Reclaim: Books 1-3

by J. A. Scorch

  "What about the Special Forces training here? According to the manifest, Pendle was about to graduate another five for the UESF."

  "What?" Teve whispered.

  Hoang answered the tech. "The five graduates are a low priority. I'm almost certain the hybrids would have killed them by now, so focus on containing the assets. We need to secure them back into the East Wing immediately."

  Teve instantly reached for the incision in the back of his neck. The tiny scar was still there, but Teve began to doubt the existence of the small, deadly chip Hoang had threatened him with. "Son of a bitch," he said, shaking his head. A second later, he thought about Romeo describing the one part of Pendle she had never stepped foot in. The discovery got him thinking: The hybrids didn't break into the facility; they were trying to break out.

  "Move out," Hoang said, dispersing the group.

  Mutters filled the air as Teve found himself glued to the front wheel well of the Humvee he decided to hide behind. Pendle was holding the hybrids that killed Ward, Bean, and most likely Prescott.

  "Ward," Teve muttered. Did the lieutenant have knowledge of the hybrids? Teve shook his head. The CO had to have been in the dark as much as the next person. Why else would he have died so quickly? Prescott didn't seem to comprehend a thing about the hybrids, either.

  "Sir," one of the soldiers shouted. "We've got a few guards coming out now."

  Teve edged his head around the corner of the Humvee to see three guards come charging out of the area. One was limping while the other two helped carry him along.

  "Thank Christ you're here," said the injured man.

  The voice belonged to Prescott. Teve recognized him straight away. "Bastard made it," he murmured to himself.

  "What the hell are these things?" Prescott asked.

  "Right this way, corporals," Hoang said. "We'll get you all checked over here and bring you up to speed."

  Teve couldn't see them as they went behind the truck. He crept along to the other side to get a better line on them all.

  "Right over here. Take a seat," Hoang said. The doctor motioned them toward a log on the ground that made the perfect resting place. Once the three guards had settled themselves down on the log, Hoang pulled out a pistol and shot each of them in the head.

  Teve felt every bullet ring out and send a jolt down his spine. Hoang had just covered up the incident with perfection, confirming several things to Teve with the three rounds he fired into the guards' heads.

  "You four," Hoang said. "Search the South Wing first. Make sure no one is left alive. Guards, trainers. We can’t let this situation get out of hand."

  "Yes, sir," a man said through his thick mask.

  "The rest of you, fan out and round up the hybrids. We can't have any of them escape the area. If you need me, I'll be by the inner entrance once it has been cleared. Now go."

  Hearing scuttling feet, Teve had to follow them inside Pendle. It wasn't curiosity or the truth driving him forward. For once, a simple motive found its way to the front of Teve's mind: revenge. Hoang needed to pay, and Teve was the only one alive in the area not under his control.

  Before he died at the hands of one of the disgusting creatures he had just escaped from, he would kill the doctor.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Murphy's team detonated the breaching charges and shoved a perfect square of the Cyclone's hull out into space. Once the area was clear, Porter dropped down from his X90S. His magboots connected with the Zeal ship instantly. For some reason, the alien craft had magnetic properties, allowing anyone with a space suit to stay secured to its surface.

  Murphy stood over the newly created hole and pointed a flashlight on his weapon down the small shaft. "Looks like some kind of access tunnel that's been sealed up. Long way down, though. Don't know how far in it travels."

  "Only one way to find out," Porter said as Briggs landed behind him, his laser pistol raised.

  Murphy signaled his team to prepare. The group all checked their gear and readied themselves for a dive down into the ship. Without the aid of gravity, the first Marine needed to use air thrusters on her combat suit to help propel herself headfirst into the narrow passage. Murphy, Porter, and Briggs waited as the Marine went in alone.

  "What do you see, Sergeant Zina?" Murphy asked over the comm.

  The soldier's voice crackled back. "It's dark as hell. The shaft goes on and on. Can't find an end to it."

  "Keep pulling yourself through. Report when you've hit a roadblock."

  Murphy faced Porter. "Once she reaches the end, we'll do another scan and try to find the next section to breach. We'll snake our way down until we find a way in. Hopefully, we'll drop right in on their laps without them noticing."

  "Copy that," Porter said. "When we breach a path into the ship, we need to beam Zina's vidfeed to Garcia. The commodore needs proof we're in before Command commits any more boots to this op."

  Murphy shook his head inside his combat suit. "Typical Command. Only the best opportunity we'll ever receive to take the ship by surprise, and they're going to botch it."

  "I know. It's a crazy play. Just keep drilling down. There's not much we can—"

  "Captain," Zina shouted over the comm.

  "Report," Murphy replied.

  "Slight problem. I've found the edge of the ship's gravity. I'm being pulled down headfirst. Oh, crap. I'm starting to fall into the ship."

  "Copy that. Can you grab onto anything to slow yourself down?"

  "Negative. The passage is smooth, and I can't turn myself around. Captain, I'm too heavy. If this gets any worse, I'll be—"

  Zina screamed over the comm.

  "Report, soldier. What is happening?"

  Before Murphy got a response, the sounds of Zina falling consumed the comm. She found the artificial gravity of the ship as it aggressively transitioned from zero to at least one. Porter figured the aliens used a similar technology to the Andromeda, requiring a solid bit of ground to function.

  Murphy wasted no time and sent the next Marine in—this time opting for the soldier to go feet first into the claustrophobic space. "When you reach Sergeant Zina," Murphy said, "report her status. Take it slow on the way down and use your magboots to reduce your decent."

  "Yes, sir," the Marine said as he shoved his way down into the narrow hole.

  Porter stared at Murphy. "What do we do if he can't clear a space? There's not enough room to move past her."

  "We'll figure it out, Captain."

  Porter spun around to give himself time to think as a Stalker fired a missile toward the Cyclone. With the Marines outside of the X90S, the fighters knew not to fire upon that area of the alien ship. But despite the precaution, Porter felt more exposed than ever before.

  With nothing better to do, he waited for the second Marine to find Zina.

  "Gravity has picked up," the soldier said. "I'm slowing my descent as much as possible. I can see why she couldn't stop. I'm using my boots and hands, and I'm still going too fast."

  "Remember, she's right below you, Sergeant. You should spot her any second now."

  "Copy that."

  Porter and Murphy stared at one another in silence for another minute as they waited for the Marine to find the bottom of the passage. More time they didn't have ticked away as the ship continued to head away from the Andromeda. From what Porter could tell, it was picking up speed.

  "Sergeant? Report," Porter said, taking over.

  "Sorry, sirs. I think I've just reached the bottom. My feet are on something solid, but ... "

  "But what?" Murphy yelled.

  "We've got another problem, Captain ... Sergeant Zina. She's not here."

  Murphy's neck straightened. "What do you mean? She fell into that hole."

  "There's no trace of a body, sir, but I found a single, horizontal path that continues on. Either she's crawled into the ship. Or the Zeal have pulled her in and have figured out what we're up to."

  Porter drifted backward at the thought as a Stalker
exploded in the background. Another pilot paid the ultimate price for the cause.

  If the Zeal figured out they were breaching the carrier in that exact location, the next wave of Marines wouldn't be able to access the ship without dying.

  "Sergeant," Porter said over the comm. "Stay put. I'm coming down."

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Creeping along the crunching gravel of the entry to Pendle, Teve couldn't help but feel his fists tighten as he stalked Hoang down into the base. The man was still wearing the same biohazard suit from the day they first met, except this time he only had one guard with him for protection.

  Teve followed their every move, tracing the steps the soldier in front of Hoang took into the building. He was leaving his boss completely exposed for an unexpected attack from behind. The doctor had no clue how close he was to death.

  Hoang and his escort came to the inner entrance and stopped at the gate as it clanked opened. The doctor shouted out some more orders to a group of lab techs and soldiers up ahead as he stepped through, dispersing them with only a few words.

  Teve found himself alone with the two men. The soldier dropped back a few paces from the doctor as Teve shouldered his rifle, knowing he wouldn't need the weapon to do what had to be done. As he approached the soldier, Hoang played with his e-slate, punching in some commands, possibly taking down notes for his next arrogant idea.

  The guard didn't hear Teve's silent footsteps and barely reacted in time as two large arms wrapped themselves around his throat. The soldier tried to resist the headlock, but the struggling only made Teve grip tighter as he deprived the man of oxygen.

  After a few short seconds, Teve lowered the unconscious man to the cold concrete floor of the facility. He chose not to kill him, unsure if the soldier was under some form of mind control at the hands of the doctor.

  With Hoang alone and ready for death, Teve strolled confidently toward the doctor and got his attention. "Hello, Doc. Happy to see you again."

  Hoang dropped the e-slate at his feet. The device bounced around, making a hideous crack on the concrete as he stumbled backward. "How did you—"

  "Escape? Survive? Oh, it wasn't easy. I had to fight my way through a few of your fucking experiments first."

  "You don't understand."

  "I don't understand? Bullshit, I don't understand. I just watched a bunch of hybrids kill two good soldiers. I was on my way out of here when I saw you and your little group of lab techs rolling in here like there was nothing to be frightened of. So tell me, Doc. Tell me what I don't understand about the fact that you are keeping these fucked-up Zeal creatures."

  Hoang closed his open mouth and dropped the act of being afraid. His neck raised up as he brought his hands together and interlocked his fingers. "Very well. You seem to be a bit more curious than vengeful at the moment. I suppose I can grant you some answers before my men return."

  "I don't see anyone around," Teve said as he stepped through the gate. "So start talking before I run out of patience."

  Hoang nodded as he lowered his head for a moment. "It was never meant to be this way. The early signs of the project showed the select few like yourself to have incredible abilities and nothing more."

  "What happened?"

  "Well, as you know, the war between humanity and the Zeal is coming to a decision point. The Mars Armed Forces have made great strides and will be defeating the alien fleet any day now. We on Earth, however, still have the pesky problem of being overrun with Zeal bases."

  Hoang paused a moment and dropped down to pick up his e-slate.

  "Hold it. What are you doing?"

  Hoang's hand hovered over the tablet. "I'm showing you the truth."

  Teve moved closer to the doctor and picked up the device before handing it to him. "Keep the screen forward."

  "As you wish. Interesting to see that your desire to know the truth can afford me a certain level of trust."

  "I will never trust you, Doctor," Teve said. "Now hurry up. I haven't got all day."

  Hoang entered a few speedy commands and brought up a rotating image of a man with glowing purple eyes. "This is where you are currently at in the timeline. A survivor of the virus, you have utilized its capabilities and progressed to the next stage."

  "Next stage of what?"

  The doctor pressed a button that showed the transformation of the man in the image going from Teve's current state to that of one of the hybrids. Its body sprouted the sharp bladed armor as its legs shrank down and its back hunched over.

  "This, Teve, is the next phase of our evolution. Who are we to decide that this progress brought before us isn't worthy of our commitment?"

  Teve felt his brows tighten along with every muscle in his face. "What the fuck are you on about? I thought you were keeping these things for study. Are you trying to transform us into the hybrids?"

  "This is freedom," Hoang said. "Think about it. With a concentrated injection of the Zeal virus, I could evolve a super soldier like yourself to the next level."

  Letting the doctor's words make sense, Teve realized he wasn't going to turn into one of the hybrids with time. There was no strange metamorphosis that inevitably took place. It was via forced intervention that the change occurred. Teve stepped up to the short man and stared down at him through his biohazard suit.

  "You did this to those people. Who were they? Special Forces?"

  Hoang lowered his brows along with his voice. "It was for the greater good. If we can build a Zeal army that we control, then there is no limit to our possibilities."

  Shaking his head uncontrollably, Teve narrowed his focus on the doctor after a few seconds. "You're worse than the Zeal. I won't let you ruin another person's life. This ends now." He reached toward the doctor, hands out to yank the biohazard suit from his head.

  "I can't let you do that. I had high hopes for you, but here we are."

  Teve hesitated. Whatever move Hoang had left, he was about to use it. That was when he saw the tablet still in the doctor's hand.

  The few taps of the screen by the man's fingertips was all it took to issue an order to the facility, one that caused an alarm to ring out to the immediate area.

  The e-slate crashed to the ground again as Teve seized control over Hoang's body.

  "Too late, Sergeant."

  A siren continued to blare a few feet from Teve's location, piercing his ears. "What have you done?"

  As Hoang slung back, he began to laugh, losing more and more control the longer Teve squirmed.

  "They're coming."

  "Who? Tell me."

  Hoang laughed harder than before. "All of them: the hybrids. They will tear you to shreds and show you once and for all what true power is."

  Continuing to back away, Teve grabbed his rifle and aimed it at the doctor. He wanted to pull the trigger, but the man might still prove useful. After all that had happened, surely Hoang didn't want to die? He had worked too hard for this all to come crashing down. Teve seized him by the arm and said, "If I die, you die."

  "No, no, no. It doesn't work like that. They won't harm me. Not while I've got this." An electric probe sparked Teve in the ribs, coming out of nowhere to knock him down.

  "You son of a bitch."

  "Goodbye, Sergeant," the doctor said as he ran up the pathway and shoved his way through the exit.

  "No, you don't." Teve got on his feet and gave chase to the fleeing man. As he was about to charge through the reinforced gate, Hoang hit the central electromagnetic lock, sealing Teve in as a pair of hybrids came around the corner.

  "I'll be seeing you," Hoang said.

  Teve aimed the rifle at the doctor, trying to squeeze off a few rounds before death struck him down. He couldn't get a clear shot. "Dammit." He swung around and fired a burst into each hybrid. Their bladed armor reacted and protected their skin where every one of his bullets landed. The leader of the two charged through the gunfire and flared out his dagger-covered hands as it screeched in readiness to end its victim's life.


  "Come on," Teve yelled as he squared up his rifle for a second burst. He blasted out another dozen or so rounds as the hybrid leaped out. Its armor absorbed the attack, but the bullets slowed it down enough for Teve to roll off to the side and away from the hybrid's charge. Before he had time to react, the second hybrid was on him, swinging its sharp arms violently out. Teve felt the air being slashed apart by the dozens of active blades as the creature narrowly missed slicing his face open. He squeezed the trigger and emptied the rifle's magazine at close range, giving the hybrid a reason to back up.

  Teve scuttled to his feet and reloaded the weapon as the first hybrid came at him again, swinging its arms out wide. This time he wasn't so lucky. The creature cut his arm open with a single connecting slash, spraying blood out over the concrete. Teve ignored the urge to check the damage and instead fired more rounds into the hybrid's face, holding down the trigger until the rifle clicked as the last bullet flew out of its barrel.

  His first attacker was finally dead, leaving the second hybrid wounded and angry. With the last magazine of ammunition he had to his name, Teve pressed forward and fired one short burst of bullets after another into the hybrid's skull until it stopped trying to get back up. The last round blared out of his weapon and ended its life.

  He fell to his knees and took a moment to think. Hoang's soldiers would be on him soon with the amount of noise the rifle made. As the lifeless, purple eyes of the hybrids stared back at him, Teve heard scuttling ahead that could only belong to more of the creatures. The soldiers hadn't contained them.

  In half a second, he was on his feet and running for the gate. There was no other immediate way out except through the heavily reinforced chain link fence.

  He tried to open the gate, but the electromagnetic lock defiantly mocked his attempt to survive. All the while, the screeching increased in volume. The nearest hybrid was only a few hundred feet away and had already spotted him.