Page 30 of A Monster’s Future

“Oh shit!” Annabel said over our link. “More of them are coming. Get out of there.”

Sergio relayed the information to Tessa.

She held a hand to her own ear. “Our team is reporting the same. Dressed like employees, but armed.”

Then Grtirr was there by my side, and I realized the sound of fighting in the room had stopped.

“We’ve alerted the station police,” Tessa said. “They are on their way. But I don’t think they’ll make it in time.”

Grtirr stood. “We will hold the enemies off.”

I grabbed his arm. “No. I have a better idea.” I looked over at Tessa. “They want to stop the meeting. We are the same height and have the same hair color. Sergio and Chris look similar. Kat is also recognizable. Me, Grtirr, Kat, Trsak, and Sergio can lure them away. The Kadrixans draw attention. They’ll chase after us, thinking we’re getting away. And Igor and the remainder of the Vossell security can stay here and protect everyone else until help gets here. You and Chris can continue your talks.” I looked over to Charlene and Chris. Charlene couldn’t be moved. And Chris didn’t look much better.

Grtirr let out a growl that told me he didn’t like my idea. “No, we must stay to pro—”

Chris cut him off, his voice weak. “It’s a good idea. Go. The rest of us will continue the talks.”

Tessa nodded. “Yes. I came here to negotiate, and these thugs won’t stop me.” She still looked frightened, but her face was resolute. She took off her suit jacket and handed it over to me. “This green is my signature color. They’ll see and not look too closely.”

I quickly donned her jacket.

Grtirr still looked unhappy about the arrangement, but he removed his blaster and handed it to Chris, butt-end first. “Do not die.”

Chris laughed and then choked and winced at the pain. “I won’t. Now go.”

“Yes! Less talk. More go,” Annabel said through the link. “They’re almost there.

I wasn’t given a warning as Grtirr swept me off my feet and started out the door. The movement did not help the queasiness I was already trying to keep at bay. I squeezed my eyes shut as the world rushed by around me. I didn’t open them again until I heard an accented voice.

“There they are. The monster’s got the Vossell rep. Stop them! They’re getting away!”

I couldn’t locate the man yelling, and had to squeeze my eyes shut again as a wave of nausea threatened to have me upchucking all over Grtirr and whoever was unlucky enough to get in our way.

Grtirr moved fast. And I knew when we left the assembly hall behind and exited into the station proper. I clung onto him. His body must have been reacting to my stress, because the more we touched, the calmer I felt, even though I really had no reason to be calm. I had to give it to him; those hormones and pheromones came in handy at a time like this.

After what felt like forever, Grtirr slowed, and I dared to open my eyes again. Nothing looked familiar. In fact, we weren’t even in the same area of the station anymore. A lush park surrounded us.

Instead of fancy corridors, we stood in the shade of trees. A soft breeze carried the scent of damp earth and blooming flowers. The air was cooler here, and the first breath calmed the queasiness in my gullet.

Grtirr let me down to the ground, and it took me a moment to get my footing. My legs felt like jelly, and my pulse still wanted to hammer right out of my throat. He led me behind a bush with broad waxy leaves, where, to my surprise, there was a utilitarian metal door that looked completely out of place.

Right, we weren’t really outside, and this wasn’t really a park. We were on a space station, floating next to a planet with plenty of water, but no land.

The sign on the door was small, peeling at the edges, and read: Authorized Personnel Only. Sector 7-B Maintenance Closet.

He tried the handle, and the door opened. I’d expected pipes, maybe a breaker panel. But the inside was more like a gardening shed than a maintenance closet. Rakes and shovels hung along one wall in a neat row, and bags of soil were stacked two deep in the corner. Coils of irrigation hose sat on a low shelf next to stacked plastic pots.

“Give me the jacket,” Grtirr demanded, even as he helped me out of Tessa’s beautifully tailored piece. “Stay here. I’m going to lead them away.”

The door clicked shut behind him. I stood in the dark, surrounded by the smell of soil and fertilizer, and tried to remember how to breathe.

Chapter 16: Julie

The room plunged into darkness again, and I exhaled sharply. I’d learned quickly that the moment I stopped moving, the damn lights cut out. The automatic sensors in this maintenance closet were far too sensitive, snuffing out the illumination the moment I stood still.

Normally, I wasn’t afraid of the dark. Back on Nova Vita, I’d lived in a sector that had to deal with rolling blackouts during the summer to save power. But this? This was different. This was a cramped maintenance closet on a strange space station, and whatever was scratching at the walls didn’t sound friendly.

Back in the stronghold on Vokira, scratching sounds on the walls always meant there were cookis near. But this wasn’t Vokira or the stronghold. The sounds here weren’t random. They were slow. Deliberate. Like something dragging itself along the other side of the metal, back and forth, back and forth. My skin prickled. I pressed myself against the shelf behind me, as if I could melt into the shadows.