The feed fizzled and went blank.

That left us staring at one another in the recesses of a new prison, surrounded by more alarm lights, and under the apparent threat of a new alien attack.

One with the potential to be even worse than before.

THIRTY-TWO

“I CAN’T DO THIS,” REED whispered, burying his face in his hands. “Not again.”

I bit my tongue to keep from snapping at him. Mia didn’t bother. “You never even saw the aliens on Sanctuary. It was me who fought them, me and Cage and Alexei and . . .” Her voice trailed off, and she glared at me, Matt’s name dying on her lips.

I swallowed hard. “And . . . Matt,” I finished for her, meeting Mia’s gaze defiantly. “And Tyler. And my mother. And Rita. And a hundred other people we’ll never see again—”

“And Kenzie,” interrupted Cage, his voice a dagger, his stare targeting Mia as if he could lock her in place. “Kenzie fought those things as hard as you did, Mia. Maybe harder. All of you seem to be forgetting that.”

To my amazement, Mia broke eye contact, as if she’d realized she’d edited me out of her own traumatic memories. But although Reed ducked his head in embarrassment, I didn’t blame him. He had heard and seen enough to scare him. The same with Jasper.

And Imani . . . Imani had choked on the slime they’d used in an attempt to mutate her, and her sister had died from the same process. But she wasn’t crying or screaming, only staring ahead with a horribly blank expression. “Imani?” I whispered, crouching in front of her.

Her head shot up, and I recoiled in shock. It wasn’t fear or anxiety in her expression, but raw, utter fury. “They’re here,” she said, her voice steady. She drew the stun gun and considered it. “We’re going to need better weaponry. Something more than the security team had. Something with a hope of destroying those things.”

“Imani?” I repeated.

She met my gaze straight-on. “Those things killed my sister. They sure as hell aren’t going to kill anyone else if I can stop them.”

Our eyes met and understanding passed between us. “No one else,” I agreed, and she nodded. Imani, at least, didn’t hate me. My heart rate slowed a few beats per minute.

She rolled her shoulders and got to her feet. “We should move if we’re going to stop those things.”

Well, if nothing else, you had to admire her courage. Part of me wanted nothing more than to crawl into one of these cells and hide. I swallowed that down and glanced at the others. “Can we work together on this? Or do I have to worry about getting stabbed in the back?”

Alexei arched an eyebrow. “Do you have to worry? I think that should be our question.”