Like a robot being commanded by a remote control, he grabbed Sophie by the arm and pulled her into the sunlight. They ran side by side down the tarmac toward two large hangars a hundred yards away. He tried to ignore the sounds of claws tearing through the metal behind him. Every few yards he stopped and fired off another few rounds at the door, sending a Spider or two to its death.

“Go!” Overton shouted between bursts.

The massive hangar doors dwarfed them as they approached. Overton looked between the two buildings, but he didn’t see any obvious sign that one held their spaceship.

“Which one is it?” Overton yelled.

Alexia’s calm voice broke over the channel. “After downloading the dimensions of the spacecraft, it’s only logical that the ship would be in the larger hangar. The second is too—”

Overton cut her off and shoved Sophie toward the sealed doors of the first hangar. “Find a way inside. I’ll hold off the horde!” he yelled, throwing himself on his stomach for a steadier sniping position.

Sophie grabbed an extra magazine from her belt and handed it to him. “Take this. You’re going to need it.”

“Thanks.” Overton grabbed the mag before firing off another volley of rounds at the heads of two Spiders crawling through a hole in the door.

She took off running, craning her neck around the approaching corner to get a better angle. With her rifle aimed at the metal edge of the building, she jumped around it, ready to fire, but the blind spot was clear. Relieved, she sprinted for the door and fired off several rounds into the lock. The rifle vibrated in her hands and pushed her backwards.

The power of the gun shocked her. It was the first time she had ever fired a pulse rifle, and she had done so without giving it a second thought. Less than a month ago she had been shut in her old lab, trying to solve sophisticated equations on her smart board, and now she was firing a high-powered pulse rifle with a horde of aliens chasing her. Saafi was gone, Emanuel was hundreds of miles away, and everyone she had ever cared about was dead or dying in a blue glowing prison cell.

She gritted her teeth and fired another round at the lock. The door broke open and she slipped into the hangar, blinking on her night vision as the darkness consumed her. When her eyes adjusted, she gasped. A large sign that read Secundo Casu towered over her, but the massive room was empty.

“NO!” she screamed. “It has to be here!” Sophie collapsed to her knees. The overwhelming feeling of defeat rushed through her as the ringing of gunfire filled her ears. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she didn’t bother to remove her helmet to wipe them away.