by Anna Hackett
She nodded.
“We stand up.” He spun her to face him. “For our home, our friends, for those we’ve lost.” He thought of his parents, his family, his fellow Rangers. “For our future.”
Her gaze locked with his. “What’s in our future, Theron?”
“Love.”
She smiled. “Is that worth fighting for?”
He tightened his arms around her. “Hell, yeah.”
Her smile widened. “You stealing Hell Squad’s battle cry?”
“Maybe.”
Then her smile faded and her gaze moved over his shoulder. “Raptor patrol heading this way.”
Theron turned. A big, squat, black vehicle with spikes on it was bouncing along the valley floor in their direction.
He pulled her into the trees. “We’ll head north. It’ll take us a few days to hike back to the Enclave.”
She nodded, circling a tree. “Our squad will be looking for us.”
“Of course they will.” Roth and Squad Nine wouldn’t abandon them. “They’ll send a drone south until they pick up the trackers in our armor.” They just had to survive until then.
They jogged through the trees, moving back down a hill. At the bottom, the trees thinned out, and a narrow road snaked between the slopes.
Theron had just taken one step out onto the road, when he heard engines gunning.
He swiveled, snatching his carbine off his shoulder. A raptor vehicle was speeding down the road toward them. Behind it were several raptor patrols sprinting their way.
“How did they find us?” Sienna yelled, lifting her own weapon.
A thousand curses ran through Theron’s head, but he reached deep for some control. “Run, Sienna. Into the trees.”
“No.”
“Go!” He injected every ounce of command that he could.
She stepped up beside him. “You just told me that what we have is worth fighting for.”
“Damn you for being so courageous.”
“I love you, too.”
As the lead raptor vehicle pulled closer, they opened fire together.
Chapter Fifteen
The raptor vehicle gunned closer.
Sienna kept firing, but their carbines were barely making a dent in the armored vehicle. Three large spikes rose up from the front of it, making it look like some charging dinosaur.
It skidded to a stop nearby, raptor soldiers jumping out of it.
There were too many. “Let’s go that way!” She nodded to the trees.
Theron sprayed another round of laser fire, then they started running. Just a few meters until they were in the relative safety of the trees.
Suddenly, she heard a thwap sound from behind them. A net fell over her and she slammed into the ground.
No. She struggled against the organic black fibers, and saw Theron lunge to the side to run her way. “No, keep going!”
Another net launched and it exploded around Theron. He tripped and rolled across the ground.
Despair crashed over her. Theron roared, struggling to get out of his net. She reached down and pulled out her combat knife. She sliced at the fibers, but they were too damn strong.
Two booted feet stepped right in front of her face. She looked up into the ugly, gray-scaled face of a raptor. He bared his teeth at her, his demonic eyes glowing. Several other raptors appeared.
Sienna was yanked up and dragged toward the raptor vehicle. She had a perfect view of two raptors hauling Theron up. He kicked out, the net hampering him, but managed to knock one alien over.
The second one landed an unforgiving punch to Theron’s mid-section. She bit her lip and watched as he grunted and doubled over. She knew his armor would protect him a bit, but it still had to hurt.
She was tossed into the back of the raptor vehicle. A second later, Theron landed beside her.
She struggled upward. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
The back door slammed shut and they were plunged into darkness. She felt the vehicle rock from side to side, and figured the raptors were climbing in the front.
She reached out a hand, her fingers brushing his. The vehicle pulled away.
“You should have run,” Theron ground out.
“I’d never leave you.”
He yanked her close and she wished she could see him. She cupped his cheeks through the net, loving the scrape of his stubble.
“I lost everyone.” His voice was ragged. “I failed everyone I cared about. I can’t lose you, too.”
Her heart hurt for him. “Theron, you didn’t fail anyone. Your parents, your siblings, your fellow Rangers…the aliens killed them.” She slid her hands into his hair. “I told you once before that you have a hero buried under your quiet toughness. You try to protect everyone around you, but that doesn’t mean it is your responsibility to save everyone.”
His hands cupped her head, his breathing harsh. “I’ve never been good enough. I was born with darkness in me.”
Sienna mentally cursed the woman who’d scarred him as a young child. “Cazzate. Bullshit. We are all dark and light, good and bad. That’s what makes us human. You don’t need to be perfect to be loved, Theron. You don’t have to be a shining good guy to be worthy of love. I love you as you are. All the black, white, and gray in you.”
He made a sound and yanked her close, his mouth capturing hers. She drank him in, her hands digging into his shoulders. She didn’t know what they’d face when this vehicle stopped, but whatever it was, they’d face it together.
They held each other in the darkness during the long, bumpy ride. Finally, the vehicle pulled to a halt.
The back doors opened, the sunlight blinding them. The next thing she knew, she was yanked out and dropped onto the ground. Theron, still covered in his net, was dumped beside her.
Sienna’s eyesight adjusted. They were right in front of the hydro-electric power station, and surrounded by raptor troops.
She listened to the raptors discussing them and gesturing. One raptor was slightly taller than the others and appeared to be in charge. Sienna kept her face blank, ready to face whatever happened next. She glanced at Theron. His face looked like granite, and she saw him subtly scanning their surroundings, assessing, planning, thinking.
Two raptors yanked Sienna up to her feet. One drew a huge black blade with a jagged edge. She sucked in a breath and stiffened her spine.
“Leave her alone.” Theron started struggling, and four raptors circled him, holding him in place.
The raptor in front of her cut the net off her, then slid the knife away. She blew out a breath, watching as Theron’s net was cut away, too. Then clawed hands tore at them, yanking their armor off, and taking their weapons. Finally, they stood there in only their cargo pants and T-shirts. Even in the late afternoon sun, she felt chilled. Their odds of survival were looking pretty grim.
She drew herself up and looked at the tall raptor. “What are—?”
He took a step forward and backhanded her.
Sienna flew backward and hit the ground. Her face throbbed. Ow.
Theron surged forward, but another raptor whacked the butt of his weapon against Theron’s gut, knocking him back a step. Cursing, Theron grabbed Sienna and pulled her close.
His hand smoothed over her cheek. “Okay?”
She nodded. The big alien had turned his back on them, seemingly ignoring them. Then he barked out an order and several raptors took off at a jog.
The big raptor looked at them now. She saw him take in the way Theron was holding her, and the alien’s head tilted. If she had to guess, he looked confused.
The Gizzida cared about strength and domination. They had no clue about caring or love.
Warmth burst inside her. And that would be their downfall. Fear and power could only take you so far. They had no understanding of the motivation of love. Of deep love that completed and nurtured, like what she felt for Theron. Of the ferocious love of a mother, who would do anything to see her children safe. Of t
he love of family and friends, who would stick together and always fight for each other.
“Any chance you see to get out, you take it,” Theron murmured.
Right. She could race through an army of raptors, unarmed, with no armor. Piece of cake.
There was a small commotion, and the crowd of raptors parted.
She felt Theron tense beside her, and Sienna hissed out a breath. Several raptors were leading in a herd of creepers. The skittish creatures were screeching and fighting their chains.
Suddenly, the lead creeper stopped, and let out an ear-splitting screech. Sienna slapped her hands over her ears and saw several raptors back up a few steps. The alien’s belly was glowing brightly, and was far more distended then the other creeper she’d seen on the alien ship.
The creature started shaking, and a second later, its belly detached and dropped to the ground.
Horrified, Sienna just stared. Dimly, she heard Theron curse.
The creeper had just laid a pod. What the hell was going on here?
“Help! Help me!”
A man’s screams made Sienna turn. A human was dragged forward by two raptors. He was dropped on the ground.
“Help.” His hair was disheveled and his clothes torn.
Sienna’s eyes widened. “Howell?”
The former United Coalition President just stared at her, his eyes wild. He didn’t appear to recognize anything, too lost in his terror. She’d thought he was dead.
Then a creeper skittered forward, and leaned down toward the man. Theron snatched Sienna back, and she watched as the creeper’s mouth opened wide. It sucked the terrified man up in one gulp.
Oh, hell no. Sienna blinked. The creeper had just eaten Howell whole. This was like some terrible horror movie. She saw the creeper’s stomach expand, and inside, she could see the silhouette of a man struggling.
Realization was a horrible spill of ice down her spine. She looked at the creepers, then at the sea of orange pods surrounding them.
“They don’t need the genesis tanks anymore,” she whispered. She knew the transformation from human to Gizzida in the tanks took months. “They’ve engineered another way to turn us into them.”
A muscle ticked in Theron’s jaw as he stared at the creeper that had swallowed Howell. “Fuck, no.”
Raptors moved forward and knocked Theron to his knees. Sienna got a sharp blow in her lower back and fell down beside him.
Then she looked up and saw two creepers with flat, empty bellies being led toward them.
Her gut cramped and she grasped Theron’s hand. “Theron.”
***
Theron felt like his body was encased in ice. When they’d driven here in the raptor vehicle, he’d imagined being tortured, fighting, pain. Not this.
No way he was letting Sienna be eaten by an alien and then turned into one.
“Sienna, I’ll cause a diversion.”
She looked up at him and snorted. “While I run and leave you to be swallowed whole by an alien?”
He saw the fear and horror in her eyes, but clearly that wasn’t enough to get her to listen to his plan. She wouldn’t leave. “And you call me stubborn.”
“I’ve been learning from the best. I have a better idea.” She nodded her head to the left.
Theron looked that way and saw several of the giant exosuits that the aliens had been using to shift cargo. These weren’t in use, and were standing open, waiting for an operator.
Risky. Even if they could reach them, there was no guarantee that he and Sienna could operate the alien technology.
But, they might offer some protection, and if they could get them working…at least they could go down fighting, and not stuck in the belly of an alien.
He squeezed her hand. “Sienna, I love you.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You decide to tell me now? Surrounded by raptors, and about to be eaten by creepers?”
“Sorry. Seems I have a problem with good timing when it comes to you.”
“Luckily, I love you, too.” Her lips tilted up. “Now, are you ready to fight?”
One of the creepers moved closer to them and let out a screech.
“Oh, yeah.” Theron lunged to his feet, knocking into the raptor guard beside him. He grabbed the alien’s weapon, spun it around, and opened fire. He sprayed green poison over the creepers and other raptors.
Chaos.
Raptors shouted and dived. The creepers screeched and tried to run, trampling over other raptors, yanking the keepers who didn’t immediately let go of their leashes along with them.
Theron turned, and saw Sienna sprinting toward the exosuits. He laid down another round of fire.
But he could see the raptors were regrouping.
Come on, Sienna. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw her leap into the closest exosuit. He watched the bone-like suit close around her.
Theron kept firing, steadily walking backward toward the other exosuits. Suddenly, the raptor weapon jammed, no more poison spraying out of it.
Fuck. He tossed the gun at the incoming raptors and sprinted toward the suits. He dived into the one beside Sienna’s. The suit closed around him, and red lights flared to life on the controls right in front of his face.
It was covered in raptor-scrawl, and he couldn’t make heads or tails out of the controls. There were buttons, some levers, and a pad that felt sticky.
Something hit his suit, and he heard sizzling. The raptors had almost reached him, and were firing.
Come on. He pressed buttons and symbols on the screen, trying to get the suit to do something.
The raptor patrol was almost on top of him.
Suddenly, a huge figure stomped in front of his suit. He watched the giant arms of the other exosuit swing and slam into the incoming raptors. Several bodies flew through the air.
Sienna. She’d worked out her controls and, as he watched, she waded into the raptors, stomping the exosuit’s giant legs down on aliens and swinging the arms. He grinned. She was his sprinkle-coated badass, all right.
Theron turned his attention back to the controls. He touched more buttons, and finally, his suit moved. A few more tests, and he worked out some of the basic controls. He touched a lever, and his exosuit moved forward with lumbering steps.
He stomped up beside Sienna, and joined the fight.
Together, they swung, hit, and smashed anything they could touch. They tore through raptor after raptor, and smashed through several orange pods, goo splattering everywhere.
Theron took a moment to look beyond the immediate skirmish. They were carving a pretty good path toward the edge of the alien encampment.
Adrenaline flooded him. Now, they had a chance. Maybe they could actually break through and escape.
“Head that way!” He used his exosuit arm to point. Through the amber panel that formed the suit’s eye slit, he could see her nodding.
They kept fighting raptors. Theron took great pleasure in stomping over a few creepers.
Then he saw something that chilled his soul.
A row of raptor vehicles was lining up in front of them, forming a barrier.
He glanced at Sienna and saw her face was grim.
“I love you,” he shouted at her.
She pressed a hand to the glass on her suit and her lips moved. “I love you, too.”
Ahead, he watched, as all the cannons mounted on the raptor vehicles swung in their direction.
He wouldn’t lose Sienna. He wouldn’t let her die here. “I’ll fight for you,” he vowed. “Until I can’t fight anymore.”
Chapter Sixteen
Sienna grimly touched the controls, starting her exosuit toward the vehicles.
The suits didn’t have any weapons.
The nearest vehicle’s cannon opened fire. Flames exploded around her, and she tensed. Then she relaxed. She hadn’t been hit.
Then she looked over at Theron’s exosuit and her heart sank.
Through the smoke, she saw his suit was staggering backward. The
bone-like chest plate was torn up and damaged.
“No,” she whispered. Then, the smoke cleared, and she saw he was okay, but his suit was failing.
It couldn’t sustain another hit.
Helplessness rushed over her. They were out of options. Her hands tightened on the controls. It looked like she wasn’t going to get her happily-ever-after, after all. God, why couldn’t she and Theron have realized what they meant to each other earlier?
She took a step forward in her exosuit and watched another cannon preparing to fire.
She straightened her spine and pressed her shoulders back. Whatever happened, she would go down fighting for herself and the man she loved.
Suddenly, there was another explosion, flames blossoming skyward, rocks, gravel, and debris spraying in all directions. As Sienna watched, a raptor vehicle was tossed into the air, flames pluming from it.
Her chest tightened and she looked up, catching three small, fast shimmers passing overhead.
Darkswifts.
Excitement and relief zinged through her. Their squad had arrived.
Green laser fire traced through the air, hitting the raptor vehicles, sending another one up in flames.
A second later, several Hawks appeared in the sky, dropping their illusions as they neared the ground. One hovered only a few meters away from her.
Sienna plowed through some raptors, positioning herself to protect the quadcopter, and saw Hell Squad and Squad Three leaping out of the Hawks.
She saw Marcus throw out an arm and shout. She didn’t need to hear his gravelly voice to know what he was saying.
Ready to go to hell?
Around him, his squad shouted and leaped into the fight. Hell, yeah! The devil needs an ass-kicking.
With adrenaline surging, Sienna moved forward, kicking and punching with her exosuit. Beside her, Theron was doing the same.
Together, they trampled through raptors and creepers. Across the space, their gazes met, and they grinned at each other.
All of a sudden, a missile flew from a raptor vehicle, and slammed directly into the chest of Theron’s suit. His suit was flung backward in a ball of flames and smoke.
Sienna’s heart stopped. She knew the suit couldn’t withstand another hit. “Theron!”