They ran for the safety of the airlock ahead, clambering over the twitching tendrils that littered the floor. Maren sensed more than saw Mark beginning to rebuild his form behind them, but they barrelled through the open airlock door and slammed it closed before the creature could collect itself.

“Here,” Maren said, letting Gin take Saul’s weight as she eased out from under his arm and began searching for the temporary breathing units.

Temps, as the crew called them, were small round devices that fit into the mouth. They held enough oxygen to last for ten minutes and could be quickly handed out and activated in case of an emergency evacuation.

Maren rattled through the collection of equipment boxes and spare parts until she found the crate holding the small forest-green pucks. She took three and passed them out.

“They’re here.” Gin pointed to the external door’s window with her free hand.

A large white shape was descending towards the planet’s surface, its engines kicking up plumes of red dust that glittered in the eternal sunset. The light, normally red, had turned bright yellow from the approaching flare.

Maren stuck the Temp in her mouth and bit through the plastic seal to activate the oxygen flow. Gin gave her a thumbs-up, and Saul nodded, so she pressed the button to open the external door.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Heat washed over them. Maren had forgotten how warm the planet was without the suits; though, she supposed, the gamma flare wasn’t helping matters. She put herself back under Saul’s arm, and the three of them left the airlock at a brisk walk, squinting against the clouds of dust blowing against their faces.

That was easy, Maren thought as the aircraft settled into the dirt ahead of them and its landing gear dug into the ground. Incredibly easy, actually. Almost ridiculously easy compared to everything else that’s happened today…

The doors opened as they reached the ship, allowing them into the small round room that acted as the craft’s airlock. Shelves nestled against the walls were filled with suits and any equipment the crew might need when exploring a strange planet. A tall, broad-shouldered man stood inside the room, the lower half of his face covered by an oxygen mask. He held out a hand to pull them in.

“Ginevieve and companions?” he asked. “I’m glad you were able to make it out okay. I thought you said there were only three of you, though.”

Maren hesitated. There are only three of us, aren’t there…?

Saul reacted first. He pulled Maren and Gin to the side, slamming them into one of the shelves. A knife grazed Maren’s shoulder, stinging where it cut through the suit and into her arm. It was closely followed by Suriya.

How did she get here so fast? Maren ducked sideways, catching a glimpse of the madness in the other woman’s eyes as the momentum carried her past. Unless… she was in the airlock with us and followed us out when we left. We wouldn’t have been able to hear her over the noise of the landing ship, and we were so focussed on moving quickly, we didn’t think to look behind ourselves.