Page 88 of Heart’s Prisoner

"W-who's there?"

"This is Officer Galger. Me and my crew are looking for survivors." Xerus sounded exactly like him, giving Lana goosebumps. She would remind him never to use that voice while they were together. "The base is clear and safe and you can come out now."

There was another long pause. "We haven't heard anything. We were told we had to wait until we heard from the master officers and generals that the lockdown was lifted."

"Due to new safety measures they cannot contact you in the usual manner," Xerus said without hesitation. "They assigned us to get those in the saferooms out. If you open the door and make for the cargo elevator and take it up to the docks there will be a ship ready."

A short pause and then, "Why are we taking the cargo elevator? Why not take us through to the city sector?"

Lana was grateful to see Xerus keeping his patience. "We want to get you out as quickly and as safely as possible and the main elevators are not in working order," Xerus said, making up excuses as he went. " Are you ready to comply?"

There was a murmur of noise on the other end as if they were arguing, then a clear voice said, "Okay, we are opening up."

Xerus backed farther into the shadows as the door slid open. Heads poked out looking all around.

"Nobody’s there! Quick, close the door!" someone shouted within. As a man in a doctor's uniform went to press the button, Xerus revealed himself and strode into the room.

"Holy fuck!" someone yelled and the others screamed. Lana winced as she saw dozens scramble out of the room, Xerus having to block a few from running the wrong direction causing them to shrink back in terror.

It took a few attempts to get them to move the right way and lead them toward the level six warehouse. Once inside, Xerus trapped them within. He got them to flee into the cargo elevator then he stopped and grew still once they huddled inside.

"P-please," one of them begged. Xerus closed his eyes and sniffed the air.

"Xerus? What wrong?" Lana asked nervously.

Xerus opened his lids and narrowed his eyes on a pair of labcoats in the corner of the room. He growled and lunged for them, dragging them out of the elevator. "They are infected."

Before Lana could make a sound, Xerus snapped their necks quickly, their bodies falling to the ground. Lana gasped but kept silent though her stomach heaved and her mouth dried and she feared she might become sick. Xerus moved toward the rest of the group, now a whimpering bundle on the ground. He closed his eyes again then nodded. "The rest are safe." He moved away from the elevator and closed the doors.

Lana slumped in her chair and closed her eyes, trying to remain calm. The two had been infected and nothing could be done. She just had to be thankful the others were okay.

"I`m going to set more bombs on six then we will move forward," Xerus said sharply. He swung around the bag that had been resting at his back and made his way through the rooms to place his bombs.

Lana licked her lips and swallowed. "Alright," she said softly. Seeing Xerus kill the two men so swiftly and without thought scared her and reminded her what he was capable of. Silently she thanked whoever that Xerus had taken a liking to her and that she had never gotten the parasite.

As Xerus set his bombs, Lana brought up the data screen of the entire base. The numbers were so low it made her heart drop. Only a few hundred were left. Either some had found their way out–somehow making it to the docks–or many hadn't made it, succumbing to any number of threats. The level three saferoom had one of the largest populations inside and they were taken out in a matter of minutes by Galger's team. The largest population now was on level one and it was only a matter of time before the soldiers made their way up to finish the job.

Rubbing her forehead, Lana accessed the rest of the remaining data from the levels that were left. There was one remaining saferoom on level five along with a few readings of people in another room close by. Level three had activity but she knew it was only Galger and his men. Level four there was only her and level two was mostly empty save for a few guards protecting the food supply. Then there was level one with its several hundred or so.

"One last saferoom, Xerus, and then it's on to the top," Lana said. "There are people also in one of the rooms but they might be from Galger's team so be careful.

Xerus placed his last remaining bomb for six then headed for five. Lana checked the feeds to see for herself who was huddling in one of the rooms outside the saferoom on five. She flipped through the video until she found the room. To her surprise, it wasn't a group of Galger's soldiers as she feared. The group huddled together in a circle out in the open. They didn't have guns at their sides or any other weapons. They sat at the center with a bunch of equipment and what looked to be Scibots that were partially disassembled around them. The bots' wires spewed over the ground like a field of metal encompassing the group. Lana's eyes narrowed looking at them. Why were they just sitting there? And what were they doing with the bots? Were they too looking for parts? Lana hadn't seen anyone lurking around there before but perhaps they had come while she had slept or when she had been focused on helping Xerus. "There is another group," Lana said. "It isn't Galger's team."

Xerus grunted. He made his way into five and went for the saferoom first. As Lana switched over to watch him, she could see the saferoom was already unlocked even though the door was closed. Lana frowned and Xerus hesitated. He slipped over to the side of the door, readying himself. With his tail, he pressed the button and the door slid open. Lana braced herself.

The people inside had been sitting far from the door. When they saw Xerus they shot up and screamed. As they ran from him, Lana noticed some were badly injured. One person didn't even move from the room, clearly unconscious or dead.

Xerus checked the body then moved on after the group, indicating to Lana that the individual was indeed gone. Something bad had happened in the room and she feared one or more of them must have been infected.

The group was slow as so many were injured, making it easier for Xerus to catch up and keep them together. Once he got them to the cargo bay and into another elevator, he searched them over and, to Lana's shock, found none that were infected. As the elevator doors closed, Xerus went back for the last group.

'Maybe they are from the saferoom', Lana thought as she went back to the video of the room with the group huddled in the center. 'Maybe they were kicked out for attacking the others.' "Be careful, Xerus, these ones might be trouble," Lana said aloud.

When Xerus got to the entrance of the room, he hesitated a second to look inside. The group of men were bent over themselves, silent, with their eyes turned to the ground. They didn't even notice Xerus' presence as he stepped into the room. Xerus gazed at the disfigured bots and the wires on the ground curiously. As he slipped farther in, one of the men saw him. The man cried out and gestured to the others who saw the large alien and turned ashen. They screamed and did everything Lana expected them to do. Everything except run.

"Why aren't they moving?" Lana said, watching as the men cowered away and shouted curses but didn't attempt to flee. "Xerus...why aren't they–"

Then she saw and knew. They didn't run because they couldn't. They were chained to the floor.

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