Page 22 of Craze

Shavih leads the women back up the ramp. Our friends stumble as they strain to reverse their course. “Navi!”

My pulse pounds in my ears. Three women take hits. I lift the stolen weapon and fire at the soldiers with radiant rifles.

Pellucid Command: Ramp— external sealscreen, engage.

Green light spreads between us and the ground crew, stopping the advancement of their gunfire.

I throw my hood back and run to where the other women stand on the ramp. “Come on, we have to take Rochir’s LightBlade!”

“Can you fly it?” Shavih asks in doubt.

“In theory, but it’s better than nothing!”

The women who remain collect our fallen sisters and follow me up the ramp. But as we round the corner and aim for the corridor that leads to Rochir’s ship, the dogs find us. Four slink up the hallway, like rabid wolves with augmented limbs, eyes, and longer teeth.

The animals charge toward us. I tense and fire back as fast as I can.

“Fucking Welvirs!” My guard shouts from the end of the hall. The creatures turn and run toward him.

Rochir cries out from a room close to the guard. Gun blasts flash as Rochir storms out, taking the animals down. When he sees me he lifts his gun in our direction. “Navi!”

I fire at him without waiting. I know he’s been eager for this chance.

Two more women grunt and crumple to the floor. A shot grazes my side, scorching my skin.

Shavih shields her head behind a metal arm. “Everyone back!”

I stand between Rochir and the women who thought I would protect them because I can see and do and command things they can’t.

But this all feels like a terrible mistake.

Minutes pass filled with howls in agony and gunfire that succumb to growls and tearing. I look for another way out as the squads blaze the shield with a rage of yellow bullets, trying to break through. There isn’t another path.

Rochir limps toward us. He’s sweaty and dirty, shredded and half dead. I urge the women back onto the ramp as he leans back against the wall and lifts his gun. A bloodied blade falls from his hand.

Pellucid Command: Internal ramp sealscreen, engage!

He fires. The bullet absorbs into the rippling green shield and disburses. Rochir laughs and slides to sit on the floor. “Nowhere to go, Naughty Navi. I know what you’ve done.”

My heart won’t slow down. Adrenaline’s making it hard to think. I am hot and cold and terrified because I can’t see a way out of our situation.

Rochir clicks his tongue. “Every single cell in your body is going to hurt when I get my hands on that splay and rip it from your skull.”

He slams a fist against the wall, fury warping his face. “You unleashed the welvirs. They killed the fucking pilots, Navi!”

I might die soon, but I’m glad to have thrown a wrench into his plans. Pulling up the cockpit feed, I see the slumped pilots, what’s left of them, as well as the clawed up dash. Dead guards fill the passages along with Sevrin’s pet projects.

“Oops,” I mutter. But I can’t say I regret letting them out. The welvirs got revenge for their torture, even if we didn’t.

Shavih huddles the others together on the ramp and speaks quietly. “No matter what, today we die free.”

I can’t access self-destruct with my clearance, but I can still try to destroy everything I can with the right explosion. If we got pinned down, the we agreed to make it a mission of sacrifice for the Titans.

Pellucid Command: Increase Life support supply to labs, Oxygen only.

Graphs open in my vision, tracking the status of the labs life support systems.

Pellucid Command: Initiate Splay Merge.

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