by Caryn Lix
“Actually, I do,” I gasped, pausing to catch my breath. “I’ll explain later.” As an afterthought, I reactivated my comm unit. Rune’s angry voice flooded all channels, panic and fear underlying her fury. “Sorry, Rune,” I interrupted, a wave of guilt overtaking me. This was her twin brother, after all. “I think Cage is all right. He got clawed by one of the creatures and he’s unconscious, but I stopped the bleeding. We’re heading to you now.”
“Can I deactivate the emergency lockdown?”
I hesitated. Just because we hadn’t seen more than three aliens didn’t mean more weren’t lurking around. Still, I needed the prisoners ready to move. “Yeah, it should be okay. We’ll be there in a few minutes. Prep everyone to head out.”
That news pacified her somewhat, although I had to endure a full five minutes of lecturing before we reached the prison entrance. That was when Cage opened his eyes. “Hey,” I said, a physical rush of relief tearing through me. “You all right?”
He swallowed and shook his head. “Ow,” he complained. “Rune, stop yelling. You’re giving me a headache.”
That triggered another bout of screaming. All three of us stopped to rest against the wall until she calmed down, and then Cage said, “I’ll see you soon, meimei,” and slapped my wrist to cut the connection.
“I think I can walk by myself,” he said at last. “You two ready?”
I examined his wound dubiously. “You sure about that, tough guy?”
“It looks worse than it feels.” He gave me a wink, his old humor resurfacing, and shouldered away from the wall. Instantly, his knees gave out, and he toppled to the floor.
I rolled my eyes. “My hero.”
Over Cage’s protests, Matt and I slipped our arms around him again. It was much easier with Cage moving under his own power, even though he leaned on us heavily. Every step he took gave me another burst of hope. I might have lost Mom and Rita, but I’d be damned if I lost Cage too.
We made it through the door and down the first flight of stairs before something clanged in the distance.
All three of us froze. “Rune?” I called.
Silence.
“Probably nothing,” Matt said at last. “The station makes noises all the time, right?”
No. Not like that. “Let’s be careful,” I replied. Even if we only had three aliens on Sanctuary, more might awake and approach from the ship. Or the three I’d blown into space—if my theory about their ability to survive in a vacuum was correct—could find a way back to Sanctuary, in which case they’d hunt us with a vengeance. There could be aliens around every corner.
Or, it could be nothing. Just a bang.
“Hurry,” I murmured. We increased our speed, ignoring Cage’s gasps of pain, and made it down another flight of stairs before one of the creatures exploded from the door to sector 2.
THIRTY-TWO
IT TORE THROUGH THE DOOR, sending chunks of jagged metal flying in every direction. “Run!” I shouted. Cage toppled, grabbing a railing for support. He managed to take his own weight long enough to vanish down the stairwell. A thud at the bottom told us of the predictable result. Matt and I raced after him.
We rounded the corner and Cage grabbed me. He was on his feet somehow, presumably through pure adrenaline, but his hands trembled and his face was a mask of terror. “We can’t lead them to four,” he gasped.
I cursed myself. If only I hadn’t told them to deactivate emergency lockdown! “Rune!” I shouted as I frantically worked the door controls for sector 3. Above us, the creature howled. Why hadn’t it attacked already? Trouble with the narrow stairways?
“Kenzie?” Rune’s voice was frantic. “Is Cage okay?”
“He is for now.” I plugged in the last few numbers and pressed my thumb to the scanner. Almost before the scan registered, I pulled the pistol and spun into the hall, holding it at the ready. “Reactivate emergency lockdown in sector four and get it prepped for three, but for the love of God, don’t activate it unless I tell you.”
She didn’t ask questions or demand explanations, just shouted, “Mia, get everyone back in position for lockdown.” A loud string of Mia cursing followed. Then Rune returned. “Kenz, there’s a ten-second countdown before the electrical panels activate. Keep that in mind when giving me your cue.”
The door slid open. I grabbed Cage and scanned for Matt. He stood at the foot of the stairs, staring up. “Matt!” I whispered. “Come on!”
He shook his head. “It’s not there.”
“What do you mean?”
He crept halfway up the staircase, ignoring our frantic hisses. “There’s nothing there. I don’t know why, but I think it—”
The creature dropped through the stairwell in what would have been an eerily beautiful display from anything else. It fell without noise, landing feetfirst on Matt’s shoulders, and bore him to the ground in a clatter of screams and claws. Matt roared in pain, and the creature slashed again. His cry became a gurgling moan. “Matt!” I shouted.
“Kenzie, shoot it!” Cage roared.
I targeted the creature with shaking hands. It was moving so fast and . . .
I pulled the trigger.
The bullet caught it in the shoulder. It howled, pivoting in our direction. I squeezed off another shot as it charged, but the shot went wide, missing the creature entirely.
Matt screamed as the alien tossed him aside. “Matt!” Cage lunged in his direction, and the alien tensed.
I grabbed Cage and bolted for sector 3. “Rune!” I cried. “Activate the lockdown! Now!”
Almost instantly, Sanctuary’s voice broadcast over the loudspeaker: “Emergency lockdown is now in effect. All prisoners return to your cells. Emergency lockdown in ten . . . nine . . .”
I dragged Cage past the first few cells. We had to time this precisely. The creature was hot on our tail, and if we simply leaped into the first bed, it would attack before the floor electrified. Take too long, and we’d electrocute ourselves. And I sure as hell didn’t have time to line up another shot.
But adrenaline would carry Cage only so far. He stumbled, caught himself on my arm, and almost tripped us both. The creature screeched, its hand raking so close behind us the wind of its passing brushed my skin. “Five . . . four . . . three . . .”
We weren’t going to make it. The creature would string us up on the alien ship before harvesting the others. I closed my eyes, tensing in anticipation of claws tearing my flesh.
Cage’s arms closed around me. There was a sudden burst of speed, and I hit a cot face-first, his body crashing heavily on top of mine, as Sanctuary announced, “One. Emergency lockdown mode is active. Please remain in position until further notice.”
A hideous scream engulfed the room. Something sizzled and crackled. I kept waiting for it to end but it went on and on, the creature howling as electricity rifled through its body.
I pushed at Cage, gasping for air beneath his weight, but that last burst of energy had finished him and he was unconscious again. I maneuvered him off me, taking care he stayed on the cot—I didn’t think I could lift him if he fell on the floor, even if I found a way to do it without getting electrocuted. Blood seeped through his bandages, but I ignored it. Instead, I stood on the mattress, craning my neck in search of the alien.
The screams stopped, but the sizzle remained. The creature was on the floor directly outside our cell, its limbs spasming with each electrical jolt. Its eyes were open and staring—not that that was much of a change—and its jaw hung slack. Electricity had coursed through it for a solid minute now. I decided to give it a minute more.
Cage groaned. I dropped beside him and tightened the bandages as best I could. “No, don’t try to sit up,” I growled. “What the hell were you thinking?”
He groaned again. “You’re welcome.” He hesitated. “Matt?”
I remembered the other boy’s scream. Had I shot fast enough? “I don’t know.” I stared at the twitching monster before reactivating my comm. “Rune, we’re clear to
power down sector three.”
“Copy that.”
The lights briefly dimmed, then illuminated, and the creature stilled. “Emergency lockdown has been lifted,” Sanctuary announced. “Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.”
“Oh, shut up,” I muttered. “Cage, can you walk?”
He nodded, although judging by his set jaw, he wasn’t so sure. I looped his arm over my shoulders and helped him to his feet. We climbed over the creature as carefully as we could. If that many volts hadn’t killed it, nothing would, but I’d learned my lesson about making assumptions. I briefly considered pumping a few bullets into its head, but I’d already wasted two shots and didn’t want to expend any more.
We found Matt where we’d left him in the corridor. “Matt,” I called as we approached.
Cage slumped against the stairs, eyes closed, breathing heavy. “He won’t answer you. I have a theory,” he said.
“Great. Good time for it.”
He ignored my sarcasm, gesturing toward Matt without opening his eyes. “The aliens inject their victims with a sedative,” he said. “Matt’s unconscious. Mia and I both passed out after the creatures’ attacks. Imani described the same thing.”
“Like a mosquito.”
“What?”
I glanced at him. “Mosquitoes inject a local anesthetic when they feed. It keeps you from feeling the bite.”
“Something like that, then, yeah.”
I nodded and bent over Matt. Cage was probably right, and . . .
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
“What?” Cage appeared at my side, tottered, and fell. His gaze followed mine, and his jaw dropped.
Blood soaked Matt’s shirt, but it wasn’t from gashes made by the alien’s claws. It was from the bullet wound in his chest. My last shot had missed the alien—but it had struck home just the same.
We stared at him a moment longer, and then I fumbled for his neck. “Come on, come on,” I whispered, applying pressure on the wound with one hand, searching for a pulse with the other.
Nothing.
Cage gently pushed me aside and inspected his friend. When he sat back, his face was pale and drawn. “He’s . . . he’s dead.”
My heart and lungs gave out at the same moment. I collapsed on the floor, the world spinning around me, because when Cage said he’s dead, what he meant was you killed him.
“Kenzie,” said Cage sharply. “Kenzie!” He grabbed my shoulders and shook me.
At the same instant, Rune’s semi-hysterical voice cut through the fog. “Kenzie? What’s going on? I’m sending Mia and Alexei to you right now!”
Cage’s head shot up and he grabbed my wrist, applying pressure to the comm unit. “No, don’t do that. We’re okay, but . . . the alien got Matt.”
I winced when Rune’s startled cry echoed through the hall. “We’ll be right there,” he continued, his expression fierce, and cut the feed. “Come on. Help me.”
“Help you what?”
“Move him into sector three.” Our eyes locked in challenge, and Cage broke first, turning his gaze to Matt’s body. “I wasn’t lying. The alien did get him. This wasn’t your fault. You were trying to save him, and for all we know, he was already dying. But if the others find out . . . Come on, Kenz. I can’t do this by myself.”
I swallowed hard, grinding my fists into my eyes, forcing myself to focus. Cage was right. It had been an accident. I hadn’t meant to kill him.
Try explaining that to Mia. Somehow I wasn’t sure Rune would be entirely logical where Matt was concerned either.
Steeling myself, I got to my feet and grabbed one of Matt’s arms. Together, we pulled him into sector 3. I folded his hands over his chest and dropped a kiss on his forehead. “I’m sorry, Matt,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
I hated to leave him like that, next to the alien body, as if they were the same and deserved the same treatment. “Maybe we should . . .”
“Kenzie.”
I closed my eyes against the sight of Matt’s lifeless face. Cage took my elbow and pulled me to my feet. “Let’s go,” he said, a hard, unnatural edge in his voice.
Almost on autopilot, I followed his orders. He pulled me along and, judging from the way he collapsed against the stairwell, used the last of his strength to get me out of sector 3.
“Okay,” Cage said. “Signal Rune and get the others. Let’s move.”
I glanced at him, not sure about his tone, but I did as he asked. Was he angry? On some level did he blame me for what just happened? Or was he just physically and mentally exhausted? I would understand if he did blame me. I pulled the trigger. My lousy aim took a boy’s life—the first boy who’d offered me any kindness in the prison. I remembered the wry smile on Matt’s face when he sank down beside me after we removed Alexei’s chip. The resulting wash of self-loathing and guilt almost knocked me off my feet.
There was plenty of blame for Matt’s death to go around, between Sanctuary and Omnistellar and the aliens, but a big chunk of it landed right on my shoulders.
Cage caught me watching him and forced a smile, reaching out to touch the side of my face. I nodded in return, sinking my nails into my palms to stop my hands from trembling. We had to concentrate on escaping Sanctuary now. Grief, guilt, conversation—all of that could wait until later.
But oh my God, what had I done? It felt like someone was squeezing my throat so tightly I couldn’t draw in a breath. My stomach lurched sickeningly, and my knees trembled, threatening to give out. I closed my eyes to focus and instead saw Matt’s pallid face, the life drained away.
A loud clatter of voices and footsteps jerked me awake. I swallowed what felt like a mouthful of sand. Get yourself under control. You still have people alive on this station, and your first duty is to them. I abandoned Cage and raced down the stairs, meeting the prisoners halfway. “Quiet!” I shouted. “All of you, shut up, right now!”
The prisoners, led by Rune, staggered to a halt. Rune took a shaky step forward. Shadows of tears stained her cheeks, but a look of resolve settled over her features. “We’re ready to go,” she said, her voice surprisingly controlled. She glanced around and lowered her voice. “Kenzie . . . where is he?”
I hesitated, not sure how to answer. I didn’t want to lie to Rune. Not about Matt. But if she saw the body . . .
Behind me, Cage sighed. “Come here, meimei.”
Rune let out a cry when she saw him and raced to his side, babbling in Mandarin. I understood most of it, which wasn’t much comfort at this stage in the game. Cage caught her before she could throw her arms around him and maneuvered her into a gentler hug, kissing the top of her forehead. “I’m fine,” he murmured. “I promise. I’ve had worse injuries.”
She hugged him again, collapsing in on him as if the sight of his wounds had drained her courage.
With Cage and Rune occupied, every eye turned to me. I looked over the faces, each and every prisoner staring at me expectantly—or maybe at Cage behind me. “All right,” I said. “It’s time we got the hell off Sanctuary.”
THIRTY-THREE
SHEPHERDING THE PRISONERS THROUGH Sanctuary’s halls was like herding a bunch of cats. We’d warned them about the aliens, told them the truth about what was going on, but fear and inexperience made them impossible. There were even a few nervous whispers and giggles at first. Cage and I snapped on that at the same time, though, and everyone shut up.
That didn’t mean they were quiet. Mia went invisible—I wasn’t sure why; the aliens couldn’t see her anyway—and scouted ahead, her footfalls all but inaudible. Alexei’s face tightened in annoyance at that, but he couldn’t stop her, so he brought up the rear, bracing the stun gun in one hand and pulling Anya along with the other. Rune moved quietly, supporting Cage’s weight, but Tyler and Kristen both had a heavy stride, as did a couple of the other kids.
All in all, it would probably have been quieter leading a trumpeting elephant. I bit my tongue over and over to keep from telling them to shut
up. They were only kids; they didn’t know any better. But every heavy step, every scrape of a boot against the floor, set my nerves jangling and tightened my finger on the trigger of a gun I wasn’t sure I had the nerve to fire again.
All at once, I realized we’d left the second stun gun with Matt. I winced. It wasn’t like I could suggest returning for it. No one besides Rune had so much as mentioned him yet, accepting the loss as they accepted all the others. I quickly forced the thought of him away before it could overwhelm me again. If I could just pretend it hadn’t happened long enough to escape Sanctuary and reach the alien ship . . .
Miraculously, we made it to the shuttle bay without incident. Maybe we’d finally killed the last alien—or maybe they’d retreated to their own ship, and even now waited for us with three dozen more. Don’t get cocky, I reminded myself. We tried that once. It didn’t work. I gestured for everyone to stay back and examined the bay as best I could through the window. There was no sign of the alien who’d destroyed the shuttle.
Cage limped to my side, clutching his torn stomach. “Where’d it go?” he murmured.
Hopefully it wasn’t hiding around a corner. I signaled the others to wait, tightened my grip on the gun, and popped the door. A quick, terrified search of the bay revealed nothing—another mystery I didn’t have time to solve. I called the others, holstered my gun, and began laying out emergency XE suits.
The prisoners stared at the suits nervously, which might explain the lack of argument when Cage divided everyone into groups—although Alexei standing at his back with his arms folded, glowering at the crowd, also quelled any dissent. I’d expected more argument when we told them we were headed to the alien ship, but they hardly responded at all, aside from a few unhappy grumbles. The prisoners had been somewhat sheltered from the terror of the last few hours, but they sensed enough to know we had to get out while we could. That was one small blessing, at least. One of the kids, Reed, had a power that allowed him to heal others, so even though they hadn’t removed his chip yet, we put him in the first group. He might be needed on the ship.