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CHAPTER TWELVE

Dani

She woke with a start, eyes shooting open as if someone had startled her awake.

For a moment, she didn’t know where she was. Couldn’t remember. The lights were dim above her, and there was something rough rubbing against her. But she was warm.

Blinking a few times, she lifted her head...and saw the blanket was over her. Peering around she saw that she was alone.

Carefully, she sat up. She remembered now. She was in that pit Kryxis had made from the server compartment, emptied to make a bed. Shrugging the blanket off, she rose. The room was also empty.

She frowned. Kryxis hadn’t come to wake her. Had he forgotten? Or had he allowed her to sleep longer?

She climbed out of the pit and sat back in a seat, taking the compressor off her ankle to see if it had improved. She rolled her ankle one way than another and found it a bit stiff, but the pain was considerably better. She put the compressor back on for good measure then began to dress.

Tying up her boots, she straightened and checked the monitor. Myrell and Garret were still inside the room, Myrell laying down and Garret typing at one of the computers. The door was still barricaded.

Checking her watch, she saw it had been more than an hour. Kryxis had let her sleep longer than she asked. She would have been annoyed but in reality, she felt much better now, much more alert and ready to go.

She checked the other cameras out of curiosity. The research sector was definitely infested. On her own, it would be impossible. But with Kryxis…they could get inside and make it out unscathed. She was certain.

She left the computer station and headed for the stairs. Down in the dark passage, she crept back into Kryxis’ museum of things.

“Kryxis?” she called out. She searched around, noticing his workstation filled with little bits of metal and tools, but he was nowhere to be seen.

He wouldn’t have left her, she was sure. Maybe he went back to the conservatory. Or he was close by, hunting again.

She turned back for the hidden passage then halted, a small gasp slipping through her teeth.

Kyrxis was standing only a few feet away. And he looked…very different

She tried not to gape at him and failed.

He had covered himself. At least to an extent. He no longer wore the burnt pants but a sleek black pair which was fixed with rough knee and thigh armor padding. Around his waist was a thick blue and gray sash. A belt was tied over it with a small sack dangling from his hip. He wore armored gear on his arms and shoulders, some white and some black around the same size. He’d also covered his mouth in some sort of black face guard with little slits to breathe from.

The get-up was impressive to say the least. And was that…jewelry he wore?

Yes, he also wore gold and silver rings around his waist, tied by a red ribbon. He’d wrapped some around his horns too, which shined in the light like onyx as if they had been cleaned and oiled. Same with his scaly skin, no longer a rusty shade but a deep, crimson red.

He looked like a powerful warrior from another world, about to go into battle.

“Um…wow, h-hi.” The words spilled out of her mouth. “You look…” She didn’t know what to say. But suddenly he was intimidating in a much different way. And it was hard to meet his eyes again. She cleared her throat. “You look good.” She found she meant it. He did.

He stared at her before gliding past, moving over to the table and taking one of his tools, attaching it to his belt. He then picked up the gun he had found for her earlier and offered it to her.

She closed the distance between them, taking the gun. “Thank you.” She transferred her stunner to a different pocket and put the gun in the holster at her belt. He offered her helmet next, and she took it gladly, slipping it on.

Once she had it secured, she drew on her pack last. When she was sure she had everything, Kryxis reached out to her with his blue arms, which had been behind his back the whole time. “Time. To. Go,” he said slowly in her language.

It was clear he expected to carry her again. Though her leg felt better already, she knew she wouldn’t be able to run like normal or keep up with him. But, unlike the last couple times, he wasn’t grabbing her and just taking off. He was waiting for her to choose.

Despite her heart fluttering at the thought of his deep blue hands enclosing around her again, she stepped closer and locked her gaze with his. “All right. Let’s go.”

His hands encircled her waist, pulling her closer. She inhaled sharply, catching his coffee-like scent. He drew an arm under her legs and picked her up, cradling her close to him.

She shifted in his grasp to get a comfortable position, trying to calm the tension in her muscles. She’d been carried by him before and yet she was not used to it. But she felt secure, his steel-like grip around her firm. She wasn’t so afraid, only more alert. And maybe a little hot around the collar.

It was just being so close; he was practically a walking furnace. And she was surprised by his appearance. He looked lethal, stoic, and…

His eyes caught hers, and she glanced away, embarrassed, realizing she was staring again. She could feel the power of him around her, making her feel small and light in his arms. Her pulse was beginning to race as her mind drifted somewhere it shouldn’t. She shook the thoughts away.

“I’m ready,” she said.

Kryxis turned for the hidden passage. Down they went into the tunnel system. Instead of turning right toward the conservatory, Kryxis went left. At a steady gait, he took several other paths, never slowing or stopping.

Only when they came upon a steel door at the end of one tunnel did he halt. On the door, it said KEEP OUT, DANGER. There was a set of chains dangling from the lock, broken already by someone or something else.

Kryxis’ grip on her tightened as he drew closer and slid back the lock. He pushed open the doors, revealing a pitch-black tunnelway beyond. There was a slight draft bringing an earthy and metallic smell with it. Her garometer started to crackle. The lights on her suit only extended so far but she didn’t see anything…yet.

Kryxis, however, didn’t enter the tunnel. Instead, he reached into the pouch at his side and took out a single shiny ball. Then he reached around his other side and grabbed a flaretool and flicked it on, creating a small but intense flame from the tip. He lit a wire attached to the ball with the flare, and as it blew out sparks, he threw it into the dark.

She watched the spark fly as the ball fell to the ground. It rolled a little ways then burst into flame, creating an intense orange flash that consumed the whole tunnelway in a wave of fire, the heat close enough that she felt it in an instant.

She shut her eyes, turning her face away out of instinct. A moment later, she forced herself to look back as she heard screeching from beyond. There on the walls, she saw them. Thousands of insects. They screamed as the fire overtook them, dropping to the ground and curling into their bodies.

Kryxis didn’t hesitate. He rushed inside and swept past the masses of bugs now husks on the ground, some still fluttering around them in an attempt to survive.

He flew through the dark. Even with her lights, she became lost to the tunnel system. He used two more firebombs before they reached another set of doors that said RESEARCH SECTOR above. The insects were bigger here, but Kryxis’ bombs took them out and made the rest flee.

Eventually he took a set of stairs up. When he broke through the last door, she knew they were finally in the right building.

There were bots hanging around. But before they could sound an alarm or attack them, Kryxis swung his tail around and sliced their heads clean off with the tip of his tail. He bounded past them and into a central hub where she asked him to stop.

“There’s a map.” She pointed to the wall. He brought her to it. She remembered what level the bridge was on. That’s where Myrell and Garret had to be.

Before she pointed to it to indicate that’s where he should go, her gaze flicked down to the level below the bridge. The labs.

That’s where she could find the datachip. One of the last artifacts on her list. They could hit there first on their way up, and she could grab it quickly.

She heard a guttural moaning sound from somewhere close by and flinched. Time to go.

“Here, Kryxis.” She pointed, to the level below the bridge. This time Kryxis did hesitate. She looked up at him and saw him staring at the words on the map. “Kryxis?”

She might have imagined it, but she could have sworn she felt his hands shake beneath her. Slowly he moved again, turning for the main stairway.

He took the stairs three at a time, moving with that lithe quickness that reminded her so much of the predator she had thought him to be. When he got to the sixth floor where the labs were located, he slowed again, pausing as if uncertain whether he wanted to move forward. She could feel the tension in him with each step.

He took a passage that circled around a large inner chamber. Rows of windows would have allowed her to see inside if it wasn’t so dark. Kryxis came upon the main entrance leading into the labs and stopped.

“It’s through there, Kryxis,” Dani said, when he wouldn’t move farther. He held her closer than ever, like he was hugging her, not wanting to let her go. She tilted her head up to him, ready to ask why he wouldn’t go in.

He stared at the doors, his pupils as small as pinpoints. He was like a statue, so still save for his chest rising and falling.

She’d yet to see such a look on him. He looked…afraid.

“Hey…” Dani patted his chest. “Just a quick stop.”

He didn’t move. She peered back at the doors. Was there something lurking inside that even he was afraid of?

She tried to get his attention again, and he flinched, a soft hiss escaping him. He took a few steps back, shutting his eyes and shaking his head as if he were in pain.

“Kryxis, what’s wrong?”

“ Niset … niset …” he hissed.

He was moving farther away from the doors. And she couldn’t stop him. Instead, she struggled in his grip, trying to get him to drop her.

“Kryxis, it’s all right. You can let me down.”

He didn’t at first, holding her tight.

Worried he might actually bolt, she took his face in her hands. “Kryxis look at me,” she said gently. “Hey.”

He opened his eyes and locked them with hers.

“Tell me what’s wrong?”

His expression softened as he gazed at her, but he struggled with his words. “ Niset …labs… niset …go.”

“You can’t go in?”

He bowed his head.

“It’s dangerous?”

He didn’t answer. As if he wasn’t sure but knew that he couldn’t go on.

“Does something hide inside?”

He tilted his face upward as if to sniff the air then shook his head.

“Let me down, Kryxis, please.”

Reluctantly, he did. As she dropped to her feet, she readjusted her pack.

“I have to go in and grab something,” she told him.

Kryxis looked pained again, shaking his head. “No…Dani.”

She reached out and touched his shoulder. “I will be fast. Okay? You’ll stay here and guard the door, won’t you?”

His hands clenched into fists, as if he was fighting internally, either wanting to make her stay or to go in with her. “Xia harish xa vaas .”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’”?

He growled, his tail weaving behind him. “ Xa .” He took her hand, holding it in his. “Visa na rish varr nesh .” He sighed then said in her tongue, “Be here…. come back…soon.”

She squeezed his hand. “I will. Promise.”

He let her go. She went for the door and pressed a switch beside it. It slid open and she slipped inside.

There were a series of offices and supply rooms at first, nothing threatening yet. Not even bots roamed, though she did find a couple of damaged ones as she walked deeper in. What was strange to her was how messy everything was. Tables were on their sides, computers lay broken, screens shattered. There were several cracks in the walls and great big holes in the ceiling where wires dangled down. Debris crunched under her feet as she went.

When she passed through one large office space, it was like a storm had blown through, everything broken or out of place. There was also evidence of something bad having taken place. Black stains on the walls and carpets. She also noticed some of that blue fungus growing along the walls.

To the back was the central lab where she was told she’d find the datachip. The door was already open but stuck halfway. Carefully, she snuck through, making her way down a short passage. There was a metallic smell in the air like in the tunnels, but she didn’t see a source. Her garometer started to crackle, but the energy was on the low end. She stepped out of the passage and into a wide chamber, trying to understand what she was seeing. She clicked the light on her wrist to make it brighter then aimed it farther into the room.

The first thing she noticed was the fungi, growing on the walls but also growing out of giant tanks. She got closer, shining her light on them. Most were broken, with the mushrooms sprouting past jagged edges of glass. A few tanks, however, remained intact. She froze beside one of them and shined her light into it, illuminating what lay within.

It was a giant fungus. It almost looked monstrous with its sprouts spreading over the glass of the tank.

She passed the tanks and went farther in. A row of cells sat along one wall. Inside one was the skeleton of another creature, fungi overtaking its back and face. She stepped over to another. Inside looked like the remains of a large grex, like Sheek, only this one had one huge blue arm growing out of its back.

Dani stared at it, and her pulse began to race. What the hell were they doing here?

The rest of the cells were open and empty. Her mouth went dry, and her stomach twisted as she went by them, heading for the testing lab beyond.

Inside the room was a large computer console wrapped around an operation pod, its glass lid open. Inside, tiny fungi had spread.

This room…felt very wrong, and she had a mighty need to get out as quickly as possible. She went over to the main computer and flipped open a box next to it. The datachip was there, a slender black device connected to a port.

She reached for it, then paused.

Something happened here. Something very bad. It wasn’t hard to see the destruction all around her. Marityne employees hadn’t just shut this place down and left quietly. They had fled. Because she doubted they would have left such an important piece behind.

She glanced over at the computer.

Don’t, Dani. Just take it and leave. You don’t need to know. Because if you do…

She thought of Kryxis waiting for her. The most terrifying male she’d ever met, who had shown no fear. But he was afraid of this place…

She leaned over and turned the computer on.

The system came to life, lights and screen flickering on. A few programs popped on the screen including an access pass to the datachip. She opened it and several hundred files appeared.

She scrolled through them and saw they all were titled by TEST SUBJECT followed by a number.

There was no need for her to go through them. She could already put two and two together by what she’d seen beyond the room. But there was one thing she had to know. Going to the search function, she typed in VRISHA.

Several dozen files appeared. One read test operation 110. The last dated file.

When she clicked on it, lights around the room aimed downward. Once the file loaded, the ghosts of Marityne scientists appeared, their faces covered by ventilation masks and goggles. One walked past her, while others sat at their computers.

It was a holographic recording. They were merely images from the past. Dani stood watching as several scientists appeared at the pod.

“Subject is stabilized,” one man said. “All vitals working. No clear side-effects.”

“Percent of DNA splicing sequence is at ninety-two percent,” said a voice overhead.

“That’s the closest we’ve gotten. Let’s get him out.”

They opened the pod, and whisps of a chemical cloud billowed out. When the cloud dispersed, Dani saw who was lying within.

Kryxis was there, unconscious, with his red and blue arms at his sides.

She watched the scientists poke and prod him, making statements. The images cut out for a second then reappeared, this time with Kryxis on a table beside the pod, his red arms and legs chained down while they messed with his blue arms, testing their strength and flexibility.

He looked drugged, his eyes half-lidded while staring up at the light. The scientists jabbed pointed rods into his arms and watched him jerk in response, and she knew she couldn’t watch another second.

She found another file, not on Kryxis but one called Bruiser Fungus Journey 001 - Dr. Vartis and opened it.

It was a set of voice recordings. A log meant for one of the heads of Marityne, Ryle Marityne CO. She listened to some of it quickly, her blood going colder the more she heard.

“We’d found the bruiser fungus in the caves while mining,” said a low male voice. “I’d been working with it for a long time and learned it had incredible growth and re-growth effects. So, we went to work on using the DNA of the fungus on various subjects. We saw a lot of exciting and promising effects. The company heads here on X110 gave us full funding to start testing. We had plenty of human subjects and some otherkin, but we needed more variety, so scouts were hired. What they found was more than we could have ever hoped. Various species including a vrisha fledgling they had bought from outer-system traders.”

The recording stopped there, and she went to the next.

“Some have died, unable to withstand the splicing. Others had harsh side effects. Those that survived have promising growths but are unstable. Hard to control. More testing needed.”

She went to the third, the twisting in her stomach worsening.

“The fungi have spread. It’s hard to control. But there was some success. A few subjects have completely functional parts. Limbs that work just like the ones they were born with. Some have also grown extra pairs of eyes and mouths. It works…it works.”

One last recording and she almost didn’t want to hear, but she forced herself to click it.

“Their growths have made them perfect.” The voice sounded distant, strange. “But our most successful subjects are dangerous. Monstrous. I fear for the safety of the others. If they were to ever get out, they would destroy this city. We must cull them before that happens.”

She sank into a chair, feeling cold, almost numb.

With a trembling hand, she closed down the computer then took out the datachip from its port and placed it in her pocket.

It was company policy to not ask questions. She and her team were supposed to collect then move on to the next world. This time she couldn’t do that. She was going to speak to the heads about this. This was beyond illegal. This was horrible .

She rose and glared one last time at the pod.

Even if it wasn’t her fault, guilt slithered into her heart. And she felt more pity than she’d ever felt for the one who now waited for her at the door. The one she had called a monster.