When Night Falls (Regeneration Series Book 1)

by Airicka Phoenix

  Shaking and nauseous, she sat up, grinding the heels of her hands into her eyes. They came away wet.

  God, please don’t let him be dead, she prayed, hugging her knees to her chest and rocking. She closed her eyes and pressed them into her kneecaps.

  Then it all came out in a flood that soaked through the fabric. She stuffed the end of a blanket into her mouth to muffle the gut wrenching sounds she couldn’t seem to stop. But it wasn’t all for Rolf. She cried for Grams and her home on earth. At one point, the tears were even for finding Hunter well and whole again. There was nothing that she didn’t cry for. It was like someone had torn the top off her emotions and everything was just spilling everywhere. It was almost a relief when exhaustion finally won over and she tumbled into a sleep riddled with images of corpses, monsters, and Rolf in a dark hole, unable to climb out as skinless hands tore out of the ground and tried to pull him under.

  Chapter Sixteen

  She stayed on her bed the next morning. Hunter brought her toast and a bowl of cereal. He sat with her as she watched the flakes dissolve in the milk.

  “So are you going to tell me?”

  She poked at a flake with the tip of her spoon. “What?”

  “Why you look like your best friend just died.”

  She raised her gaze to his. “That’s crazy. You’re right here.”

  “I know, which is why I’m so concerned.” He nudged her lightly with his elbow. “Not thinking of offing me, are you?”

  Despite the heaviness in her chest, Scarlett chuckled. “I’m thinking about Rolf and the others. They should have been back by now. I want to check.” She glanced at the door, guarded by no less than four marshals. “I want to check,” she said again. “And I don’t, too. What if…”

  “Hey.” He took the bowl from her and set it aside. “He knew what he was doing.”

  “Did he?” She pitched aside a corner of the blanket that had draped over her lap. “How could he? I doubt they trained him on how to kill the undead.”

  “No…” Hunter drew out slowly. “But he’ll come back.”

  She searched her friend’s green eyes. “How can you be sure?”

  He looked away at the door then dropped his gaze to his lap. “Because you’re here. He’ll come back for you.” His head lifted and he met her eye. “What’s going on with you two, Red?”

  It was her turn to drop her gaze. Shame and guilt hollowed the pit of her stomach until she was sure she’d double over from the pain.

  “Hunter…”

  “I know there’s something you’re not telling me,” he pressed when she faltered.

  She rubbed a hand over her face, her mind a muted void of all the things she knew she should tell him, but didn’t have the courage to. His quiet patience only worsened the situation so she had no choice but to tell him something.

  “Do you remember the morning Marcus told us the news?” She grimaced. “Of course you do. That’s stupid.”

  Hunter ignored her last comment and said, “Yeah, I remember.”

  She wiped the sweat from her palms off on her pants. “I know you … and Grams … I wanted to … I tried…”

  “You’re leaving out words, Red.” It was teasing, but there was no humor on his face.

  “I, uh.” She dampened her lips. “I left that night. Originally it was to clear my head. I went to the observatory. I guess I was hoping to see … something. I don’t know. I was just standing there, looking at the stars and thinking how … pointless everything was now. How lost we were and how we would die because no one would save us. I saw the disposal hatch…”

  “Jesus Christ, Scarlett!” His snarl made her wince. “Why didn’t you come to me? Why didn’t you—”

  “And tell you what?” she snapped back.

  “Anything!” he growled. “Goddamn it! I lost my family, too. You’re all I had left, Red!”

  “I know!” She mashed her face into her hands. “That’s why I couldn’t do it. I thought of you and Grams and how I couldn’t hurt you guys more than you were already hurting and—”

  He threw his hands up in aggravation. “Well, how kind of you to finally think of us before casting yourself off into space. How thoughtful.”

  “Damn it, Hunter. This is why I didn’t want to tell you!”

  He shook his head. “What does this have to do with Gray?”

  “He was there. He kept me company.”

  Hunter’s eyes narrowed. “You went to him, but not me?”

  “No! He showed up. I didn’t ask—”

  “You didn’t have to, Red. You talked to him. You let him in. That was my job. You should have come to me.” He looked away from her, head rocking slowly from side to side. “What happened next? Did you sleep with him?”

  “Oh my God, Hunter!”

  “What? I feel like I don’t know you anymore. I have no idea what you’re capable of.”

  “I’m still me! And no, I didn’t sleep with him. We didn’t do anything. We just sat there.”

  He turned his head and arched a brow at her. “The whole night?”

  Scarlett nodded.

  “And that’s it?”

  She nodded again. “We didn’t even talk.”

  “That’s it?” He shrugged his shoulders. “You just sat there the whole night in silence?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.”

  “And I couldn’t have done that for you?”

  “Damn it, Hunter! I didn’t plan that.”

  He bit his lip and looked away. “What then?”

  “Nothing. That’s it.”

  “And that’s all it took for you to fall in love with him? That one night of magical silence?”

  It took all her effort not to roll her eyes at the sarcasm in his voice. “It wasn’t just that once.”

  Eyes wide with disbelief, Hunter stared at her. “How many times did you go to him?”

  “I didn’t go to him! We just … met up.”

  “How many times?” He pressed.

  She fidgeted, unable to meet his gaze. “Just on that night, when I…” She bit her lip, mentally kicking herself for the stupid slip.

  Hunter caught it. The fire blazed behind his eyes. “Only when you need someone to talk to … or not talk to? When you need a shoulder, a friend to be there for you? Is that when?”

  “Hunter…”

  “He’s a stranger, Red!” Red splotches appeared on his face. “We, you and I, we grew up together. We shared everything. You know everything about me. I never once hid anything from you. Not once! I sure as hell never kept something this huge from you. When something’s bothering me, I go to you. When I shit in the morning and my stomach hurts, you’re the one who knows about it. Why? Because you’re my best friend!”

  “Hunter, I’m sorry!”

  Shaking off the hand she put on his arm, he shot to his feet. “You know what. I hope he’s dead.”

  “Hunter!”

  He stormed off before she could stop him.

  Hunter didn’t return to patch things up and went out of his way to avoid her when she tried to talk to him. It hurt, which she supposed was the point. She’d known from the beginning that Hunter would be furious. It was the reason she’d kept her meetings with Rolf a secret. It wasn’t to hurt him. It had been because Rolf made her feel safe in a way that was different from the safety Hunter offered. Or maybe it was because she’d secretly wanted to be alone with Rolf since he returned her ribbon and those nights were the only way she could have that. Who knew? All she did know was that she’d hurt her best friend. Rolf was still missing and the ship was overtaken by monsters. The universe really hated her.

  She found Hunter standing against a wall in the kitchen area, the furthest place he could get away from her without leaving. He stood with his arms folded and a threatening glare on his face.

  “We need to talk!” She marched up to him.

  “Why? There’s plenty of random strangers here for you to pick.”

  “Hunter, stop it!”
<
br />   “No, you stop it. You broke the friend code.”

  “It wasn’t like I went out of my way to hurt you, Hunter. It just happened.”

  “But with him?” Hunter waved his arm as though Rolf stood next to them. “The guy is taken, Scarlett. You’re better than that.”

  “It’s complicated,” she mumbled.

  “You did not just use that bullshit excuse, Red. Come on.”

  With a resigned sigh, Scarlett slumped into the wall next to him. “Don’t you think I don’t already feel like shit?”

  “Then what the hell are you doing?”

  “I don’t know!” she exclaimed. “I’m not doing anything. We haven’t done anything.”

  “Red, you’re doing loads! You’re ogling another chick’s man.”

  “I am not ogling…” she trailed off at the dry glance he shot her. “Okay, fine, but that’s all I did and there’s no crime in that. Half the girls on this ship have—”

  “You’re not half the girls on this ship,” he argued. “You deserve better and if buddy doesn’t think you’re good enough to leave his girlfriend for, he needs my boot stamped on his face.”

  “Will you stop?” She forked her fingers back through his hair. “Look, Rolf and I have never done anything more than share a strip of space together, okay?”

  “And the fact that you want to deep fry him in your love juices—”

  “Oh my God, you’re disgusting!” She gave him a shove. “So, anyway, now you know everything.”

  “Not everything.” He turned his body so they were facing each other, their shoulders against the wall. “You still haven’t told me why you didn’t talk to me.”

  She studied the straight lines of his navy-blue jacket, too much of a coward to look into his eyes. “The first night you were sleeping. I didn’t want to wake you.”

  “And all the other times?”

  She’d been hoping he wouldn’t ask, but knew he would. Nevertheless, she wasn’t ready with an answer.

  “I don’t know, Hunter. Wait.” She grabbed his arm when he started pulling away. “I mean it. I just … I guess I liked being with him. I know that sounds wrong, but…” She trailed off with a shrug. “Plus I knew you would tell me I was being stupid.”

  “You were being stupid,” he grumbled, but there was no edge to his tone. “I love you, Red. You’re everything to me and I mean that in the most non sexual way possible. You’re my family. I’d do anything for you.”

  Feeling the slow crack in the ice dividing them, she placed a hand on his arm and squeezed.

  “Me too. You know it’s true, Hunt.”

  He sighed. “Is there anything else?”

  She shook her head. “Nope. You officially know all my deep, dark secrets.”

  He searched her eyes for a second before giving a slight, satisfied nod. “Okay, but I still don’t like the guy.”

  Scarlett exhaled, slumping back, letting the coolness of the wall soak through her shirt and along her spine. Scarlett opened her mouth to comment when Silos rounded the corner and spotted her.

  “I’ve been searching for you,” he said. “Can I have a moment of your time?”

  Scarlett, after exchanging glances with Hunter, nodded. “Sure. Everything okay?”

  Rather than answer her, Silos motioned for her to follow him. With a second curious glance between them, Hunter and Scarlett followed.

  He led them to the front and stopped in front of the transporters. Scarlett stopped next to him and studied the machine but saw nothing worth concerning themselves.

  “There’s been activity on the higher levels,” Silos told them. He pointed to the numbers above the door. “We’ve been hearing the transporters go between levels since last night.”

  Scarlett tipped her head back and studied the numbers. They were blank. “Maybe it’s just a faulty wire?” She had no idea how the whole thing worked, but it made no sense why they would work and then not work only hours later.

  “As operator of this ship, I can assure you that the only way those transporters would work in the event of an emergency is if someone in the control room has overridden the safety.”

  Scarlett frowned. “Why would someone do that?”

  Silos shrugged. “That’s the question. The only people with access to the controls are the operators and the captain.”

  “Maybe it’s the captain,” she guessed.

  “Not unless she inexplicably memorized an entire coding system. It has to be an operator.”

  “Maybe there are other survivors and they’re trying to—”

  Impatience sparked behind Silos’ brown eyes, triggering Scarlett’s own. Why wasn’t he just telling her what he wanted her to know? She was no good at guessing games.

  “In the event of an emergency, all the floors below the training facility on deck sixteen are automatically locked down to keep from whatever’s happening contained from spreading to the control room. Do you know why the emergency stairways are scanner protected?” He didn’t wait for a response. “Because in the event of an emergency, each level is secured. It was what saved everyone on the ships during the riots and all those chemical spills. Had the emergency triggers not set off, we would all have died. But that safety net is what keeps each individual level protected.”

  It was slowly piecing together now.

  “What happens if someone overrides the safety and there are monsters on the other side of the door?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Silos splayed his hands. “What happens if someone removes the doors separating us?”

  Cold, slimy terror slithered down her spine. “Why are you telling me this? I’m not an operator or a marshal.”

  “Because you are the only one with people on the other side.”

  Scarlett shook her head. “I don’t know where they are.”

  “Perhaps not, but would any of them know how to override a direct command?” Silos asked.

  “Jack would,” Hunter answered.

  Silos looked at him. “Is he a mentor?”

  “Novice. He was an operator before he transferred to marshal.”

  That explained his knowledge of the ship, Scarlett thought.

  Silos shook his head. “Then no, he would not have the clearance or the knowledge. Not even all mentors are given those codes.”

  “But who would have them?” Scarlett wondered.

  “The commanding operator and the captain.”

  “Why would the captain be riding up and down on the transporters?” Hunter cut in. “Assuming that she’s alive, why wouldn’t she have already gotten onto a pod and left?”

  Silos glanced from one to the other. “Why would the captain open the security hatch knowing we’re all here? Because let me assure you, she knows we’re here.”

  “Well, I don’t believe it,” Kiera said the moment Scarlett finished telling her and Mac what Silos had told her and Hunter. “The captain would do no such thing.”

  “We’re not saying she would,” Scarlett replied. “We’re trying to determine why someone would put everyone’s lives at risk.”

  “It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Kiera looked from one to the other. “It’s the same person who tampered with the boosters.”

  “Why would anyone tamper with the boosters?” Hunter questioned. “Killing off an entire ship … an entire species, is just stupid.”

  “Maybe they’re crazy,” she decided with a delicate shrug. “Three years aboard a ship. It makes sense.”

  It did, which was the scary part. Scarlett hadn’t thought Kiera capable of logical thought.

  “That still doesn’t help us come up with a plan,” Scarlett said. “We’re sitting ducks here if those doors open. All these people … no one will survive.”

  “Especially since there’s only one escape hatch on this level,” Hunter pointed out.

  “Why do we have to come up with a plan?” Kiera huffed. “We’re only novices. The mentors should deal with it.”

  “Because i
t’s our friends out there,” Scarlett retorted sharply.

  “And what exactly do you plan on doing?” Kiera challenged. “Single handedly saving an entire ship? Please.”

  “She could do it.” Hunter glowered at the blonde. “Unlike some people, she actually has two brain cells to rub together.”

  Even as Scarlett cast him a grateful smile, she knew Kiera was right. She couldn’t save an entire ship. She didn’t know how. But she could save her friends, or at least attempt to and together they could maybe come up with something.

  “We need to find a way to locate Rolf and the others,” she said. “If we could get them here somehow, I know—”

  Click. Click.

  Everyone in the room froze as the locks disengaged then reengaged once more in rapid succession. Low murmurs and people scurrying away from the doors broke another series of clicks. Scarlett’s gaze swung from Hunter to Mac for answers, but they looked as shaken as she did.

  “What’s happening?” Kiera demanded.

  “The manual override,” Hunter said, his voice portraying the fear rippling through the room. “Someone’s tampering with them.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “What is he saying?” Scarlett demanded, staring at a baffle-faced Kiera.

  Across from them, Mac was rapidly signing something that made no sense to Scarlett. But Kiera was watching him with a growing expression of disbelief.

  “That’s crazy, Mac!” she kept telling hm.

  “What?” Scarlett snapped, stopping short of shaking the girl.

  Mac stopped and jabbed at Scarlett with a finger while staring expectantly at Kiera.

  With an exasperated huff, Kiera threw her arms up and turned to Scarlett. “He’s saying he wants to go out there and find the others.”

  Scarlett straightened. “Then I’m going with you.”

  “Wait.” Hunter put his hands up to stop her. “Are you crazy?”

  “If they’re out there, then they could be in trouble and need help,” she rationalized.

  “Right, because being in a red zone has given you special super powers that will help you defeat a herd of … whatever those things are.”