“Noah!” Nori shouted urgently. “We’ve got the ammo right here, hurry, let’s distribute it around.”

A snarl drew her attention. A centipede-like monster was worming its way through the side gap between the ship and the structure.

Warped, level 3

Two beams of energy hit it as the two women fired the Zappers. The creature screeched at the smoking holes in its body but kept trying to wriggle in, then Bulco fired. The huge Warped Buster round tore through the injured creature, blasting it apart in a spray of gore and shrapnel.

The large man holstered his gun and grunted as he lifted a huge ammo crate, carrying it to the opening. “Here. Twenty-five thousand cartridges in this one alone.”

It took four guards on the other side of the gate, working together, to take the crate from him.

“Bulco, is that you?” Diamond’s voice carried over.

“Yeah, it’s us!” Nori shouted back, carrying smaller crates and passing them along. “What’s your status?”

“We killed a few of the monsters with the ammo you left us, but it’s a drop in the bucket. We have smaller Warped trying to punch through our walls and my scouts spotted bigger ones just a few minutes away. You guys barely made it in time.” He looked back and shouted, “Take the crates into the residential area! I want all civilians reloading weapons and loading up magazines as quickly as possible! Guards, get to the firing holes and start shooting!”

“Just hand me a gun and cut me loose!” a woman shouted. Nori recognized the voice as belonging to Cattie, the Sharpshooter she helped Martin to level up.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, noticing the woman was already level four.

Cattie didn’t throw her a second glance. “Too busy killing monsters now, talk later.”

Screams erupted from inside the shelter.

“What’s going on?” Bulco demanded.

“A Warped made it inside!” a guard shouted. “It’s attacking the civilians.”

“Warped on the roof!” Another screamed. “They’re punching through!”

“Shit!” Bulco cursed. “Diamond, get some guards into the ship ASAP. Nori, take them to the roof. I’m going inside.”

The large man grabbed the edge of the ruptured gate and pulled himself into the building.

“On it!” Nori shouted back, turning to run to the bridge.

Diamond hurried Cattie and two other guards into the freighter. They barely made it in before Unity started lifting. The shelter’s guards blocked the breached gate behind them with thick steel plates.

A huge claw grabbed the edge of the still open cargo door. Lana screamed and punched the closing mechanism, but the monster wouldn’t let go. The ship was already a few meters in the air, bringing the creature along with it. Then another claw grabbed the straining door, then another. A giant, humanoid head appeared between the three limbs.

Warped, Level 8