by Elin Wyn
Something moved through the tree line. It had to be one of them. I took a huge gulp of air and reburied myself in the snow. I had no other choice.
If I tried to get up and run, they would see me before I got to my feet. My legs trembled even though I wasn’t standing.
If by some miracle, I managed to get to my feet before the creatures spotted me, I didn’t have the strength to outrun them a second time.
I lay as still as death and waited. The snow muffled my hearing but I could still feel vibrations around me. I felt something approach. The snow shifted. Clicks and snarls sounded like they were miles above me when they were really just a few feet away. My lungs ached. I risked taking the smallest of breaths and ended up with a mouthful of snow that refused to melt.
Pain splintered between my shoulder blades. One of the creatures stood right on top of me. I willed every muscle in my body to be still. The tiniest involuntary twitch could give me away.
Tears welled in my eyes and fear formed a solid lump in my throat. I wasn’t a crier. Never have been.
I didn’t cry any of the five times I broke my arm.
I wasn’t about to start now. But I was scared. I wasn’t too proud to admit that.
I waited for the killing blow to land. Surely, the creature was just toying with me now. It knew I was here. It had to know.
Suddenly, the pressure released. The vibrations of the creature's footsteps stayed close for a few minutes then moved away. I waited as long as I could to move, but I needed air. I saw spots behind my eyelids.
I jerked my head up and took in a raspy breath filled with snow. I coughed most of it back up but I definitely swallowed some.
This was not the way I wanted to test if the snow was toxic to eat or not.
Once I wiped the powdery flakes from my eyelashes, I looked around.
I was alone in the forest. I couldn’t see or hear any sign of the creatures.
After cleaning the snow off my watch, I pulled up the navigation unit. I had to get back to camp and warn the trio from hell immediately.
I wasn’t a big fan of the EcoBright team but that didn’t mean I wanted them torn apart by those things. Even if they were creepy, I needed their second opinion.
A lab like EcoBright certainly would’ve seen the work of Dr. Evie Parr when she came up with the serum that reversed hybridism.
The serum that saved my life.
I shook my head as if I could physically shake away the memories that began to surface.
Once I was on my feet again, I took things slowly. My legs felt like jelly.
My knees barked in protest with every step. At least walking quietly was easy with all of the snow. It muffled every twig I carelessly stepped on.
I ran in the opposite direction from camp, so the walk would take some time. I just hoped I got back to camp before the creatures found it.
I felt too tired to do anything but put one foot in front of the other. I could barely form thoughts. I certainly couldn’t put the energy into listening to the forest, even though that would’ve helped me stay calm.
When I heard grunting sounds coming from the forest beyond, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.
I crouched down so that I was on my belly and crawled forward through the underbrush. The grunts were louder and more plentiful as I approached. The closer I got, the less human they sounded. I must’ve stumbled back onto the group I just outran.
The foliage thinned a bit. I realized I was at the location where Tovin told me there’d be a sinkhole.
A sickening feeling came over me when I realized finding those creatures here instead of a sinkhole couldn’t have been a coincidence.
Could it?
I knew the EcoBright team weren’t fans of me or any outsiders, but I didn’t think they’d send me into a trap.
If they knew about the creatures, I was sure they’d report it. They had to report it to their boss if it was a threat to the project. Whoever was behind all of this was surely pouring a ton of money into that weird little lab.
At the far end of the clearing, I could make out hunched over shapes in the snow. At first, I only saw four, but I realized there were two more, they were just wearing something white.
Coats.
Lab coats?
From a distance, they looked like humans digging frantically through the dirt and snow as if someone dropped a comm unit.
But they didn’t speak. They grunted, shrieked, and clicked to one another just like the Xathi hybrids had.
They were organized, clearly searching for something.
But what?
They hadn’t noticed me. I took my chance to get away. I crawled on my belly until I felt sure I wouldn’t be seen if I stood up. My legs felt well enough to continue on at a light jog.
I went the long way around the area where the supposed sinkhole was supposed to be. I made it back to the camp within half an hour.
“We have a problem!” I called into the clearing.
Some new interns were milling about. They didn’t look at me when I spoke.
“Hello?” I got no response. Knowing the EcoBright team leaders, the interns weren’t allowed to speak until spoken to by one of them.
I wondered what exactly they were doing here for a moment but I pushed the thought away. I wasn’t going to get anywhere with them. It’s wasn’t until I yanked back the flap of the nearest lab tent that I got anyone’s attention.
“What is it about the word classified that you don’t understand?” Lorrva hissed.
“Whatever sketchy shit you’re up to really isn’t that high on my priority list right now,” I huffed back. “Did you hear me? I said we have a problem. I’ve been gone for over an hour!”
“Didn’t notice,” Tovin shrugged.
“I saw something in the jungle,” I said, ignoring him. “They looked like they could’ve been hybrids, as in the ones the Xathi turned humans into. But they had no crystalline skin. So instead it was just like they were possessed.”
“Impossible,” Lorrva said a little too quickly. She wouldn’t meet my gaze, but that wasn’t unusual.
“Possible,” I insist. “If they weren’t hybrids, and not possessed, then they were definitely something. I didn’t almost die getting chased by a figment of my imagination.”
“Maybe you hit your head. You sound a little mad,” Tovin said.
“I know what I saw. I know more about hybrids than any of you would ever want to know. If that’s not convincing enough for you, at least acknowledge that I’m one of the most respected in my field and that my word isn’t to be taken lightly.”
“Your expertise in your field doesn’t mean you can’t hit your head.” Tovin already went back to work on whatever it was he was working on.
I was about to argue further when I saw several big, hulking shapes standing there.
Aliens.
Specifically, a Valorni, Skotan, and K’ver.
“Who are you?” I yelped, startled.
“We’re Strike Team Three,” a burly alien said to me. “Who are you?”
“I’m Dr. Hotaru and I—”
Before I could continue a shriek drowned out the noise of the interns outside.
“What was that?” Lorrva looked pale.
I did my best not to look smug as we dashed out of the tent. The creatures found the camp. There were more of them now, coming at us from all directions.
“Don’t argue, just run!”
Tyehn
“Spread out, team.” Sk’lar gestured around the snow-covered clearing, pointing out where we should take up position. “Be ready for anything.”
Lorrva kept watching us while supposedly working on her experiments. Such utter nonchalance in the face of anxiety by big, armed men was not natural or normal.
“Look alive, team, bogey coming from the left.”
We sprang into action at Sk’lar’s words. I could detect the crashing sounds of someone making hasty progress through the snowy jungle.
A head full of short, dark hair could be seen bobbing and weaving through the undergrowth.
In a moment he would be right on top of us. I readied the Predator and switched over to full auto.
“Going hot.” I flipped the switch to explosive rounds and planted my feet wide. We could hear the sounds of many creatures tearing through the jungle, headed right for us.
But I made a mistake.
I’d forgotten about Lorrva. She suddenly bared her teeth and hissed, moving in a low, feral crouch.
It was srelling spooky.
No crystalline skin, and she’d been able to communicate with us, to try to dissuade us from investigating even.
But the jerky, movements, the blank eyes...
Possessed hybrids made as much sense as any other label.
Lorrva leaped at me, fingers splayed wide and aimed right for my eyes.
I managed to hook the barrel of the predator under her armpit and used her own momentum to hurl her head over heels to come crashing down hard on the ground.
The momentary distraction cost me dearly.
Dozens of possessed humans came rushing in, separating me from my team and surrounding us entirely.
Cursing, I switched from explosive rounds to high velocity, because of fears of collateral damage.
I squeezed the trigger and let out a deadly stream of metal. The hail of bullets mowed down three of the possessed as they rushed in.
Their bodies jerked about, wracked with spasms as they were cut to ribbons by the heavy ordinance.
Dax wasn’t kidding around with this prototype.
But they kept coming, pouring into the clearing.
Where were they all coming from?
I quickly lost count, standing my ground and sending streams of metal all about. The possessed stupidly charged on, right into the hail of bullets, dying one by one, but they didn’t stop.
The pile of dead bodies grew closer and closer, and soon I knew my assault rifle would be next to useless in close quarters combat.
I considered drawing my side arm, but that would be of limited effectiveness.
With no other options, I shouldered the Predator and drew the massive molecular sword Dax gave me.
Gripping it with two hands, I swung it at the first hybrid who made it past our fire line. The blade didn’t even slow down as it cleaved his head right off of his body.
I spared a quick glance for the rest of the team. I couldn’t see Navat or Cazak, but Jalok was near my flank, spewing continuous death with his light rail gun.
His eyes were lit up with tiny fires, and I realized that he was right at home dispensing doom on the battlefield.
Me, I’m a scientist first, and a soldier second.
Or at least I used to be.
I don’t have much stomach for killing, and the thought that the possessed were innocent victims before their transformation weighed heavily on my mind.
Not that I stopped swinging that monster sword.
Not for a second.
Because I might have been a pacifist in an ideal world, but right now those things were trying to kill my team.
White and red, blood and snow.
All about me the formerly pristine whiteness was striped and streaked in scarlet. In an odd way I suppose it could have been beautiful, if not for the violence and the fact that we were fighting for our lives.
“Regroup to the shuttle.” Sk’lar’s voice held a note of strain I had not often heard from him.
The situation was bad, maybe the worst spot we’d ever been in as a team.
“We’re cut off.” Cazak shouted. At least he was still alive, for the time being.
“Then fight, Team Three. Fight.”
Well, I didn’t need Sk’lar encouragement to do that.
With renewed vigor, I swung the blade about me in a semi circle, cleaving six of the possessed with one fell swoop.
Their bodies fell to the snow, jerking about in death throes and spraying me with more gore. The tent at my back was no longer military issue green, but a deep, rich red.
Why did they have to attack us on arm day?
My limbs began to weaken, my attacks slowed as they kept pouring into our clearing. Bodies were literally heaped up knee deep around me, and the possessed just struggled over their squirming, steaming masses to get to me.
Finally, I knew I was about to be overrun.
I switched the sword to a one handed grip and drew the predator. I switched it to full auto with my thumb and just squeezed the trigger, trying to keep my arc of fire concentrated on the clearing so as to avoid hitting my comrades.
For a time, it worked. I mowed down more of the possessed, spattering them into so much gore, and any that managed to somehow get past my deadly rain of bullets faced their doom at the hands of the molecular sword. I remember thinking at the time that if I survived, I would have to give the blade a name, too.
A sound of someone yelling reached my ears. It wasn’t until my throat started to ache that I realized it was my own.
The scream was primal, guttural, the sound of an animal fighting for its very existence and deathly afraid it was losing.
We were losing. I hadn’t seen any of my team for some time, though the sound of weapons fire seemed to indicate at least some of them were alive. That thought kept me going more than anything. Because if they were still alive, I still had hope.
Then the Predator ran out of standard ammo. I switched it to the toxin setting and continued to fire. The possessed didn’t take well to the toxin rounds, foaming at the mouth and flopping to the ground as if they were having seizures. True to what Dax had said, the rounds also released a toxic cloud. Unfortunately, that made them as useless as explosive ordinance in close quarters.
Reluctantly, I shouldered the Predator and took my sword in a two handed grip. I was surrounded with possessed humans, closing in on me in a tight circle. I’ve never been too proud to retreat, and I don’t make any bullshit about it being a tactical advance to the rear or any of that macho crap. But I had nowhere to run.
Then I saw something move past us in a flash.
It was the human woman who had made the initial report.
As agile and quick as a tree dwelling primate, she scampered up the trunk of a tree. I almost couldn’t take in how deft and sure her movements were. She was well out of reach of the possessed, and I smiled grimly, figuring I’d at least saved one person’s life even if I couldn’t save myself.
The woman, Dr. Hotaru, made a mad leap for a branch and swung around it like a gymnast. She did two complete circuits before letting go and somersaulting through the frigid air.
The possessed were just as distracted by her feat as I was and watched as she spiraled towards the ground. At the last moment she untucked her body and lashed out with both feet.
She connected solidly with the back of one of the hybrid’s heads, snapping his spine like a twig. Then she landed next to me and screamed at me to run.
Dr. Hotaru had opened up a gap in the circle of possessed surrounding me. I leaped past their grasping, gnashing claws and teeth and tore through the jungle after Hotaru, the possessed hot on our heels.
My long strides caught up to her and she looked at me and smiled.
Despite everything, I smiled back. She was cute and anyone who could smile in the face of danger was alright in my estimation.
Because one thing was sure.
We weren’t out of it yet.
Not by a long shot.
Maki
“What’s the plan?” I shouted to the Valorni soldier as I struggled not to lose my footing in the snow.
Was it just me, or was it deeper than it was when I did this twenty minutes ago? Was there a highly-localized snow storm no one told me about?
Had anyone taken notes on this?
The overexertion was clearly going to my head.
“Run,” he barked over his shoulder.
“I meant after that,” I replied.
No res
ponse.
Suddenly, he veered to the right. I furrowed my brow.
Going that way lead to a ravine. The landscape was slowly but surely sloping downward. The snow was growing more plentiful and the foliage was getting lusher with each step. Most of the ravines I’d crossed so far either narrowed into a bottleneck or required climbing a steep incline to get back out of.
“Where are you going?” I shouted.
“Away from what’s chasing us! Where do you think I’m going?”
“According to my navcharts it looks like right into a ravine!”
The Valorni skittered to a stop and I crashed into his broad back. It was like colliding with the side of a house.
I fell into a fluffy pile of snow. The Valorni turned around and looked down, clearly surprised to see me down there.
“What happened?”
“Did you not feel me smack into you just now?”
He offered me a hand. I stood up on my own and brushed the snow from my clothing.
“Was that what that was?”
“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”
“I’ll tell you when we find a safe place. Are you sure this leads to a dead end?”
“No, but it’s likely. I don’t want to take that chance, do you?”
A howl tore through forest.
“No, I don’t. After you.” He gestured toward the forest.
“Are you letting me navigate because I know the land better than you do or because you don’t want to be the one who leads us into the claws of maniacs?”
“Both statements are accurate.”
I held back a snort.
For a soldier, and an alien, this guy was pretty funny. If we lived through this, he’d earned an ale.
Another howl ripped through the trees bringing me back to the here and now.
“Up this way.” I dash over to a rocky wall overgrown with vines and slick with frost.
“Isn’t that what we were trying to avoid?”
“If I remember correctly, this levels out into a plateau. We can make a mad dash across that, come down around the other side, flip back and get my bike.”
I quickly found a foothold and began my climb. It wasn’t easy without my ropes and harness, but I could manage.
