corridor for almost a mile and then took a ladder down three floors. Glad she was wearing flats, she set off on her impromptu adventure.
The longer she walked, the more she realized the hidden corridors and interior levels of the ship were almost identical to the mines she had spent her life inside. It was hot, cramped and poorly lit. There were strange smells and hazards like low ceilings and uneven flooring.
Lost in memories of the mines, she became suddenly aware of heavy footsteps. She froze and listened carefully. The footsteps were below her. Was it Terror? The possibility that it wasn’t him kept her quiet.
A man came into view, and it wasn’t Terror. It was Reckless!
Crouching down, she tried to make herself small and unnoticeable. Shocked to see the mean old doctor, she wondered what he was doing here. Wasn’t he supposed to be in a cell? Why was he wearing a guard’s uniform? And what was he carrying in that big first aid bag?
The answer to the last question came as he stopped near a blinking red sensor. He unzipped the large duffel bag slung over his shoulder and retrieved a small oxygen bottle and mask. He placed them over the sensor and taped them in place.
Her stomach dropped. If those were the gas sensors Cipher had placed as an early warning system, the clean air being blown across them would mask a gas attack!
Reckless wasn’t just an asshole. He was a terrorist. He was in league with the Splinters!
And then it all made sense. He must have been in the mine that day she was on recon. He may have had his face covered and voiced muffled by a gas mask, but her subconscious mind had recognized him. That was why she had had the brief flash of a memory after her treatment in the chamber.
Torn between fleeing and trying to stop him, she chose the latter. If she could find out where the gas was stashed, she might have a chance to alert Cipher before Reckless could disperse it. If she ran and tried to get help now, they might not be able to find him in this maze of gangways and ladders.
The crazy bastard started to whistle as he walked on, swinging his duffel bag on his arm. She slipped off her shoes and left them on the platform, determined to be as quiet as possible. Staying behind him so as not to cast any shadows he might see, she trailed him through the ship, growing more and more worried every time he covered a sensor.
Thinking about the gas he might have hidden somewhere on the ship, she tried to imagine how he planned to disperse it. It couldn’t be a coincidence that he was covering sensors here in the mated officers housing section. He wanted to kill families. He wanted to hurt the men on this ship in the worst possible way.
The HVAC system!
That had to be his endgame. It would be the easiest way to widely disperse the gas. Was there a central control nearby? A main unit that served the apartments allotted to couples and families?
She tapped the glasses until she found the list of mechanical systems. She flicked her finger in front of her face, letting the lenses read her movements to scroll through the list until she reached the HVAC listing. When she found it, she tapped the air and opened the file. It gave the location and had a link to a navigational overlay that would take her there.
Her destination chosen, she quietly climbed a ladder to another level and let Reckless disappear from view ahead of her. She had somewhere else to be than trailing him like a shadow.
When she reached the correct level, she walked as fast as she could while staying as silent as possible. Her bare feet started to ache from the constant pressure of the sharp grates, and she prayed she wouldn’t start bleeding all over the place. Leaving Reckless a trail of bread crumbs to follow wasn’t going to help her get back to Cipher in one piece.
Before she reached the HVAC central unit, she found—to her absolute horror—an actual fucking bomb. Her horror increased when she realized there were more bombs placed along the gangway to the HVAC unit. He must have planned to cut off all access to the unit to prevent anyone from shutting it down to halt the spread of the gas.
Ripping off the glasses, she moved closer to