Chapters (48)
- Cover
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Copyright
My eyes locked with his, and suddenly he was once again the boy I’d known: tired, frightened, a little lost, but kind when it mattered. Then the hunter flickered back into place. “Keep your eye on Cage,” he said at last. “But . . . yeah. These things, they . . .” He swallowed hard. “We need all the help we can get.”
Priya nodded, accepting that. “All right. Then let’s—”
She never finished her sentence. As she turned toward the opposite end of the hall, a shriek pierced the corridor. Priya jerked her rifle up, but she was a fraction of a second too slow. The alien collided with her and tore her to the floor in a jumble of limbs and screams.
THIRTY-NINE
“PRIYA!” HALLAM SHOUTED, RAISING HIS massive gun.
“No!” Finn bellowed. “You’ll hit her!” He raised his own laser rifle and squeezed off a shot. It caught the alien in the shoulder, and the alien lurched aside with a screech.
Another scream answered nearby. More of them approached. I shrank against the wall. Without a weapon, I was worse than useless. Maybe with one too. I glanced at Matt out of the corner of my eye. Even now I didn’t think I could pull the trigger with him in my path.
Priya groaned and staggered to her feet. She swung her rifle against her shoulder and took a shot at the alien, but it vanished around the corner. “Quick,” she managed. Matt moved to help her, but she brushed him off, swaying a bit as she steadied herself against the wall. “Into the holding cells! The door might slow them down.”
That I could help with. The cells wouldn’t block the aliens long, but anything beat standing here while they tore us to shreds. I lunged for the panel behind us and swiped Dad’s omnicard. The door slid aside with agonizing slowness. Behind me, someone fired another shot, and Priya shouted commands. “Come on!” I yelled, shouldering through the gap as soon as there was enough room.
I pivoted in time to see an alien lunge at Matt. He jerked his gun up—too slow, anyone could see it was too slow—and before my horrified eyes, the alien’s claws extended, going from three-inch curls into foot-long spears aimed straight at his heart.
At the last second, Finn tackled Matt around the waist, bearing both of them to the floor right below the monster’s attack. Finn angled the rifle against the creature and fired twice. The alien screamed, staggered, but didn’t go down. It lunged again. Finn and Matt rolled aside, and its claws stabbed the floor.
“Come on!” I screamed.