by S. E. Smith
“Mm, yeah. That would be easier to believe if no one had heard the hushed moans and groans coming from your area a few nights ago. If you were trying to keep things a secret, Lina, you need more than a curtain,” Mirela dryly replied.
“It didn’t mean anything, Mirela,” Lina quietly retorted.
She ignored Mirela’s skeptical look. Her eyes turned toward Edge. He was explaining to Bailey what the different medicines in the box were and how to use them.
Even though she had only been up for an hour, she was already exhausted, but she resisted the urge to go lie down again. She knew it was because she was worried about Andy and Gail. The two women had gone topside while she was in the bathroom.
“Changing the subject, when are you going to tell him about the you-know-what?” Mirela asked.
Lina knew what Mirela was asking. They had agreed they wouldn’t mention anything about how they planned to escape until they felt the time was right. Part of that timing included not only getting Edge recovered and detoxed from the drugs, but also knowing that they could trust him.
“He still has the shakes. They aren’t as bad as they were, but he still has them,” she softly replied. “At night, when he thinks I’m sleeping, I can hear him still fighting against the effects. Whatever the Waxian did to him—whatever happened to him before—it continues to affect him.”
Mirela leaned her head against the wall next to Lina and released a long sigh. Lina watched the other woman draw up one leg onto the edge of the crate and wrap her arm around it. She could tell from Mirela’s hard expression that the woman was remembering the things they had lived through.
“We all have our ghosts at night, Lina. I was in the same cell as you and heard your nightmares just as you’ve heard mine. I say he is ready and so do the others. If we are going to get out of here, we need to do it sooner rather than later. He’s the only one out of the lot of us who knows how to pilot one of those damn alien spacecrafts. The longer we stay, the greater the odds are that we’ll be discovered. We’ve already outlasted the statistics for that probability,” Mirela replied in a slightly bitter tone.
Lina watched Edge nod as Bailey repeated what he’d told her as she replaced the items. Mirela was right. The longer they stayed, the more likely it was that something else could happen to one of them.
“I’ll talk to him tonight. Do we have the rest of the supplies loaded?” Lina asked.
Mirela nodded. “Yeah. Mechelle and I did a run yesterday, and Andy and Gail did the last one before they went topside,” she said.
“We don’t even know if it will work. Maybe that is why the ship was left behind,” Lina muttered.
Mirela slid her leg down and sat up. “It has to. I don’t want to fucking die in this shithole,” she replied, standing up. “I’m going to get a drink. Do you want anything?”
“No, thanks, I’m good,” Lina replied.
Lina watched as Mirela walked over to the others. She chatted for a moment before disappearing into the kitchen. Looking down at her hands, she realized that she was playing with the hem of her shirt. A part of her had been dreading this moment ever since she first heard the guards talking about having a Trivator in their custody.
She wanted to get off this rock as much as the rest of them, but she was also worried that their one hope would turn out to be a dud. What if the spaceship they had found during their explorations turned out to be a piece of junk? When they first discovered it, they had been so excited. It was the hope that kept them going day after endless day.
Now, it was time to see if that hope was a pipe dream or a reality. She looked up at Edge, and watched him quietly walk across the room toward her. There was something in the big guy that melted the ice around her heart, and it scared the shit out of her. She had promised herself it would be just one night, but she quickly realized that one night would never be enough.
They had been together pretty much 24/7 since she’d found him. You got to know someone when you spent that much time together in close proximity, and it hurt so much to lose them. Tears burned her eyes for a moment before she blinked them away. She had given up on tears and love a long, long time ago, she reminded herself.
“You should be resting,” Edge said, stopping in front of her.
She tilted her head back and glanced up at him. “I am,” she retorted with a wry smile. “That was nice of you to show Bailey how everything works.”
She smiled when he pressed his lips together at her avoidance. Turning, he sat down on the crate that Mirela had abandoned just a moment before. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest.
“We are trained in advanced field medicine,” he replied. “Why did Mechelle and Bailey want to know what types of spaceships I can pilot and what my home world is like?”
Lina briefly closed her eyes. She turned her head and gave him a rueful smile. He was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. He had known exactly what the two women had been doing.
“We have a spaceship,” she softly admitted.
He sat up and twisted until he was facing her. The humorous expression in his eyes had quickly faded into an intense look, and he stared at her with a sense of purpose that shook her. She took a deep breath and stiffly straightened.
“Where is it?” he demanded.
“Before you get too excited, we don’t even know if the damn thing will work,” she cautioned.
His jaw tightened, and he studied her face. Lina tried to keep her expression neutral.
“That is why you risked your life to release me—so that I would fly this spaceship. Was that the only reason?” he asked, searching her face.
“Yes,” Lina replied, staring back at him.
His eyes narrowed and she saw a flash of anger in them before he concealed it. She didn’t flinch when he lifted his hand and ran his fingers along her jaw. Her heart pounded in her chest when he rubbed his thumb along her bottom lip.
“And now? Am I just a pilot to you?” he asked softly with a smoldering look.
Lina hesitated, but knew what she had to say. “Nothing has changed, Trivator,” she whispered regretfully.
“You are not a very good liar, Lina Daniels,” he murmured.
Her lips softened when he bent his head. His hand moved along her jaw and his fingers spread along the back of her neck to keep her from turning away from him. Her eyelashes fluttered closed when he captured her lips in a tender kiss.
She could have handled keeping her heart protected if he had just kissed her with heated passion. It was his gentle touch and the tender way his lips moved against hers that melted her resistance. This huge alien warrior confused her. Every time she thought she was beginning to figure him out, he did something totally unexpected.
Her lips parted under his gentle probing. His tongue swept along the smooth surface of her teeth while his other hand came up to cup her heated cheek. He gave her a series of kisses, some deep, while others were light and teasing. The combination was enough to draw a soft moan from her.
“Edge,” she whispered, her hand sliding up the front of his vest.
The sound of something dropping on the floor drew Lina back to the fact that they were not alone. She tilted her head and gazed over his shoulder. Mechelle, Mirela, and Bailey were standing there with their mouths open, staring at the two of them. Mirela had dropped the spoon she was using to stir her tea.
“We need our own space,” he muttered.
Lina started to reply when she heard the soft sound of knocking on the other side of the door. Mechelle quickly turned and hurried to it. The rhythmic knock came again. Mechelle unlocked the door and pulled it open. She had barely opened it far enough for a person to enter when Andy pushed by her followed closely by Gail. They both wore grim expressions as their eyes swept the room before locking with hers.
“We’ve got to go now. The Waxians have some kind of creatures that are tearing apart the lower sections. They are heading this way,” Andy informed them.
&nbs
p; Chapter Eighteen
No matter how many times they had prepared for this moment, it still caused a rush of adrenaline, but despite the stress and danger, they worked in a cool, confident, and organized manner. Bailey collected the medical supplies, while the others packed up the few remaining weapons as well as their personal items.
“Here you go,” Mirela said, tossing a laser rifle to Gail.
Mirela turned toward Edge with another one in her hand. “This is for you,” she said, holding it out.
Edge looked at the rifle before taking it and slinging it over his shoulder. Lina saw that he had grabbed the bag she kept packed and ready to go. Biting her lip, she stiffly walked over to the pistols lying on the crate. She picked up two of them before glancing around.
“Let’s go,” she said, refocusing on the small group. “Andy, how long do you anticipate it will take them to reach this section?”
Andy slung her backpack over her shoulder and gripped her rifle. “Gail shorted out the lift down here. I set off the charges on the doors to the stairs on the various levels. Each door all the way down is sealed. They’ll have to break through each one,” she said.
“Those things, whatever in the hell they were, looked like they wouldn’t have much trouble doing that,” Gail replied with a shudder.
“What did they look like?” Edge asked.
“They looked like most aliens until they shape-shifted. They had these tentacle things, six eyes, and a circular mouth with rows of teeth. They scared the shit out of both of us,” Andy said.
“And they smelled like roadkill after a week in the Georgia sun,” Gail added.
Lina saw Edge stiffen as the two women described the creatures. “They are called Drethulans. They evolved in a desert climate, living and breeding underground. That is their natural form, and in that form they are the deadliest. If they are here, it means they are working with the Waxians,” Edge grimly replied. “We need to leave now.”
Lina stood back from the group. Her teeth worried her bottom lip as she thought of what they could do to delay those searching the access tunnel. Her eyes lit on the cases of explosives they had found shortly after they discovered this section of the Spaceport. She suspected the explosives were left over from the Spaceport construction. If they could use them, it was possible to get to the spaceship which was another two miles away through winding tunnels. The only way to give them a chance was to seal off this section of the tunnel.
She turned and looked at the others with a determined expression. “I can delay them. I’ll give you as long as I can before I set off the explosives,” Lina said.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Gail demanded, turning to glare at Lina.
Andy shook her head. “Don’t start talking bullshit, Lina. We all go or we all stay,” she said.
Lina shook her head. “I’m about ready to collapse right now. There is no way I can make it two miles. There are enough explosives here to collapse this section of the underground. I can detonate them and give you all enough time to take off,” she explained with a wan smile.
“There’s no guarantee the spaceship will even power up, much less fly,” Mechelle pointed out.
“All the more reason to give you additional time,” Lina replied, sinking down on a crate. She lifted a shaking hand. The pistol shook from the effort. “Go. That’s an order.”
“Fuck that,” Mirela replied, folding her arms across her chest. “I’ve decided I don’t like your orders anymore, boss lady.”
“Lina’s right. You need to go,” Edge instructed.
“What?!” a chorus of startled voices sounded through the room.
“I said go. We will catch up with you,” he repeated.
Gail gave Edge a skeptical look. “What are you going to do?” she demanded.
“Lina is correct. We need to stop the Waxians and Drethulans. I will wire the explosives to go off, then pick up Lina and run,” he replied. “I am very fast when I know there is going to be an explosion.”
Soft, relieved chuckles trickled through the air. “I’ll bet on that,” Mirela replied. She turned toward Edge. “Don’t make me lose, Trivator. I hate losing.”
Lina caught the silent message that passed between Edge and Mirela. Gritting her teeth, she decided arguing would just waste more precious time. She slowly rose to her feet, and walked over to the crates of explosives. She pushed off one of the lids.
“Andy, you go with Mirela, Mechelle, and Bailey,” Gail said. “I’ll stay here and help Edge and Lina.”
The grin on Andy’s face faded and she nodded. “Let’s go,” she said, pulling the door open and checking the outer corridor. In the distance, they could hear banging.
“Whatever you do, hurry,” Andy instructed before she and the other women disappeared in the opposite direction of the lift.
“What do you want me to do?” Gail asked.
“I’ll stack the cases of explosives around the main support beams and near the entrances. Once they detonate, there will be no turning back,” Edge explained, picking up two of the cases.
Gail nodded. “I worked for the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit in the Army for six years and on the bomb squad with the police force for another eight years. I can set up some remote detonators,” she said.
“I’ll help,” Lina replied.
They worked as a team. Edge carried the crates of explosives and set them up while Lina and Gail worked on the timers and detonators for each one. Gail figured they would only need a handful. Once the first explosions began, it would create a chain reaction.
“That’s it,” Gail said twenty minutes later. She lifted a hand and wiped her brow. “I guess my time in the EOD unit and the Trivator invasion came in handy after all.”
“They are getting closer,” Lina replied, listening to the sounds of explosions.
Edge came in and nodded to Gail. Lina raised her arm when he bent over to sweep her up into his arms. Gail held out one of the remotes. Lina took it and held it against her chest.
The timers were set to go off in fifteen minutes. Just in case they didn’t have that much time, Gail had added a remote that would be good for about five hundred yards. That didn’t give them much of a head start when they would have several tons of moon rock and metal construction materials coming down all at once.
The echo of something heavy hitting metal rang out along the corridor. Gail was ahead of them by several yards. Lina clung to Edge, trying not to cry out from the pain in her side.
“What was…?” she tried to ask.
“A Drethulan. One of them must have dropped down the lift shaft. It will tear through the metal of the lift, then open the doors. When I tell you, press the detonator,” Edge ordered through gritted teeth.
“You need to…,” she hissed.
“Don’t argue, Lina. The Drethulans aren’t easy to kill and they won’t hesitate to kill the other women,” Edge warned.
Lina started to nod before horror struck her. Coming straight at them from out of the darkness were twin beams of light moving at a rapid speed. Gail slid to a stop and dropped down onto one knee. She slid her backpack off and raised her rifle to her shoulder.
“Don’t shoot!” a voice yelled out as the lights veered to the side when the vehicle turned at a sharp angle.
“Mirela?” Gail exclaimed, rising back to her feet and grabbing the backpack. “Where in the hell did you get that thing?”
“She can tell us later. We are about to have company,” Lina urgently said, looking over Edge’s shoulder.
The screeching sound of metal as it was ripped apart made Lina grimace. Her eyes widened when she saw the tip of what looked like a tentacle protruding between the doors of the lift. Edge climbed into the back of the cargo vehicle and placed her onto the seat. Gail slid into the front passenger seat.
“Mirela, get us out of here,” Edge instructed.
“No shit,” Mirela muttered, seeing the Drethulan’s limb.
Edge and Gail both rais
ed their rifles and aimed at the pale, wiggling mass even as Mirela was turning the vehicle around in a tight circle. They fired at the same time, and the visible part of the tentacle exploded. A loud howl of fury resounded from the lift.
“The doors are buckling,” Lina warned.
“Blow the charges,” Edge ordered.
“Not yet,” Lina and Gail replied at the same time.
Lina silently counted as Mirela increased the speed of the cargo transport. The doors of the lift began to contort before they were ripped open. One of the most bizarre creatures Lina had ever seen squeezed through the opening. Blood from the stump of the severed tentacle left grotesque smears on the doors and wall.
“Now,” Gail said.
Together, the two women pressed their detonators. A brilliant flash of white temporarily blinded Lina before they turned a corner and out of sight of the lift doors. Edge wrapped his arm around her, holding her protectively against his body as Mirela swung close enough to the wall that their vehicle scraped against it.
“Brace for the concussion,” Edge warned, turning so that he covered as much of her as he could.
Lina felt the heat a moment before the shockwave hit them. Mirela struggled to keep the vehicle from smashing into the walls. A rolling ball of flames rushed at them before the backdraft grabbed it. The shaft of the lift opened up, pulling the flames back to the top like a chimney that had suddenly been cleared. A second later, the entire tunnel trembled before the section behind them also began to collapse.
“Well, that was fun—not,” Mirela stated, regaining control of the vehicle and pressing the accelerator.
“Where are the others?” Lina asked, leaning heavily against Edge.
Mirela glanced over her shoulder before refocusing on the dark tunnel. “They were heading for the spaceship. We should meet up with them before too long,” she said.
“I hope to God that spaceship still works,” Gail muttered.
“Me, too,” Lina murmured, her hand moving down to her side.