Novels by Roelle S.

The metallic grip tightened around Arthur’s neck, dragging him deeper into the viscous, green chemical bath. The acid burned his skin, stinging his eyes until he could barely see through the murky liquid. Arthur thrashed, his boots kicking at the heavy, sunken chassis of the Boss unit. He reached out with both hands, clawing at the machine’s shoulder plate. It felt like trying to shove a boulder. The unit was dead, but its death throes were mechanical. Its arm continued to clamp down with the rigidity of a hydraulic press.Arthur’s lungs screamed for oxygen. He reached into his tool belt, his fingers brushing against a jagged piece of debris he had jammed there earlier. It was the shard of reinforced glass he had used to breach the control panel. He grabbed it and jammed it into the Boss unit’s elbow joint. The glass shattered, but the sharp tip wedged into a secondary servo. The grip loosened just enough for Arthur to suck in a frantic, bubbling breath of chemical fumes. He kicked of

Arthur threw himself sideways, his body hitting the cold hangar floor just as the energy bolt scorched the spot where he had stood. The concrete behind him hissed and glowed orange, the heat intense enough to singe his eyebrows. He scrambled toward a discarded janitorial cart, his fingers fumbling to grab the heavy metal bucket. The Boss unit did not hesitate. It pivoted on its hydraulic heels, the targeting laser tracing a frantic line across the room, seeking another heat signature."Arthur, get out of there!" Ulya screamed. She was pressed against a stack of crates, her face ghostly pale in the red strobe lights.Arthur did not answer. He shoved the bucket into the path of the Boss unit, hoping the metal frame would interfere with the machine's localized sensors. The unit fired again, vaporizing the bucket instantly. Molten liquid plastic and scorched metal sprayed across the room, creating a blinding, chaotic plume of debris.The System flared in Arthur’s vision, casting a neon gl

"That is the final experiment," Imara whispered. "And it has been waiting for its meal."Arthur did not wait for the creature to emerge. He looked at Ulya and Cochos, his eyes wide and burning with a desperate, frantic clarity. The holographic projection of Imara stood perfectly still, her artificial smile never wavering as the blast doors began to slide open with a deafening grind of metal on metal."We have to move, now!" Arthur yelled, shoving his mop handle into the floor gap to prevent the door from fully locking."The data drive," Cochos stammered, pulling the silver object from his pocket. "She wants this. If we give it to her, maybe she lets us pass!""She wants you dead, you idiot!" Ulya grabbed Cochos by the collar and hauled him back toward the only available exit, a narrow ventilation shaft that had popped open when the floor shifted. "She is just playing with us!"Arthur looked toward the opening blast doors. A massive, shadowy limb, thick as a tree trunk and covered in p

The barrels spun up with a high-pitched, deadly whine, and Arthur slammed his body behind the desk just as a spray of bullets turned the metal edge into confetti. Sparks showered over his head, hot and stinging. He felt the floor tremble under the sustained fire of the combat drone."Move!" Arthur roared, grabbing Ulya by the back of her lab coat and throwing her toward a stack of heavy, lead-lined containment crates.Cochos scrambled behind him, his boots skidding on the slick floor. The drone marched forward, its hydraulic servos hissing. It fired again, the rounds punching clean holes through the furniture that shielded them."We are trapped!" Cochos yelled, covering his ears. "There is nowhere to run!"Arthur glanced at the overhead digital display. The timer was a taunting red blur. Twenty-nine minutes and forty seconds until the entire facility turned into a crater. He looked at the drone. It was an automated unit designed for crowd control, which meant it relied on motion track

Arthur swung his mop handle with a wet, rhythmic thud against the skull of the nearest beast. The creature buckled, its translucent skin tearing under the force of the reinforced plastic. Behind him, Ulya let out a sharp cry as a claw sliced through the sleeve of her lab coat, drawing a thin line of crimson across her forearm. Cochos had retreated into a tight crouch, his hands covering his head as the glass vats continued to shatter around them, releasing a cacophony of hisses and clicking jaws."Move toward the terminal!" Arthur shouted, his voice straining to be heard over the rising chaos.He didn't wait for a response. He lunged forward, grabbing a discarded heavy-duty glass shard from the floor. The creatures were fast, their movements fluid and predatory as they navigated the slick lab floor. One of them leaped at Arthur, its jaw unhinging to reveal rows of needle-like teeth. Arthur pivoted, slamming his shoulder into the creature to knock it off balance, then jammed the shard

The elevator jolted again, the sound of tearing metal screaming through the shaft. Arthur pressed his palms against the side wall to steady himself. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped animal. The single remaining cable hummed with tension, vibrating with every movement they made inside the cabin."Don't move," Arthur warned, his voice tight. "The weight distribution is all we have left."Cochos crouched in the corner, his eyes wide and unblinking. He looked at the floor of the cabin, which was now slanted at a precarious thirty-degree angle. Ulya gripped the handrail, her knuckles turning white. She looked up at the maintenance hatch in the ceiling. It was still bolted down from the outside."If that cable snaps, we fall three hundred feet," Ulya whispered. "We have to get out of this box, Arthur."Arthur nodded. He looked at his inventory. He had the mop, the wrench, and a heavy-duty carabiner he had scavenged earlier. It was not much, but it had to be enough. He stoo