When Night Falls (Regeneration Series Book 1)

by Airicka Phoenix

  Mac’s arm jerked, yanking up and aiming. Scarlett stiffened. Her fingers tightened on the pipe. Sweat slicked along her skin and her insides wavered. But she kept firm.

  “All clear!”

  Every ounce of relief slammed down over her head like a two ton space craft at the sound of Rolf’s voice. She scrambled out from her hiding place just as he and Lance marched into the shop, followed by two others, a boy and a girl, roughly their age. Maybe a little older. The girl was bloody and limping. The boy had a gash on his head and was cradling his left arm. They both looked like they’d been dragged through hell.

  “This is Marvius and her husband, Jerol.” Rolf said. “Have a seat,” he told them. “Let’s have a look at those wounds.”

  The two scuffled into the room, eyes darting like pinballs in a machine as they took in the faces around them. Scarlett tried to offer them a smile, but they didn’t seem to notice as they dropped into the settee someone had pushed into the corner next to the change lockers.

  Lance took the girl, carefully lifting the torn scraps of her trouser up to study the oozing hole where her calf should have been. The area was jagged, the flesh torn and festering. Scarlett knew that mark all too well.

  Rolf surveyed the boy. He seemed fine except for the dislocated shoulder.

  “What happened out there?” Kiera broke the silence.

  The two newcomers exchanged glances.

  It was the boy that spoke. “We stayed in our room when the alarms went off. We heard the screaming, but…” He shook his head. “This morning we decided to head out, to see what was happening. We met up with a group of other survivors who were headed down to the pods. The transporters weren’t working so we took the stairs.”

  “We only got to deck nine.” The girl picked up the story where the boy left off. “They just … rushed at us! They were so fast. We didn’t stand a chance. One got me. Jerol pulled me free and we … we…”

  Scarlett’s heart was a wild mess in her chest as she struggled to keep from leaping at the two.

  “Was there a boy with you? About his height.” She pointed at Rafe. “Brown hair, green eyes … glasses. He goes by Hunter.”

  The two looked at each other again, seemingly speaking silently back and forth. Then, just when Scarlett was sure she couldn’t stand it any longer, they shook their heads.

  “It was a couple and their two girls,” Marvius said sympathetically. “I’m sorry.”

  Scarlett slumped back against a nearby shelf, torn between relief and disappointment. As happy as she was that Hunter hadn’t been part of the group that was clearly dead now, she hated not knowing what became of him.

  “They didn’t make it,” Jerol murmured. “We were going to try and get back to our room, but Marvius was injured. We needed to stop.”

  “You’re safe now,” Rolf assured them, not unkindly. “I’m going to set your shoulder.”

  As Lance and Rolf mended their guests, Scarlett wandered back to where she’d left her bag under the rack and hoisted it out. She shoved her pipe into the top pocket and swung the strap over her shoulder.

  “Kiera, where are you going?”

  Scarlett turned and watched as Kiera stalked towards the door, bag bumping against her back.

  “I’m going to use the washroom!” she snapped back over her shoulder. “Not going in any stupid, disgusting bucket.”

  “Damn it, Kiera!” Rolf was on his feet, his hands clenched.

  “I’ll go with her,” Scarlett said. “It’s just down this strip. We’ll be back in five—”

  “Fifteen!” Kiera argued.

  Scarlett narrowed her eyes. “Five minutes.”

  Mac raised his hand. He made a rapid series of gestures that had Rolf rubbing his face in aggravation.

  “Fine!” he grumbled. “Just stay together.”

  Together, she, Kiera and Mac shuffled their way out the door and down the path in the direction of the washroom sign. Mac stayed outside as Kiera raced in.

  “Thanks,” Scarlett said in passing.

  Mac inclined his head.

  It took no time at all for Scarlett to do her business. She even brushed her teeth and ran a comb through her hair by the time Kiera joined her at the mirrored counters. Neither girl said anything as they cleaned up the best they could given what little they had. But Scarlett was all too aware of those scary doll-eyes watching her through the glass.

  “Are you going to hit me again?” Kiera said at last, breaking the silence.

  Scarlett patted dry her face before answering, “I never hit you the first time, and no.”

  Kiera lifted her chin a notch and turned back to the mirror. She yanked out the elastic containing her endless coils of blonde hair and released them from their thick braid. “I thought that’s why you volunteered to join me.”

  “I volunteered because I wasn’t too thrilled with the whole bathroom situation either,” Scarlett retorted simply.

  Kiera sniffed haughtily as she dumped her bag onto the counter. She rummaged inside until she unearthed a brush and began the process of running it through all that hair.

  Scarlett had long hair, enough so the ends brushed the lower part of her spine. But no way could she manage hair that reached the back of her kneecaps. Maybe it seemed extra-long because Kiera was so short, but it was long nevertheless.

  Deftly, Kiera bound the long strands, twisting and weaving until it became a gold plait down the center of her back. She tied the end and tossed it over her shoulder.

  “It’s unnatural,” she said. “Doing one’s business in a … bucket.” She gave a delicate shudder. “Ladies don’t do that.”

  Scarlett bit back her grin. “I don’t think there’s anyone left to judge whether or not you act like a lady.”

  Kiera looked at her through the mirror. “But I’ll know! I was brought up better than that.”

  Rather than argue, Scarlett concentrated on putting her things back into her bag. She slung the pack over her shoulder and waited as Kiera took another five minutes making sure her face was in order.

  Mac glanced at them when they finally left the washroom. He raised an eyebrow and Scarlett shrugged sheepishly. He gave her a lopsided grin that emphasized the gold flecks in the sea of light brown chocolate. A dimple formed on his left cheek that gave his square face an almost boyish appearance. It surprised her that she had never noticed how good looking he was with his wavy brown hair and brown eyes. He wasn’t as heavily built as Lance, or as dominating as Rolf, but he had a swimmer’s build with wide shoulders and a narrow chest. Plus he had a very nice smile.

  “Can we go now?” Kiera snapped, then shouldered her way past Scarlett to march in the direction of the clothing shop.

  Scarlett exchanged a baffled glance with Mac before following.

  The others glanced up briefly from the data port Jack had open on the floor. Scarlett met Rolf’s gaze for split second longer before he went back to watching as Jack mapped out their next plan.

  “We could probably make it,” he was saying when Scarlett, Mac, and Kiera joined the group.

  “And this … chute, runs through all twenty floors?” Rolf pressed.

  “More,” Jack said with a hint of excitement. “Dawn Light is actually built with hundreds of decks and over five hundred unregistered sections. Only twenty levels are actually accessible by passengers and crew. We were never given an exact diagram of the actual floor plan, but we were told about them during our first day through orientation. Even mentors don’t have access.”

  “What’s kept in all those rooms?” Jerol asked, voicing the question they were all thinking.

  Jack shrugged. “Only the captain knows. We were never told. But this chute is meant for the transport of things from floor to floor in a direct route. It runs through the entire ship from top to bottom.”

  “Like a dumbwaiter?” Scarlett piped in.

  Jack sat back on his hunches. “What’s a dumbwaiter?”

  Scarlett felt herself flush as all eyes
turned on her. “It’s a transporter of sorts. You put stuff in it and it goes between the connected floors. But it usually can’t carry people. We read about it in our Post-United History class at the Academy.”

  Eyeing her warily, Jack went back to the device. “This one can. It’s meant for the transportation of large objects, like crates and tools for repairing the ship. It was used during the construction so it has to still be here.”

  Scarlett refrained from asking if he meant it was a cargo transporter. She didn’t think Jack would appreciate being interrupted with her vast knowledge of useless things a second time.

  “Where is it, Jack?” Rolf asked.

  The other boy shrugged. “I don’t know. I think they might have sealed it up or … it’s not in the final floor plan for the ship.”

  “Well, we can’t do anything tonight, not with Marvius’ leg the way it is. She’ll need to—”

  The data scanner blipped a split second before the door crashed into the wall and a cacophony of groans tore through the air.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Everyone out!” Rolf sprinted to the door, his enforcer gripped in his hand. “Lance, rear. Mac, cover me. Jack, make sure everyone gets out.” His narrowed, calm eyes met Scarlett’s. “Stay close.” He seemed to remember at the last second that there were three other people. “All of you,” he added, looking from Kiera to Marvius and Jerol.

  He turned back to the door and stuck his head out. He glanced both ways before motioning everyone right. They stayed together, a tight group scuttling alongside the wall. Scarlett was just aware of Kiera’s fingers clamped around her upper arm, cutting off circulation. Behind them, Jerol had Marvius’ arm around his shoulders and was half carrying, half dragging her. Jack ran alongside them, weapon gripped tight between both hands.

  They stopped at a corner. Rolf waved them back against the wall, then motioned for Mac to the wall opposite them. Bent low, Mac scurried into position, twisted and disappeared from sight around the corner.

  “On my signal, run!” Rolf told them in a low hiss.

  It was clear they weren’t going back to their little hideaway in the storage, but Scarlett couldn’t figure out what the plan was, where they were going until Mac gave two light raps against the wall that signaled the all clear.

  “Now!”

  They ran. Their feet clattered noisily and the packs on their backs weighed their progress, but they kept in pace with the marshal trained group. At least, Scarlett was, and with her help, Kiera was. But Marvius and Jerol seemed to be slowing down with every passing second and with them, Lance and Jack.

  “Go without us!” Jerol was panting, his round cheeks red with exertion. Sweat glistened across his brow and dampened the locks at his temples.

  Marvius looked worse. She was pale and shaken. Her eyes were barely open as she sagged against her husband.

  “We stay together!” Lance told them, face bunched in concentration. “Jack.” He passed his enforcer over to the other boy. Then, without missing a beat, he slid under Marvius’ other arm.

  Jack moved to take rear as Lance and Jerol dragged a barely conscious Marvius between them.

  They all stopped at the second escape hatch. On the other side of the vendor level, the sound of trampling echoed through the deck like water pounding on rock as the creatures poured through the newly opened door. Their shrieks clawed along Scarlett’s spine like nails, driving terror pulsing through her.

  “Why are we stopping?” she gasped.

  Neither Rolf nor Mac answered as they flagged either side of the door. Rolf raised his hand and counted off on his fingers backwards from three. At Mac’s nod, he reached down and flattened his palm across the data scanner. It hummed. The latch on the door gave with a click. Mac threw it open with a sharp jab of his shoulder and disappeared through. A second ticked, then Rolf delved in after him, weapon raised.

  “Go!” Lance commanded.

  Saying a quick prayer, Scarlett darted in with Kiera holding tight to her.

  Someone must have found the generator. The stairway was lit a dull, sick color of yellow spattered with blood. But it was clear.

  Rolf motioned for them all to hurry, and not a minute too soon.

  A massive horde of deformed shapes rushed around the corner they’d just turned. Their mashed and bloodied faces lifted as they smelled the air like dogs on the hunt. Eyes the shade of pus rolled in sunken skulls, swiveling until they found the object of their chase.

  “In! In!” Rolf barked as Lance and Jerol scrambled in, carting Marvius after them. Jack leapt in last and Rolf slammed the door shut, but not before a shredded arm thrust through the gap.

  Kiera screamed as the skinless fingers snatched at air. The soles of Rolf’s boots skidded back a full foot as the creatures on the other side heaved their weight against the door.

  Mac rushed to help, slamming his entire shoulder into the door. Jack raised his enforcer and fired three quick rounds of electric blue energy straight into the creature’s palm. What little flesh remained splattered the wall and door. Bits sprayed across Rolf’s face and clothes. He growled and turned his head away. But the creature continued clawing, raining chunks of meat and bone to the ground. Kiera made a strangled whining sound and cowered behind Scarlett.

  Scarlett shook her off and ran to help. She smacked both palms into the cool surface of the door, right next to Rolf’s shoulder and shoved. Jack holstered his weapon and hurried to take the spot on Mac’s other side.

  Next to Scarlett’s ear, the arm began to crunch as the bone along the curve of its elbow cracked beneath the force. Her stomach roiled and she twisted her head away as though that might save her from hearing the horrific sound. But it only amplified the harder they closed the door on it. Blood sprayed. Muscle squished. The creature snarled, as did the dozen or so that seemed to have joined it on the other side.

  “Take her!” Lance shoved Marvius into Jerol’s arms and sprinted forward.

  With a vicious move that brought spots of black across Scarlett’s vision, he grabbed the arm by the wrist, twisted and tore it free of the socket. The resounding bang of the metal door slamming shut and Kiera’s ear piercing scream muffled the revolting splat as the tattered appendage hit the floor at their feet.

  “Oh my God!” Scarlett gagged and mashed her face into the taut muscles cording along Rolf’s arm. Her fingers dug into the material of his blazer as she used it to stifle the stench wafting off the single body part.

  Warm hands settled on her as he twisted his body and brought her to his chest instead. They pressed into the small of her spine and the back of her skull, holding her to him as his heart cracked against her cheek, beating as wildly as hers.

  Scarlett came to her senses quickly and detached herself from the safety of Rolf’s embrace. She kept her gaze averted as she straightened her top and adjusted the straps on her pack. She told herself she would have reached for whoever had been there at that moment, but she knew it was a lie. She always seemed to need Rolf when things were at their worst and watching body parts get torn apart was probably the worst.

  “We need to keep moving.” he told the group, over Kiera’s hysterical wails. “Kiera, stop!”

  Mac pushed away from the door and went to her. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave her a light shake. It was probably meant as a comforting gesture. He certainly wasn’t expecting to be pummeled by a ninety pound blonde. But the look of pure shock on his face when Kiera threw herself into his chest was comical as he staggered under the attack. His wide brown eyes shot to Rolf, the panic and apology bright in them. Over Kiera’s head, he made several frantic hand gestures that Rolf waved off.

  “We need to go.”

  “Where?” Jack asked and fished the data port from his pocket.

  “Down,” Rolf answered. “The further we can get the better.”

  “How did you know those things weren’t here?” Jerol asked as he jostled his wife higher in his arms.

  “I didn’t.”<
br />
  Jerol frowned. “How do you know they’re not down there?”

  Rolf looked up at him, his features solemn. “I don’t. What I do know is that we can’t stay here. We’re lucky right now and have an opening. We need to take it.”

  Hoisting his bag higher on his back, Rolf started downward. Lance slipped beneath Marvius’s free arm and helped Jerol take her weight as Jack followed with Scarlett a step behind him. Mac took rear with a weeping Kiera still clinging to his arm.

  The decks were easier to maneuver with the lights on, illuminating the numbers next to each steel door. Scarlett watched the slow descend of digits the lower they went, her heart escalating with every level they descended, and no creatures stopped them. But she refrained from allowing herself to hope. There were still too many floors left between them and freedom.

  “Deck eight,” Jack said as though they couldn’t see the number for themselves. “This is as far as we got yesterday.”

  Rolf squared his shoulders. “Keep moving.”

  And they did. They picked their way down carefully, ears strained for even the smallest hint of noise. Aside from the resounding bongs of their boots, their combined breathing, and the rustle of their clothes, no other sound penetrated the silence. Scarlett was just starting to believe that maybe, just maybe, they would make it this time. They would reach the pods, get everyone on board, and then go search for Hunter. But she should have realized that it was all too good to be true, that the silence was a mask for something even worse waiting for them. It didn’t strike her until the creatures seemingly appeared out of nowhere. They charged up the stairs, a wave of dark, blood thirsty death. Their snarls swallowed Rolf’s bellow to turn back, but it was too late. They weren’t fast enough.

  Kiera screamed. The sound seemed to send the monsters into a frenzy. They snapped blood-stained teeth and lunged. Enforcers cracked. Blood, flesh, and guts sprayed the walls like a macabre painting. Screams and howls lanced off stone and steel. Scarlett whipped out her pipe and gripped it with both hands as a handful got past Rolf and the others and came charging up the stairs towards her.