Page 119 of Shades of Earth (Across the Universe 3)

“In just a few moments, she won’t be human anymore. Not genetically at least. You set that bomb off, you kill her as well. She’s a hybrid now too. ”

“No!” Dad jumps up, throwing the rogue leader out of his way. “Amy!”

My eyes are burning, streaming with water. I squeeze them shut, unable to bear how bright the light is.

“The pain will pass,” Chris says to me softly. Sympathetically. His gun lowers as the other man steps back.

I dry heave. It’s the idea of my body being changed irrevocably. I can’t bear it. And I can’t bear the way Chris looks at me now, as if I’m already one of them.

“Amy!” Dad shouts. It’s taking two of the men to hold him back.

“She’ll be fine,” the rogue leader says. Their voices sound metallic, too loud. I clutch my hair, pulling my head down, rocking. I can’t bear this, I can’t bear this. “This compound only has the gen modifiers in it, not the Phydus. She’ll have all the genetic modifications but none of the mind-altering control. ”

“You bastards,” Dad snarls. “How dare you! My daughter!”

“Sit down, Colonel Martin,” the rogue leader orders. “Or I will make you. ”

I slide to the floor. Chris says something, I can’t understand what. My bleary eyes can barely blink, but I can’t help but notice that the rogue hybrids all wear the same kind of boot, ones with metal grippers, three long, sharp pieces curving over the toes of their shoes. Ones that would make the same footprints we found outside the shuttle. Elder was right all along. They’ve been watching us since the very first day.

It hurts. My body’s DNA is rearranging itself to become some mutated hybrid, and I’m not even sure what’s happening, I just know it’s not human. It’s painful, as if there is a fire inside, burning up my blood. I try to open my eyes. Dad’s fighting against the hybrids while I’m becoming one.

Dad knocks aside the rogue leader, sending him crashing against the communication bay.

I think for one wild moment that he’s coming for me. He will pick me up and carry me away and make the hurting stop.

But he’s not coming for me. He lunges at Chris, grabbing for the . 38 in his hand.

The gun goes off.

Dad lands with a thump on the ground, his eyes open and staring, inches away from my face but already out of reach.

66: ELDER

I try to re-establish the communication link, but it’s gone. All I heard was glass shattering and loud thumps and bangs, and then I was disconnected.

It’s not too late, I tell myself. Amy’s not dead.

I tell myself this, and I force myself to believe it.

I rush out of the bridge and back up to Godspeed. Bartie’s standing near the hatch, looking happy. “I don’t think it will take that long to load up the auto-shuttle,” he says, grinning at me.

“Now,” I gasp.

“What?”

“Now,” I say. “We have to go now. They have Amy, they’ve taken over the whole frexing colony. ”

“What are you talking about, Elder?” Bartie asks, grabbing my shoulders. “Calm down. ”

I shake him off. “You don’t understand! I heard it over the com system—Bartie, they have Amy. They’ve taken the colony. ”

“Who?”

“The hybrids!” I throw up my hands. “The aliens! Whatever you want to call them! The monsters we’ve been fighting, the ones that have been attacking us! They have our people!”

A line of worry mars Bartie’s brow. “What can we do?”

“We have to go now. Get the people out. Whatever they can carry. But we have to go now. ”