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Drax rushes inside and checks the Kaul's pulse. "He's alive," he confirms.
"Good," I breathe a sigh of relief and retrieve the Kaul's plasma gun from the floor, then pull the comm from my pocket and hail Bruke. "We got him."
"We'll move the shuttle and meet you at the entrance," Bruke replies on the other end.
"See you there." I end the hail and quickly bind the Kaul's hands and feet with the rope, hoisting him over my shoulder. As we make our way back through the prison, Drax's scanner lights up.
"We've got company," he grits out at the same time my comm pings. "And not of the normal Ziarian variety."
"Where?"
"Headed right for us!"
With one hand securing the Kaul, I dig the comm out of my pocket with the other. "You reading the creature, Bruke?"
"Yes! We're in the air and racing toward you." Bruke's voice trembles with urgency as he answers me then shouts at Slye. "Hit it with the stunner, Slye!"
Drax and I sprint toward the exit, barely catching a glimpse of the shuttle descending and Slye unleashing a powerful surge from his modified stunner to take down the creature.
Its armored body convulses for a moment before crumpling to the ground in a lifeless heap. Dark blue scales ripple along its shoulders and back before twitching back into place. Its grey-streaked mane splayed out around its head, covering its twisted features.
The cheers inside the shuttle abruptly cease as the creature shrugs off the blast and hurtles towards them. Rooke, preparing to land, propels the shuttle into a sudden ascent.
The creature lunges, digging its claws into the hull. The shuttle soars higher into the air with the creature latched on. Rooke maneuvers wildly, attempting to dislodge it to no avail.
The females’ screams reach our ears and I'm seized with the same terror that gripped me when Gruxt charged toward my mate. I drop the Kaul I'm carrying to the ground, and he lands with a bone-jarring thud.
"Tell Rooke to fly lower so I can get a better shot," I order Drax, handing him the comm.
Drax does as I say, and the shuttle descends. The creature rears back its free hand readying to breach the hull. I must take action before it tears the shuttle apart and Zoe along with it.
"Aim true, Mordox," Drax utters as I point the plasma gun at the vile threat. "My mate is on that shuttle."
"So is mine," I reply, pulling the trigger.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Zoe
The lab creaturecomes out of nowhere. One second, Bruke is tracking Mordox and Drax, along with the Kaul they captured on his scanner and the next, he's unleashing a string of curse words worthy of a seasoned sailor.
"You reading the creature, Bruke?" Mordox's voice suddenly fills the shuttle through the comm.
My heart pounds as I feverishly scour the ground below through the small side window, desperately seeking out Mordox.Where could he be?I gasp in labored breaths. He must still be within the compound walls.
"Yes! We're in the air and racing toward you." The fear in Bruke's voice is unsettling. "Hit it with the stunner, Slye!"
Slye slings open the shuttle's hatch and leans out as far as he dares without the safety rope and aims the modified stunner at the fast-approaching creature.
The girls and I gape in horror at the monstrous abomination sprinting toward the shuttle as Rooke descends. It runs on two powerful legs like Gruxt, but the resemblance ends there. Razor-sharp claws, spanning two feet in length, glint in the bright orange sun. Black and grey-streaked hair sprouts from the top of its monstrous head, flagging behind it as it gains ground. Its features, twisted and deformed, are unrecognizable as the Ziarian it once was.
A violent crackle erupts from the stunner as Slye squeezes the trigger. The blast is like a lightning bolt, surging through the air and striking the creature with deadly force. It convulses and shrieks in agony. With one final jolt, the thing crumples to the ground. As the electric shock subsides, it lay motionless.
A unified roar of relief erupts within the shuttle. I slap my hand to my chest, feeling my heart rabbiting inside the cage of my ribs as Rooke lowers us to the ground and readies for landing.
What we thought was dead leaps up from the ground with a vicious lunge at us. Rooke yanks us back into the sky. The sudden shift in direction sucks the air from my lungs, forcing me down into my seat. I instinctively reach up to shield Tris with my hand, her tiny body quaking in terror.
We aren't fast enough, and the creature rams its claws into the hull. Slye slams the hatch closed as Rooke flies us ever higher.
