I have to save them.
An hour flies by as I travel through the complicated tunnel system—a system I’ve wanted to explore but haven’t yet been able to because of Breccan’s rules. If I had the time to leave a trail, I would, but my current mission is to find them. Getting back out will be a different one that I’ll deal with at that point.
Claws screeching across metal have me slowing to a stop. I cock my nog to listen for sounds of Stella and Henry. My heart clenches inside my chest when I hear nothing. If I walk in on the beasts feeding on their battered bodies, I’m not sure I can come back from such a sight. I’d probably let the rekking things eat me at that point because I’d never be able to sleep after seeing something like that.
“Mama!”
The voice—tiny and terrified—is followed by more roars and screeching of metal. Those beasts are trying to get to them. I race toward the sound, following a sharp bend in the cave. When I round the corner, my blood runs cold.
Three.
There are three massive sabrevipes. Two are pacing hungrily while a third is on its hind legs, digging its giant claws into the metal. Given enough time, it’ll tear right through the metal and devour those two.
“Hey,” I call out, raising my zonnoblaster. “Over here.”
The two pacing beasts snap their ugly nogs up and snarl at me, but the clawer is relentless, undeterred from his attempt to get inside. I fire off my zonnoblaster, aiming at the face of the one running straight at me.
The beast howls as the blast blows off half its face and it crashes into the cave wall. The other one charges, a bone-chilling scream ripping from its lungs. Another shot of my zonnoblaster misses when it dodges at the last second. I slam my body against the wall and the sabrevipe pounces on the ground I was just standing. Whipping around, I fire into its side, but it doesn’t stop it. The beast charges at me again. This time, I manage to get the creature right in the face. Its skull explodes, splattering radioactive guts all over me. I’m thankful for my protective gear.
Swiping the blood off my face mask, I go after the third creature.
It’s gone.
I scan the dark tunnel beyond the room, but I can’t see or hear anything. Once I’m certain I’ve scared it off, I rush over to the door.
“Stella,” I bark out, peering through the face-sized hole in the metal the sabrevipe managed to tear through. “Stella! Are you hurt?”
I can’t see her or Henry.
I’m too late.
“Rekk!” I curse.
“Monster!” a tiny voice squeaks.
“Shh, baby, shh.”
“The monster is gone,” I call out. “Let me in so I can make sure you’re both okay.” I pull on the door that’s clearly locked. “Now, Stella.”
“He’s gonna get me!” The mortling starts to sob. “I scared, Mama!”
“You’re safe, baby. Mama’ll protect you.”
“They’re dead,” I assure them. “Let me in.”
“No.”
I search the space, looking for wherever they’re hiding so I can see her face. What does she mean, no?
“You called for help,” I grind out.
“And you helped,” she snips. “You can leave now.”
Unbelievable.
“Look, alien, I’m not going to hurt you—”
“You’re the alien!” she snaps back. “Leave me and my son alone. In case you forgot, you have fangs and claws too!”
She thinks I would hurt them?
“I’m not a Kevin,” I say in my calmest tone despite the anger swelling up inside me. “I won’t hurt you. I can help you. I can find food and give you shelter.”
“Sounds like a trap.”
“Show yourself, female,” I growl, no longer amused by her games.
A tiny mortling peeks around the corner, blond hair swooshing as she aims a miniature weapon at me. “Leave or I’ll shoot you!” Not a mortling. A human female. I’ve never seen one so small before.
And beautiful. Wide blue eyes on such a small face. Puffy, pink lips that seem swollen. Unlike the other females, her body doesn’t carry any soft curves. She’s too thin, something I recognize from malnutrition. Because of Breccan holding out on us when we were short on food, I watched many of the morts, including myself, lose muscle mass. She’s worse than Hadrian looked all those revolutions ago.
Weak.
Small.
Seemingly weightless.
A sharp gust of wind would send her tumbling across the earth like a yannaweed.
But, aside from the frail body, there’s fire in her eyes. Strength from within. Something that burns hot and can’t be extinguished. Her eyes remind me of the zelfyre we found growing on the outside of the Facility once. A plant that spread quickly, covering large surfaces in just one solar. It grew blue flowers that spat out a substance that could disintegrate zutametal and burn through zu-gear. It took actual fire to destroy the plant, and even then, it still shows up from time to time with a vengeance, threatening to burn holes in the Facility that protects us.