Page 46 of Alien Devil's Wrath
They ran.
Their boots thundered down the corridor, probably heading for whatever rally point remained. They’d bring reinforcements. Or try to escape themselves now that the shields were down. The entire remaining guard force would either converge on this location or flee the planet.
“Can you walk?” I asked Zarek.
“Yes.” A lie. He could barely stand. I could feel his muscles trembling.
“Can you walk if I help?”
“Yes.” Truth this time. He’d crawl if it meant staying with me.
I pulled his arm over my shoulders, careful of his injuries. Took most of his weight. His exhaustion was almost physical, but also his determination. His absolute refusal to slow me down.
“The impound dock,” I said, checking Slade’s pad again. “Level B-3. Where they keep confiscated ships. With the shields down, we can take any of them.”
“Compound failing.” His words came between harsh breaths. “Riots. Gravewings. Structure?—”
“Isn’t it magnificent!” The chaos above had reached critical mass—I could hear it through the walls. “Everyone will be too busy surviving to stop us. And with the shields down, half of them will be racing for ships too.”
Despite everything, he made a sound that might have been a laugh. It hurt him—I felt the spike of pain from his ribs—but also the flash of genuine amusement.
We moved toward the door, stepping over the bodies of guards he’d killed defending me. Forty-three, Slade had said. Forty-three people dead because they’d tried to reach me while I was helpless. The hallway beyond was painted with evidence of his dedication.
“You did all this for me,” I said softly.
“Would do it again.” No hesitation. Just fact.
“I know.” I pressed closer to his side, careful not to jostle his dislocated shoulder. “But now you don’t have to do it alone.”
Alarms wailed through the facility—not the steady alert from before but chaotic, overlapping. Multiple systems failing simultaneously. Through the walls, I could hear structural supports groaning. Water rushed through broken pipes three floors up. Fires crackled in the ventilation system.
And now, a new alarm: “Warning: Shield failure. All personnel to evacuation stations. Warning: Shield failure.”
“Which way?” I asked.
“Down.” He pointed to a service corridor. “Impound dock is sublevel.”
“Then down we go.” I started toward the stairwell, already mapping the path with my new senses. “With everyone panicking about the shields, we might even get a clear path.”
Behind us, boots thundered—but they were running away, not toward us. The compound was entering full evacuation mode.
We reached the stairwell door. I yanked it open—my new strength nearly tore it from its hinges—and pulled Zarek through. The emergency lighting painted everything red, and somewhere above, an explosion rattled the structure.
“Almost there,” I said, supporting his weight as we descended. “Just a little further.”
I felt his trust. Complete and absolute. He’d held the line for eighteen hours, and now I’d carry him the rest of the way.
Together, we descended into the madness, Slade’s command pad our key to freedom.
ZAREK
The third-floor landing opened into chaos.
Half the corridor was gone—blown out by a blast that had left scorch marks on the remaining walls. Wind howled through the gap, carrying rain from the storm that had rolled in. Bodies lay scattered across the floor. Some guards, some prisoners in the grey jumpsuits they all wore. A Gravewing fed on remains I didn’t look at too closely, wings mantled possessively over its meal.
“Everyone’s fighting everyone!” Bronwen pulled me behind an overturned desk as energy bolts flew past.
She was right. Guards fought escaped prisoners. Prisoners fought each other. Gravewings dove through the holes in the walls, attacking anything that moved. The compound’s death had become a free-for-all where the only rule was survival.
