Page 62 of Tracking the Alpha
A sudden hum brought lights, and Tanis blinked.
Blinked again as she saw the thing with leathery wings literally only inches from being able to grab Barrett’s foot.
The eyes of it were completely black, like the tongue that flicked as it hissed and ducked its head. It froze in place, drawing its wings inward to cocoon.
“What the fuck is it doing?” Barrett had paused climbing to glance at what chased them.
“It hates the light. Don’t get close and it won’t attack, supposedly.”
“Not planning to get anywhere near it,” Barrett muttered as he resumed clambering, moving quickly.
“Captain, you need to get your ass moving faster,” a male voice shouted from above. “The backup generator kicked in, and the bombs are active again.”
“You mean you weren’t joking about there being bombs!” Tanis squeaked.
“Someone wired this place to blow,” Barrett grunted.
“No wonder Davidson ordered the major dead and sent Brittany to the basement,” Tanis murmured. “He’s getting rid of loose ends.”
“Stevens is dead?” Barrett exclaimed.
“Yup. And before you ask, I haven’t seen the general and have no idea where he is.”
“Most likely hightailing it before the place blows,” he muttered. Then more loudly, “Phoenix, please tell me you found a way out of sublevel into the main building.”
The guy called Phoenix replied, “Most escaped via the elevator shaft, but I also found a hidden set of stairs behind a shelving unit that exit into the general’s office. A much better option for Takhi the tiger and Radley, who couldn’t do a chin-up if his life depended on it.”
“Make sure everyone is getting their ass clear of the place. I’ve got company on my tail, and it ain’t friendly.”
Barrett kept a hold of Tanis despite them being on even ground. She might have argued more except it allowed her to watch their rear in case 37 decided to suddenly forget it hated light and follow.
“I am impressed you found this,” Barrett stated with a low whistle as they went past a shelving unit that had been shoved aside to show a section of wall pushed inward.
“Don’t know about you, but my nose is damned sensitive. Wasn’t hard to sniff it out. Opening it might have been tricky with the power on, but apparently it used some kind of electromagnetic lock. No juice made it easy to open. Good thing I had something blocking the doorway when the power came back.”
“Glad to see you still have your wits. Not everyone was so lucky.” Barrett’s low murmur as they thumped up the stairs.
“Nice to see you didn’t lose it either, Captain. I overheard them saying Gage didn’t make it through the treatment.”
“It’s a miracle we didn’t lose more. I just wish I could have done more for Zendaya.”
“You might still get a chance.”
“How? She’s dead,” Barrett stated as they exited into an office that looked as if a storm had swept through. Drawers left open. Papers scattered. The laptop that used to sit on the desk gone.
“Slater didn’t want to leave her behind. Wanted to give her a proper burial so he carried her out. She changed back into her human shape on the way.”
“She’s okay?” Barrett sounded relieved as they exited the general’s office into the hall, where voices murmured.
“Not exactly. She wouldn’t stop screaming and clawing at herself, so Freya had to knock her out.”
A woman shouted, “Would you two yapping ladies move it? The timers show we have less than two minutes!”
“The garage has a few vehicles we can use. Pile as many people as you can inside them,” Barrett bellowed as he finally set Tanis on her feet. “Everyone else, make a run for it. We need to clear the area.”
“Can’t go anywhere, Captain. There’s some dick who can barely shave on a platform taking potshots every time we poke our heads,” stated a different male voice. He held someone wearing a white coat over his shoulder.
“It’s the sentry,” Tanis murmured.
