Page 6 of Kryxis

They made their way through without touching anything. Several times, someone had to pull Phen away to keep her with the group so she didn’t stop and stare.

There wasn’t much else to note. Just the sight of empty workstations, offices, and security rooms, computers collecting dust, and the floor littered with debris. Coffee mugs sat moldingwhere they were left behind on desks. Lockers were still stuffed with jackets and bags. It was as if the workers had gone quickly from this place, not having the time to take anything with them.

There was no sign of life until they got deeper in. The evidence of creepy crawlies started with dried up hives in the corners then of dead husks and shells of bodies. After passing through the first sector, they heard them skittering.

“Bugs,” said Ryatt near the back, shining the light of his gun along the ceiling and walls.

The hives looked small, but that didn’t mean there weren’t bigger ones lurking within. Dani brought up her garometer to check.

The screen on her wrist displayed a set of data, first detecting energy levels within the distance of a large room. The garometer had been her mother’s, a tool she used to detect the presence of plants, but it could scan for all energy sources, ranging from the small levels given off by flora to the energy levels of the crewmen around her.

If the energy levels were no lower than a one or two, it was likely nothing more than plant-life. Three or four meant something like rats or bugs. Five or six meant something larger but could still be nothing more than giant pests. She and her crew were around the seven and eight marks. Anything higher than that might be something to worry about.

The highest she’d ever seen was ten. It had been on a small planet inside an industrial city. They were collecting hydrogen cells when a giant creature with long arms and claws had somehow hidden itself within the walls. They had to send back-up because it ate one of their security officers. Snatched him up right in front of them, munching on the man’s head like a candy bar, slurping up his brains.

Not something she wanted to ever see again.

Adjusting the garometer’s settings so it didn’t detect just her crew, Dani waited as it scanned the area while they walked from one room to the next. The little device made a soft crackling noise, growing louder as they approached another doorway.

The officer ahead of them shoved the door open, and they saw several bugs shrink away from the light.

Energy levels were around the four and five marks. Not bad but if there were a lot of them it could be a problem. The officer went through first and set his torch on them and they disappeared through the vents.

They snuck across the wide hallway beyond until they came to a set of thick double doors. Finding them sealed, Sheek and Morse worked together using small torches to cut through the metal lock.

Once broken, the officer pushed the doors aside. A small breeze like a soft breath touched her back. With it she caught the scent of…

Dani turned her head back toward the dark hallway. She frowned, brow knitting as she stared.

Sheek had been right. It smelled like a fresh pot of coffee. How weird.

“You coming?” asked Myrell, as the others made their way into the room.

“Yes, I’ll be…right there.”

They disappeared inside. Dani took a step back and aimed her flashlight into the dark.

She stood for a moment in silence.

Nothing.

But why did she feel like she was being watched?

She waited a few seconds more, that prickling feeling growing along her spine, goosebumps trailing along her arms.

No. It must be her imagination.

She glanced at her garometer, but it wasn’t picking anything up.

It was odd, but she’d never felt something like that before.

Shaking off her unease, she entered the huge chamber beyond. Several levels of scaffolding could be seen from above. It looked to be the testing center. Metal limbs sat on tables, skeletons stood upright smiling at her as she passed. There were several tools and other hardware sitting around. And more machines.

Dani caught herself craning her neck up to the scaffolding before righting herself. She took several glow sticks from the side of her pack and cracked them, throwing them across to give them more light. The others followed suit until the place was bathed in low blue light. Working around one machine, she saw more bugs scatter. They looked like wingless wasps with red and purple bodies. One was the size of her head. She could see their stingers curling out their backsides.

Carefully, she aimed her light around and stilled when she saw something on top of one broken machine.

“This is it.” She started toward the machine and picked up a slim, round, yellow and silver object in the shape of a battery. She recognized it from one of the pictures given to her back on the ship.

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