Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Colbie
Waking from a deep sleep, I blinked my eyes open and stilled.
I was lying on the bed, warm and safe, with Marc’s strong fingers sifting through my hair. The soft glow of light from the lantern was almost romantic.
We’d spent the afternoon playing cards. Turned out I was spectacularly bad at poker. I’d managed to make him laugh several times. We’d eaten the rations we’d found and talked. I’d learned that he had an unhealthy obsession with keeping his lawn green and worried about his brother.
Twins have a special bond, Colbie. Even when he won’t talk to me, I know he struggles sometimes. Goes somewhere dark in his head.
I loved that he loved his brother so much.
I told him more about my passion for flying, my collection of house plants, and that I was thinking of trying my hand at painting.
I didn’t tell him that I had serious feelings for him, or that one day, I wanted a man who loved me more than anything. Who’d look at me the way my dad looked at my mom.
No, I knew sharing that was a surefire way to scare him off.
But the memory of that spectacular orgasm wasn’t very far away.
I knew instantly that he hadn’t slept.
No, he’d watched over me through the night.
I closed my eyes. God. My stomach was warm. The skin on my butt was still tender because I’d let him spank me. And I’d liked it.
It was time to admit how I felt about Marc Jackson. The feelings I had ran far deeper than I’d thought.
No. If I was honest, I’d always known. Just as I knew that he wasn’t the relationship kind of guy.
Still, I wasn’t sure where this was headed. Was he just after a few hot nights? Was it just a reaction to the dangerous situation?
My stomach soured. Maybe he wanted sex, then he’d saunter off with a smile. The idea of watching him flirt with some woman at the bar cut me deeply.
But he’d been so…worried about me yesterday. Mad that I’d taken a risk and not listened to him. Those reactions had to be fueled by more than just desire.
Ugh. I was twisting myself up thinking about all of this.
“Colbie?” He stroked my hair. “Time to wake up.”
I sat up. My braid had come loose during the night and I pushed my hair out of my face. “What time is it?”
“Four AM. We need to get moving.” He smiled at me. He had a great smile.
“Hey,” I murmured.
He tucked my hair behind my ear. “You snore.”
I gasped. “I do not.”
“You do. Cute, snuffling snoring.”
I shot him a hot look and rose. I realized that I was still sticky between my legs, and I tried not to feel self-conscious about that. “Are we heading back up the ladder?”
He rose too. “No. The rendezvous point is north of here. The ladder is in the wrong direction. Our best bet is to cross through the base, then head outside where the aliens blew a huge hole in the place. We’ve flown over it a few times.
It’ll be easy for us to get out that way, and we’ll be close to the pickup point. ”
“I’m really ready to go home.”
He grabbed my hand. “Me too. Let’s pack up.”
I watched him head over to where he’d plugged the old carbine in to charge. I pulled my boots back on. Actually, a small part of me would be sad to leave this little, safe space.
“Carbine, good?” I started re-braiding my hair.
He lifted his chin. “Fully charged.”
Once we were ready, he shoved the bunk out of the way and wedged the door open. I set my shoulders back. Right. We had to get out of here, cross through a base filled with monsters, and get to an evacuation point in a forest filled with even more monsters.
Easy-peasy.
Marc looked focused, alert. “You see any monsters, you run away from them, got it?”
I rolled my eyes.
He always used charm and a joke to keep people relaxed.
To keep people from seeing the real Marc.
We started down the corridor.
“We’ll have to go through the dining area, and avoid the old hangar,” he said.
“Right.” Avoid the cocoons and that monster-wolf thing.
We moved swiftly and quietly through the corridors.
Most of the areas were filled with rubble.
Mixed in were remnants of former lives. Books, tools, knives and forks.
The ones that got me were the kids’ toys, abandoned and broken.
My gaze snagged on an old, ragged teddy bear.
My heart skipped a beat at the sight, and I desperately hoped that whoever it had belonged to had made it out alive.
“This way,” Marc said.
We hadn’t gone far, when he froze.
Without a sound, he grabbed my arm and dragged me to the nearest doorway.
It was the kitchen. I noted the long, stainless-steel counters coated with dust and old appliances.
He yanked me down behind a counter.
A low, throaty noise, that could only come from a monster, echoed softly through the space. The hair on my arms rose and my heart lodged in my throat. Marc was watching, his neck craned to look at the doorway.
I followed suit. Oh, hell. A monster stood in the doorway, its gaze flicking over the room.
It didn’t know if it wanted to be humanoid or not. It was standing upright, but as I watched, it dropped to all fours and took a step into the kitchen. It’s saggy, brown skin was covered in a scale pattern. It was sniffing the air.
I closed my eyes and felt my muscles tense.
Beside me, Marc’s body tensed, as well.
He’d fight. He’d protect me.
I trusted him with my life, but I didn’t want him to get hurt.
We were both getting out of here.
I knew I’d be risking my heart, but I really, really wanted to get naked with Marc Jackson. To know how it felt to have him touch me, his heavy weight on mine.
The monster snorted, its claws clicking on the floor. Marc silently lifted his carbine.
Then, without warning, the monster swiveled and slunk out.
I sagged against the cabinets. Thank God.
Marc waited a beat. “We won’t go back out that way. We need to use that door.” He pointed. “I’m guessing it leads to the dining room.”
With a nod, I shuffled toward it. I shifted, and almost knocked into some hanging pots and pans.
He grabbed me and jerked me against his chest.
I blew out a breath. “Sorry.”
“Good?”
I nodded.
We stayed low and quiet as we made our way to the exit. He slowly pushed through the swinging door. The old hinges creaked and groaned, and we both winced.
We stepped into the dining room and my chest hitched. Not again.
“Fuck,” Marc muttered.
More cocoons dotted the entire room. They were resting among the overturned tables, against the walls. Some were in clusters, some were large ones, standing alone.
“Let’s just cross this as fast as we can,” he said.
I wrinkled my nose. “Okay.”
“Fast and quiet.”
We set off. The floor was sticky, and beside us, a cocoon pulsed gently. My stomach did a sickening turn.
I slid between two large cocoons. An ugly stench hit me, and I glanced over to see a rotten cocoon. Something had clearly died inside it. I held an arm to my nose, and watched Marc’s face harden.
We were halfway across the dining room when I heard soft noises.
“Down.” He tugged me toward the floor.
We both crawled under a table. He was right beside me, strong and solid. I was so glad I wasn’t alone.
Peering around the table, I spotted the threader. It was gliding across the space, almost elegant. Like some kind of twisted dancer. It paused and cocked its head.
A second threader joined it. Then a third.
“What the hell?” Marc murmured.
Several more appeared. A huge group of them.
A clicking noise grew, and they milled around. The clicking increased.
My breath caught in my throat. God, they were talking to each other.
And they didn’t appear to be moving.
Now, we were trapped.
Marc
So many damn threaders.
Beside me, Colbie stared at them, her eyes like saucers. She clutched my hand and squeezed.
Frowning, I watched the monsters. They were definitely communicating, and there were so fucking many of them.
On the plus side, I could tell my squad this was a good place for us to catch one.
But right now, I had a bigger problem. I needed to get Colbie out of here.
“Come on,” I whispered in her ear. “Go left, crawl, and stay low. We need to get to the far wall.” It would mean a detour around the threaders, but hopefully they wouldn’t notice us.
She nodded, her face set in focused lines. I knew she was scared, but she wasn’t showing it.
That was my girl.
Not yours, asshole.
I focused my attention on the threaders. We crawled under another table and around a cluster of cocoons.
Then, a small, skittering sound. Colbie froze.
Ahead of us, a rat appeared. Colbie’s body went solid. I shifted closer to her, and the rat scuttled off.
There was a large cocoon nearby and we crawled behind it. The threaders were still making those weird clicking sounds, but at least this time, they weren’t mimicking human speech.
I pulled Colbie against me. We were running out of time. We needed to get topside and meet the squad.
I shifted to continue our way around the room, but froze when some of the threaders moved.
Colbie tensed, but as we watched, several threaders left the room.
Okay, only a few more to go. “Come on,” I murmured, willing the others to leave, too.
Then finally, I watched the last three monsters glide out.
My tense shoulders relaxed. “Okay, let’s get…” I realized she wasn’t listening. Her gaze was locked on the cocoon in front of us.
With a frown, I stared at it. On this side, the membrane was thin. Something moved inside it, and suddenly a face pressed against the side.
Oh, fuck.
“Marc,” she breathed in horror.
Then the person’s eye opened. I could tell he was a young man. I wasn’t sure if he could see us, but he lifted a palm and pressed it to the cocoon, pushing on it.
Shock hit my gut in a wave.
“We have to help him,” Colbie whispered.
I yanked my combat knife from its sheath, then sliced into the cocoon.
The person inside started moving. I glanced around. If the threaders came back, we were fucked.
I sawed the knife, cutting down through the heavy cocoon. It spilled open, fluid splashing onto my boots.
The man tumbled out onto the floor, naked. He let out a harsh, rasping sound.
“H-help…me.” His hand was outstretched.
Colbie instantly grabbed it. “It’s okay. You’re okay. We’ve got you.”
He wasn’t okay. I fought to keep my expression neutral.
Fuck. Patches of his skin were black. One of his eyes was swollen, bulging out of his head. And his harsh breathing told me it was hard for him to pull in air.
“What’s your name?” Colbie asked. “I’m Colbie. And this is Marc.”
“Name? Don’t…know.” He groaned, his back arching. “Hurts.”
She grabbed my arm with her free hand and looked up. “We can’t leave him. He needs medical help.”
Dammit. I couldn’t carry him and fight off any monsters. And Colbie wasn’t big enough or strong enough to carry him, either.
The man moaned, turned his head, and vomited up black sludge. I yanked Colbie back.
The man’s muscles strained. “Hurts. Burning inside me.”
How long had he been in that cocoon? What had it done to him? “What’s your name?” I asked again. “Where are you from?”
There was no response. He was groaning, his muscles straining.
Colbie shifted, grabbing his hand again. “Just breathe. You’re not alone.”
Suddenly, the man’s head snapped up. He gripped Colbie’s hand hard and yanked her forward.
She let out a startled sound.
“Hey,” I said.
The man’s good eye flashed red, and he yanked her again, opening his mouth.
Oh, hell no. His mouth was full of sharp, needlelike teeth.
“Let her go.” I wrapped an arm around Colbie’s waist.
Black fluid sprayed from the man’s mouth, hitting Colbie’s arms and the side of her face.
She opened her mouth to scream.
I pulled her back, slamming my palm over her mouth to muffle the sound. The man didn’t release her, and I kicked him in the chest. He fell back, snarling and snapping his teeth at us.
I kicked him away.
He fell flat on his back and let out a low sound. He looked like he was ready to launch himself at us.
Then he froze, made another horrible sound, and collapsed.
He started convulsing.
Colbie pushed my hand away from her face, her eyes swimming in horror, fear, and sorrow.
“H-help—” the young man’s voice cut off as he slumped. The life drained from his eyes.
“No,” Colbie breathed.
I’d had enough. “We need to go. Now.”
She was still just staring at the man.
“Colbie.”
She turned her head and I saw her cheek. It was red and raw.
“Shit. Your face.”
A grimace twisted her features. “God, it burns.” She lifted her arm. The skin there was burning and blistering.
I gripped the bottom of my T-shirt and tore a strip off. Then I swiped the black gunk off her face and arm.
She let out a pained moan.
“Colbie—”
“I’m okay. It stings, but we need to get out of here.”
I nodded, but I hated seeing the pain on her face. I’d had enough. I was getting her out of here.
I lifted her and tossed her over my shoulder. I marched across the room, dodging the fucking cocoons.
At the door, she tapped my back. “I can walk. You need to focus.”
I set her down. Her cheek was bright red, the rest of her face was pale, but she was steady.
“Stay close to me.”
She nodded, so much sorrow on her face.
I gave her a quick kiss, then we exited the dining room. We navigated the corridors, listening for monsters. Fortunately, we only had to hide behind some rubble once when a canine monster passed by.
Finally, a cool breeze filled the air, and the end of the corridor brightened with natural light. We turned a corner…
We’d reached the part of the base that had suffered heavy bombing.
There was a gaping hole, open to the blue sky above. Early-morning sunlight filtered in.
“Go.” I pushed her toward a pile of rubble that we could use to climb up.
Colbie scrambled upward, and I followed. Finally, we pulled ourselves up onto the grass surrounding the giant hole. I scanned the trees, but didn’t see any monsters.
I studied her face and arm. Damn, her skin was red and blistered.
She met my gaze. “I’ll be fine, Marc. Focus.”
“Okay, it isn’t far to the pickup point.” I pulled her to her feet. “Let’s—”
Her eyes widened, as she looked over my shoulder. “Marc!”
I spun, already reaching for my carbine.
A threader stepped out of the trees, its sightless face focused on us.
Hell.