Page 73 of The Alien's Private Redemption

"The joy of wearing a bra," she told him. "You get to learn things like that."

Angela laid down on the bed, her breath leaving her in a sigh of surrender, and her eyes closed. Between one breath and the next, he could tell she'd fallen into a deep, healing sleep.

His body ached to join her, to hold her while she slept, and it was with great reluctance that he covered her with a blanket and made his way to the door. The guards were waiting in the hall and they didn't make a move to stop him.

Chapter 13

Angela didn't know how long she'd slept, when the vibrations woke her up. The lights were off in the room and she suddenly realized there were no windows for natural light. Air currents brought the sharp smell of chemicals along with the slightly stale scent of recycled air.

They were subtle, at first, something she shouldn't have noticed as a human. But she'd realized that her Bond with Zoric had increased some of her senses. The absolute darkness of the room was broken by the hint of light at the bottom of the door. It was just enough to get a feel for where everything was in the room.

The vibrations that woke her came up the frame of the bed from the floor. With a shaking hand, Angela reached out to touch the wall. It was faint, a mere hint of movement, but she could feel the vibrations in the wall. She wondered, for a brief moment,if they were getting an earthquake. Had any of the other humans felt it? Her spotty memory of what earthquakes looked like on a graph didn't match what she was feeling.

Somebody isn't happy about you being here,the voice in the back of her head warned.Somebody might be willing to do something about it.

It was second nature to reach across her Bond to Zoric and let him feel what she did. His surprise at her reaching out was quickly followed by concern at the vibrations.

Nobody else has mentioned an earthquake, he sent. His voice in her mind sounded strange and far away.

I think we're under attack, Angela sent back.

From who?

I don't know but I think almost this entire compound is underground. There are guards on the doors but there's no way to guard the walls.

Zoric's concern turned to alarm and Angela started pulling on her clothes. What was left of her exhaustion had fled and she was running through scenarios while she got dressed in the dark.

It's not an earthquake,Zoric sent.I'm on my way.

Angela's heart raced. Some of it was fear but more of it was excitement. She wasn't going to be a prisoner much longer. Possible opportunities for escape rolled through her head and she knew she wasn't the one generating all of them.

By the time Zoric burst through her door, she was ready to go. The guards on duty outside were demanding answers but they didn't take the time to answer them. Instead, they followed as Zoric lead them down the corridor.

Scenarios for neutralizing the guards came fast from the voice in her head and she told it firmly to shut up. If the base was under attack because of her, she didn't want her fellow Marines caught in the line of fire. Even if she was disgraced, she was still a Marine. They hadn't kicked her out yet.

"We're meeting with Colonel Schuh," Zoric called to her, loud enough for their guards to hear him. "He agrees that something is not right."

"Has he figured out what's happening yet?" she called back, willing to follow his lead.

"No. And Ae-cha swears she doesn't know anything about it."

"Are the molemen finally attacking?" Angela asked with a laugh.

Zoric shuddered. "I hope not. They're creepy little bastards but they fight like hell. I'd rather not deal with them, too."

Angela had been joking but she suddenly didn't think it was funny. Molemen weren't real, were they? Of course, a few weeks ago, she hadn't thought lizardmen were real. And last year, she'd been absolutely certain there were no aliens. Just went to show what she knew.

They ran to a safe room filled with computers and monitors but Angela only got a glimpse before the Colonel was shoving them out the door.

"We're being extracted," the Colonel said.

Angela knew what that meant and turned to follow the Colonel down the corridor. Still, she couldn’t help but worry about the people she'd just seen in the room he'd come out of.

"What about everybody else?" she asked.

"They have their own orders," he said. "Move, Private!"

They ran through winding, twisting corridors until he stopped at an empty wall. With a wave of his badge over a seemingly random stone, the wall pulled back, and a stairwell lit only by emergency lighting appeared in front of them.

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