Page 42

XYREK

The second floor was much like the first. There were lots of breakrooms and quarters, but we also found a few offices and one room, filled with eight Ohrurs, which appeared to be the main operating room. The walls were lined with now blank screens, and workstations were scattered throughout. This time, we didn't terminate the Ohrurs; there was a good chance that they were higher-ups who might be able to answer some of our questions. Tucker was tasked with guarding them because he was the only one, besides Sloane, who couldn't sense their evilness the way we did. I doubted any of us would have been able to stay in the same room with them and keep them alive. The vibes coming off them… it was more than I had ever felt from any criminal. From the looks of it, the others weren’t faring much better.

I hadn't met the two minders or Craygh yet, so these were the first Ohrurs I encountered in person. The urge to terminate them was hard to resist.

"Let's go." Sloane re-entered the elevator shaft to get down to the last level. The elevator box was stuck on the last level, and we had to cut it open to get inside. Once there, we blasted our way through the doors to enter the third level.

A short hallway allowed access to four doors.

"Let's start over there. No splitting up. Zaarek, stay out here and watch the corridor," Sloane commanded.

I sent a pitying shrug to Zaarek, who held up his middle finger to me, making me chuckle. We’d all adopted many of the human expressions and gestures, becoming a family, and I enjoyed it. We didn't find anything noteworthy in the first room, which appeared to be a conference room. A long table stood in the center, surrounded by chairs, and the walls were plastered with dead screens—all but one—a large window into a blacked-out area.

"Some are in there," Tharaax whispered. I noticed a couple of small lights as well, probably from comms like ours.

The little light gave us an impression of a large lab, but everything inside was held in shadows.

"Let's check it out." Sloane moved back to the door. She pointed at Zaarek, who kept the corridor in his sight. "Stay."

Noodar pushed the next door open, straight into a nightmare from hell.

"Fuck," Sloane exclaimed when our combined lights hit the space. It was large, larger than the cargo hold of a transporter. Several workstations were spread throughout, filled with various sciency stuff I had no idea the name for. Small machines filled another table. The wall with the window to the other room was bare.

The one opposing it was filled with upright cylinders—so many, I couldn't count them. They were filled with a clear liquid and inside swam… bodies—bodies of all sizes, from infant to adult, all with silver skin. Tubes were attached to them, and small drones moved through the liquid.

"What the frygg is this?" Tharaax picked up an Ohrur who had been hiding under his desk. He shook him and held him against the cylinders.

"Help us," a small voice cried out.

"Shh," another tried to hush.

We turned and stared at the third wall, which was filled with cages stacked up to the ceiling. In each cage hovered a female. A quick glimpse told me that every species of the universe seemed to be represented.

"Fuck. You fucking bastards." Sloane grabbed another Ohrur as he tried to sneak out through the door. She slammed him into the wall so hard he crumbled to the ground. Unconscious or dead. I wasn't sure. And I didn't care.

"Oh no," Zoe wailed through the comm.

"We're coming," Luph sounded breathless.

"No! We haven't secured the entire compound yet," Sloane snarled.

"I don't care!" Hannah yelled back.

"Fuck, Xyrek, go get them," Sloane cursed. "And bring Tucker and his prisoners back down here with you."

The last part was muffled as I was already racing to the elevator shaft, past a startled-looking Zaarek. Up was a lot harder than down, but I made my way in record time, just fast enough to meet the females as they stormed through the entrance.

"Where are they?" Luph rushed by me.

"Are you okay?" Alice jumped into my arms, holding me. Nothing had ever felt better.

"You shouldn't go down there. You shouldn't see this," I warned her.

"I need to," she said, and there was something in her eyes I couldn’t quite put my finger on.