The glow of the stars filled her display as she slipped back outside, but another glow also illuminated the night. Her heart stopped. A hundred yards away were a dozen Spiders surrounding the Humvee. Their heads tilted simultaneously and a hundred eyes studied her.

“Spiders!” she screamed into her com, backing straight into the metal wall. Fumbling for her pistol, she tripped and fell onto the concrete. The pistol went flying and landed several feet away.

Scratch. Scrape. Scratch. Scrape.

The Spiders skittered across the concrete tarmac. She hesitated, calculating the odds of reaching the pistol before they reached her, and then scrambled back into the hangar on all fours. She slammed the door shut and locked it.

Overton darted over to her and leveled his rifle at the wall. A claw punched through the metal like a knife cutting a piece of bread. Dozens more followed, tearing foot-long gaps in the door.

“We have to get to the train! This isn’t going to hold them for long,” Overton shouted.

Sophie tried to follow behind him, watching in horror as the Spiders tore through the wall. “But we need the RVM. We need Alexia.”

He grunted, firing off a volley of plasma rounds through one of the openings. A shriek followed as the rounds tore into one of the Spider’s shields.

Overton looked down at the single electromagnetic concussion grenade he had taken from Bouma. He didn’t want to use it yet, not this early in the mission, but he didn’t have a choice. If he waited, they might be dead before he had another opportunity.

“Get to the train. I’ll get the device,” he yelled, firing off another dozen rounds.

Sophie hesitated.

“I said go!”

She nodded and disappeared into the glow of red light spilling out of the tunnel’s entrance. Overton watched her go and then returned his attention to the wall. The scraping sound of the claws echoed in his helmet. The noise prompted a steady flow of adrenaline to pump into his veins. It was all he needed for his training to kick back in.

Without further thought, he unclipped the grenade, removed the pin, and dropped it through one of the openings in the metal. It dropped with a hollow click and rolled a few feet before detonating. He shut off his HUD with a blink and closed his eyes to prepare for the blast. The pulse wave ripped across the tarmac, penetrating the creature’s defenses. Through the opening, Overton watched the blue glow of their shields pulsate and fail.

One swift kick from his boot sent the door flying off its hinges. It slid across the tarmac, knocking three of the Spiders down. He pulled his .45 from his holster and smiled.

“Time to die, you little bastards!”