Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Marc
Fuck, I wanted to punch something.
Unfortunately, no monster jumped out to give me a target.
I stomped through the grass with the squad, my gaze locked on Colbie’s back. She had to go back in there. Back into Blue Mountain Base.
Back into danger.
I blew out a breath. I wanted her safe. With every fiber of my being, I wanted her safe, happy, and smiling.
Swallowing, I realized I wanted that more than anything.
We reached the edge of the blast hole into the base. Jameson and Kai stood at the edge, conferring on the safest way down.
I hitched my flamethrower pack into place on my back. They were a compact, hard-shelled pack with a long hose attached. I couldn’t wait to use it.
Reaching out, I grabbed Zeke’s arm. “Hey.”
My brother turned and cocked his head.
“If anything goes wrong down there, I want you to get Colbie out.”
His dark brows drew together. “Marc—”
I lowered my voice. “I mean it. She’s the number one priority. I…need to know you’ll keep her safe.”
“Shit, you’re in deep for her.”
My gut clenched. “No. Yes. No. I…”
Zeke’s lips quirked.
I huffed. “This isn’t funny.”
“Oh, this is hilarious.”
“Zeke. I need to know you’ve got this?”
He clasped my shoulder. “I’ve got this.”
“Marc? Zeke?” Jameson was looking over at us. “Let’s move. We’re climbing down the rubble pile. You two are on sniper duty from above. Once we’re safely down, I’ll spot you two.”
“On it,” I said.
“Remember, comms aren’t going to work down in the base. So we’ll be out of contact with Sasha until we’re back topside.”
Zeke and I moved to the edge, aiming our carbines down.
I looked at Colbie, but she didn’t look back at me. I watched her clamber down the rubble with the others. Then I looked through my scope, scanning the area below.
No monsters.
Once the squad was at the bottom, Jameson waved us down. Zeke and I skidded down the pile until we reached the bottom.
“All right, Marc and Colbie saw the cocoons in the hangar maintenance area and the dining room. The hanger is closest, so we’ll hit that first. Dining room after that.” He swiveled to North and Kai. “If we see a threader, I want those nets out.”
Everyone nodded.
Moving as a group, we headed through a wide doorway, deeper into the base.
I heard a low growl and looked up. There were two monsters in the corridor ahead. They had stocky canine bodies and drool dripping from their fangs.
“Look sharp, Hunter Squad,” Jameson barked.
The monsters broke into a loping run.
We opened fire.
I shifted in front of Colbie, watching as the monsters fell under the storm of laser fire.
“Keep moving,” Jameson ordered.
“You okay?” I asked her.
She was clutching her blaster in her hand. She nodded.
We turned a corner, and I saw the doors to the hangar ahead. We’d almost reached them when a weird sound filled the corridor. A strange scraping, chittering noise.
We all tensed.
“What the hell is that?” Jameson said.
Jess frowned. “It sounds like stridulation.”
“What now?” I asked.
“The sound insects make when they rub their legs or wings together. It’s a defensive behavior.”
Suddenly, Colbie looked up, and her eyes went wide. “Marc, look out!”
I moved instantly, falling backward, and whipping my carbine up.
The giant spider-like monster was clinging to the ceiling, rubbing two legs together. It was larger than a dog and had a set of nine eyes on the front of it.
All nine were locked on me.
I landed on my back. The monster’s mandibles opened and closed either side of its mouth, then it dropped from the ceiling, aiming for my head.
I fired.
The spider monster screeched, its body shuddering in the air as I shot it.
It landed on my midsection and I grunted. I bucked it off, ready to fire again, but it was dead. It left a trail of slimy ooze on my armor.
“Marc.” Colbie was beside me in an instant, her face white.
“I’m okay.” I pushed to my feet, then reached out and touched her cheek. “You?”
She nodded, her gaze scanning my body.
Jameson stepped over the body of the dead spider. “All right?”
I nodded.
Then he turned to the hangar. We quickly and quietly made our way through to the maintenance area.
Jameson stopped. “Fuck.”
As we stepped inside, it looked like there were even more cocoons than when Colbie and I had first come here.
“Any threaders?” Jameson said.
We all scanned the space. It was eerily quiet.
“Nothing,” Kai replied.
Jameson’s face twisted. “Burn it down.”
I smiled. “With pleasure.”
Zeke and Jess flanked me. We held up the hoses connected to our flamethrower packs and aimed.
I pressed the trigger.
Flames shot out. A cocoon cluster closest to me was engulfed, burning fast. I watched the flames eating away at a cocoon. A dark shadow of something moved inside.
Be free.
We walked forward, spewing flames all around. The three of us worked together, covering the space. Smoke filled the air, along with the stench of burning.
I didn’t pause, but I glanced back. Colbie stood by the door, watching. Jameson, North, and Kai were kicking over blackened cocoons and pointing out others for us to burn.
I walked deeper into the room, aiming for several large cocoons. As soon as the flames hit it, a creature burst out of one.
Shit.
It hit the floor, skidded, then shook its spiked head. It looked feline, its powerful body coated in brown fur.
Its head whipped up. I aimed the hose and sprayed more flames at it, but its muscles bunched. It leaped over the fire.
Shit. It bounded my way and the heat wasn’t stopping it.
A carbine whined. Kai appeared, firing on the monster.
It crashed to the floor. I shifted, engulfing its body in flames. I watched the fur melt off it.
“Thanks, Kai.” Then I heard a familiar clicking sound and whirled. “Threaders.”
Three of them glided in, moving in an agitated manner.
Shit, Colbie was right there. She ducked down, holding her blaster aimed at the monsters.
I needed to get their attention.
“Hey! You faceless motherfuckers.” I sent more flames spilling onto the floor. “Over here.”
The threaders focused on me.
“Kai, aim the net!” Jameson bellowed.
The smoke in the room was growing, and it was getting hard to see. The threaders disappeared into the haze.
“I’ve lost them,” Kai yelled.
“Everyone get out,” Jameson said. “Regroup.”
We all jogged back into the hangar, and Jameson slammed the maintenance doors closed.
I sucked in air, my eyes stinging from the smoke.
Then I froze. “Where’s Colbie?”
“She wasn’t in the maintenance room,” Jess said. “I brought up the rear.”
I scanned around. “She was standing right by the door when the threaders came in.”
That’s when I saw scuff marks in the debris on the floor. I swung the flamethrower hose behind me and clipped it to the pack. I took two steps, my insides freezing.
Crouching, I picked up the blaster lying on the concrete floor.
Kai was there in an instant and bent down on one knee. He touched the floor with his gloved fingers, then looked up.
“A threader took her.”
Colbie
The flames were hot and the smoke was growing denser.
I didn’t care. I watched Marc and the others swing the flamethrowers around, igniting the cocoons.
Ending this nightmare.
I looked back at Marc. God, I was falling for him.
I thought of Zeke’s words. Don’t give up on him. He’s afraid. Help him.
Marc was never afraid. He was brave to the point of being reckless.
But my heart squeezed. I knew him. And I knew some of what he showed the world was a front.
To protect himself.
A loud clicking noise filled the air and I froze. I whipped my head around.
Three angry threaders charged into the room.
I pushed back against the wall, just as Hunter Squad leaped into action. The smoke was so dense now, I couldn’t tell what was going on.
Then suddenly, I was jerked to the side.
I stumbled and cried out. Lifting my head, I looked into the terrifying, blank face of a threader.
It dragged me out into the hangar. No. No.
I jerked and struggled, but it was too strong. There was so much smoke, and I couldn’t see Hunter Squad anymore.
I fumbled for my blaster.
The monster knocked it out of my hand and kept dragging me. He pulled me into the corridor. My feet skidded and slipped through the debris on the floor.
The threader didn’t pause, moving swiftly down the hall.
My heart hammered in my chest. What was it doing? Where was it taking me?
I heard shouts from the hangar behind me.
I swallowed and pulled in a breath. Hunter Squad would find me. Marc would come for me.
I just needed to hold on until then.
The thought steadied me. Yes, the amazing, funny man who was loyal, tough, and brave was coming for me.
After this, I was going to make him see that he was falling for me too.
The threader pulled me through a doorway. I reached out and gripped the doorframe, holding on as hard as I could. Anything I could do to slow it down.
It made a grunting sound, then whacked my arm.
Pain radiated up to my shoulder and I couldn’t hold on. My fingers slipped.
The threader turned and kept pulling me behind it like a damn sack.
“This isn’t going to end well for you, asshole. Hunter Squad doesn’t give up, they don’t stop. They’re going to do what they do best, take you down.”
The threader turned another corner, and I sucked in a breath.
The dining room was ahead.
Just hold on, Colbie. Marc’s coming.