The welt on the boy's leg split open with a wet tearing sound.Black liquid sprayed across the cave floor and it was thick and reeking of rotFrom inside the wound something moved. They were limbs first, which were segmented and glistening, then a body the size of a fist forcing its way out through torn skin, and the boy's scream cut off into something choking and silent.Then another came out behind it.Then a dozen more.They spread out of the wound in a black wave and scattered across the cave floor in every direction.Each one no larger than a hand but moving with the same wrong speed as the one that had bitten him, eyes catching the firelight in flat red glints."Get back!" Ray shouted, but there was nowhere to get back to.The spiders fanned out fast, climbing the cave walls, dropping from above, scuttling across sleeping bags and supply bags and bare skin.The cave that had felt like shelter erupted into chaos in seconds.Ada swung her pipe wildly, crushing two against the sto

Ray stepped back from the door and ran his hand along the cold metal one more time.He studied the wheel lock and the seams, the way it had been built to withstand far more than a single man's strength."We're not getting through this tonight, not by force and not without knowing what's on the other side." He said and gave a loud exhaling."What do you mean? You're stronger than all of us combined." Charlie said."Strength isn't the problem." Ray nodded toward the wheel. "A vault like this isn't held shut by hinges. It's sealed by pressure, probably bolted from the inside too. I could break the wheel off and still not get it open, and if there's anything live behind it, I don't want to find out what that looks like by forcing my way in blind."Saul rubbed a hand across his face, exhaustion pulling at every line of it. "Then what.""We go above the ground," Ray said. "We find where this connects on the surface. A facility like this doesn't exist without an entrance somewhere up top. We

Priya pulled the latch and the hatch screamed open on hinges that hadn't seen daylight in longer than the grease on them suggested.A ladder dropped away into darkness below.Rusted rungs bolted into poured concrete, and the smell that rose up to meet them was sharp and clinical, antiseptic mixed with something burnt underneath it."I'll go first," Ken said, already swinging his legs over the edge.He descended slowly, testing each rung before committing his weight.Priya followed close behind him with Charlie bringing up the rear, pulling the hatch most of the way shut above them to avoid drawing attention from the open ground.The ladder ended in a narrow concrete corridor lit by a scattering of emergency lights still running along the ceiling and it casted everything in dim red. Priya's torch swept the space and caught the first room off the corridor, and what she saw made her stop dead in the doorway.Medical equipment lined every wall. Steel examination tables fitted with restr

Ray came back through the tunnel breathing very hard.Ada saw his face first and stood up fast."Where's Priya?" she asked. "Where's Saul?.""They're gone," Ray said. "Taken, All of them. Priya, Ken, Saul, Zoe, Charlie. A vehicle took them north."Eli's mouth fell open. "What, all of them..?""Yeah all of them," Ray said. "And I'm going after them."He pulled out the compass.It wasn't a normal compass. He had made it himself, the same way he made everything, pulling it from nothing the moment he needed it. He held it flat in his palm and thought about the tracker he'd thrown onto the back of that vehicle. The needle moved once, twice, then settled.It was north."They're still moving fast," Ray said. "But the tracker is working and I can follow it.""You're going alone," Ada said. It wasn't really a question."I have to," Ray said. "I move faster by myself cuz If I bring people with me, I have to protect them while I fight. That slows everything down, but when I'm alone, I can mov

Ray didn't even move or flinch.That was the most important thing. Every instinct in him screamed to run, to fight, to do something other than stand still while thousands of enhanced soldiers stared at him from every direction. He ignored all of it and stood exactly the way a soldier stood when called out by a commander. His back was straight to the chin level, his hands were loose at his sides."I'm transfered newly, from batch seven, and I came in with the northern convoy this morning." Ray said. His voice came out flatly and evenly, with the same calmness he had heard in every soldier he had fought since the cottage. He matched it exactly.Zed watched him from the platform without moving.The hall stayed quiet.Then Bleach spoke, sharply and impatiently, not even looking up from his tablet properly. "We had three new transfers from the northern convoy this morning. Stop wasting time on headcounts, Zed. We have a deployment schedule to hit."Zed didn't look away from Ray imme