed again and shook its whole body as if shaking itself off after a swim. “Where is the cold one now? He is not here.”
“He’s attacking my people at our camp,” Andrew replied.
Another series of growls and snarls followed. “I go to see if this is true. If it is not, I shall eat my fill of your kind.”
“It is true,” Andrew insisted. “We’re going to destroy this place before we leave. You’d better get out fast.”
The wolf gave no reply, but turned and bounded out of the hangar.
Andrew turned to Keller and found the man staring at him with wide, terrified eyes. “You can talk to them?”
“Apparently,” Andrew confirmed. He withdrew the bomb from the front pouch of his uniform, grateful that it hadn’t been activated when the wolf had been stepping all over him. “I’m going to plant this. Bring the ship online.”
Keller nodded and dashed toward the ramp of the gleaming silver ship.
Andrew ran out of the hangar in time to see Morvak’s blurry black form dashing between control consoles and cryo tanks on his way to the stairwell and the pond above.
Placing the bomb at the base of the pillar in the center of the chamber, Andrew touched the button and a blinking red light appeared, along with alien symbols that changed about once every second. He guessed they were numbers, counting down.
Andrew turned and fled, rushing back into the hangar. He grabbed his weapons at the foot of the ramp and dashed inside the ship. He turned and ran down a narrow passage, with recessed doors to the left and right. Dead ahead was the cockpit, surrounded by viewscreens that relayed imagery from the exterior. Keller was sitting in the pilot’s seat, cradling his injured arm—which he’d crudely bandaged like Andrew’s own—and stabbing random buttons with his uninjured right.
“Well?” Andrew demanded, leaning over Keller’s shoulders. “Get us out of here!”
“I’m trying!”
“I thought you flew this thing before!”
“I did, but...” Glowing screens snapped to life all over the sloping dash, hanging above the controls from slender frames. “Got it!” Keller said. He stabbed a big silver button and everything shivered to life. “Did you close the hatch?”
“What?” Andrew shook his head. “No! How the hell am I supposed to do that?”
“Never mind.” Keller grabbed the control yoke and the ship angled up sharply to a narrow band of light in the distant ceiling. “Strap in!”
Andrew dropped into the co-pilot’s seat and looped his arms through the seat restraints. His rifle sat in his lap, rattling with the subtle vibrations rippling through the ship.
“Ready?” Keller asked.
A loud thump sounded, followed by the ground-cracking boom of an explosion. “Go!” Andrew yelled.
Keller hit a slider beside his injured arm, and a rush of flames swept over the viewscreens. The ship leapt upward, slamming them into the backs of their seats and giving Andrew an instant headache. Flames scurried away, and the bar of light at the top of the hangar grew closer with every passing instant. Fire wreathed the opening and it began to crumble, the debris thunking against the starship’s hull.
“Hang on!” Keller said as one of those boulders knocked them sideways. The ship screeched through the collapsing gap and then shot free into clear air and a bright dome of stars.
“That was close,” Keller breathed. He brought the nose down and eased off the throttle, banking around. The lights of camp swept into view on the other side of the moonlit lake.
“I can’t believe we made it,” Andrew said. He noticed the strobing lights of gunfire illuminating the colony. There was a big black structure rising from the crops that hadn’t been there before—a spaceship, Andrew decided—and silver shapes were scattered around it, racing through the fields and firing bright spears of light.
“Think that’s our ride?” Keller asked, pointing to the ship.
“If it is, the Froggers decided to attack us rather than rescue us. That’s Hound. It has to be.”
“Goddammit!” Keller muttered. “Hang on!” He pushed the throttle up ahead, and Andrew felt the engines kick him into his seat and pin him there. He gritted his teeth against the sudden impulse, his thoughts racing. Hound had been with Val a moment ago. Was she okay? He had no way of knowing. Had Hound realized that they’d struck a deal with his ‘pet’? He hadn’t said anything to interrupt or threaten them as they escaped, so maybe he’d been otherwise occupied.
Andrew forced the worries from his head. He’d be back in a minu
te, and then he’d be able to go find Val and Kendra and the others. Right now, all he could do was hope and pray that they were fine.
THIRTY-TWO
Kendra
A light fixture fell from the foyer, landing with a crash in the center of the room. Kendra acted right on time, shoving her sister to the side, and narrowly avoided being hit by the huge glass monstrosity. Carrie picked herself up, dusting glass from her jumpsuit.
“Thanks,” she managed.
“You okay?” Kendra’s fingers were aching from earlier, but on the positive, her entire body was mostly numb, easing the pain. Drywall dust fell from above as another pulse hit the building.
“I’m fine.”
“And you’re sure you saw Tony and Val come in here?” she asked.
Her sister nodded.
“Do you have any idea where they could be?” Kendra glanced around, seeing the two stairwells heading left or right, depending on which side of the U-shaped apartments they needed to go.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t allowed in here.” Carrie had a pistol in her grip, and the barrel strayed toward her own chin as she gestured with the hand holding the gun. Kendra set a gentle palm on her sister’s hand, steering it away.
“Never aim at yourself, or me. Only the target, okay?” It was easy for Kendra to forget that normal people didn’t have training with weapons. It was a familiar part of her life, having to constantly go for range certification. Kendra had fired her gun more than most special agents, and that number wasn’t about to decrease any time soon.
“I’m scared,” Carrie told her, eyes wide and brimming with tears. Another blast sent a hole through the end of the foyer, and Kendra spotted the robot through the glass walls, its green visor glowing brightly as it walked through the courtyard.
“Time to go.” Kendra scanned the room and chose a side. Val had spoken about her room, hadn’t she? Roland had been on the second floor, she remembered that…
The stairwell was dark, making it almost impossible to navigate, and she heard Carrie stumble and fall behind her. She slowed, letting her catch up. “Grab my jumpsuit.” A hand clenched the fabric near her waist, and Kendra continued up the flight of stairs. As it plateaued, she moved for the wall, feeling along until she discovered the door.
The handle depressed, and she tugged it wide. The windows at the end of the hall cast enough light to guide her, and she held her gun at ready, moving silently through the corridor.
She entered the first door, leaving Carrie behind. “Val,” she whispered through her teeth. “Tony.”
It was quiet.
They went to the next room, and the next with the same result. By the time they reached the end of the corridor, she realized they had to be on the wrong side of the building. And that was only if Val had elected to go to her room, not continue to the roof or something.
She’d go for her room. It’s somewhere familiar. Instincts would have kicked in. Kendra ran through the variables in her mind, and jogged toward the stairwell. Another door was adjacent to that one, and she used it, finding a pedway connecting the buildings. She glanced down to see the pathway that led between them and into the courtyard.
“Better run,” she told Carrie, seeing two of the robots walking around, seeking targets.
Kendra took off across the enclosed footpath, and her movement must have given them away. Glass shattered in front of her, and she stumbled, landing on her hands and knees in the broken windows.
Another blast tore the entire pedway in half, but she was already moving, rushing to the end of the corridor. Carrie was ahead of her, and she shoved the door open, jumping through just as the corridor teetered down, collapsing in the center. Kendra scrambled up the new incline, finding her sister’s outstretched hand. She dangled there momentarily as the structure crashed to the flagstones below. Her hands ached fiercely, stinging from the dozen or so fresh cuts. Blood welled between the two women’s palms, and she started to slip.
“Not this time. We’re not getting separated again!” Carrie clenched her jaw, and Kendra felt her body being lifted by a brief surge of strength. She found herself on the floor with Carrie, breathing heavily. She glanced out the opening, finding the walkway missing. One of the robot’s footsteps was coming nearer, and she rolled to the side, slamming the door closed.
She didn’t have to wait long to learn where Val was. She heard the girl’s scream cut through the air like a knife.
“Val!” Kendra clambered to her feet, leaving Carrie behind as she darted toward the source of the shriek.
She saw that alien version of Lewis Hound inside the room, the door open, his back turned. Hound’s organs pulsed beneath the writhing flesh, tentacles in his neck swaying as if to music that only he could hear. The notes of that melody chorused out as he spoke in a symphonic voice, followed by a stuttering translation: “It looks like your father lost. He didn’t play by the rules, and now you die.”
Kendra’s training took over. There was no more bartering, or trying to work with this monster. There was kill or be killed. She assessed the room in the span of a heartbeat, and spotted the body on the floor. His long hair covered his face, but it was clear that it was Tony.
“What have you done?” Valeria shouted at the alien, holding a raw wound on her cheek. Rage filled Kendra at the sight.
Her gun tracked, settling on Hound. Her finger brushed the trigger, and Carrie arrived, bumping into her and sending the shot wide. Hound spun toward them, his tentacles waving at the movement.
Kendra fired again, hitting him in the shoulder, but the bullet stopped there. Hound smiled. “Carrie, I always knew you’d come in handy.” One of his lower arms darted out as he lunged toward them with inhuman speed. “I’m going to take pleasure in killing all of you, but not before I tear Miller’s head from his shoulders and have you watch.” Carrie was in his grip, and Kendra’s finger twitched near the trigger.
“Let her go, Hound,” Kendra said flatly. Her entire body ached, and her hand was still bleeding, making the gun slick in her palm.
He sang a few words before they relayed in English. “You humans have been more work than any of the others, except your neighbors. We had to… take matters into our own hands with them, too.”
Kendra recalled the village she and Andrew had spotted at the corner of the ridge, ancient and long ago burned to a husk. She took a chance. Now was the time for talking. “This is your real body, isn’t it?”
His eyes were bright silver and pink, rolling in his head as if not tethered to anything. They settled on her. “It is.”
“It is?” she echoed.
“That’s what I said, but it changes nothing. My army is already killing the rest of your people, and our reinforcements will arrive in a few minutes. Drop the gun, and I’ll grant you the mercy of a swift death,” Hound said.
Val was at Tony’s side, brushing the hair from his face. She was likely in shock. She slumped to the floor, and Kendra thought she was losing too much blood from the gashes in her cheek. This had to end.
“Let her go, and take me outside,” Kendra said, moving the gun away.
Hound smiled, a hideous sight with his lipless face. Baby teeth shifted in his red gums that ran in concentric circles around his throat, and she fought the urge to be sick. “Now we’re talking. Humans and their self-sacrifice. I was beginning to think you were like your reverend. But this… this is why I told the others we had to save you. I saw the good, but here you’ve gone and ruined it all.”
Kendra saw his grip loosen on Carrie. Her sister made eye contact and gave her a weak smile.
A subtle goodbye.
Carrie lifted her pistol so quickly, Hound hadn’t seen it. It found his temple, and she fired at the organ pulsing inside his glistening head. His top two hands clamped over her, one on her face, the other over her heart, and she went limp as they dropped to the floor.
“Nooooo!” Kendra roared, rushing to Carrie’s side. Black, hooked claws jutted from Hound’s palms, buri
ed deep inside her sister’s flesh. Blood cascaded from her chest and the side of her head. Carrie’s eyes fluttered briefly, and they locked stares. Her mouth opened in a soundless whisper before the light left them. “Carrie!” Kendra cried. She checked for a pulse, but Carrie was gone.
Kendra came to her senses, remembering this battle wasn’t over. “Val, get out of here!”
“Not without Tony!” she shouted through tears.
“He’s dead,” she said, pulling Hound’s arms free from Carrie. She slid her sister’s mangled body away from the monster, not wanting to leave her like that. Val was on her feet, shaking her head and muttering.
“No. He’s breathing. Look!” Val pointed at Tony, and Kendra noticed the slow rise and fall of his chest. Small miracles in a time of crisis.
“Thank God. Help me.” Kendra’s strength was sapped, but she found a reserve deep within. Do this for Carrie. Do it for Andrew, and for everyone else left behind. She lifted the teenager, propping him on his feet. Val found his other side, and they started for the door.
Behind her Hound gurgled, and they awkwardly turned toward him. His body continued to move, his organs kicking into gear again. She watched as his eyes spun, refocusing on her, and he started to sit up. She pulled the trigger, screaming as she did so again and again, until it clicked empty. He was riddled with bullets, and his corpse slapped loudly to the floor.
Kendra and Val left the room, heading for the stairwell.
THIRTY-THREE
Roland
“Hurry up!” Eve called to him, snapping his attention from the dead device.
“Why won’t it start?” he asked himself; then it hit him. He pulled the tablet free from his pocket and turned it on. Hound had ensured everything was controllable from a tablet. As long as you had the proper access codes, you could manage most anything in camp. Roland used the code he’d stolen from Hound’s office, and found all the reachable devices in his area blinking on the screen.
The device sprang to life as he connected the tablet to it. The box was mostly metal with two circular screens on either side, reminding him of speakers. These were flat and smooth, and they now glowed orange.
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