Sophie looked down at the girl through her silver visor and lied. “Almost, honey. Almost.”

Inside the facility, Bouma caught up with his commander.

“Sergeant, the doors. They had all of these scratches,” he panted. He eased to a stop behind Overton, who was standing frozen in the darkness of the hangar.

The Marine didn’t respond. He simply blinked and scanned the blackness, his eyes straining to see what lurked in the shadows.

“Sir, the—”

Overton balled his hand into a fist, and Bouma took a step back, nearly bumping into Finley.

“My heat sensors are picking up some weird readings,” Overton whispered. “Bouma, take our six. Finley, you’re with me.”

The two Marines nodded and fell into position. Overton took the lead, stepping a few cautious paces into the darkness, blinking again as the green tint from his night vision filled his HUD.

He had seen several heat signatures upon entering the hangar, but they disappeared almost as fast as they had appeared. The claw marks on the doors troubled him. More than troubled—they fucking terrified him. He knew better than anyone in the group that the spiders hadn’t done that to the doors. The wound on his shoulder proved they weren’t that strong. If they were, his arm would be lying in a parking lot back in Colorado Springs.

Don’t lose focus.

The words from his drill sergeant were the perfect reminder that he needed to get his head back in the game. Whatever was on the other end of those claws was going to be big, and he needed a clear mind if he was going to have a chance of taking it down.

A flash of red raced across his HUD. His eyes followed the blur before it disappeared off his display. “Contact,” he whispered.

Two short bursts of static broke over the com.

“I see it,” Finley said.

“Me too,” Bouma replied.

“Hold position,” Overton ordered.

He stilled his breathing in an attempt to calm his nerves. The green glow of the tunnel filled his HUD with an eerie haze. Another flash of red burst across his display and disappeared.

Whatever it was, it was fast. He held his position and scanned the tunnel. If he had to guess, he would put them at one hundred yards away from the Biosphere entrance, which meant they had already traveled farther than he thought. It also meant there was a considerable gap between him and the civilians.

A wave of helplessness washed over him. He pulled his focus from the tunnel and turned. The last thing he wanted was to be outflanked. But as he began to backtrack, his HUD exploded with red light and his stomach sank. It was too late.