“I have a theory. I’ve had a lot of time to think over the past few days and I think I know how to help the people with parasites in them.”
“Go on.”
“These creatures behave like they’re of one mind, right? Hunting as one, driving their hosts to kill as one.”
“Right.”
“Some creatures with the same mentality have a queen. Something driving their hive mind.”
“So the zombies have a queen?”
“Zombies?”
“Humour me,” Seb said. “So if they do have a queen, and if we kill it, then we’ll get Sparks back?”
“I think so, yes.”
Seb looked at SA and Bruke as he replied to Wilson. “Well, we need to take the grubs down anyway, so we’ll make sure we find the queen and kill her.”
“Now, it’s just a theory.”
“But you’re confident it will work?”
“I’d bet on it if I was a betting man, but confident? No.”
Hope lifted through Seb’s heart. “It’s as good a plan as any. And it’s what we have to do anyway. Let’s go and find the queen.”
“It shouldn’t be hard to find her,” Wilson said.
“Oh?”
“Although they came in from the hangar, I think they’ll hide their queen as far from the complex’s entrance as they can to keep her safe.”
Another look at SA and Bruke, Seb then said, “Okay, we have to go down into the mines anyway. You’ll be safer with us than without, so let’s do this.”
Chapter 43
SA led the way, walking a few metres ahead of Seb and Wilson. Behind them walked Wilson, Alison, and their child, Hannah. Bruke kept Sparks a safe distance even farther back.
Because he had SA’s eyes up ahead and the early warning system Sparks had become, Seb didn’t quite relax, but felt comfortable that he’d get at least a slight heads-up on the next attack.
Although, when Seb looked back at Sparks as she shook and spat in her clear desire to get at Wilson and his family, he tensed up again. Maybe the presence of the other humans would make her alarm ineffective. SA would notice any problems up ahead though, and surely the grubs would have made their presence known if they’d passed or approached them up until that point. Whatever threat remained in the mines, it had to be farther down the dark tunnel.
After another wary look back at Sparks, Wilson turned to Seb and said, “So why do you have a Thrystian with you? They’re a typically antisocial and ruthless race.”
“Oh, she’s ruthless all right,” Seb said. “But she’s probably quite different from your average Thrystian. She got away from her home world as soon as she could. She hated the place.”
After he’d looked at Sparks again, staring at her as if she could slip her bonds and attack his family, Wilson returned his attention to the dark tunnel in front of them.
“Let me ask you something,” Seb said to the man. “If you had this theory about the queen and what killing her would do, why did you try to kill Sparks? I mean, you think she can be saved, right?”
More vehement than ever, almost as if she’d heard Seb’s question, Sparks shook and twisted as she fought to get at Wilson’s family.
“Because of that,” Wilson said. “I have a wife and daughter I need to protect. It’s nothing personal against … Sparks? Is that her name?”
Seb nodded.
“Just more that I want to make sure my family doesn‘t get hurt. That’s always going to be more important to me than the life of a stranger.”
Another nod and Seb looked down the tunnel again. SA still seemed on top of things.
The farther they went into the mine, the darker it got. They’d had the bright shine from the open doors leading to the recreational area behind them, but they were now stepping out of its reach. Had they not loaded the doors with dead bodies, making it impossible for them to close, they wouldn’t have even had that.
“And a shantarac,” Wilson said.
“Huh?” Seb said, ruffling his nose as a particularly strong hit of ruthane smothered him.
“Your green scaly friend is from a planet called Raunce. He’s a shantarac. They’re a peaceful race, but if you provoke them, they flip into a berserker rage. It takes a lot, but when they go, you’d best get out of their way.”
Seb looked from Bruke back to Wilson.
“Have you seen him lose it?” Wilson said.
Seb couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah.”
A widening of his eyes and Wilson’s entire flabby face lit up. “Quite impressive, isn’t it?”
After he’d watched Wilson for a few seconds, Seb nodded. “It really is. Although it takes a lot to get Bruke to that point.” He then checked SA again.
“And the scarpist,” Wilson said.
When Seb saw him looking at SA, he said, “What do you know about her?” Maybe he sounded too keen.
“Not much. They’re a very agile race that comes from the planet Delvin. Most of them are deadly and graceful. They have a calm temperament, almost zen-like.”
As Wilson described SA, Seb continued to watch her. Her body moved like a cat’s, graceful and almost silent as she travelled down the tunnel on high alert. “They’re amazing, aren’t they?”
When Wilson didn’t reply, Seb looked across to see the man smiling at him. “Anyway,” Seb said, heat rushing through his cheeks, “how do you know all this?”
“I was a scientist here. I helped extract the ruthane and store it.”
Seb didn’t reply, waiting for more information.
“In my spare time I studied different races and species. I spent hours reading about them. There’s only so much to do down here.” Wilson stared into the darkness and spoke with a quieter voice, clearly trying to keep Hannah and Alison from hearing him. “I loved to travel. I only took this job when Hannah came along because it gave us stability. Those things become important when you have a baby.” He sighed. “Sometimes it makes sense to give up on your dreams.”
“Maybe when you get off this planet, you can do a bit more?”
“If we get off this planet.”
“We will,” Seb said. “So you know about the grubs because of your studies?”
“Yep. They seem consistent with many other hive-minded creatures I’ve learned about. I’m almost certain that killing the queen will also kill the grubs. And because they heal their host, hopefully your friend will be okay when she gets the dead thing out of her body.”
“Hopefully,” Seb said and glanced behind at the furious little Sparks again.
Before Seb could ask any more questions, SA tensed up in front of them. At the same time, Sparks whipped up into even more of a rage.
Wilson froze and Seb pushed him back to be with his wife and child. “Stay there,” he said, and stepped towards SA.
Two steps forward and Seb heard the whoosh of grubs rushing over the soft ground towards them. He couldn’t hear the footsteps of infected people. Maybe all the zombies were down.
With such limited visibility, Seb relied on his ears. The grubs sounded close, but not yet close enough to attack.
Sore eyes from refusing to blink, Seb’s world slipped into slow motion, his heart pounding. A deep breath and he continued to watch the inky darkness in front of them. Any moment now and they’d be fighting what would hopefully prove to be the final wave of the vile things.
Chapter 44
Seb moved forward to be next to SA and stared down the tunnel. He still didn’t hear any footsteps in the oncoming rush. That had to be a good thing, right? Every time he’d taken one of his kind down, it twisted the knife in his heart. Not that the swoosh of the grubs racing over the muddy ground offered any comfort.
Then Seb saw one. Several light bulbs down, it moved through the splash of light as it closed in on them.
Seb watched the lead grub plunge back into the shadow before he saw it in the next weak pool of light. Like a dolphin vanishing beneath the sea and then bursting from it again, the grub vanis
hed and reappeared, getting closer every time he saw it.
When the lead worm went through the light closest to him, moving quickly despite Seb’s slow-motion view of things, he darted forwards and slammed his foot down on it.
A rancid burst of rot shot up from the crushed creature. Although Seb screwed his face up in response to the stench, he focused on the sound of more worms to come.
SA took the next one out. Before Seb had a chance to say anything, a carpet of the revolting things moved through the light farthest away from them. It looked like hundreds of the fat little beasts.
Seb ran forward and SA went with him. They needed distance between them and the others behind them. Together they both stamped on the grubs at the front, taking them down as quickly as they came forward.
Even with his world slowed down, Seb fought to keep up. Whenever he stamped on one, two replaced it. Sweat lifted beneath his clothes as his body temperature rose. Heavy breaths to keep up with the pace, he stamped on grub after grub.
As much as Seb wanted to check the others were okay, he couldn’t. A lapse in concentration and they were screwed. The grubs would overwhelm them all.
To be sure he killed each one, Seb stamped down hard. Each pound of his foot against the ground sent a jolt up his legs. The ache from the repeated action balled as pain in his knees. But he kept going, each stamp returning the satisfying squelch of grub eradication.
A heave sat on the back of Seb’s tongue. The smell mixed with his effort and the taste of bile lifted up in his throat. He swallowed it down and kept going.
Even as he fought, most of his attention on the grubs, Seb couldn’t help but notice SA beside him. She moved like the wind, a rhythmic stamp against the ground as she took out grub after grub. She killed twice as many as he did. Even more impressive considering his gift gave him at least twice as much time to combat them.
Chapter 45
By the time Seb and SA had finished, the ground lay slick again with the grubs’ clear sludge. A glistening surface, the weak light from the bulbs shimmered on it, making it look like ice on the dark ground.
When Seb looked over his shoulder at the others, he saw Wilson and his family were fine. Bruke still had a tight grip on Sparks, and Sparks seemed slightly calmer than she had a few moments before. Maybe the threat had passed for the moment. Although, she still looked like she wanted to tear into Wilson and his family. From the way Wilson kept looking over his shoulder at her, he knew it too.
“Right,” Seb said, panting as he tried to get his words out. “That’s the first threat neutralised. Hopefully that’s all of them and we just have the queen left. How far until the end of this mine, Wilson?”
At first, Wilson simply raised a shaking finger as he pointed off down the tunnel. He finally got his words out. “Just around the corner.”
SA led the way again and Seb let her. Why wouldn’t he when he’d just seen her in action against the grubs?
It didn’t take long for SA to stop again. She clearly had better sight than Seb because he couldn’t make out what lay up ahead. Several steps past her and he too stopped in his tracks. “Wow! What is that thing?”
After he’d looked at SA, Seb then looked back at Wilson. “Come and see this, will ya?”
Hesitant at first, Wilson came over to Seb’s side and stared at the end of the tunnel. “That’s the queen,” he said in a whisper.
“You sure?”
Wilson had turned pale and he nodded as he backed away. “Yep.”
Although she looked like all of the other grubs, the queen sat about ten times larger than any they’d seen so far. Fat, pink, and the size of a domestic cat, she seemed to pulsate as she lay there next to the ruthane pipe.
On closer inspection, Seb saw the pulsing came from a writhing mass of unborn babies inside her. She’d been stretched so wide, he could see the grubs through her thin skin. When one popped out of her and rushed at them, SA flew past Seb and took it down with a heavy stamp.
Before Seb could do anything, SA ran forward, cut the queen open from top to bottom and stamped down on the grubs as they spilled out of her on a tide of what looked like amniotic fluid.
The smell of rot—worse than he’d smelled before—turned Seb’s stomach. Wilson vomited behind them.
When SA had finished, Seb looked behind at Sparks. She still seemed agitated. More agitated than she’d been when near just Wilson and his family. They hadn’t killed them all.
A scan of their surroundings and Seb turned in time to see a grub fly through the air at SA. One step to close the gap and he caught it mid-flight with a hard punch. It sent the fat little thing across the mine into a nearby wall.
The grub fell to the ground and SA stamped on it. She looked at Seb and dipped the slightest nod of thanks at him. Seb smiled back.
The sound of Sparks’ fury left her. They’d clearly got all of them. Seb relaxed a little and turned to watch his small friend, waiting for her to change back into her normal self.
Chapter 46
Seb felt like he hadn’t drawn breath for the last five minutes as he stared at Sparks, waiting for something to happen. Excitement had pushed his heart rate high from anticipating his friend’s return.
But that excitement began to ebb as Sparks continued to snap at the air, biting in the direction of Wilson and his family. She looked as hungry to attack them now as she’d been the entire time they’d been around her for.
Grief clawed at Seb’s throat to watch a palsied writhe twist through her small frame. Her eyes remained blood-red.
Seb couldn’t help but look at Wilson now. From the way the man flinched, he seemed aware of the attention on him, but he didn’t look back.
What had been butterflies of excitement in Seb’s gut now burned in his stomach as if the fluttering creatures had razor-sharp wings. He couldn’t hold it in any more. “So much for your theory.”
Wilson opened and closed his mouth, shaking his head to the point where his chin wobbled beneath it. “I … I …”
“You’re bloody useless is what you are. You’ve spent your life studying species and you’ve learned nothing.” Seb stepped closer to the man and balled his cold metal fists. “What possessed you to tell me we could help her? Why would you get my hopes up like that?”
At Seb’s advance, Wilson stepped back. His attention on the ground, he said, “I’m sorry. It was only a theory.”
“A theory you seemed pretty sure of.”
Wilson sighed. “I was certain it would work.”
When Seb moved towards the man another step, SA edged herself between them. It helped snap him from his need to destroy, but he still said, “I’m glad I don’t have to rely on you for much. Not with that kind of certainty.”
Before Wilson could say anything else, Seb walked off in the direction of the recreational area.
When Seb passed Bruke and saw his friend staring at him, he said, “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Although he didn’t look around again, Seb heard Bruke address Wilson. “I’m sorry about him. He’s upset.”
It took all Seb had not to shout at Bruke at that moment. Although SA had helped him see it wouldn’t serve any purpose to attack Wilson, he had nothing to apologise for. Wilson had been wrong, not him.
Chapter 47
The others followed behind Seb as he walked back up the muddy tunnel, his feet turning beneath every purposeful stride on the damp ground. When he heard the footsteps of one of them running to catch up with him, his entire body tensed.
Wilson pulled level with Seb and fell into step beside him. “I’m sorry.”
A deep breath and Seb let go of some of the tension in his body with a hard exhale. “It’s okay. You’ve nothing to be sorry about. I got my hopes up and was upset when Sparks didn’t turn back. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did.”
Wilson didn’t respond.
The bright lights of the recreational area shone down the dark tunnel. It made Seb feel like he could breathe more ea
sily. Less like the walls were closing in around him. “But there must be some way to help her,” he added.
Again, Wilson didn’t say anything. Not that Seb could blame him. Especially after how he’d just reacted to him for getting his theory wrong. If he had any more theories, he’d probably keep them to himself from then on.
“Where do you think they came from?” Seb said.
“The grubs?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ll think I’m paranoid.”
“Try me.”
“Well, they came in through the hangar.”
“From outside?”
“Yep. We’ve been here some time and we haven’t seen anything living out there.”
“It’s hardly optimal conditions,” Seb agreed.
“Exactly. Also, they arrived shortly after the Camorons announced to the galaxy that they’d discovered ruthane.” A pause as Wilson looked at Seb and he lowered his voice. “And what it’s worth.”
“You think someone sent them down here?”
“In my experience, where there’s credits, there’s often corruption.”
When they got closer to the doors leading through to the recreational area, Seb looked at the fallen bodies from their battle earlier and turned back to Wilson. “I’m sorry your daughter has to see this.” He screwed his nose up at the rotten stench. “We didn’t have the time or inclination to clear them away after we’d killed them. Had we known we’d be bringing a child back with us, we probably would have left these bodies elsewhere.”
After Wilson had looked over his shoulder at his daughter, he returned his attention to Seb. “It’s okay, she saw much worse when it all kicked off in the canteen. Better they’re dead than alive with a parasite in them.”
Seb looked at Wilson, and the chubby man clapped his hand to his mouth. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that. What I meant is—”
“It’s okay, honestly.” To look at Sparks as she fought against Bruke’s restraint weighed heavy on Seb. “She’s in a bad way. I can see that. I just can’t give up on her.”
The Shadow Order - Books 1 - 8 + 120 Seconds (The complete series): A Space Opera Page 72