Page 52 of Monstrous Hunt
His head cocked, his smile widening. “Ah, I love the colloquial module we included in your programming. It’s quite entertaining. You were the bait, trap, and executioner all at the same time. You’ve been very helpful in that regard, BGR+.”
He tapped on the screen and my entire body went numb. “We have fresh evidence of mrion activity on this planet, while also proving the instability in your programming.”
“Bullshit.” I tried to retort with my normal fury but the muscles in my mouth didn’t want to work, slurring my words. “No mrion.”
“Oh, but there are, BGR+. Mrion are trawling through every cell in your body. Didn’t you know?”
Impossible. I couldn’t be contaminated. Dyni were impervious to mrion infection.
“Even more valuable, you helped us prove human contamination. Regrettably, this planet must be extinguished to prevent the spread of Myrm throughout this solar system.”
“Lies,” I mumbled with numb, dead lips. “No trace.”
“For all your technological advancements, I’m surprised you haven’t been able to infer the truth yet.” He leaned down, lowering his voice to a gentle whisper. “The mrion were on this planet all along.” He tapped my skull with a slim implement and waves of pain crushed my skull, pulverizing my brain. “But most especially, here. The most valuable cells of all. I know this is painful but we must extract them all for redeployment. Though we will likely need to run these cells through several rounds of deprogramming to cleanse them of these bad habits you’ve picked up.”
I would have screamed if my mouth still worked.
* * *
LOHR
The blackenedring didn’t taste like soot, ash, or blackened organic material at all. Instead, all I tasted was the metallic tang of tungsten.
In a fraction of a millisecond, the grid dropped before I could upload the data. A blast of energy rolled me end over end to slam up against the stone pillars. Waves of blue rippled through the stone clearing, and then I heard Rizan’s shriek. He tumbled toward the ground, talons screeching against stone as he tried to slow his fall.
Flipping to my feet, I scuttled toward him. I wouldn’t be able to catch him time, but I’d be able to shield him until Snryx could patch him together. Something brushed past me in a blur. Kroktl streaked toward our falling CPT and leaped to an impressive height to snag Rizan in his jaws.
Dropping to the ground, Kroktl allowed his massive, coiled thighs to absorb the impact.
“A concussion wave knocked out his sonar,” Snryx said, already working on him as Kroktl gently lowered him to the ground. “Cauterizing the internal bleeding. Wings are shredded, flaps ripped open. It’s going to be quite some time before you can fly again, Riz.”
Blood dripped from his eyes and ears. “I’ve still got teeth and claws. Get my echolocation back up first.”
“Working on it. Did you see any other squads before you fell?”
“No.” Rizan groaned softly, his breath catching. “Just the humans.”
“Axxol’s gone.” Kroktl’s head swung back and forth. “I can’t see through these fucking rocks. Headed to higher ground so I can pinpoint targets.”
“Desertion?” I asked.
“I don’t think so,” Rizan said. “The jump ring activated, pulling him through. It looked like he was bound in the ring itself just before he disappeared.”
“A trap.” Snryx shook his head. “But why? Why is DSC so fucking desperate to get us back?”
“Maybe they just want him,” Kroktl called down from a tumble of stone. “I don’t see any other threats. Where did they take him?”
“I tasted tungsten,” I said.
Snryx flicked a quick, grim look up at me for a moment. “HQ.”
“Really?” Rizan winced, shaking his head. “How do you know?”
“It’s the only metal that could come close to caging a dynos,” Snryx replied. “All of the containment pods in HQ’s laboratories are made with tungsten.”
Fragments of something bubbled up in my mind. Faded memories, but so distant that they didn’t seem like my own. Lying in a cold, sterile place. People working around me. Talking over my head. My tongue lolling down my neck, unresponsive to my command—but still sensitive. Still gathering data. “I remember the taste for a reason.”
Snryx nodded briskly. “Me too. Sort of. Best case, they have him in one of the re-conditioning labs.”
