Chapter 19 #2
He didn’t know. It was a disaster. Just one on a rampage could be enough to infect and kill them all. “I suggest we find out. Now.”
Nera charged down the corridor, her grip tight on her sword. Niklas was right beside her. Zombies in the tight confines of a starship was a very bad thing.
They heard noises ahead in the cargo bay. And worse, she heard the growls and moans of more zombies.
They raced inside and skidded to a halt.
“What the hell?” Niklas muttered.
Galen and his team were there, subduing some out-of-control zombies they were herding into a containment box—one of the boxes she and Nik had seen on the very first day of the voyage. Other crew members wearing exosuits maneuvered the other heavy boxes into place.
The boxes were filled with moaning zombies.
Shit. Everyone had gone insane. She was trying to work out what the hell the Institute thought they were doing. On the far side of the bay, some security team members were using Tase prods to urge some zombies into another containment box.
Niklas stomped up to Agent Ryant. “Are you crazy? You’re going to kill us all.”
The agent straightened. “You shouldn’t be in here.”
Niklas was as angry as Nera had ever seen him. “One of these got loose and just ate one of the crew. If more escape—”
“I have my orders.”
“Orders? What orders? To spread this mutated virus across the galaxy? There is no way the Institute would approve this.”
The other man’s jaw tightened. “You are not privy to the Institute’s decisions. Like I said, I have my orders.”
“What the hell happened to you, Galen? You were a good man. You would never endanger innocent people like this.”
Agent Ryant looked away. “I suggest you leave. Immediately.”
Nera strode over to the nearest containment box, yanking a grenade off her belt. She wasn’t letting these zombies stay on this ship. They were a risk to Niklas, a risk to all of them.
For the first time in her entire life, she had something to live for. She wasn’t going to miss out because the Institute was fucking crazy.
She tossed the grenade through the bars. The zombies inside shifted restlessly, but she was already moving to the next box, dropping another grenade.
Three, two, one. The first flame grenade detonated, fire spewing out of the box. The grenades had a localized range, so they wouldn’t destroy the tough containment boxes, but would burn the zombies to a crisp.
The burning zombies made a horrible keening noise. She tossed another grenade into the third box.
One left. She marched toward it.
“Stop her,” Agent Ryant yelled.
Security team members converged on her. She was pleased to see they looked wary, clutching their Tase prods.
“You can try,” she said. “Or you can back away and save yourself an injury.”
One brave soul came at her. She yanked the Tase prod from his hands and jammed it into his stomach. He hit the deck, his body shuddering from the electrical jolt.
The others stepped back.
With one hard, fast lob, she tossed the last grenade into the final box.
“What are you doing? Get her!” Agent Ryant was shoving against Niklas, who was holding him in place.
She flipped the Tase prod in her hands and eyed the three security agents in front of her—one woman and two men. Well, men was being generous. The two males weren’t long out of their teens. In two seconds, she had the boys writhing on the floor, clutching their midsections.
The woman looked more experienced. She dropped her Tase prod, going for her laser pistol.
Nera knocked her off-balance with the prod, then tackled her, taking her to the ground.
The woman fought quite well, but Nera shoved her fingers hard into the woman’s neck, finding the exact spot where certain pressure receptors were located.
The woman made a small noise, then fell into unconsciousness.
Nera rose and stalked back toward Niklas. He and Agent Ryant were circling each other.
“I knew you’d sunk low into the Institute’s dirty work, but I would never have suspected this,” Niklas bit out.
A muscle in Ryant’s jaw ticked. “Damn you, Phoenix.” He eyed the burning zombies. “You’re going to ruin everything.”
Then Nera noted Niklas was developing a black eye. “Did you hit him?”
Her icy tone got through to Ryant. The man’s eyes widened. “He hit me first.”
She moved fast, and her hard chop to the back of his neck drove him to his knees on the floor. He wavered there for a second, and she punched him in the face, heard him groan. Then she hit him again, knocking him out cold.
Niklas was staring soberly at his former friend. The pain on his face made her chest ache.
“We need to get Avril back to the ship,” Nera said. “I may not like her much, but she would never go for this.” Nera waved at the zombies.
“Agreed.” Niklas sighed. “Guess we won’t get that hot shower yet.”
They took the cargo lift back to the ground and stepped off it into something that resembled the depths of hell.
Smoke poured out of the caves, and Rumin were running in every direction. Men and women were screaming, some clutching frightened children, or helping the elderly.
“Dammit, what is going on?” Niklas pulled his laser pistol. “Let’s find Avril.”
Nera pulled out her sword and together, they rushed through the smoke.
She spotted some security team uniforms. “There.” Then she realized something was very, very wrong. She frowned. “Wait!” She saw one agent electrocute a female warrior with a Tase stunner. The warrior sprawled on the ground, twitching. “They’re fighting the Rumin warriors.”
Nik growled. “Where the hell is Avril? What the hell is going on?”