Page 20 of Marked By the Bounty Hunter

The memory of Nalina’s fingers brushing mine over that drink haunted me as I climbed. I had to reach her. Had to warn her. Had to...

The thought broke off as voices echoed up the shaft. I pressed into an alcove, watching another patrol pass below. They moved with unnerving coordination, like dancers following music only they could hear.

Time was running out. For the children. For Dr. Gondon. For all of us.

NALINA

The overhead lights flickered again - third time in the past hour - as I mixed drinks and watched my regulars. Something was off tonight. The usual rowdy maintenance crews from Blue Section shuffled in with sallow complexions, their usual energy drained.

“Environmental control’s gone downhill lately.” Kell clicked her way down the bar, each step of her exoskeleton plates marking her progress. “My joints are killing me with these temperature swings.”

“You’d think they’d fix it.” I slid an ale across the bar. “Especially after that coolant line burst last week.”

“Ha!” Her compound eyes reflected the dim light. “When have they ever fixed anything around here that wasn’t actively on fire? Speaking of things needing fixing...” Kell’s antennae twitched. “Have you noticed how awful the crews look lately? Especially the ones from Blue?”

My stomach twisted as I remembered Jevik’s symptoms before he disappeared - that same gray pallor, the unnatural movements. But I kept my expression neutral as I wiped down the bar. “Maybe some kind of bug going around?”

“Bug, my thorax.” She clicked her mandibles. “Something’s not right. Luron came in yesterday, didn’t even finish his usual double.”

I was saved from responding by a crash from the far corner. A Merrith had knocked over his drink, all twelve fingers shaking as he tried to mop up the spill. The expensive liquor sizzled where it hit the floor, leaving iridescent marks on the metal.

His drinking companion - another maintenance worker - stared blankly ahead, purple marks visible at his collar.

“Here.” I grabbed fresh towels, but froze at the Merrith’s movements as he reached for them. Like watching a puppet with tangled strings.

The rest of my shift passed in a blur of drinks and forced smiles.

“I’ve got this.” Kell’s mandibles clicked softly as she took a drink order from a new arrival. “Go get some rest.”

“You sure?”

“After that double shift last week when my broodmate was sick? I owe you.” Her compound eyes studied me. “Just... be careful getting home. Something’s not right out there.”

I gathered my things, Vami’s empty seat at the end of the bar haunting me as I walked to the door.

The corridors felt too quiet as I walked home, my footsteps echoing off metal walls. A flicker of movement made me pause - a familiar hulking shape in the shadows.

“Grot?” I called softly. If I could get him talking, maybe find out what happened…

He stepped into the dim light, and my breath caught. His usually ruddy skin had gone gray, tentacles twitching in an unnatural rhythm. Something metallic glinted at his neck, surrounded by patches of purple bioluminescence.

“Where is Jevik?” His voice was flat, wrong. Not Grot’s voice at all.

“I don’t-”

“You helped him escape. The security feeds showed your interference.” His tentacles writhed unnaturally. “The subject was ready for processing. Tell us where he went.”

“Processing? Is that what you call what they did to you?”

He moved faster than should have been possible, all four arms reaching for me. I ducked and rolled, thanking years of dodging drunken customers. My elbow caught his solar plexus - or where it should have been. Instead of soft flesh, I hit something hard and unyielding.

His skin rippled, taking on an almost metallic sheen as he recovered. The wound from my strike sealed instantly.

I ran.

That apprenticeship with Odra had taught me every maintenance shaft and access tunnel, and never had I been more grateful. I dove through a narrow vent, hearing Grot’s bulk slam into the wall behind me. His unnatural strength tore through the metal like paper.

Left at the junction, right through the fan housing, down the emergency ladder. Each turn bought me seconds as he crashed after me. But his strength was wearing down my lead.

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