Return to Dark Earth

by Anna Hackett

  Fuck. Nik fired and dodged to the side. He hit the floor hard, the impact rattling his bones. When he rolled, he caught a glimpse of the thing. His eyes widened. Holy hell, it was huge.

  Nera was circling the creature, her sword held in front of her. The beast was almost as tall as her shoulders, with a powerful body and a long tail that whipped back and forth. It growled again. It looked almost like…a giant mutant cat. Maybe that was what it was. At best guess, it was some species of a former Earth creature, mutated by the radiation and years of breeding.

  Its muscles bunched again and it bounded at Nera. Nik’s heart beat double-time. He couldn’t get a clear shot.

  But Nera was fast, too. She ducked, and slashed at the creature’s black hide.

  Her sword didn’t penetrate.

  Nera jumped back, and he saw the flash of large claws.

  Its hide was tough, thick and gnarled, almost reptilian. He aimed his laser pistol and fired.

  The beast spun around, and glowing, green eyes leveled on him. Its head was huge, with large jaws that were filled with giant teeth. Nice.

  “Distract it.” Nera yelled.

  Right. Nik saw her move, but kept his gaze on the beast. It took a step toward him.

  He fired, aiming for its eyes. It shook its head, then swiped out with one giant paw. Nik dived and rolled.

  The creature swiped at him again, and this time, Nera appeared from the darkness and a barrage of throwing stars slammed into the creature. Paw, arm, cheek, three across its side—they clung to it like burrs. And thick, black blood oozed from the wounds.

  The creature screeched, an ear-splitting sound that made Nik wince. The cat spun again, and unable to find Nera, settled on Nik.

  “Come on, kitty.” He lifted his laser pistol again. The beast started stalking him, its belly low to the ground. “Nera, whatever you have planned, do it fast.”

  Suddenly, she leapt into the air. And onto the creature’s back.

  Nik fired at its head. The creature reared, trying to dislodge Nera. She raised her sword up, and with a lightning-fast move, slammed it down into the back of its neck.

  Nik kept firing until the charge ran out on his pistol. As it recharged, he staggered backward. The creature kept coming, snarling and hissing. Nera’s sword hadn’t penetrated far and she was working it in with heavy thrusts.

  The creature was so close now that Nik smelled its rank, rotten breath. It smelled of blood and dead things. His back hit the wall. Shit.

  He lifted the pistol again. But just as the beast raised its giant paw once more, it let out a bloodcurdling scream.

  Then it collapsed to the floor, its long claws brushing the tips of Nik’s boots.

  He let out a huge breath. Nera jumped off the monster and landed in a crouch beside Nik.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He leaned over, hands on his knees, and drew in some deep breaths. “Never better.”

  “You make an excellent distraction. Thanks.”

  “Anytime.”

  Running footsteps sounded out in the corridor outside.

  “Nik? Dr. Phoenix?” Avril’s concerned voice in his earpiece.

  “Yeah. We’re in here. It’s clear.”

  Soon Avril, Galen, and the others crawled through the opening in the door. Avril stood just inside the entryway, her jaw falling open. “Oh, my stars.”

  The others had equally gobsmacked looks on their faces, their gazes moving between the artifacts and the body of the creature. Except for Gunn, who looked like he’d sucked on something acidic.

  “That dead?” Solomon nodded toward the mutant cat.

  “Yes,” Nik said. “But it wasn’t a minute ago.”

  Galen moved closer, snapping images. “Some sort of mutated creature. We need to stay on the lookout for more.”

  “I’ll arrange for a second team from the Drake,” Avril said. “I want a team in here to prepare for loading the artifacts. And more security.” She beamed. “Well done, Nik.” Her gaze shifted to the Sun Stone. “I’d hoped we’d find the Sun Stone, but I guess I never really believed we would. These finds are simply—” her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “You’ll go down in history as the discoverer of some of the most important Terran artifacts in the galaxy.”

  “And Nera too,” he said drily.

  Avril’s eyes flickered. “Of course.”

  “I’m sure you’d like to see what Gunn and Solomon found.” She glanced at her timepiece. “We still have time. We can check on the team loading up their find on the way out. Agent Ryant, please have some of your team secure this room until the secondary extraction team arrives from the ship.”

  “Sure,” Galen answered.

  The rest of them headed out into the corridor.

  “You are going to be amazed by the artifacts we found.” Avril’s boots echoed on the floor. “There’s an Olmec head, a crystal skull of some kind, and a collection of Aztec jewelry—armbands, ear plugs, and rings.” Her cheeks were flushed.

  Nik couldn’t fault her for her love of history and artifacts. In fact, she was starting to make Nik believe that not everyone in the Institute was rotten. They stepped back into the domed entry and she waved them toward the wing where Gunn and Solomon had searched. The doorway to the hall was ahead, wedged open by a rock.

  Suddenly Nera reached back and pulled her sword out of its scabbard. It made a distinctive sound as the metal slid against leather.

  Avril’s eyes went wild. “Darc, I don’t think—”

  Nik waved a hand to silence her and focused on Nera. “What is it?”

  “I smell blood.”

  Blood? Nik swiveled and eyed the doorway. He didn’t smell anything. He strode forward, heard Nera curse and jog a few steps to keep up with him.

  The stench hit him at the doorway.

  “Damn.” He took the room in with a single glance and his stomach hardened.

  Beside him, Nera stared impassively, but her gaze swept the room.

  “By the gods.” Avril pressed a hand to her mouth, her face pale.

  The team she’d left behind to start preparing the artifacts had been slaughtered.

  “They’re all dead,” she whispered.

  Nik and Nera moved inside, cautiously.

  “I don’t sense anyone,” she said quietly.

  Nor did he. His grip tightened on his laser pistol and he knelt beside the first body. The kid was young, maybe twenty-one. His throat had been practically torn out and blood had soaked into his uniform.

  Nera checked the next one. “Slashes. Looks like claw marks. Whatever it was, it went for the throat.”

  Five of them. Dead. Nik stood. “The creature that attacked us?”

  Nera shook her head. “I don’t think so. It was huge, it would have made more of a mess and left larger wounds. These wounds are smaller, more precise.”

  Avril moved forward with shaky steps, but her chin was up. She touched her ear. “Agent Ryant. Recovery Team One is dead. I repeat, Team One is dead. I need you back here.” She took a deep breath and looked at the two agents who’d accompanied them. “Cover the room. No one in or out until we know what the hell did this.”

  The two grim-faced agents nodded and moved to the door.

  “They left the artifacts,” Avril noted.

  Nik looked, and took a second to admire the amazing clear crystal skull and the gold jewelry partly nestled into boxes. “I don’t think they were after the artifacts.”

  Avril frowned. “No?”

  Nera turned. “Whatever killed them, it fed on the bodies. It drank their blood and ate some of their flesh.”

  If it was possible, Avril’s already-pale face turned a shade whiter and she pressed a fist to her mouth. She looked at the closest body briefly before glancing away. “How do you know it drank their blood?”

  “Because there isn’t a huge pool on the floor, despite the massive wounds,” Nera answered.

  Avril gave a jerky nod. “Right. What would do th
at?”

  “I’m sure we’ll be lucky enough to find out.”

  Nik knew Nera was right. Whatever had attacked these people, it would be back. Hungry for more.

  Suddenly one of the security agents shouted. They all spun.

  The man was standing beside one of the bodies. He was kicking his leg, trying to get free…of the hand of the dead body grasping at his ankle.

  What the hell? Nik took a second to process. As he watched, the dead body—this one a woman—rolled onto its stomach, hands grasping at the security agent. She let out a low, drawn-out wail.

  “Jesus.” Nik lifted his pistol and started forward.

  The security agent aimed his own shaking laser pistol at the woman. The skin on her face had changed; it was now covered in mottled shades of brown, like she was badly bruised. She made another sound, this one more like a growl. The agent shot her in the face.

  Even as a wound opened up on her face, the woman didn’t stop. She didn’t even flinch. She was tearing at the man’s boots, her nails ripping until his boot came loose. She sank her nails into the man’s ankle. He yelled and shot her again.

  Nik quickened his pace. He fired at the woman, and kept firing until she let the guard go. She dragged herself along the floor, leaving a smear of blood, and hissed at Nik. Her eyes were entirely black, with no white visible. Nik fired again, and finally the woman’s body slumped to the floor.

  The security agent, his chest heaving, staggered away from the woman. Frantically, he eyed the other bodies, but they were all still. Their small group converged, pulling in close together.

  “We need assistance,” Avril called into her earpiece. “And Agent Datarr needs a medic. Hurry!” Avril urged Datarr to sit down. “Just take it easy. Agent Ryant and the others are coming.”

  The man swallowed. “Damn, it hurts. What the hell happened to them? How could she…come back to life?”

  “I don’t think she was alive.” Nera was watching the other bodies with a hawk’s gaze.

  “It must be some sort of infection,” Nik pondered.

  The thud of running footsteps sounded and Galen and his team, as well as Gunn and Solomon, poured into the room.

  “Holy shit,” Gunn muttered.

  One uniformed woman hustled over and knelt by Datarr. She had a green cross on her sleeve and a med-kit on her back. She cut the remnants of his boot off and got to work.

  Galen studied his dead team members with a grim face. If he felt anything, he didn’t let it show. “What the hell happened?”

  “Agent Lambert…came back to life and attacked Datarr.”

  “We need to destroy the bodies,” Nera said.

  Avril nodded. “I agree with Darc.”

  The medic hissed out a breath. “Sir? Ma’am?”

  They all turned and Nik got a look at the man’s injured leg. Uh oh. The agent was clearly part-aquatic, obvious from his large eyes and the pale blue tint to his skin. There were bloody claw marks at his ankle, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the black, sludge-like substance they could see under the man’s blue skin, working its way up his veins.

  “What the hell?” Datarr’s face was sheened with sweat. “Get it out. Please! Get it out.”

  The medic lifted a medscope. “I’ve already tried the medscope…it had no effect. I’ll give you an antibiotic, but I think we need to get you back to the ship and into the medbay.”

  He gave a jerky nod, then he stiffened like he’d been hit by an electrical shock.

  Galen frowned. “Datarr?”

  Suddenly Datarr swung out. He backhanded the medic and she fell to the floor with a sharp cry. Another agent, a tall, brawny man who towered over Datarr, dived at him.

  Datarr’s hand shot out and he grabbed the other agent around the neck and lifted him an inch off the ground.

  Fuck. Nik took a step back and raised his pistol.

  Datarr pulled the struggling guard closer and made a noise. A growl.

  He turned and they all saw that his wide eyes were changing, blackness leaking into them.

  “God, what the hell?” Galen stared, his gun aimed at his agent.

  Suddenly, Nera flew forward and jumped into the air, her sword glinting above her head. One quick, controlled swing of her blade and Datarr’s head was removed from his body. It hit the floor and rolled, and his body collapsed.

  The tall agent stumbled backward, his gaze horrified. The medic got to her feet, shaking a little.

  Nera stood. Black blood ran down her sword. “I suggest you check they aren’t infected, then have your team decapitate the rest of the bodies before they also decide to feast on our insides.”

  Galen gave Nera a hard stare, then he turned with a jerk and nodded to his team. “Do as she says.”

  “Zombies.” Avril had a closed fist pressed to her chest, her eyes as wide as moons. “They’re zombies.”

  Niklas frowned. It was an old Earth term for reanimated corpses that rose from the dead with a hunger for flesh. He suspected there was a scientific reason for this. Most likely a virus, no doubt mutated by radiation. Reanimation of corpses was abhorred throughout the galaxy, but it did happen. Zayn and Ria knew that better than anybody. He looked at the bodies littering the ground. Still, this was something far, far worse than recycling bodies.

  “I suggest we get back to the ship and recall the other team as well,” Galen said. “Until we have a better handle on this situation.”

  Gunn snorted. “I am out of here.”

  Avril cast one wistful glance at the artifacts, then nodded at Galen. “Do it.”

  After the gruesome task of decapitating the bodies was carried out, the group moved out together.

  “It seems wrong to leave them here,” Avril said.

  “We can’t risk any contamination on the ship.” Galen’s tone was as hard as stone.

  They kept moving and everyone had their weapons drawn. Nik stayed close to Nera. She held her sword in a relaxed grip but was watchful. He was pleased to see Jonas move in beside them, a laser pistol in his hand.

  “Okay, Jonas?” Nik asked.

  The younger man nodded. “Wasn’t expecting zombies, though.”

  “None of us were. Good job on the Olmec head and the skull.”

  Jonas flicked a glance his way. “It’s a good start. Sun Stone tops it though.”

  Nik hid a grin. “We’re all sharing the pay at the end.”

  “It’s not about the e-creds. I want the recognition.”

  “You’re young. You’ll get it. It just takes time.”

  “I don’t have time.” Jonas stepped out into the lobby, leaving Nik wondering what the kid was so desperate to prove. And to whom.

  Overhead, beautiful golden rays of sunlight filtered through the dome casting bright stripes over the floor.

  “The other team is coming from the Special Exhibitions Hall. They’ll be here in a moment.” Avril sighed. “I did not want things to turn out like this.”

  Nik felt a pang of sympathy for her. He’d once lost a young trainee astro-archeologist on what should have been an easy, safe dig. It had been a horrible experience. He opened his mouth, planning to offer something sympathetic, but just then Nera stiffened and his attention zeroed in on her. She was staring at the collapsed eastern wing, her head tilted slightly.

  “What is it?” He asked.

  “Something…” Nebula eyes met his. “Something’s coming.”

  Damn, her hearing was good. He lifted his laser pistol. “Avril? Galen? Something’s heading this way. Eastern wing corridor.”

  The agent frowned. “I don’t hear—”

  The first of them shambled out of the doorway and into the lobby. It was moving faster than Nik would have thought possible, with an uneven gait, like it no longer had full control of its muscles. Despite the mottled skin and gaping mouth, it was clear that it had definitely once been a man.

  A part of Nik had initially hoped that whatever had attacked and killed the team had been some sort of
mutated animal, like the mutant cat he and Nera had fought.

  But as more zombies flowed into the lobby, Nik knew he’d been wrong.

  Some humans had clearly survived the nuclear bombs of the Great Terran war…and over time had become something else.

  Laser pistols whined, green laserfire filling the room. Nik aimed and pulled the trigger. He saw even more of them pouring out of the eastern wing. Dammit. There were too many of them. He was vaguely aware of the other security team arriving, adding their weapons to the fight.

  Zombies fell, but more kept coming. Nik heard the sound of a blade swishing through the air and looked to his left. Nera was leaping and twirling, her sword swinging in dangerous arcs. Heads were lopped off, and zombie limbs hit the ground. She had a focused look on her face—no horror, no strain, just focus. But he knew even she couldn’t keep this up forever.

  They kept fighting. Some of the Institute agents were shouting. He saw one get pulled into the horde of zombies.

  “Get him!” Galen yelled. “Concentrate fire around Mahmood.”

  The creatures scrambled over each other to get to their prize. The agent’s screams were abruptly cut off.

  Nik shot another zombie in the head. Suddenly, something slapped against his chest, splattering black blood over his armor. He saw a severed zombie arm drop to the floor.

  He spun…and saw Gunn grinning at him. The treasure hunter tossed another zombie body part in Nik’s direction. Several hungry zombies raced after the trail of blood, rushing toward Nik, eyes glowing and jaws open.

  Asshole. Nik pushed Gunn out of his head and focused on shooting the zombies racing at him. They herded him across the lobby, but he took them down.

  “Everyone, get to the exit,” Galen roared. “Get back to the ship!”

  Nik looked up and realized he was now a long way from the door. There were a lot of zombies between him and the exit.

  He caught Nera’s gaze through the mob of zombies. Then a zombie rushed at him, making a horrible moaning growl.

  He kicked it. As it fell, he kicked it again. As it hit the ground, it turned its head and he swore the damn thing smiled at him.

  “Niklas! Watch out.”

  Nera’s shout came a second too late. Another zombie flew into him, and together they crashed into the floor. Pain radiated through his back and he skidded across the tiles, the zombie sliding with him. Holy hell, the first one had been a decoy. These things had some sort of intelligence and had been working as a team.