It’s hard to tell since I’m sweating.
“Clear,” I say and start down with Ho on my right and Rance on the left.
Right behind us are Bendix and Elese, then Radcliff, Morgan, Zaim, and last is Dr. Edwards, who insisted on coming along. Good for him.
Drops of blood on the steps gleam in the bright white light. My heart rate ratchets up from super-sonic to the speed of light. But I keep an even pace. We reach the bottom of the stairs. Beyond our position are the doors to the lab. They’re wide open. One is marked with a bloody handprint. Not good. I swallow.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
The temperature drops, turning my sweat into ice. Pressure builds on my skin.
“Lawrence?” Radcliff asks.
“There are HoLFs in the lab.” Also there are no emergency lights on. It’s pitch dark inside.
“Where are they?”
“I’ll know better once we’re inside. Ready?”
A chorus of yes. Flanked by the floodlights, I enter the lab and gasp. Just to the right of the doors is Niall. He’s lying on the floor next to the wall. And he’s curled into a ball with his hands laced behind his neck—it’s a protective posture. Except he’s not moving and there’s a large pool of blood underneath him.
No. No. No. NO!
“Lawrence, focus on the HoLFs, we’ve got him,” Radcliff says as he and Dr. Edwards rush over to him.
My priority shifts. I need to protect them so they can save Niall. “Fan out around Niall,” I bark.
Rance, Ho, Elese, and Bendix spread out in a semi-circle around the group on the floor. I scan the shadows. They’re alive.
“Aim your flashlights at the shadows.”
“Which ones?” Elese asks.
“All of them.”
They do. It doesn’t take long for curses and grunts of surprise to echo in the lab as the shadow-blobs sneak weaponized tentacles through the gaps in the light. I target the shadows with my weapon, but I can’t see the individual HoLFs. I step out of the ring of light.
“Where are you going?” Bendix snaps. “Damn things are everywhere.”
“It’s too bright.” I aim at the middle of the first shadow-blob that dives for me. Squeezing the trigger, I brace for…well, I’ve no idea.
The shadow-blob slows, then there’s a sizzle-zap sound and the HoLF explodes into a million little black dots that wink out of sight. I whoop. The rest of the shadow-blobs pause as if in shock. Then they dive for me. I backpedal until my back hits a wall. Then I aim at the closest HoLF. Sizzle-zap! And the next. Sizzle-zap! Sizzle-zap! Sizzle-fun!
Tentacles lash at me with sharp blades. I duck the strikes as my training kicks in. And I keep aiming. Sizzle-zap! A handful of slashes run along my shoulders and arms, but the jumpsuit’s material protects my skin from getting cut. Sizzle-zap! Sizzle-zap! Sizzle-zap!
A jagged knife of agony pierces my side as a shadow-blob gets past my defenses. I zap it, but I realize that the jumpsuit won’t protect me from a straight thrust. And they’ve figured it out, too. Plus I’m outnumbered. Sizzle-zap! Sizzle-zap! Sizzle-zap! And I’m quite a few meters from the protective semi-circle of light. When did that happen? Sizzle-zap! Sizzle-zap!
“Lawrence, retreat,” Radcliff orders.
Not until Niall—but he’s gone. One less thing to worry about. I step toward the lab’s doors when another burning puncture erupts on my upper right thigh. Remembering Niall’s mother, I freeze. A tentacle stabs into my left shoulder. I fumble to squeeze the trigger of my weapon, but my fingers are numb. And I’ve no feeling from the knees down. Am I bleeding out?
Bright white light shines on me and the shadow-blobs flee. A hand grabs my arm and yanks me to my feet. When did I sit down?
“Ara, move!” Radcliff pulls me along.
I stumble up the stairs. The light holders are just two steps behind as they protect us. We burst out into the hallway. Radcliff shouts orders about stationing the floodlights in the stairwell. The air is warm and light. Too bad the base is spinning.
“…HoLFs?”
“Huh?” I blink, trying to focus on Radcliff.
“Did any of the HoLFs escape?” he asks.
I scan the area. Other than the walls undulating, everything appears normal. “No.” Then I remember. Fear clears my unsteady thoughts. The base stills under my feet. “Niall?”
“Alive,” Radcliff says, but he doesn’t look relieved. “He lost a great deal of blood.”
Oh no. “Where…”
“Dr. Edwards and his team rushed him to surgery.”
“Why aren’t you there?”
“Nothing I can do for him at this point. Besides, I have to ensure my team is all right.” His gaze