by Anna Hackett
“How do we get down there?” Cam asked.
She tried not to think about Hemi. He’d already been gone too long. Drowning in that horrid gunk. Hold it together. The bad thoughts wouldn’t help him. Besides, this was Hemi they were talking about. The man had nine lives.
“There.” Tane pointed with one long finger to a sloping tunnel behind them. “This seems to be the most direct route down to this larger cavern.”
“Agreed,” Roth said. “Let’s move out.”
Tane took one of the packs from Ash, slipping into the shoulder straps. He tightened it, and then unhooked some sort of hose from the side of the pack. Beside him, Ash was doing the same thing.
“What’s that?” she asked.
Tane gave her a tiny, but very scary, smile. “You’ll see. Ready?”
She nodded, and the rest of her squad nodded as well.
They started toward the tunnel. The opening gaped like some demon’s mouth, waiting to swallow them whole.
Not today. Cam knew that Hemi wouldn’t give up on her. He’d been an unstoppable force, battering at her until she gave in to him. And he was right, she wasn’t her parents. She couldn’t see either one of her parents risking their comfort or safety, let alone their lives, for the other.
Be alive, Hemi. She lifted her carbine and stepped into the sloping tunnel. “Let’s go rescue my man.”
***
Hemi’s lungs burned, his body scraping against rock, as he was sucked down through the tunnel.
Everything in him screamed for him to open his mouth and take a breath. He struggled not to, but as the pressure in his lungs increased, he lost the fight.
His mouth opened and the alien fluid ran down his throat, choking him.
He thrashed around, but before he could think about dying, suddenly he was flying through the air. He smacked into the ground and rolled a few times.
He came to a stop, flopping on his stomach. Fuck. He coughed up goo until his muscles cried from heaving so much.
A noise made him raise his head.
He saw two creepers just a few meters away, watching him. Great. He reached down to the sheath on his thigh and realized his combat knife was gone. He had no weapons.
He studied the creepers again. They weren’t moving. They looked like statues. He glanced around. This cavern was larger, and there were pods dotted around the walls and floor in here, too. He squinted. These pods looked different. They were larger, more circular. In the closest one, he saw something move. A shadow with lots of legs.
He went still. It was a creeper inside. All these pods were growing creepers. So where had these pods come from?
A deep rumble echoed through the cavern. The two creepers that had been watching him turned, and scuttled off into the darkness.
A shadow moved at the far end of the cavern, detaching from the wall.
Fuck me. Hemi’s jaw dropped. A massive creeper, the size of a truck, advanced. The damn thing towered over him, and all the other creepers.
The big motherfucker’s red eyes zeroed in on Hemi. Great, just great. Apparently, it was “don’t give Hemi a break” day.
Not that he was giving up.
“Come on, asshole.” Hemi pushed to his feet. “I finally have the woman I love, who has given me a hell of a run-around, where I’ve been dreaming of having her. So if you think I’m going to stand here and quake in my boots and let you eat me for breakfast, well…fuck you.”
The giant creeper paused and tilted its ugly head, studying Hemi like something strange but tasty.
Then it charged.
Holy fuck. Hemi rushed beneath it, dodging giant legs. Its huge orange belly glowed overhead, well out of reach.
Come on, Hemi, think. He needed a weapon and a plan.
The creeper spun and Hemi ducked through the legs again. Lacking a plan, he was happy to make a run for it. He spotted a tunnel entrance, but it was on the far side of the cavern.
Only a giant alien creeper between him and the exit. No problem.
A giant leg slammed into Hemi, sending him airborne. He hit the ground and rolled. When he looked up, the leg was rushing down at him.
Hemi rolled to the side. Bam. The leg struck the ground where his head had been a second before. The creeper let out a furious screech and drew back, aiming again.
Hemi rolled to the other side. Bam. Rock chips peppered his face.
Damn. He leaped to his feet and ran, his gaze focused on the tunnel.
A giant force slammed into him, lifting him off his feet. The creeper had caught him with a different leg this time. He flew through the air and slammed into the rock wall.
He fell in a heap, the air knocked out of him and pain tearing through him.
Shit, he’d broken a rib or two. He ignored the pain and pushed himself up, his fingers brushing over something hard on the ground. The bone of some animal.
He grabbed it and leaped to his feet, belatedly realizing that there were piles of bones around him. The traps leading down here had to be ways to feed the queen creeper. He hefted the bone, brandishing it in front of him.
The creeper was coming at him again. Its huge sucker mouth was large enough to swallow a car, and it was heading straight for Hemi.
He darted around the side of the creature. He was faster and more nimble than this creeper, so he needed to use that to his advantage.
One huge leg slammed down right in front of him. He stared at the inky-black scales for a second, then grabbed it. Quickly, he shimmied up the leg. As he neared the creature’s back, it tried to shake him off, but Hemi clung to it.
Staying alive, getting back to Cam, depended on him not losing his grip.
He pulled himself onto the back of the creeper. He ran along its back, its body shifting under him, heading for the beast’s head. He lifted the bone high above himself.
Without stopping, he jammed the bone into the creeper’s eyes.
It let out a deep screech—filled with pain and anger. It bucked and spun wildly, and Hemi went flying.
He slammed into a pod, before dropping to the floor. He looked up to see the agitated creature shaking its head, trying to dislodge the bone.
Time to go.
He glanced over and saw that, for once, he’d gotten a break. He was right near the tunnel leading out of here. He headed that way, limping around the pods.
As he neared the tunnel entrance, a creeper appeared, skittering out of the tunnel.
Aw, shit. Hemi paused. After taking on a giant-ass creeper, surely one regular one should be a breeze.
But then another stepped out of the darkness behind the first. And another and another.
Shit. His jaw tightened. One creeper, he could manage, but a whole pack of them…
He backed up a few steps and bumped into a pod. He felt it vibrate, and looked down to see the top of it unfurling, like some monstrous flower.
As he watched, a black, scaly leg poked its way up out of the pod, covered in sticky orange goo.
No fucking break for Hemi. Grimly, he faced the creepers coming out of the tunnel. He thought of Cam.
He didn’t want to leave her, and whatever happened, however many aliens were tossed his way, he’d go down fighting. She’d know he fought to get back to her.
One of the creepers pounced forward, landing right near him. He ran and slid in beneath it, like he was trying to steal a base. He punched up into its belly. It staggered. He gripped one of its back legs and pulled hard. Damn, they were tough. With thoughts of Cam in his head, he heaved, straining with every ounce of his strength.
He heard something snap, and the creature let out a vicious screech.
Hemi backed away from the injured creeper. A rushing sound caught his ear, and he turned to see a second creeper darting toward him. He dodged it, but one of its legs hit him, knocking him down.
He struck the ground, just as a third creeper reared up over him. It brought down one of its legs, and skewered him through his shoulder, pinning him to the ground. H
emi roared in pain.
The creeper lowered its hungry mouth, and in its demonic eyes, Hemi saw wild, raging hunger.
Then it stopped and shrieked. It yanked its leg out of him, and turned around with another wild screech. Hemi groaned, feeling blood pulsing out of the wound. With surprise, he realized one of the other creepers had attacked the one that had been about to devour him. They were fighting over him like he was some kind of juicy bone.
As the two creepers battled, their forelegs snapping against each other, Hemi scooted backward. He pressed a palm to his shoulder, and his hand came away drenched in blood. But he kept his gaze on the creepers. This could be his last chance to sneak out.
As he turned around to make his escape, another creeper was looming over him from behind.
“Come on then, motherfucker,” he shouted.
The creature came closer, opening its giant mouth.
Suddenly, a wave of flames rushed over them. Hemi dived, rolled, and buried his face in his arms. He felt the hot wave sear his back, and the creepers’ high-pitched screeching filled the cavern.
“Take that, assholes.”
Tane’s voice. Hemi raised his head, and spotted Tane and Ash holding flamethrowers.
Both men looked completely relaxed, and hell, Ash was even grinning. They were methodically sweeping the flamethrower hoses back and forth. Fire rushed over the creepers and the pods. Some of the pods burst open, new creepers pouring out.
Behind his squad mates, Hemi saw soldiers rush forward. Carbine fire lit up the room, joining the orange flames.
Cam was leading her squad, firing at anything that moved.
Hemi smiled, pulling himself up to lean against the rock wall. There was his woman—beautiful and deadly.
Chapter Fourteen
The smell of burning flesh was sharp in Cam’s nose, and the screeches of the dying creepers rang in her ears.
The rest of her squad was exterminating the remaining creepers in the cavern, but she only had eyes for one thing. One man.
She leaped over a pod and rushed over to Hemi. He stood slumped against the wall, a grin on his face.
“God, Hemi.” As she reached him, his legs went out from under him. She wrapped her arms around him, trying to keep him upright. The guy was built like a tank. She lowered them both to the ground and tightened her hold on him. “You look terrible.”
He was covered in blood and orange gunk. His face was pale under his dark beard, and lines of pain bracketed his eyes.
He grinned at her through the gore. “Hey, baby.”
He was smiling. Idiotic moron. She knew that was redundant, but it seemed to apply. “I…I…” Tears threatened.
“Hey.” He reached up and cupped her cheek.
“I love you, damn you.”
His grin widened. “I know.”
She pressed her forehead to his. “I thought you were gone. It scared me more than anything.”
“I’m pretty tough to kill.”
She gave a hiccupping laugh. “Like a cockroach?”
He barked out a laugh, but it quickly turned to a grimace. She spotted his bloody shoulder, and quickly yanked open the field med kit on her belt. She pressed absorbent gauze to the ugly injury. Damn creepers, she wanted to kill every one of them with her bare hands.
Hemi ignored her hands as she tended his wound, his gaze on her face. “I’ve been waiting forever for you to be mine. I love you, Camryn.”
She went still, her heart bursting. “I’m still afraid. I’m afraid that I’ll screw up, that you’ll screw up, that I’ll drive you away or lose you.”
“There aren’t any guarantees,” he said.
“I don’t ever want us to look at each other the way my parents looked at each other. With so much poison and hate.” If that happened to her and Hemi…no, she wouldn’t be able to live with it.
His hand gripped hers, moving it a few inches from his wound until her palm was pressed over his beating heart. “It’s like when you pick up your carbine and step into a fight. Every day, we do, not knowing if we’ll win, or if we’ll make it back. You’ve just got to believe that the reason you’re doing it is worth it.”
Something in Cam stilled and went quiet. “You’re worth it.”
His hands tightened on her. “We’re worth it.”
“Time to go.” Roth stepped up beside them. “There are several thousand more creepers in here and I think we’ve overstayed our welcome.”
Cam pressed her shoulder in under Hemi’s arm.
Tane moved in front of them. “I know this was supposed to be a recon mission—” He pulled some things from the backpack on his shoulder. “—but I brought a few extra toys with me.”
Cam recognized the small, silver devices. Each had two tiny windows on it. One showed a line of glowing blue and the other a line of glowing red. When the two lines met…well, it was best not to be around when that happened.
Roth shook his head. “All right. Let’s move out.”
Cam helped Hemi toward the tunnel. Her squad moved to take point, carbines up. Behind them, Griff and Dom brought up the rear, while Tane and Ash moved around the cavern, setting the charges.
As they hobbled into the tunnel, Tane and Ash jogged up to join them. Tane slipped an arm around his brother to help take his weight.
“We’re going to make a little mess for our friends to deal with,” Tane murmured.
“Nice,” Hemi replied.
Cam rolled her eyes.
As a group, they headed up the ramp. Roth led them through the tunnels’ twists and turns, a few creepers attacking and easily dealt with.
“Roth? Large…” Arden’s distorted voice. “…creepers converging.”
Roth touched his ear. “Arden, say again?”
“More…too many.”
Static filled the line.
Screeches echoed through the tunnels around them. From all the tunnels.
Cam tightened her hold on Hemi and Tane stepped away, lifting his flamethrower hose.
“Just can’t get a fucking break today,” Hemi grumbled.
“Creepers!” someone shouted.
Cam watched her squad and the berserkers turn to face the incoming aliens. God, there were so many of them.
She heard more sounds coming from the tunnel behind them. Shit. Her jaw tightened and she moved to lean Hemi against the wall. She needed to protect him—
“Hell Squad, ready to go to hell?” a deep voice yelled.
“Hell yeah,” came several voices, echoing off the rock walls. “The devil needs an ass kicking!”
Hell Squad sprinted out of the tunnel, carbines firing.
“Looks like you caught a break after all, Rahia,” Cam said.
He let out a laugh but she could tell he was in pain. “Well, you finally admitted you loved me, so it is my lucky day after all.”
Cam leaned into him and watched as the Hell Squad soldiers barreled into the fight with the others. Within minutes, the creepers were all down.
“Nice of you to join us, Steele,” Roth said. “After we rescued Squad Three and practically fought our way back out all by ourselves.”
Marcus raised a brow. “You’re welcome, Masters.”
“The general thought you guys might need a hand,” Cruz said, studying the maze of tunnels around them. “And we are here for clean up.”
“You get the berserkers out of here,” Marcus said. “We’re going to assess the breeding ground and how best to destroy it.”
“We already set some explosives,” Ash said. “In the queen’s cavern below.”
“Send me the data.” Marcus held up his wrist and Cam saw he had a screen identical to Roth’s. “We’ll add what we brought with us and bring the entire place down.”
Roth nodded. “Have fun.”
Shaw grinned, his sniper rifle resting on his shoulder. “Blowing up aliens is always fun.”
Soon, Tane was back to help Cam with Hemi and they were headed for the surface. She felt a rush of fres
h, clean air, and relief surged. They were almost out.
Roth stood at the entrance, waving them forward. “Everyone, let’s move back to the Hawk as fast as you can.”
Cam looked up into the bright-blue sky overhead. “We’re heading home, big guy.”
“Good. I have plans.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Yes, a trip to Medical,” she said dryly.
“Watch out!”
At Ash’s shout, Cam glanced over. A juvenile creeper rushed up behind them. Ash leaped on top of it, stabbing it with his combat knife.
The creeper spun wildly, and alien and man crashed into a rock wall. There was a shimmer of light, and the wall blinked out of existence.
Cam controlled a gasp. Behind it was a space filled with raptor comp screens and a humming alien generator.
Holographic camouflage. She’d heard of the raptors using it to hide their tech.
Ash killed the juvenile, jumped off it, and gripped it by a leg. With a giant heave, he tossed it out of the away. Then he straightened and stared at the comp screens. “Look at that.”
“What is it?” Tane called out.
Ash stepped up to the screens, and nudged a pile of raptor data cubes with his boot. “My guess? This is this is some sort of control station for the breeding ground.” He picked up a slick black cube. “Could have good data on the creepers.”
“Grab the cubes,” Tane ordered.
With a nod, Ash opened a backpack and scooped the cubes into it.
Tane touched his earpiece. “Indy, we found some raptor cubes. Relay a message to Hell Squad to keep an eye out for any more.”
Cam couldn’t care less about raptor cubes or creepers. With Hemi’s warmth pressed against her side, she didn’t want to think about aliens for at least the next twenty-four hours.
“Let’s go home,” she murmured to Hemi.
***
Hemi let Tane take most of his weight to help him aboard the Hawk. He actually was feeling much better now, but he was pretty sure that was just because he had Cam, his brother, and his friends by his side.
He dropped down into a seat and winced at the pain in his ribs. Cam sat beside him, but before she could settle, he yanked her into his lap.
“Hemi, your ribs—”
