by Naomi Lucas
He turns and climbs out of the pit, taking some of the sentinel robots with him. He’s begun having them guard him since Daisy’s return and big escape. I’m proud of my girl for attacking him, for busting his nose. She did what I couldn’t. What none of us could.
I just wish I could have stopped her before she stole the skiff. Seeing it crash into the mountain destroyed something in me. Guilt has haunted me since.
You didn’t have to die. Not for him, not for me, not for any of this. I told her to save us, I shouldn’t have.
Not at the cost of your life...
Hearing Peter’s footsteps fade, I slump, shuddering. I close my eyes hard. I’m the one who’s supposed to save them. I’m the one who lied to do so. And look where it’s gotten me? Nowhere.
Now, Daisy’s dead. Gemma might be too.
You just have to outlast him. Once Command knows what he’s done, you’ll be rid of him. You’ll be rid of him and they’ll find Gemma and return her before anyone else dies.
I keep thinking this but as the days come and go, it’s getting harder to believe it. Peter has me guarded at all times so I don’t rat out what’s happening down here, and to keep me working. But someone has had to have said something by now, right? The rest of the team is made up of men—Gemma, Daisy, and I were the only women on this mission, thank the nebulas—and not all of them like what he’s done. I frown.
Collins hates Peter.
He still won’t rat him out on my behalf.
I’ve known Collins for years, having encountered him again and again during academy training. He’s the real reason I’m here at all. And yet, he’s loyal to the bone to his captain. He recommended me for Earth’s first excursion. We had a short, contracted relationship before the mission, but we terminated the contract once it was certain we would both be going landside. Jobs come first, after all. More so for him. And this job was important, extremely important. A dream job for me. A clear path to becoming a captain for him. We ended on good terms, on laughs, and even flirty excitement, over a drink.
I wasn’t about to let our contract ruin our life’s work, and neither was he.
Spending hours listening to Collins talk about his work killed any potential romanticism we could’ve had anyway, especially since he never gave me an ear in return when I wanted to talk about mine.
I shake my head. Is everyone here a coward?
Looking at my flat stomach, my chest constricts. If they’re cowards, so am I.
“Hey, what’s going on? Are you okay? What did the captain want?”
Speaking of Collins...
I glance up as he climbs down into the pit. Rubbing my face, I stand as he nears.
“Peter. Call him Peter, or scumbag. He’s not a captain. He doesn’t deserve the title. Do not call him a captain when it’s just us.”
“Scumbag then.” His eyes soften on me. “You okay? I brought you food.” He hands me a canister and I snatch it from him, twisting the top off. The smell of oatmeal hits my nose and I tip it back, letting the warm sludge slide down my throat. I swallow it all, feeling a little better after my stomach’s full.
When I lower it, I find him studying me. “You look tired,” I say, handing him the empty canister. “Thank you.”
“I wish I could have brought more. I hate seeing you like this.”
“Peter still being flakey on the food?” I ask.
He sighs. “Now that Central Command wants to keep the team here for an extra month, yeah. Food is being rationed.”
My heart drops into my stomach. “Wait? Another month? You’re not serious?”
“I am, unfortunately. I came to tell you. We can make it through. You can make it through.” Collins reaches out and pushes one of my braids behind my ear. “You’re strong, that’s why I like you so much. What did Peter want?”
I push his hand away, uncomfortable with the affection he continues to show me. More so now that we’re pretending we’re having a child… A fake child that Collins seems almost giddy about.
But another month of this? I try not to wilt.
Turning, I duck under the tarp before I do. Showing any vulnerability is bad in our profession. Collins follows me like I knew he would. Inside are my excavation tools and gear, even a cot because I’m not allowed back on the ship unless requested. Radars and trackers, scanners and chemicals are organized neatly upon rocks with flat surfaces. I’ve set up a makeshift laboratory and workstation.
Everything I need to collect, examine, and study any Lurker technology I come across. Most are contraptions I created, or have had a hand in creating. Alien technology can be very volatile, and handling it takes someone with knowledge, care, and a deep respect for it.
Lurkers nearly wiped humanity from existence, who knows what the pieces they’ve left behind might do?
To my left, is the hole at the bottom of the pit. Around the deepest parts are the diggers. They’re carefully excavating through pipes, dirt, and stone. There are also my laser scanners collecting data, examining the hole continuously, sending it to the diggers, and my tablet.
“Shelby?”
Checking over the current data, new readings are saying the ground is getting warmer, and the electrical spikes higher. I narrow my eyes. Moving to the hole, I peer down, seeing… I narrow my eyes further. Cement? Steel?
Why would there be a foundation thirty feet under the facility?
Is there really a sublevel like I thought? A niggle of excitement rushes through me.
“Shelby?” Collins cups my shoulder and turns me to face him. “Dreadnaut to Shelby, what did the scumbag want?”
I blink. “What?”
He sighs. “Peter, Shelby, pay attention.”
“Sorry, got distracted—”
“I know.”
My lips purse. “He wants me to take another pregnancy test—”
“Are you fucking serious?”
“Yes. He’s suspicious.”
Collins turns and runs his fingers through his hair, dropping his head back in exasperation. “Well fuck, glad I came to check up on you. Now I’m going to have to get into the damn lab without being noticed again, fuck. A fourth fucking test?” He begins to pace. “What is wrong with that guy? Doesn’t he know trading you to some alien savages isn’t going to get him any closer to what he wants? Your expertise is priceless.”
Collins is handsome, even the mess he is right now, his sharp features are nice to look at. His light grey eyes, mesmerizing. He’s always been nice to look at. Unlike Peter, he’s put effort into his appearance today. Thick biceps strain his jacket, his dark brown hair remains close to his head in the standard military cut, and there’s not a single wrinkle in his suit. I’ve seen him chased by multitudes of women, only to ignore them. Why he contracted with me? I shake my head.
“Yep,” I agree. “You could tell Central Command this,” I add with a mumble under my breath. I look back into the pit. I knew there’d be a sublevel. I knew it.
“At least that means you’ll be back aboard for the evening.” Collins stops pacing and faces me. “I’ll let you have my weekly shower slot.”
“Do I smell that bad?” I huff absently, glancing back at him.
He smiles. “Like dirt.”
“Thanks.”
His hand cups my cheek. I go rigid as he presses his brow to mine. “I like the smell of dirt,” he says, his voice lowering. “We can try for real, you know.”
I pull away. “You know it’s not possible.” I regret contracting with him. He wants to sign another when the job is done and I don’t. “I don’t want children, not unless we defeat the Ketts. If that miracle happens, I’ll get my eyes removed and my uterus replaced.” Maybe.
“I’ll defeat the Ketts for yo—”
The ground trembles. Collins and I shift apart. “What’s that?” he asks.
“I...don’t know.”
My machines shake, and rubble slips in the hole, shifting pebbles and debris. My brow furrows. Tightening my hold on my tab
let, the trembling stops. A few seconds pass and the dust settles. I inhale.
“What the hell was that?” Collins growls, walking away and lifting the tarp to check outside.
Heart thundering, I switch my eyes back on and lift my tablet to scan the readings. “A seismic wave maybe…”
“A what?”
The ground suddenly rocks under my feet. I fall to my knees, dropping my tablet as the tarp drapes atop me. “Collins!” I shout, struggling to raise it, to rise. “We need to get out of the pit! Now!” Catching my body, I try to stand again, only to be forced back to my knees as the rumbling worsens. Flapping plastic fills my ears as the tarp flutters. In the distance, someone shouts. Someone screams.
“Shelby where the fuck are you?” he yells to my left. “Something’s going on.”
The ground gives way beneath my feet and I start sliding toward the hole. “Here,” I cry. I shunt to my left, grasping at the ground, barely keeping my body from tumbling in.
“Shelby, there’s gunfire!”
Clawing away from the hole, the tarp envelops me, blanketing my vision. Sparks go off. A vacuous, hollowing groaning hums through the air from every direction. Gasping, I scramble towards Collins's voice, seeing him on his knees a few yards away, trying to rise himself. Wide, fearful eyes meet mine at the last second as the ground gives way under him.
“Collins!” I scream as he plummets out of my sight. “Collins!”
The tarp slides off me. Staring where Collins had just been, the atrium walls of the facility crumble. I struggle to reach a boulder and shield my head as the remaining ground forms pits. “Help!” I scream. Seeing a sentinel above me, I reach for it, praying it’ll hold my weight. “Help!” I scream louder. “Somebody help me!”
Then I hear it, through the crashing, cracking, and violent shaking. My name deep and hurried, hissed through rough vocal cords.
“My Ssssshelby.”
A flash of brilliant blue streaks across my eyes, coming towards me through the dust. The ground gives way under my knees just as arms clamp around my body.
We fall.
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Also by Naomi Lucas
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Viper
King Cobra
Blue Coral (Coming Soon!)
Cyborg Shifters
Wild Blood
Storm Surge
Shark Bite
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Ashes and Metal
Chaos Croc
Ursa Major
Dark Hysteria
Wings and Teeth (Coming 2022)
The Bestial Tribe
Minotaur: Blooded
Minotaur: Prayer
Stranded in the Stars
Last Call
Collector of Souls
Star Navigator
Venys Needs Men
To Touch a Dragon
To Mate a Dragon
To Wake a Dragon
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Valos of Sonhadra
Radiant
Standalones
Six Months with Cerberus