by Caryn Lix
I paused, still inside the vent, and peered out. I couldn’t see anything—no Alexei, and no creatures. A wall of metal supply boxes blocked my vision. I took my time prying myself loose of the opening, just in case they’d somehow managed to miss our approach, and crouched behind the boxes. Mia slithered free without a sound and turned to drag Tyler through, ignoring his resistance. The muscles in her arms stood out in sharp relief as she half lifted, half guided him down, far more silently than he could have managed on his own. She shoved him into a corner and held a finger to her lips.
I gestured for Tyler to stay put while Mia and I crept behind the boxes. She held the pistol at the ready, and I had a moment of gratitude that it was in her hands, not mine. Mia was half a step ahead of me, and when she rounded the boxes, she sucked in a breath. I slipped out beside her and froze.
Alexei stood stock-still, his back against the shuttle. Four creatures circled the shuttle like a group of playground bullies. They tossed their heads, sniffed, occasionally let loose one of those barking screams.
They obviously knew he was there. They were just as obviously toying with him.
But we had one hope: in their obsession with Alexei, they didn’t seem to have noticed us.
Alexei, on the other hand, did. His face relaxed with relief when he caught sight of Mia. He lifted a finger to his lips, another unnecessary warning, and twisted his wrist. A spark of flame emerged between his fingers, and he glanced at me for confirmation.
Fire. I scanned the shuttle bay. Fire in a contained environment like a space station was always a bad idea. The idea became exponentially worse when there was highly volatile shuttle fuel nearby. But what else could we do? Alexei had said that Mia was a crack shot—and there wasn’t a single part of me that doubted that—but I didn’t think even Mia’s aim would stand up to shooting four aliens before they attacked us. As for powers, Mia’s invisibility and Tyler’s mind reading wouldn’t do us much good here, and me, well . . .
I frowned. What about me? I beckoned to Alexei to hold off, and he lowered his hand, letting the flame die down. The creatures alternated between shouting to one another and sniffing the air.
Mia’s lips almost touched my ear. “Shouldn’t they be attacking him?” she whispered. She slurred the S in “shouldn’t” slightly, impressing me—she knew it was the most likely sound to carry.
I shook my head. “Not sure,” I said, mimicking her intonation. “It might be a trap. They know you’re nearby, and they’re waiting for you to charge to the rescue.”
Her eyes widened slightly. I sympathized. We routinely underestimated the aliens’ intelligence.
No more.
“Give me a second,” I whispered, closing my eyes and leaning on the boxes, trying to forget my surroundings.
My power had helped me read the aliens’ language before. Wouldn’t it help me hear it?
A creature screamed again, and another snorted in response. It wasn’t a language, exactly—but I was starting to get the gist of it. Not words. More like directions. Go this way. Wait here.
I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure I had the vocal cords to mimic these particular sounds. I thought I knew the call meaning “Over here—I’ve found something,” but that didn’t mean I could reproduce it.
Come up with something else, Kenzie. Quickly.
“Where are the XE suits?” Mia murmured in my ear.
“In the shuttle.”
We both glanced at the ruined hull. Still, if we got inside, it would provide temporary protection from the creatures until we came up with something better.
Or . . . did it have to be so temporary? I looked at the shuttle more closely. The hull was beyond damaged. The creature’s claws had torn it to shreds, leaving huge gaping holes everywhere. But did that matter if we had XE suits? Not as long as the engine still functioned.
“Tyler,” I whispered, beckoning him forward. He got up and stumbled over his own feet, and one creature’s head shot up. We all froze, and no one needed to hear her to know Mia was internally cursing Tyler with great inventiveness. After a moment of silence, though, the alien returned to circling Alexei.
I grabbed Tyler before he advanced any farther. “You can read minds. Can you talk to them? Can you tell Alexei something for me?”
He looked hesitant. “I’ve never tried that at such a distance,” he said. Mia groaned softly and moved a few steps away, as if distancing herself from the noise. I shot them both a warning look, but luckily the aliens seemed too preoccupied with Alexei to notice us. Occasionally their heads twitched toward the door. I wondered if they expected us from that direction. If so, coming through the vent might actually catch them off guard. As long as we kept reasonably quiet, they might not realize we were here.
I gave Tyler a slight shake. “Try now,” I ordered. “Focus on Alexei. Tell him when these boxes go down, he needs to get inside the shuttle and get ready to slam the door.”
Tyler’s eyes went wide. “When the boxes go down? But . . .”
Mia’s hand slammed over his mouth, her eyes glistening inches from his. “Shut. Up.”
“Tyler, please. Try.”
He nodded, glared at Mia, and pushed her hand aside. Wherever the sudden burst of courage came from, I gave him a tight-lipped smile of approval.
Tyler closed his eyes. His jaw set in a hard line, becoming sharper and more pronounced with every second. I divided my attention between him and Alexei, biting my cheek in frustration. No sign of anything but tension and fear from Alexei. “This won’t work,” Mia murmured at last.
I rolled my eyes and bit off an annoyed response. Fear and worry drove her, the same as they drove the rest of us. “Make yourself useful,” I returned. “Rig that length of parachute you pirated into something we can use to topple these boxes from a distance.”
Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and for a second I thought I’d gone too far. But then Mia set to work. Watching her move deftly around the area, I knew I’d guessed right—she had prior experience with sabotage. It made sense. Just as Cage’s and Rune’s powers made them invaluable to a street gang in Taipei, a lot of businesses and governments wouldn’t mind using Mia’s invisibility. Cage had said Mia claimed she’d been set up for her act of terrorism. That might be true, but there was more to the story.
Suddenly, Alexei frowned. He glanced at me, his mouth set in confusion, and I gestured behind me at Tyler. Alexei’s eyes widened. He tilted his head and closed his eyes.
Then he opened them, pointed at the shuttle, and nodded.
At the same moment, Mia appeared behind me holding a length of parachute that she’d wrapped around the crates. “It’s done,” she said. “But we’ll have to stand a bit close for my comfort.”
“How close is ‘a bit’?”
She held up the parachute, revealing maybe ten feet of extra cloth. “I needed the rest to secure the boxes. One tug and Humpty Dumpty will fall, making a huge racket in the process.”
But someone needed to stay pretty close to do the pulling. Cage would be ideal—he could yank the boxes down and zip across the shuttle bay before anyone knew what happened.
Except Cage wasn’t here.
I gave Mia a quick smile. “Well,” I said, “it’s my brilliant plan. I guess that means it’s up to me.”
THIRTY-SIX
I EXTENDED THE SCRAP OF cloth, my hands shaking so badly that waves rippled along its length. With no chance of a test run, I hoped Mia had set the trap properly. If she hadn’t, the boxes wouldn’t make enough noise to cover our retreat, and the aliens would tear into us before we reached the shuttle.
I sent Mia and Tyler across the room. If the trap failed, they could still escape while the creatures tore me to pieces or injected me with venom or whatever they did. It wasn’t bravery. I wanted someone to have a chance of getting off Sanctuary and launching a rescue if the creatures put me in chains. Of course, I had the pistol—Mia had returned it to me without a word before retreating with Ty
ler. So if I could just plug four bullets into four alien eyes before they were on me, that would be fine. At least this time, I didn’t have to worry about hitting anyone but myself.
I took a deep breath. The aliens continued circling Alexei, who stood like a statue, ignoring the claws inches from his face with a lot more stoicism than I could have mustered. He locked his gaze on Mia. In the far corner of the room, she stood stock-still, one hand pressing Tyler behind her. He clutched her arm, his eyes wide. I wasn’t sure if he was more frightened of the creatures or Mia, but either way, his fear kept him silent. Mia met my gaze and nodded.
She was ready. Alexei was ready. The trap was ready. But my hand clenched on the fabric, resisting that final tug. I closed my eyes, clamping my jaw so tightly that my grinding teeth echoed in my ears. Every second brought an increasing chance one of us would make a noise, drawing the aliens’ attention. I opened my eyes and focused on the boxes. Pull, damn it! I ordered myself.
I put every ounce of strength behind my grip, yanking on the makeshift rope. The shock of the pull reverberated through me as the foundation gave way. Before the boxes even hit the ground, I spun and raced in the opposite direction.
The crates tumbled down in a clatter. The creatures shrieked at the top of their lungs, and again I caught glimmers of meaning—There! Attack! Watch! Wait!—before they lunged for the debris. Using the commotion as cover, I darted straight through the falling boxes, throwing my hands over my head for protection. One struck my elbow, and the pain of the impact spread through my arm and almost toppled me, but I made it out the other side before the aliens leaped onto the pile.
Alexei lunged for the shuttle, the rest of us racing up behind him. I leaped for the door and he hauled me inside. Mia shot across the bay, dragging Tyler behind her. He stumbled, eyes fixed on the creatures across the room.
“Tyler, come on!” I shouted, throwing caution to the wind. I risked leaning around the shuttle. The creatures spun in our direction, howling in rage.
Mia swore loudly and shoved Tyler in front of her. The creatures leaped, and one of them landed within inches of Mia and Tyler. Its claws grazed Mia’s arm, and she shrieked but didn’t stop. If anything, she ran faster, pushing Tyler along. He tripped, but Alexei grabbed him and dragged him inside. I slammed the control panel. The door began its descent as Mia lunged for Alexei’s outstretched arms.
His hand closed around her wrist as one of the creatures sank its claws into her calf. Mia screamed again, her face twisted in agony.
I pulled the gun but hesitated. “Kenzie, shoot!” Alexei shouted. The aliens yanked on Mia, the force jerking Alexei to the ground, the top half of his body outside the shuttle.
My hands trembled on the gun. What if I missed? Hit Mia? Forget the aliens. Alexei would break my neck. Matt’s lifeless face flashed in front of my eyes.
But I couldn’t just let them take her. I dropped to my knees, whispered a silent prayer to anyone who might be listening, and pulled the trigger.
The bullet hit the creature in the eye, passing inches over Mia’s head. It screamed in agony and collapsed, releasing her. She slid halfway into the shuttle before two other aliens sank their claws into her legs. Mia went limp.
“Tyler, help us!” I shouted. I squeezed off another shot, but the alien must have heard it coming, because it ducked beneath the bullet.
Tyler caught Mia’s arms below the elbow. He and Alexei pulled, their faces red from effort. The claws tore through Mia’s muscle but that was the least of our problems right now. I forced my breathing steady and fired again. This time I caught one of the creatures in the neck. It flew back, claws pressed to the wound, which wasn’t bleeding so much as oozing a strange, clear fluid, reminding me of the gunk on the alien ship.
Tyler snatched the nearest object—a fire extinguisher—and flew across Mia’s body, then slammed the canister into the creature’s face. It barely staggered, but it did scream, its claws slipping loose from Mia’s leg. Alexei hauled her inside, inches below the descending door. I grabbed Tyler’s arm to pull him after . . .
And his face went blank.
He stared up at me, shocked and bewildered, his grip going slack around my elbow. For a moment I didn’t know what had happened.
Then his body heaved against me. Taken off guard, my hands slick with sweat, I lost my grip. Tyler slid beneath the shuttle door. It actually bumped his arm as it settled into place.
“No!” I screamed, lunging for the door, and then I saw it. One of the aliens still had its claws buried deep in Tyler’s abdomen. It hoisted him in the air, howling, and this time I understood every nuance of that vocalization, every note of triumph and mockery and rage.
“Tyler!” Alexei banged his fists on the door. The aliens stared at us, unseeing but unerring, daring us to open the door.
It was too late. Blood seeped from the sides of Tyler’s mouth, his eyes wide and gaping.
The aliens had given up on assimilation. Because there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Tyler was dead.
THIRTY-SEVEN
WE COLLAPSED EXHAUSTED ON THE floor of the shuttle. I squeezed my eyes shut against tears, but as soon as I did, Tyler’s lifeless body superimposed over my vision. Mom. Matt. Rita. Tyler. How many more on the ship? My hands trembled, and the long-fought fatigue threatened to overcome me, besieging me with tears and terror.
Beside me, Alexei stroked Mia’s face with a trembling hand. “She’s okay,” I promised him, forcing myself calm, forcing the tears back. No time to grieve. Not yet. “We think the creatures have some sort of sedative in their—”
“She is not okay.” He cut me off with short, sharp syllables. “She’s bleeding all over the place. We need to get her out of here.”
At that instant, a creature shrieked. Something struck the side of the shuttle. With the sickening rend of tearing metal, one of the gaps widened.
I shot to my feet, scrambling for the XE suits. “Get Mia dressed,” I ordered, tossing one at Alexei. He obeyed without question. For just a moment agony overwhelmed me again and I collapsed against the seat, jamming my fist into my mouth to hold back my sob. Tyler had been such a . . . child. Younger than his years. So afraid. And yet he’d overcome that fear to help Mia.
Look what it had earned him. Just like what Matt had gotten for his kindness, for daring to help me.
As if to punctuate that thought, another screech resounded. I glimpsed light through a tear in the metal, and an alien claw scrabbled in the gap. “Kenzie,” snapped Alexei.
I pushed Tyler and Matt into the depths of my mind—not letting them go, not letting Mom go, just setting them aside for the time with a promise to come back. They would not be forgotten.
I groped for my own XE suit, and fumbled with the clasps. Alexei had stuffed Mia into hers and fastened her in place. After finishing with his own, he sealed me in. My heart raced, leaping each time a creature screamed, or struck the shuttle, or scratched the hull. “Do you really think this is going to work?” Alexei murmured in Russian as he secured my helmet. As far as I could see, he had no reaction whatsoever to Tyler’s death.
I returned the favor, checking him over. “No idea,” I whispered, heading for the pilot seat. I was careful to avoid looking out the shuttle porthole. Whatever they were doing to Tyler, I didn’t want to see it.
The shuttle was not meant to be operated in an XE suit. Fortunately an emergency mode allowed for it, meaning I could manage the controls through my gloves. The old touch screens only responded to skin contact, and on another station a couple of decades ago, that had spelled disaster when the guards couldn’t access any station systems without breaching their suits. Since then, all space vehicles and dwellings had included emergency buttons operable without electrical impulses.
I powered up the shuttle, relieved to find everything in order. Of course, alarms instantly blared, warning me we didn’t have pressurization or life support. I silenced them with a jab of my finger. Outside, everything was strangely calm. I didn’t m
iss the aliens battering the shuttle, but I wasn’t sure I liked their silence, either.
I engaged the engines, overriding controls that really didn’t want me lifting off without life support. “What can I do?” demanded Alexei over the comms.
“Nothing,” I returned, my attention focused on the console. “Sit down and strap in. It’ll be a rough ride.”
As if the aliens could hear me, something struck the shuttle so hard it rocked, almost tipping. I exchanged worried glances with Alexei. If the creatures built up enough force to move the shuttle, we might hit the bay doors and damage the engines, not to mention ourselves. The aliens could rip through the shuttle hull—I knew that already. That they hadn’t yet meant they were too angry to think about it logically, or maybe that they needed more time. Either way, we were in a hurry.
I triggered the launch doors, but the system fought me, determined not to engage without a proper seal on the shuttle. I swore in a combination of Russian, Mandarin, and English, earning an approving nod from Alexei, and pulled up the visual code. “This is going to take a minute,” I announced.
The shuttle rocked and a sickening screech reverberated through the small space. Alexei winced. “You don’t have a minute.”
“Shut up, shut up,” I muttered, focusing on the code. I rearranged a few pieces and isolated a safety segment, deleting it entirely before retriggering the launch.
A satisfying alarm ricocheted through the room. “Depressurizing,” announced Sanctuary, and the creatures’ screams filled the air. I ducked my head below a crack in the windshield to watch the shuttle bay doors slide open, inch by agonizing inch.
I kept expecting the creatures to bullet past us. Piles of crates did, loose supplies—but not the creatures, and not Tyler. The vacuum should have pulled them into space, or at least trapped them against the door. I checked the rear porthole, found nothing, and cursed the shuttle’s design. Why did we only have one window and two tiny portholes?