The loud crack of a rifle sent them all spinning in Jess’ direction.
“Dammit! I think I killed him.” Jess turned to Lorn. “I’m sorry, sweetie. He surprised me.”
“It is okay. I accept there will be casualties.” He reached over and placed his hand on her cheek. She leaned into his touch.
“It looks clear from here,” Sebastian said, interrupting the loving display. “Keep your eyes peeled and stay near to the houses. We need to get as close as possible. Come on.”
Sebastian dashed around the corner. Alyssa followed on his heels. The team ran in a line, hugging the shadows, and checking between the houses as they went.
At the last house on the block, Sebastian stopped them. “Lorn, Daniel, go around the back,” he whispered loudly. “The gate is just around the corner. Wait for the signal then open fire. Go!”
As they disappeared into the dark, Sebastian led Alyssa and Jess around the house’s front porch. Floodlights lit the streets around the ship, and guards poured out of the door, some heading to the gate while others ran off in different directions.
Every four or five feet, a guard stood at the fence, searching for targets. The gate had at least ten Zooks waiting and ready. Alyssa scrunched down behind Sebastian’s legs and eyed the line on the ground where the light stopped and the shadows began.
Jess crouched behind Alyssa, her breathing rapid. Alyssa glanced over her shoulder to look at her friend, but movement at a house across the street caught her eye. Zula and her team of Karans swarmed the shadows, positioning themselves around and atop the empty home.
“Wave teams are set. Locked and loaded,” Dean Travers, Ian’s second-in-command, said over the comms. He’d returned from a recruitment trip the day before, insisting on leading a team instead of staying at the settlement in Ian’s place. Edward and Jordan had volunteered.
“Everyone, switch channels, two clicks,” Sebastian said.
Alyssa reached up to press the tiny button on her earpiece twice, hearing someone else’s voice on the new channel.
“Seattle team is ready to rock,” he said when the line was clear.
“Welcome to the party, Bas. You’re the last to check in. Ocean team will light it up as soon as they’ve cleared the beach.”
“Almost there, Julio,” a woman said.
“Move your ass, Amanda,” another woman said.
Amanda snorted. “Bite me, Jo.”
“Tech teams, you know what to do,” Julio said.
Several people chimed in at once, voicing their agreement.
“We’re chomping at the bit here, Mandy girl,” a third woman said.
“Suck it, Jaxa,” Amanda said cheerfully. “We’re clear. Incoming!”
A loud thud echoed through the seaside valley, bouncing off the mountain walls as a flash erupted halfway between the ocean and the Nursery. Half a second later, the side of the ship exploded a hundred feet above ground, lighting up the sky with billowing smoke and jets of flame.
The night came alive with the sound of hundreds of guns firing. The iris doors lining the flight deck sixty feet up glitched, opening and closing rapidly. Small bursts flashed inside the doors as the Zooks tried to blast their way out with their fighter jet weapons, but only managed to damage them until they stuck partway open, though not enough to fly through.
Zook guards raced around the base of the ship, searching for targets, and dodging falling debris. A shuttle circled above like a helicopter, Zooks hanging out the side door firing their weapons. A spotlight shined on the houses around Alyssa and the team, but before it found them someone shot out the light.
Alyssa aimed around Sebastian’s knees, pulling the trigger as fast as she could. Nearly half of the guards at the fence dropped to the ground, some to return fire, most wounded or dead. More guards raced out to the fence, lying behind bodies for shielding.
Fighters on both sides screamed and fell under the hail of gunfire. The shuttle blindly flew around the grounds, staying close to the lit perimeter, and shooting into the shadows. As it rounded the ocean side of the ship, another RPG missile zipped through the night, piercing the shuttle’s bulkhead. The cockpit exploded and the vessel spun out of control, tumbling and crashing, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
The roar of Sebastian and Jess’ rifles blared in Alyssa’s ears. She flipped up her goggles and grabbed a full magazine from her back pocket, loading it as the empty one fell to the ground. Leaning forward to aim around the corner and target the gate, Alyssa jumped back at the zing of a bullet grazing her cheek, falling on her tailbone.
“Shit!” Blood trickled down Alyssa’s hot skin and she suddenly became hyper-aware of everything: the ringing in her ears, the smell of burned gunpowder, the feel of the dead grass under her palm. For a moment, everything felt surreal. She blinked and saw Jess staring at her, mouth moving.
“What?” Alyssa yelled. “I can’t hear you.”
“I said, are you okay?” Jess yelled back.
“I’m fine. Just a graze.” The pain barely registered through the adrenaline rush.
More people appeared, dropping to their bellies beside them and taking aim. Alyssa leaned forward again, but not as far, and set her sight on the gate. She opened fire while Sebastian reloaded, his empty magazine bouncing off her shoulder.
Szu’Kara guards fired from behind the guardhouse. Alyssa felt a welling of anger and determination within. She steadied herself, choosing her targets carefully, watching how one Zook poked his head out to fire off three shots near the base of the building, then another repeated the move higher up.
Letting her breath out slowly, Alyssa pressed her finger against the trigger, feeling the resistance. As the upper head disappeared and the lower head popped out, she gave the trigger that last bit of force needed to engage the firing pin. The bald head in her sight dropped to the ground with a gushing hole.
The second head appeared, aiming in Alyssa’s direction, but she had her sight already set, squeezing the trigger as soon as that head inched forward. With that body piled on the first, she readjusted for the other side of the guardhouse to repeat her new favorite process.
***
When Sebastian ordered them to move in, Alyssa had six bodies stacked, three on each side of the structure. Corpses and wounded lined the fence. The coalition teams surged forward, but not without leaving a few of their own behind.
Jack rushed over to check the still forms. “Three dead, Bas.”
Sebastian clapped him on the back, squeezing his shoulder in a consoling manner. “Casualties of war, my friend,” he said with a heavy sigh.
Jack nodded his head, frowning.
“Let’s go.” Sebastian took off at a jog, sweeping his rifle side to side.
The gate had been knocked down so it lay like a drawbridge, clinking under their feet. Alyssa glanced at her victims with a mix of pride and remorse. The team ran to the ship’s side, bouncing against the wall in their haste, and sidled up to the door.
Sebastian peeked around the corner, wary even though Zula’s team had already gone in. He waved them forward, and they all filed in behind him.
The wide corridors were dimly lit and empty. Bodies littered the floor.
“Jack, check for pulses. Daniel, secure the bodies, alive or dead. We’re not taking any chances. Jess, Aly, watch the door. Lorn, with me.”
Alyssa’s stomach fluttered at Sebastian’s forceful tone. She loved it when he got all leader-y.
Jess took one side of the door while Alyssa took the other. With a jerk of her head, the goggles dropped over her eyes.
“How are you on ammo?” she asked Jess, scanning the space between the fence and the ship.
Several clicks and thirty seconds later, Jess said, “Full mag loaded. One and a half ready to go. You?”
Pressing the mag release button, Alyssa hefted the weight in her hand and did a quick recount in her head before slamming it back in place. “Down six in my loaded mag. Two full mags ready.”
&
nbsp; “How are you holding up?”
“I’m good, actually,” Alyssa said. “My mental walls seem to be holding steady. I can feel all the presences here, but it’s faint. Maybe I’m getting better at this.”
“What about the…” Jess waved her finger at Alyssa’s cheek.
“After the bullet cut me, I got pissed, but not in the shaky, crying, girly way. Like, the anger calmed me down. I feel bad about killing, but I don’t think I’m going to have a meltdown or anything, you know?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s kind of weird. Do you think we’re in shock or something?”
“No, I think this is just the way it feels to be in battle, in the middle of a war. The emotions get blocked and the survival instinct takes over. Fight or flight, and we’re too damn stupid to run away.”
Jess snorted and giggled quietly. “Who you calling stupid? I’m selflessly brave,” she said in a mocking tone. “I deserve a medal or something.”
“You two done with the commendations? We got business to do.”
Alyssa spun around with a girly squeak. Look at brave me jumping out of my skin. Sheesh!
Sebastian gave her his crooked grin and a wink, making her insides melt. She grinned back and rushed to give him a quick hug, getting a kiss on the top of her head.
“Come on, darlin’. The Karans are putting us to shame.”
“Let them have their ruthless fun. Let’s go save some babies.”
Chapter 30
“All forty-six floors are clear, Bas,” Julio said over the comms.
“Good job, everyone. I need status reports for each floor. Team leads, meet me in ten, first floor in the fish bowl.”
Alyssa gazed around the room and knew exactly how a goldfish would feel, even though she’d never seen a goldfish in real life. When she’d mentioned that, Sebastian had jokingly promised to find her one ASAP.
A giant circular table sat in the center of the glass-walled room like a donut with a slice removed. An expansive screen hung from the ceiling by the open space in the table, which Alyssa assumed was meant for someone to walk inside while speaking to those seated around said table. Currently, Sebastian stood in the center with Zula and Valel.
“I believe we overwhelmed them with our superior numbers, and with the element of surprise. Also, it is likely Commander Kayn does not believe we are equipped well enough to mount this size of an attack, or he would have had this place better prepared,” Zula reported to Sebastian with pride seldom seen in a Karan. “Most of the casualties occurred outside and upon taking this floor. Our teams are outside getting a count and retrieving the patrol we disabled beyond the fenced perimeter.”
“That’s only forty Karans. Can they handle the sweep, or do you need more teams?”
“I believe they can perform sufficiently, but more teams will complete the task sooner.”
“Leads,” Sebastian said over the comms, “I need one team from each of you for a street sweep. Ian, make sure we’ve got enough people on the town’s perimeter. I don’t want anyone getting in or out.”
While Sebastian got his replies, Alyssa observed Zula and Valel. Zula seemed cool and confident, but Valel stood stiff, staring past Sebastian to the corridor beyond the glass wall. At least he’s not staring at me.
“You think we should get some food for the meeting?”
Alyssa turned to Jess and frowned. “Huh?”
“Food. Meeting.” Jess smirked at her.
“Oh. Uh, I don’t think there’s time to search this place for food.”
“I’m sure they’ve found the kitchen by now.” Jess swung back and forth in her swivel chair, bouncing her leg, and chewing on a fingernail.
“Probably, but I don’t want to interrupt. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“I guess. I’m just anxious.”
Alyssa’s brows shot up. “You were fine when we got here. What’s up?”
Jess gave a little shrug and sighed. “We haven’t heard anything about the children, or the mothers.”
“We’ll know something soon.”
A minute later, four humans and one Szu’Kara filed into the room and lined up on the other side of the table.
“Please have a seat.” Sebastian jerked his hand at the table before crossing his arms over his chest. He paced the inside edge of the table while everyone chose seats, including Zula and Valel.
Blond, pixie-cut hair caught Alyssa’s attention and she watched Cecily walk around the room, dragging her hand across the glass until she found the opening.
“Damn, if it isn’t just like a fish bowl.” She grinned and sat down next to Jo. Alyssa recognized her from a videoconference she’d sat in on when they were still at the old headquarters.
Sebastian leaned against the table near Alyssa. “What did you find?”
Cecily leaned forward on her elbows with her hands clasped together. “A communication device that looks a lot like an old-fashioned radio.”
“Was it active?”
“Not when we got in the room. The techs had to hotwire their way in, and the Zook manning the device nearly shot my head off. The fucker.”
“What about the ships comms?”
“Edward’s tech team jammed the signal before the attack. Jimmy says he doesn’t think they got out a distress call, but he can’t be sure with that device. Its encryption is more advanced than the rest of the ship.”
“Get it decrypted; we need to find out where it connects to,” he said. “And great job locking down the hangar doors. Any trouble clearing it, Jo?”
Jo leaned back in her chair, running her hands over her close-cropped, black hair. Her dark skin made Cecily look like a ghost. “We lost three guys when a Zook blasted the entrance from the inside with a small missile, but they took out fifteen of their own in the process. Tech team had some trouble disabling the jets. Apparently they’re on a separate system.”
“What about the surrounding floors?”
“Floors one through four are all offices and guard quarters, with a cafeteria and commissary on the fourth floor. Fifth is the control deck. The bridge was hollowed out by the RPG, but looks like the damage was contained there. The communications center and engineering are mostly intact. Six through fifteen are all private quarters. The techs activated the manual override and locked all the residences. We’ve moved the mobile prisoners to these floors, and I believe we can keep them contained for at least a month with the supplies they have inside and what’s in stock in the commissary. We’ll need to bring in more supplies soon if you want to set up shop.”
“To be decided,” Sebastian said. “Who’s got the next set of floors?”
“Here,” a Hispanic man said, raising a bulky arm, and pointing one thick finger in the air.
Sebastian nodded once at the man. “Talk to me, Julio.”
“Sixteen to twenty-two are all labs. The Zooks surrendered peacefully. Most of them were white coats, and the few guards they had went down with only a little fight. All moved to Jo’s floors. Only two guards went to the infirmary.”
“Next,” Sebastian said.
“Amanda and I got the top fourteen floors,” Alex said. “Eight floors have nurseries with mostly cribs lined up in rows, surrounded by twenty small apartments with pregnant women locked inside. Three floors are Szu’Kara females and children only. One floor looks to be set up as an obstetrics clinic and infirmary.”
“Three of the nurseries have only kids that are crawling or walking. The top two floors are apartments with a mix of women with children and older Karan children living alone,” said a petite woman with long, straight brown hair, wearing a pink flowery blouse under her black jacket. “Bas, there’s not many older kids.”
“What kind of condition are the women and children in?” Jess asked.
The tiny woman looked at Sebastian.
“It’s all right, Amanda,” he said. “That’s Jess, Alyssa, Zula, and Valel. Girls, Valel, Zula, meet Jo from central California, Julio from southern California, Amanda from sout
hern Oregon, and Jaxa’Wae from northern Nevada. You already know Alex.”
“Hey.” Jess smiled.
“Hi.” Alyssa waved.
“Now that introductions are out of the way, continue please, Amanda.”
“The Szu’Kara females and children seem well cared for, with freedom to move about the floor, but we’ve locked them in their rooms for now. Some of them are quite aggressive.” Amanda rubbed her shoulder like maybe she’d taken a hit. “The human women are emaciated, and many of them look like feral cats ready to scratch your eyes out if you open their door. The Karan children appear thin but healthy. Not sure if they’re thin from lack of food or just built that way.”
“They are naturally thin,” Valel said. “Many Karan children do not live long enough to crawl or walk. Only the strongest survive to adolescence and beyond. That’s why you didn’t find many older children.”
“What about the nurses?” Sebastian asked. “Are they compliant?”
“Some are,” Alex said. “We left them in the nurseries and locked the rest up.”
“Jaxa, I assume you got the sublevels.”
“Sure did, and it’s a shit-show. Never seen anything as heinous in my entire life.”
Alyssa gaped at the alien with wine-colored skin and ivory eyes. If she weren’t looking right at the Szu’Kara female, she would’ve guessed Jaxa to be human by the expressive way she spoke.
“What did you find?” Sebastian stared at the floor as if he really didn’t want to hear her answer.
“Sublevels one and two are engine rooms. Nine and ten are storage, but the other floors…” Jaxa tossed a hand in the air and scoffed. “You’re not going to believe the shit they’ve done down there, Bas. It’s like one of them horror movies with torture chambers and rooms filled with decaying corpses. Not like a morgue, but piles of corpses, dude.”
Jess held a hand over her mouth to smother a horrified whimper. Alyssa reached out and squeezed her other hand. As awful as it all sounded, after all that she’d been through with Kayn, this just didn’t surprise her.
Unchained: The Discordant Earth Series Book Two Page 22
