Nera jumped. Her boots hit the tile and she touched the floor in a low crouch before standing. “We need to head through that corridor to meet Ryant.” She pointed.
Niklas nodded and lifted his pistol.
They moved as quietly as possible, but their footsteps still echoed faintly on the marble. Alcoves, which had probably once displayed some of the museum’s treasures, lined the corridor.
He slowed, and that’s when she noticed one alcove still held an artifact. The multi-colored jewel sat on a stand. The gem was huge, about thirty centimeters long, and glittered in shades of blue and green, with smaller bursts of gold, orange and red.
“Oh, my God,” he murmured. “I think this is the Olympic Australis.”
“Which is?”
“The largest opal ever found. It was discovered in Australia.”
Opal. Nera blinked. It was a jewel that only formed on Earth, so it was prized throughout the galaxy.
He grabbed it, and gestured for her to turn. With a roll of her eyes, she did, and waited while he nestled it in her backpack.
“It reminds me of all the colors in your eyes.” His jaw rubbed against her shoulder. “Let’s get out of here. It’s too dark in this hallway.”
It was pretty dark. She hoped the zombies were holed up somewhere, hibernating, or whatever the hell they did when they weren’t eating people.
They’d gone three more steps when a loud crash echoed ahead, the sound reverberating down the corridor.
They paused. “Ryant and his team?” she whispered.
“Maybe. Or maybe something just fell over.”
A low moan echoed down the hall, followed by the now-familiar sound of shuffling footsteps. The first zombie lumbered into view, its dark gaze on them.
“Fuck.” Niklas’ laser pistol whined as he fired. He aimed at the creature’s legs.
The zombie fell, but kept coming, dragging itself with its arms along the floor.
Three more zombies appeared at the head of the corridor.
“I suggest we head back.” She lifted her own pistol and fired.
“I concur.”
Even more of the creatures started pushing into the hall.
Niklas and Nera backed up, then spun, and sprinted.
Her heart thundered. She heard the zombies’ moans and footsteps close behind. There were a lot of them.
“It’s a trap!” Niklas was yelling into his earpiece. “We’re headed back to the lobby. Repeat. Back to the lobby.”
A trap? She suddenly realized the corridor was the perfect location to trap them. And one single artifact still in place would have been the perfect bait to slow them down.
But surely the zombies weren’t capable of that? Were they?
Nera burst back out into the lobby. The sunlight was bright now, making the place glow with a gentle golden light. It looked almost peaceful.
But not for much longer.
“Phoenix!” The comm line crackled, obscuring Ryant’s voice. “Don’t go out the front. More zombies are headed that way.”
“Shit.” Niklas glanced around.
