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“Here?”

“I don’t have a lab back in Szolen. As horribly septic as this place may be, it contains all the supplies I need. Besides, carrying all the test tubes, syringes, pipettes, sterile water … it will only make a bunch of noise.” Shoving a syringe-looking object into the mouth of a clear bottle, he holds it in front of his eyes and expels it into one of the test tubes. “In the time it takes to pack everything, it’ll be done.”

Six huffs, and the camera pans toward the hallway, which remains clear. “Hurry up. My friend isn’t going to tide them over for long.”

Thoughts of them consuming Tinker alive send a shot of panic through me, and I steal another sip of water, my hands trembling as I press the glass to my lips.

“I’m sorry about your friend. His sacrifice will not be forgotten.” Jed goes to work on the samples.

I only manage to catch a few seconds of his process at a time, while the camera remains mostly directed toward the hallway.

“If you can hear me, Wren, I want you to know that Tinker knew the risks.” It’s hard to say if Six is saying this for my benefit, or his, but either way, it doesn’t erase the guilt twisting my insides. “I just need to stay focused on getting out of here. Starting a family with you, without these bastards continually interfering. Christ, I thought we eliminated the threats in our lives, but they just keep on coming back like a fucking nightmare.”

I wipe the tears from my cheeks and force a smile. Part of me wants to tell him he’s right, but another part of me knows I was destined for this pain. It’s inevitable when one loves too much.

A glance back at Jed shows him drawing up a liquid into a syringe, which he caps off and nestles into a case alongside two others. Perhaps it was a good thing he went along, as we really wouldn’t have any idea what we were looking for, let alone how to reactivate it.

Across from Jed, Ratchet paces. Nervous, no doubt. Tall and silent, he doesn’t express much of anything, aside from these small gestures that offer a bit of insight. He’s afraid. And for a man who’s guarded and defended his hive for years, that makes me nervous.

At the sound of a thud, the camera swings toward the hallway, and the view of the window widens as Six seems to move backward.

“Think we’ve got company.”

In the corner of the screen, I catch sight of Jed packing up the syringes into his bag and strapping it on his back.

“Through the ceiling.” Jed hops up onto the counter in front of him, where a vent cover hangs by its hinges. Far too short to reach, he hops and swipes, failing to make contact with it each time.

Six leaps onto the counter, and in one hoist, Jed is halfway into the vent.

A crashing sound comes from the right, and on reflex, a scream rips through my chest. Abandoning Jed, Six turns toward the two mutations that have found them. “Fuck. Ratchet, get your ass up there!”

The shakiness of the camera as he looks around the room only adds to the nausea stirring in my gut, and the moment the mutations charge for Six, my heart is pounding in my throat. I want to look away from what happens, but I can’t. As helpless as I am to do anything about this, I can’t look away from the fight.

Unlike the mutations we encountered in Calico, these ones don’t seem to be deterred by him. In fact, they seem more aggressive than before, snarling and growling, snapping their jaws as they swipe out at him. One kicks Six’s legs out from under him, and the world slips past to the ceiling above, where Jed’s shoes disappear into the vent. Six lets out a hard grunt as the camera jostles. He rolls to the side, and over the edge of the lab bench.

“Ah, fuck!” One of the mutations stands over Ratchet, tearing away at his hood. One swift kick to the face sends it tumbling backward, and Six reaches down for his friend.

Ratchet cries out again, and the camera snaps to another mutation biting down on his leg through the suit. “Get it the fuck off me!” Through harsh breaths of panic, he kicks at the thing, until he manages to scoot away from it. Behind Six, another mutation approaches, blocking the men in.

I have to hold my palm over my mouth to keep from throwing up, as I watch the two mutations corner him and Ratchet against the wall. Pressing the key that I saw Gregor press earlier, I unmute myself. “You fuckers get away from him!”

My scream is loud enough to rattle Six’s head, but it brings the two mutations to a halt, and they tip their heads. Perhaps confused by the sound of my voice.

Six steals the opportunity to tug one of five tanks lined against the wall beside him. Hard to tell what’s inside of them, but he hurls it across the table in front of them, and the moment it collides with the one mutation’s chest, it explodes, sending the beast crashing to the ground.

The second advances, and all I see is its mutilated arm reach out toward what I estimate is Six’s throat. The ensuing gasps confirm it.

As if it’s squeezing the air out of my lungs, as well, I can’t breathe watching these monsters attempt to rip him apart. Glass shatters somewhere in the room. Something flies out of the corner of the screen and comes down hard on the mutation’s head. An axe.

It splits his skull open, but isn’t enough to stop him completely, as its arm doesn’t relinquish its grasp.

Six dislodges the axe and strikes again. And again. Three times. Finally its hand falls away.

“Get to the vent!” he bellows, and Ratchet doesn’t hesitate to jump onto the counter, pulling himself into the vent above.

The second mutation scrambles to its feet, and I see another climb through the broken window of the lab. On a running leap, Six jumps up onto the lab bench and hops up after Ratchet, until the camera’s view is inside the vent.

The lab flickers back into view, as something yanks him back down. “Ah, fuck!”