will surround Junior Officer Lawrence, to keep her hidden in case we encounter anyone in the base.”
I’ve put my hair up into a tight bun so it won’t get in the way. Not exactly the best disguise.
Once we exit the area that’s dedicated to security, Radcliff takes point, while Beau and Niall walk on each side of me, Elese following right behind. It’s hard to see within the ring of officers. Although I doubt anything has changed. I grew up in research bases and they’re all the same design. Still, I’ve been cooped up in security for the last thirty-one days, so it’s a nice change of scenery, even if we’re walking toward danger and the creatures that have been haunting my dreams since the first looter attack. Minor details.
We reach the lab without encountering anyone. No surprise as it’s almost oh-one-hundred and even the most dedicated scientists are tucked into their beds. Probably dreaming of making a monumental discovery in their field. I wonder if they know we’re cut off from DES and have hostile alien blobs trapped in the pits.
My parents, Rance, Morgan, and the two astrophysicists are waiting for us inside. Mom and Dad clutch heavy-duty flashlights. Uh oh. Radcliff frowns and orders—well, asks them with a forceful politeness —to leave.
“No,” Mom says. “This is our lab and the base is our responsibility. We won’t get in the way. We’ll be backups to your backups.”
Radcliff stills. In this situation, where their personal safety is at risk, he does have the power to kick them out. Will he exercise it? Everyone is waiting.
“Stay right by the door. If I tell you to go, you leave. No. Matter. What. Understand?” There’s a growly rumble in his voice. Radcliff’s inner guardian lion is showing.
Niall and I exchange an amused look.
“Yes,” my parents say together. They stand right in front of the exit.
At least they’ll be the first to safety if this mission goes sideways. That thought doesn’t help my nerves. Lots of people I care about are in this room. What if I don’t spot the shadow-blobs in time?
Radcliff issues orders. Four giant floodlights on tripods are turned on. Beau, Rance, Niall, and Elese pick them up and aim them at the entrance to the pits. The extra brightness sears my eyes. Bertie and Yenay hold a metallic box between them as they wait behind the four light bearers. With laser weapon in hand, I join them.
“It’s a go,” Radcliff says.
Morgan unlocks the double doors and pushes them wide. They swing into the corridor as she circles back around to stand with Radcliff. Cool damp air flows into the lab. Nothing but dust motes stir in the harsh stream of white light.
“One,” Beau calls and steps from the smooth lab floor onto the sandstone.
The other three match his stride. Their boots crunch in unison.
“Two. Three. Four...”
The wall of light moves further in until it reaches just inside Pit 1. A couple rows of Warriors are illuminated. The techs reconstructed a number of them after the attack. Cracks zigzag through their uniforms. The statues stand almost two meters tall. Each face is unique, but they’re all Chinese and crafted from terracotta. The red color faded to gray after thousands of years buried underground. They were never painted, unlike the ones on Earth.
My father thinks the aliens learned how to make the Warriors from the ancient Chinese craftsmen and then constructed the ones that they buried on sixty-four exoplanets. But my mom believes they were made on Earth and then transported to those other planets. Why am I even thinking about this? Better than the possibility of encountering shadow-blobs.
I focus on the task at hand as I walk behind Bertie and Yenay. The light pushes back the darkness. The only shadows are those created by the floodlights from the lab. And they’re all human or box-shaped.
“Lights set,” Beau calls, putting down his tripod at the same time that the others set theirs. All four then pull their lasers and rest their fingers on the triggers.
The astrophysicists install the sensor, securing it to the ground, and fiddling with…whatever it is they need to adjust. I spin in a slow circle, scanning the shadows, especially the ones that connect to the perimeter.
“Two minutes,” Radcliff calls from the lab.
“Not enough,” Yenay says. “We need five more, the link is being difficult.” She curses under her breath in Chinese.
My mother tried to teach me Chinese. She was often frustrated, which is how I learned the more