face, he got the answer he was hoping for.
Anger tears through me, rippling through muscle and bone. I can physically feel it, boiling and visceral in my belly. As the first two aliens slip over the ledge, disappearing from sight, I hear a guttural scream from above.
I lose control.
When I step out into the light, I’m shaking from head to foot. The scalding energy bubbling within me is excruciating. Sweat streams down my brow, stinging my eyes but I barely notice it. “Get away from him!”
An alien plummets head first from the backside of the second floor. I hear his neck snap and he slumps over, unmoving. The sound of fighting on the second floor escalates.
The cluster of aliens at the bottom of the ropes turns and centers their targets on my heart. “There’s another one!”
Drakon comes at me in a sprint, but I perceive everything in slow motion. The staircase overhead rattles. Nuts and bolts spring in all directions as it peels away from the second floor. The aliens cast terrified glances over my head but I don’t focus on them. All I can feel is the pain mingling with my rage, seeping from my very pores. I have to save Bastien.
Another alien falls from the second floor but I hardly take notice this time; I’m blinded by six laser guns as they hum to life, charged and lethal. The screeching of metal muffles my scream as the staircase rips away from the wall. My fingers curl inward like claws as I raise my arms over my head. I feel the weight of the stairs hovering overhead but I don’t stop to consider how this is even possible. I just react.
My vision darkens as I thrust my arms out toward the aliens. The metal staircase slams into the first group, while the second barely has time to turn before they’re broadsided. Sparks fly as the stairs hurtle across the floor, pinning Squaddies as it goes until it slams into the far wall in a twisted heap and a sickening crunch.
The heat vanishes from my fingers, suddenly and completely. I slump to the floor, gasping for breath as pain carves into my chest. Sweat clings to my body like a second skin, sticky and oppressive. My anger fades with each labored pant. Weakened, I rise slowly to my feet to face off with Drakon.
“Who are you?” he asks, eyes wide.
I can feel the weighted stares of the soldiers as they appear at his back, resigned to follow their commander’s barked order to remain back. I wipe my brow, feeling the sting of sweat in my eyes.
“Who are you?” he demands again, taking a step closer.
I raise my hand and he pauses. I know the pain is gone and the anger has fled but he doesn’t. “Stay back.”
He moves backward three steps, eyeing me with a mixture of awe and something else. Something shrewd and calculating. “I won’t hurt you.”
“Like I’m going to believe you.” I struggle to keep my voice strong.
“You have my word.”
I shift my stance slightly and dart a glance over my shoulder. I find Bastien peering down at me from over the ledge. A wide bloody gash has opened over his right eye and the other looks like it’s going to be swollen shut by morning.
I glance back at Drakon, noting that he has inched closer. I glare at him. “Will you let my friend and me leave?”
It’s easy to read the bloodlust in the eyes of the aliens behind him, but the commander has a far more potent expression. The color of his eyes shifts, taking on the appearance of dark molasses. I know I have to be careful. “I’m afraid I can’t allow that. There are…rules against letting humans run free.”
“Figured you’d say that,” I mutter and take a step back. A Squaddie breaks out of rank behind Drakon and aims his laser directly at my chest. I stare into the core of his gun, at the core that swirls beautiful green instead of crimson. It is mesmerizingly beautiful.
“Duck!” Bastien screams from
Anger tears through me, rippling through muscle and bone. I can physically feel it, boiling and visceral in my belly. As the first two aliens slip over the ledge, disappearing from sight, I hear a guttural scream from above.
I lose control.
When I step out into the light, I’m shaking from head to foot. The scalding energy bubbling within me is excruciating. Sweat streams down my brow, stinging my eyes but I barely notice it. “Get away from him!”
An alien plummets head first from the backside of the second floor. I hear his neck snap and he slumps over, unmoving. The sound of fighting on the second floor escalates.
The cluster of aliens at the bottom of the ropes turns and centers their targets on my heart. “There’s another one!”
Drakon comes at me in a sprint, but I perceive everything in slow motion. The staircase overhead rattles. Nuts and bolts spring in all directions as it peels away from the second floor. The aliens cast terrified glances over my head but I don’t focus on them. All I can feel is the pain mingling with my rage, seeping from my very pores. I have to save Bastien.
Another alien falls from the second floor but I hardly take notice this time; I’m blinded by six laser guns as they hum to life, charged and lethal. The screeching of metal muffles my scream as the staircase rips away from the wall. My fingers curl inward like claws as I raise my arms over my head. I feel the weight of the stairs hovering overhead but I don’t stop to consider how this is even possible. I just react.
My vision darkens as I thrust my arms out toward the aliens. The metal staircase slams into the first group, while the second barely has time to turn before they’re broadsided. Sparks fly as the stairs hurtle across the floor, pinning Squaddies as it goes until it slams into the far wall in a twisted heap and a sickening crunch.
The heat vanishes from my fingers, suddenly and completely. I slump to the floor, gasping for breath as pain carves into my chest. Sweat clings to my body like a second skin, sticky and oppressive. My anger fades with each labored pant. Weakened, I rise slowly to my feet to face off with Drakon.
“Who are you?” he asks, eyes wide.
I can feel the weighted stares of the soldiers as they appear at his back, resigned to follow their commander’s barked order to remain back. I wipe my brow, feeling the sting of sweat in my eyes.
“Who are you?” he demands again, taking a step closer.
I raise my hand and he pauses. I know the pain is gone and the anger has fled but he doesn’t. “Stay back.”
He moves backward three steps, eyeing me with a mixture of awe and something else. Something shrewd and calculating. “I won’t hurt you.”
“Like I’m going to believe you.” I struggle to keep my voice strong.
“You have my word.”
I shift my stance slightly and dart a glance over my shoulder. I find Bastien peering down at me from over the ledge. A wide bloody gash has opened over his right eye and the other looks like it’s going to be swollen shut by morning.
I glance back at Drakon, noting that he has inched closer. I glare at him. “Will you let my friend and me leave?”
It’s easy to read the bloodlust in the eyes of the aliens behind him, but the commander has a far more potent expression. The color of his eyes shifts, taking on the appearance of dark molasses. I know I have to be careful. “I’m afraid I can’t allow that. There are…rules against letting humans run free.”
“Figured you’d say that,” I mutter and take a step back. A Squaddie breaks out of rank behind Drakon and aims his laser directly at my chest. I stare into the core of his gun, at the core that swirls beautiful green instead of crimson. It is mesmerizingly beautiful.
“Duck!” Bastien screams from
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