by Anna Hackett
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded.
They left their rooms and moved along the walkway. It was hot today, the sunlight bright on her face.
Ahead, she saw Nisid and his soldiers on the platform. They all had green stripes painted across their chests.
I trust you are well rested.
“Yes, thank you,” Thane said. “The accommodation was appreciated.”
“And thank you to whoever cleaned our clothes,” Kaira added.
Nisid nodded his head. Are you ready?
“Yes,” Thane replied.
“What’s the plan?” she asked.
You saw the carts heading into the base. They are filled with supplies. Food, supplies for the labs, metal. The best way in is to hide in a cart.
Thane nodded thoughtfully.
“That’s a great idea,” Kaira agreed.
My team will hijack one. You will both hide in the cart and I will act as the driver.
“You’re sure this will get us inside?” Thane asked.
It will get us close to the front entrance. We will be able to pass through the gatehouses, but at the final checkpoint into the base, the carts are searched. We’ll need to ditch it just before the checkpoint, then climb into the base. My people are all marked with green. That will help you distinguish them from the enemy.
Kaira met Thane’s gaze. She nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Thane and Kaira crouched behind some large boulders.
Nisid and several of his Kantos soldiers had gone to ambush a cart.
Kaira was rocking on the balls of her feet, filled with tension. Thane wanted to touch her. Kiss her.
He closed his eyes. Their night together hadn’t changed anything. It didn’t give him that right. He was well aware that their night was driven by worry, fear, and the knowledge that they might die today.
She was no closer to being his.
Mate. Mate. Mate.
His body and helian said that she was his.
His to protect.
His to love.
“Thane, are you all right?”
He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Fine.”
She touched his arm. “We’ve got this.”
The rattle of a cart broke the moment. Thane looked around the boulder and saw Nisid, leading a cart in their direction.
“Showtime.” Kaira stood.
They moved over to the cart. The shaggy beast pulling it stopped, then stomped its hooves.
Climb in. Nisid clutched the reins of the beast in his good claw. Stay still and quiet.
Thane helped Kaira into the back of the cart. There was gear in crates, some sheaves of some sort of grain, sacks that smelled bad, and stacks of raw metal.
They hunkered down and Thane pulled some sheaves over both of them. Then he rapped on the side of the cart.
It jerked and set off.
It was a long, slow, and rocking journey up the side of the mountain. Thane felt Kaira’s touch on his side, and patted her hand.
The cart slowed several times, and each time his gut went tight, certain that they’d be caught.
“We must be passing through the gatehouses,” she whispered.
He squeezed her hand. At one point, he heard Kantos buzzing close by.
But the cart kept moving.
Then it stopped.
We get off here. Nisid’s voice echoed in Thane’s head.
Thane sat up, shoving a sheaf of grain off him. Kaira popped up beside him.
“Come on,” he said.
They leaped off the cart.
Nisid arranged the dead Kantos driver on the cart’s seat. They won’t know what killed him. This way.
They followed Nisid up a rocky slope to the side. Thane looked up, and his gut clenched.
The cocoon base was right above them, like a huge thundercloud. It was made of a brown, woven substance.
Look.
Down below, he saw carts pulling up at the lower entrance of the cocoon. There were lots of Kantos soldiers milling around.
We need to climb up there. Nisid pointed his arm.
High above, Thane saw several hexagon-shaped holes in the side of the cocoon. A flying bug flew out of one.
Kaira straightened. “Let’s climb.”
They started up the side. The cocoon was slightly sticky, which made it easier for them to scale.
Nisid moved ahead with ease, using his four legs to full advantage. Beside Thane, Kaira’s face was set and focused.
Finally, he reached one of the holes and peeked inside. “Clear.”
He leaned down, grabbed Kaira’s hand and pulled her inside.
They were in.
They paused, letting their gazes adjust to the gloom.
Lattice-like walls in a pale gray lined the corridor. A dank rotting scent filled the air. It was dark, dim, with a faint yellow glow from lights set in the walls.
This way. Nisid moved down the corridor. There was a humming noise, and to the left, an archway led into a large room.
“God,” Kaira murmured.
Inside looked like a hive. There was a honeycomb structure with flying insects crawling all over it, some fluttering in the air.
Come on. Nisid continued onward. The corridor opened into a wider hall.
Nisid paused. Soldiers are coming. A patrol.
“Here.” Thane darted through an open doorway.
The room inside was windowless, empty. The three of them slipped inside and pressed against the wall.
The group of soldiers moved past the doorway.
Thane…sensed something in the room.
He moved along the wall, staring at the dull light shining from within. The room was empty, so he couldn’t work out what he was sensing.
“Jesus, look.” Kaira stared at the wall.
Embedded in the wall were larvae. Thousands, no millions, of them.
Younglings waiting to hatch. Nisid looked at the walls. This is how we all begin.
Thane turned away. “We need to get to the comms area.”
They slipped out of the room. Echoes of noises drifted down the corridor, followed by a screech.
They looked at the end of the hall. There were two curved, ornate doorways.
“What’s in there?” Thane asked.
The council chamber. Nisid shifted uneasily. It sounds like they are meeting.
Thane knew that he had to get the message out to the Eon. The mission was critical.
Kaira touched his arm. “We should take a quick look. We could gain valuable intel.”
She was right. He nodded.
The three of them crept down the corridor. He saw the walls were thin in places, and he could hear through the thread-like lattice.
They ducked into some shadows. Kaira knelt beside him and they peered through the tiny gaps.
He saw nine elites perched on almost throne-like chairs. They were in a semicircle around a shallow pit.
I can project what they’re saying. Nisid moved right behind them.
Thane looked back and met the rogue Kantos’ gaze. He nodded.
The chamber doors on the opposite side of the room opened, and a group of docile-looking, juvenile soldiers were brought in and urged into the pit. They looked around blankly.
They were new. Young. Unscarred.
“Are they drugged?” Kaira asked. “They’re so…placid.”
No. Nisid’s mental voice was almost sad. They are yet to receive the hunger.
Thane frowned. “The hunger?”
Watch.
An elite stirred. You are part of the Kantos horde. The backbone of our army. You will fight for the glory, dominance, and greatness of the Kantos.
Kaira swallowed and Thane pressed a hand to her back.
Prepare to be gifted with the hunger.
Chapter Fourteen
A shiver went down Kaira’s spine. What the hell was going on?
The nine menacing elite were bad enough, but this entire base was horrible.
The nine elite stirred.
You will conquer our enemies.
You will consume.
You will be powerful.
You will fight for the Kantos.
The nine elite opened their mouths and emitted a black gas.
“What the fuck?” Kaira fought back a hiss.
The hunger. Nisid stared through the wall.
The black cloud engulfed the juveniles. The quiet Kantos stood taller, shifting restlessly. A buzzing, clicking noise grew—harsh and loud—filling the chamber.
Something rose up in the center of the pit. It was a pile of vegetation, and some small yipping animals.
The Kantos juveniles descended on them, ripping and tearing.
Bile filled Kaira’s throat. She pressed closer to Thane, and he wrapped an arm around her.
It was so horrible.
The juveniles finished devouring, and milled around, shoving each other, hungry for more. In the center of the space, she caught a glimpse of the stripped sticks, and the skeletons of the consumed animals.
She fought back her nausea. This was what they wanted to do to Earth. To humans.
They had to be stopped.
Nisid shifted. We should go.
“Yes.” Thane rose.
The three of them moved away from the council chamber. Her brain whirled, trying to process.
This way. Nisid led them through a doorway.
“I expected more guards in here,” Thane said.
They’re outside. They don’t believe anyone could infiltrate the base.
Nisid led them through twisting, curving corridors. They passed some bugs, but they didn’t seem interested in them.
Finally, they moved up the ramp and into a small space. It was filled with dark brown consoles that glowed with colored lights.
The communications hub.
“Thank you, Nisid.” Thane knelt. A cable flowed from his armor at his wrist and spiked into the Kantos system.
Kaira watched as his gaze turned inward, and knew that he was navigating the system.
She looked at Nisid. “Tell me what we saw back there.”
The hunger is the driving force of the Kantos soldiers, bestowed by the elite council.
She eyed him. “You and your people don’t have it.”
We were deemed unworthy. In the end, it turned out to be a blessing. It left us more independent, and free from the need to ravage.
“Wait,” she said. “Kantos soldiers aren’t born like that? With the need to invade and consume?”
Nisid shook his head. It is the council. The nine elites generate the hunger for the glory of the Kantos.
“What about the other bugs and creatures they breed?”
They have the hunger bred into them from their creation. The problem is that implanting the hunger from the beginning makes the creatures more…mindless. Less able to think and reason.
Kaira nodded slowly. “So they can’t breed it into their soldiers, or they’d lose some level of intelligence.”
Correct.
“I’m in.” Thane’s toneless voice. “I’m sending the message now. It will take three minutes to complete.”
Kaira shifted. She wanted this done.
Next up, pathogen.
A buzzing started outside in the corridor. Shit. She ducked down and peeked around the doorway. Her stomach knotted.
“Four Kantos soldiers incoming.”
“I need more time,” Thane said.
“They might pass by.” They didn’t look hurried, like they were coming to find them. Go past, you ugly bugs.
Nisid moved beside her. She morphed a sword.
The soldiers passed the doorway and she held her breath. There was nowhere for Thane to hide. If they looked in…
The last soldier passed, and Kaira’s shoulders slumped. Thank God.
“One more minute,” Thane murmured.
Kaira resisted the urge to tap her toe. She knew once the message was complete, the Kantos would know they were here.
The pathogen lab is in the center of the base.
She nodded to Nisid. “We’ll get there.”
We will encounter resistance.
“We’ll get there, Nisid.”
The rogue shifted on his four legs and nodded.
“Nisid, I think—”
A Kantos soldier flew through the door, then stumbled to a halt. Its eyes glowed, and she got the distinct impression it was shocked to see them.
Fuck. She had to stop it alerting the others.
Kaira and Nisid leaped together. He pinned the soldier down.
“Hold it, Nisid.” She lifted her sword, preparing to stab it.
The rogue strained against the soldier. The soldier bucked, knocking Nisid off.
The soldier rolled and slammed into Kaira.
She fell and found herself face-to-face with the alien. It buzzed wildly. Then its sharp arm flashed, and pierced her side.
She grunted and rolled. She got her sword up.
“Kaira!” Thane yelled.
“I’m fine.”
Nisid closed in on the soldier, blocking the door.
“Nisid, now,” Kaira yelled.
They rushed it together. The rogue Kantos slammed the soldier into the console, and Kaira swung.
Her sword pierced the soldier’s neck. She shoved, and green blood gushed. It slumped and she yanked her sword back.
“Thanks, Nisid.”
Thane appeared. “Your side?”
She glanced down and saw the blood. “It’s not bad. The message?”
Thane smiled. “Sent.”
We need to leave. Nisid moved to the door. We must be gone before more soldiers arrive. They’ll hunt us.
“Let’s get to the lab.” Thane pressed a bandage from his small med kit to her side.
She smiled at him. There was no way to separate the doctor and warrior.
They moved into the corridor. At the far end, several soldiers appeared.
Thane cursed.
You two, go. Nisid raised his good arm. I’ll cause a diversion.
Thane and Kaira hesitated.
Go! Nisid charged down the hall. I’ll find you.
“Come on.” Thane pulled her in the opposite direction.
“Are we going the right way?”
Thane glanced at Kaira. “Yes. We’re heading deeper into the base.” He studied the maze of corridors ahead.
They still needed to go down more levels.
“Do you think Nisid is okay?” she asked.
“Yes. He’s tough and persistent.” They would never have come this far without the rogue Kantos as an ally.
“This way.” Thane led them down another corridor. “We need to find a ramp or stairs downward—”
Buzzing.
“Uh-oh,” she muttered.
Get the intruders.
An elite’s deep voice boomed in their heads.
They swiveled. An elite and a dozen soldiers appeared at the other end of the corridor.
“Run!” Thane snapped.
They sprinted away and reached a T junction.
“Go left.”
A black bug appeared and Kaira almost tripped over it. They leaped over it and didn’t slow down.
She glanced back. “Thane, they’re gaining.”
The buzzing got louder, like static in their ears. He gritted his teeth.
They arrived at another junction. “Right.”
They turned again.
“Shit,” Kaira said.
She windmilled her arms. Thane almost ran into her.
The floor ahead was dotted with huge circular holes.
A flying bug appeared out of one, then flew upward. There were more circles in the ceiling, and it disappeared through another hole.
“We could jump across,” she said dubiously.
The strips of floor between the holes were tiny. It would be risky to try and jump on them.
Thane looked down. He was excruciatingly cons
cious that their pursuers were getting closer.
There was a net hanging below.
“I think we should go down. That gets us closer to the pathogen lab, anyway.”
She dragged in a breath. “Let’s do it.”
He wrapped his arms around her, and leaped into the hole, feet first.
“God.” She pressed her face against his chest. They hit the net and bounced, then landed on it.
Thane landed on his back and stuck.
“What the hell?” Behind him, Kaira twisted. She was on her side.
It wasn’t a net, it was a web.
“I can’t move.” She wrenched on her arm, but stayed stuck.
Thane tried to roll, but his back was stuck fast.
“Argh,” Kaira growled. “I hate the Kantos and all their bugs.” A pause. “Nisid and his people excluded, of course.”
Thane formed a knife, but couldn’t move enough to cut the web.
Kaira was partly on her side, and he saw that she was looking down through the net. “Oh, shit.”
“Kaira?” He didn’t like the tone of her voice.
“The entire floor is covered in eggs.”
“Eggs?”
“Yes. I’ve seen them before. The Kantos assassins had a bunch of them near the Woomera Range Complex. When they were after Finley.” She paused again. “They hatch nasty spiders.”
Thane muttered a curse. “We need to get free—”
An earsplitting screech.
It sent ice through his veins. He swiveled his head and heard Kaira gasp.
A huge spider slowly emerged from the shadows at the edge of the web
“I’m guessing that’s mama,” Kaira said. “I’ve decided I hate spiders with a fiery, burning passion.”
“Stay still,” he murmured.
The spider was pure white, with long legs, and giant, black eyes. It had armor plating across its body and abdomen.
“Is that metal armor?” Kaira breathed.
“It appears so.”
The web bowed slightly as the spider moved toward them. Its row of black eyes stared at them intently.
“Thane, do you have a plan?” she asked, voice urgent.
He dragged in a breath. “Yes.” He morphed a flamethrower.
He could move just enough that he aimed fairly close to the giant spider.
He fired.
The flames shot out.
It wasn’t a direct shot, but the spider screeched and darted back a step. The web rocked wildly.
