“Yes. Are you familiar with the sea colony off Capital City’s shore?”
“I know of it.”
“We lost contact with one of our men visiting a sick relative down there. We haven’t heard from our man in a week. Turns out, no one’s heard from the colony in that time. The Dominion’s official report is that the colonists are working to fix technical difficulties before opening the colony up again. But something doesn’t feel right. I had to come from the Mainland alone, but I’d like backup.”
“Understood. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Here’s where to meet me.”
The transmitter unscrambled the signal and displayed an address onscreen.
Memorizing it, Ryu confirmed and ordered, “Eva, end transmission.”
“Yes, Whitewolf.”
Ryu stood and headed back down the corridor.
Is this sea colony thing important enough to risk going solo? he thought. Someone has to help Evant, though. Better me than sis. And I can’t wait for Loree and Zaak to get back.
He entered the training facilities and walked through the front gym to the locker room, turning on the lights as he entered.
Well, he thought, I was on my own before. I can do it again. Let’s go, Whitewolf.
He flipped his locker open and saw his Warrior suit hanging, neat and new. It fit his tall frame perfectly, and the black fabric stretched around his muscles with a semi-solid armor. Two straps surrounded each leg, and he inserted weapons from his locker into his holsters. Formfitting headgear slipped over his shaved head like a tight hood, covered his eyes with a protective shield, and connected with his collar to create a full facemask. A belt around his waist held ammunition. Around his shoulders and across his chest, a thin device operated a lighting system.
As Ryu – Whitewolf now – secured his facemask, he saw a flash of reddish light. Alex had teleported into the locker room. His petite sister was in sleepwear and barefoot, and her long blond hair was messy from sleep. Whitewolf could tell she wasn’t pleased to be awake at this hour, but it was clearer still that the telepath had heard him thinking on his plans.
“Is it so smart to take a mission already? Neither of us has ever done anything on our own. And this means working with the Hood. What if it’s a trap? Who knows how Evant got our transmitter number?”
“Can you reach Loree or Zaak?”
Alex closed her eyes but shook her head. “They’re too far away for my mind links to work.”
Whitewolf adjusted one of his leg straps. “Then I don’t have much choice.” Honestly, he was far more excited than nervous.
Arms crossed, Alex sighed at him. “You’re going no matter what I say, aren’t you? Should I come too?”
“You’re less ready than I am, sis. I can handle myself – you know that. Evant made it sound like this couldn’t wait. And there’s no reason to think this is a trap. Loree plans for us to work with the Hood. She usually knows what she’s doing.”
“Sure, but do you?”
“Pfft. Always.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Just be careful, okay?”
“I will.” Whitewolf shut his locker. “If I’m not back by the time Loree and Zaak get here, tell them what I’m doing. But don’t worry.”
She didn’t look reassured, but she nodded.
Whitewolf rubbed the top of her head and tousled her hair. When he got a smile, he left Alex and headed for the garage.
I’m really doing this! he thought as he hurried down the corridor.
The lights were on full when he reached the garage, and Whitewolf stood alone in the middle aisle to decide which vehicle to take. He looked at the hummers, the hover cars, Zaak’s antique motorcycle, the land rover, and the hang-gliders before deciding on one of the Dominion speeders. Normally it took a few hours to reach Capital City from their base. In a speeder, he’d be able to clamp onto the highway’s rail system and race at a few hundred kilometers per hour without pausing at intersections. Also, because speeders were only legally used by the Dominion, no one would stop the vehicle at Capital City’s security stations.
Whitewolf climbed into his speeder and strapped himself in. “Eva, open the garage doors.” He switched on another device and told the sleek vehicle his destination. “Capital City, eastern district, warehouse lot 346, dock 8.”
A map of the eastern coast illuminated the windshield, and the system highlighted his route from Havanahell to Capital City. He confirmed the route in the steering wheel’s panel and revved the engine. Zaak insisted they always make quick exits, just in case someone happened to be passing through the base’s rural surroundings. So, tires squealing, the lone Warrior sped out of the garage and up the ramp into the night.
When Whitewolf arrived at Capital City not an hour later, he unlocked the speeder from the rails and drove to the shoreline. At last, he reached the rendezvous point. After parking the speeder along the side of a warehouse, the lone Warrior climbed out.
The concrete space between the warehouses and the boat docks was dark and wet from earlier rain. Few lights lined the docks, and the larger boats cast creepy shadows over the port. One dock was lit well enough to reveal a man pacing back and forth.
Whitewolf scanned the area as he approached the man. “Evant?”
The man stopped pacing and faced him. “And you are?”
Whitewolf recognized the Euro accent from their transmitter conversation. Standing before Evant, he eyed over the dark-skinned man. Evant looked only ten years his senior, but he was worn for his thirty-some years. Of course, this was to be expected from the hard life he undoubtedly led as a member of the Hood. Evant was looking up into Whitewolf’s covered face, and the Kota Warrior saw a tenseness in Evant’s expression that proved he meant business.
“I’m Whitewolf,” he said through his facemask. For the first time, he wondered if he looked ridiculous. But, Loree and Zaak insisted the full body uniforms were necessary to protect their identities.
Evant was in too much of a rush to need further convincing, and together they climbed into a watercraft tied to the dock. Once aboard, Evant took the controls and Whitewolf sat in the back. The vessel’s engines roared to life, and the boat surged away from the docks, slicing through the salty water as they headed out to sea. The brisk wind swept over them, making Whitewolf glad of his insulated suit.
“So what exactly do you think happened?” he asked as they went over a swell. “Why hasn’t anyone heard from the sea colony?”
“Know anything about wraiths?”
Whitewolf grimaced. He’d first learned about these creatures as a child. The Dominion had genetically manipulated reptile species to create the carnivorous beasts. The intent was to use them to kill factors. The species had proved more prolific than anticipated, and the first-generation wraiths were thereafter released to breed and hunt in the lost territory of the Southern Continent. Whenever the Dominion required their services, wraith eggs were collected and transported elsewhere. As a result, wraiths escaped into the regions where they were planted and bred there as well. An adult wraith was capable of eating a man, but even their young were dangerous.
“You think there was a wraith hatching in the sea colony?”
“That’s what I fear.” Evant watched the open water as he drove. “The colony has extremely favorable conditions for wraiths. The thing is, this colony sprayed for wraith eggs last month. There’s no way the colony had a natural infestation. No wraiths have been reported on the entire coast for seven months.”
“Are you sure it’s wraiths down there, then? What if…” Whitewolf swallowed. “What if there’s a DRK outbreak?”
“No, I checked records. The colonists had their treatment injections a few weeks ago. They aren’t infected. Something else is down there. Something planted. Otherwise, the Dominion wouldn’t be keeping everyone away with their bullshit story about technical difficulties.”
Everything Whitewolf had learned about strategy led him to the most likely explanati
on. “So the Dominion planted wraith eggs in the colony because they want the colonists dead. An ‘accidental’ wraith infestation is a perfect way to keep their hands clean. There must be something or someone down there the Dominion wants to eliminate quietly. They’re trying to hide something.”
Evant glanced back at him but didn’t respond.
He’s intense, thought Whitewolf. I wonder if all Hood members are like this.
Evant pointed. “See the towers?”
Whitewolf stood as Evant slowed the craft. Ahead, a tower rose out of the moonlit water. A beacon blinked at its peak.
He’d never been here, but he’d read that the colony was built upon the remains of a submerged island. Geological activity sunk the island centuries ago, and it now made a shallow sea floor. At some point, the Dominion had converted the sunken island to a sea colony so the area wasn’t a total loss. The colony was still a hundred meters underwater, and only three towers rose to mark where the colony lay below.
Whitewolf saw the other two towers’ blinking beacons in the distance.
The island must’ve been pretty big, he thought.
As the boat approached the tower nearest them, Whitewolf saw a short dock and a hatch in the tower’s side. Evant pulled the boat alongside this dock, and Whitewolf reached out and connected the bobbing boat to the dock’s ties. The motor silent now, the steady lapping of water filled the night air. Whitewolf climbed on the dock and looked around at the dark, empty ocean.
Evant also climbed from the boat, and he walked straight to the tower and opened the creaking hatch. A dark hole awaited them, and Whitewolf took a gulp of air before following Evant inside. The small room they entered was completely dark once Evant closed the hatch, but at least the ground wasn’t pitching and rolling like the boat.
“So how do we get down to the-”
Suddenly, the room was falling.
“Whoa!” he yelped.
“Sorry. It’s an elevator. Shouldn’t take too long before we reach the colony. Hold onto the bar in the wall behind you.”
Whitewolf held the support bar for a few minutes while they descended. Then brakes groaned, and the elevator landed with a thud. Whitewolf let go of the support bar, and Evant opened the hatch that led into the colony.
They emerged into a faintly lit, metallic hall. Giant observation windows looked out on the ocean floor, and lights outside illuminated the water, sea plants, and fish attracted by the lights. The windows stretched for several meters as the men walked down the entry hall. No sound reached them, and Whitewolf realized the lights were only at life-support strength.
They walked out of the entry hall into another corridor that ran in opposite directions. Here they paused. This corridor was windowless, but faint running lights lined the metallic ceiling.
“Maybe the colony is having technical difficulties?”
Evant took out a handgun from his coat. “This doesn’t look good. We should split up and search for survivors. It’s incredibly important we find our man.”
I caught that, thought Whitewolf.
Evant headed right with a parting wave of his gun.
Whitewolf turned left and crept along the corridor, drawing a gun of his own. He listened for any sound of life – either human or wraith – but the only thing he heard was his footsteps as he walked along the grated hall.
Who’d willingly live down here? he thought. It’s so creepy… Well, look where I live now. Not much room to talk.
After a while, he heard gurgling water from below. He looked to his feet and realized a water runoff ran in a tunnel below the floor. Wraiths favored water, and it wasn’t comforting that an attack could spring from below.
These tunnels must run throughout the entire colony, he thought. They’re the perfect habitat for wraiths… But they also might be good hiding places. I have to check for survivors.
He stood over a removable section of grated flooring and holstered his gun, muttering, “Rave’s the Hunter, not me.”
Whitewolf crouched and pulled the grate from the floor. Sitting, he let his legs hang in the tunnel. Next he reached to his shoulder and clicked on the lights attached to the chest of his suit. He bent over to shine the light down into the tunnel, and flowing water met him. He couldn’t tell how deep it was.
Yippee, he thought. But I have to check.
With a deep breath, Whitewolf jumped down into the flowing water. His feet touched bottom before his facemask submerged, however. The water came to his chest, and his lights shone through the current enough for him to see ahead in the dark passageway. So, he left the grated opening overhead and made his way with the current.
As he advanced into the watery darkness, Whitewolf kept alert.
Looks clear, he thought. I only hear water gurgling through the tunnel. Don’t smell anything weird. This tunnel doesn’t even branch off. Where’s this current taking me?
Soon enough, he discovered that the runoff spilled into an open cavern. The current pulled him to the runoff’s edge, but he held onto the grate overhead to keep from being pushed over the edge. His grip secure, he looked over the side and saw it wasn’t a long drop to the cavern below. So, he pulled himself over the runoff’s edge and dropped with the water.
Whitewolf landed on a narrow ridge and held himself against the wall. It was loud here. Around the cavern walls, eight runoffs poured in rushing water. This water collected and churned in the cavern’s lower center. The ridge he stood on ran around the octagonal cavern, lining the walls and separating them from the lower level.
The churning water he barely acknowledged, but his lights swung around the ridge as he turned. Everywhere his light fell, he saw cracked and broken wraith eggs.
“Watch out!”
Whitewolf swung his chest lights in the direction of the voice just as something slid across the back of his neck. In the same second, Evant jumped out of the runoff next to him and jabbed a knife into a young wraith clinging to the wall beside Whitewolf. The creature squirmed and bled down the wall as it died. It was the first wraith Whitewolf had seen in person, and the long, leggy, reptile-like creature repulsed him.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” Evant apparently had come down his runoff with less ease than Whitewolf, and the Euro leaned forward on his knees to catch his breath. He had to yell over the churning water. “More hatchlings are up the main runoff. I think they’re staying close to this nest. We might want to get out of here. –Here, I’ll help you up.” He motioned for Whitewolf to step into his hands to climb back into Whitewolf’s entry point.
Whitewolf shook his head before placing a hand on the edge of the runoff where the water was pouring. Feeling the familiar, tingling burn, he used his unnatural strength to grab Evant with his other arm and lift them both into the runoff.
Evant grabbed the grated ceiling overhead to keep from being swept back into the cavern. He looked startled, and he faced Whitewolf in amazement. “You’re MOB, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” Whitewolf grinned under his facemask.
He turned with his lights and pushed against the current to walk back up the runoff. Evant followed, using the ceiling grates to hold himself steady.
Still looks clear, thought Whitewolf. Better hurry, though.
Evant spoke as loud as he dared. “I got as far as the next section of the colony, but the connecting passage was locked. The door controls were on the other side. That means, whatever happened with the wraiths, it’s worst here. The rest of the colony must’ve quarantined them.”
“Do you think anyone’s still alive in this section?”
“Hard to say. But if the Dominion was sure everyone was dead, they’d send in drones to retake this place. I think the Dominion’s waiting until the wraiths…clean house.”
Whitewolf remembered the few security cameras he’d seen. “Could the Dominion be watching us now?”
“No, the security system’s offline. I checked. It won’t run with only life-support systems functioning. And I
’m guessing the life-support is only on to keep this place operational for future use. The Dominion could’ve wiped everyone out by killing the power and flooding the place, but they want to save the colony itself. Besides, the Dominion wants it to look like they had nothing to do with killing these people. A wraith massacre makes this look messy, more like an accident.”
Whitewolf nodded, having thought this earlier.
Evant sounded pissed. “Anyway, without the security system online, the Dominion can’t watch the show, and nobody else will ever be able to either. They’re likely monitoring the colonists’ ID tags to see when they’re all dead. Then the bastards will pretend they care enough to investigate. Shock-of-all shocks will be the discovery that wraiths killed the colonists.”
That’s so horrible, thought Whitewolf, but he’s probably right. Why is the Dominion doing this? What are they trying to hide?
They reached the grated opening Whitewolf had left uncovered, and the two dripping men climbed out. They again drew weapons and paused to listen.
Nothing, thought Whitewolf. It’s like a tomb in here…
Together, they jogged up this last hall. Soon the hall opened into the colony’s marketplace. This was a wide section of the underwater structure, and multiple rooms had been built into the walls to create separate shops. It looked like an ordinary mall. Other than a few overturned chairs in a dining square, Whitewolf saw nothing unusual.
“There.” Evant pointed with his gun to the far left.
On this end of the enormous marketplace, doors leading into the housing district were blocked off. The doors themselves were chained. A pile of tables and chairs added to the blockade.
Whitewolf’s eyes widened. “Some of the colonists tried to protect the rest by closing them off in there. They sacrificed themselves by blockading these doors from this side – the wraith’s side. If anyone’s alive-”
A loud crash interrupted him. Fully grown, adult wraiths broke through the display windows of a shop. The herd of wraiths consisted of seven beasts, and their scale-covered, lizard-like bodies were taller standing upright than Whitewolf. The wraiths caught scent of the two men, and the alpha wraith shrieked as it charged.
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