Page 19 of Kryxis

“Yes.”

“Weird…”

“We’ll make a note about it in our report,” said Saul. “But right now, we should get back to it. They’ll be wondering what’s taken so long.”

Dani took out a small vial from another pocket and tucked the fungus inside. She straightened, giving the creature one last look.

It’s not you, is it?

Her gaze drifted up to the shadows beyond. Saul was right. It was time to get back to work. But she would be keeping a close eye because she was done being caught scared in the dark.

The generator worked. It still had enough fuel in it, enough to grab what they needed and leave. It had been risky to try to get the power running in the shipping yard because if it didn’t, more time would have been wasted. Luckily, with a little work, it roared to life and the lights came on overhead, almost blinding.

With the power back, the computers turned on too. And with them so did the bots.

“Creepy,” Lex said as one meandered close by on eight legs like a spider, transporting empty crates across the warehouse.

“But very efficient,” Tom said, standing by a metal crate with a laser cutter in hand. “The way they work is actually quite fascinating. They have these little ball-bearings on each joint that connect to the center of its—”

“Save it, Tom,” Lex groaned, breaking one of the side compartments to a large egg-shaped tank. Dani worked on another tank close by, eyeing the bot as it crawled away. She paused several times to check around, glad that she could see across the large warehouse, the lights above reminding her of a cloudy day in mid-afternoon. She didn’t have to wear her helmet here either, now that the air was being purified and circulating again. So, it almost felt like she was outside.

Carefully she took out a set of long black capsules from the tank which stored the ionized metal. Each needed to be carefully set inside their packs which were temperature controlled. There were no bugs or other odd creatures wandering around. Either they scattered from the light or from their presence. Or found better nesting areas somewhere else. It didn’t matter. She was just happy they were gone for the time being.

Garret and Ryatt guarded close by just in case. Saul and Tristan had stayed behind with the ship again, along with Morse so he could work to restore the power onboard. It was inconvenient to lose a member, but they were making up for it by working harder and faster.

Myrell cursed somewhere nearby. “Who took them?” she shouted. “Tom, I’m not in the mood for games.”

“Took what?” he called from another side.

“My gloves. This shit is hot. I can’t handle anything without them!”

“Haven’t seen them.”

“I’m going back to the generator room to see if I left them there.”

Dani stopped. “Wait, Myrell—”

“I’ll go with her,” Ryatt cut in. He turned to Garret. “We’ll be right back.”

Dani watched them go. Arguing would be fruitless. But at the back of her mind, she saw the creature in the ice. She still wasn’t fully convinced it was her monster. If it was still lurking…

She peered around then turned back to the tank. Ryatt would take care of her. The creature always seemed to disappear when security showed up anyway.

She glanced over her shoulder every time she put a capsule in her bag. Her stunner was back on her belt, but she knew it was pointless. Assuming the monster was still alive, zapping it didn’t do a thing.

Still, she wasn’t going to let it or anything else get her again.

Moving on to the next tank, she took her heatblade and started to cut the lock off the door. She pried it open then reached for the contents within. She did this several more times before realizing it had grown quiet.

She didn’t think anything of it until Lex shouted across the room. “Uh, guys…come here!”

“What’s wrong?” Dani called out.

“Just…look!” There was fear laced in their voice.

Dani walked over to where Lex was standing, looking down at their pack. The others were already beside them. “This is not cool. I only stepped away for a second.”

Their pack lay empty, everything gone. Frowning, Dani peered inside. No…not completely empty.

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