Page 61 of Monstrous Rampage
:Agent’s still there,:Terroar said on the grid. Then privately, to me, he laughed.:Sorry?:
:Do we know how long we have until the hull breach?:Even on the grid, her sultry voice strummed deep inside me.
:The alpha asked me to estimate time to hull breach approximately ten minutes ago,:Spike said.:Based on what he showed me, we have seven more minutes before the hold is compromised.:
:Fuck,:she growled.:We’ve got to get rid of the agent. Now. Ideas?:
:I tried sending him a command to investigate a new area of the ship but it didn’t work,:Terroar said.:He’s locked.:
:What does that mean?:
:Only Snyder can give or change the agents’ orders. I’ve also done some poking into the lift controls, and he’s rigged its programming too. Just like he said, nothing alive can use it to exit the hold without his override approval.:
Faint thuds reached my ears.:Is that the alpha trying to break out?:
:Negative,:Terroar said.:The stampede crew is trying to bust through where Spike estimated the tungsten would be thinnest.:He hesitated a moment.:He’s not hopeful it will work.:
:If we can get rid of the agent, we’ll just take the lift. Can we all fit on it at once if you shift?:
:Negative,:Terroar replied.:It would’ve been a tight fight for the three of them to leave the hold at the same time.:
:Which is exactly why Snyder put that code into it. It’s a bottleneck. Control that single spot, and he controls everything. What if…:
I loved the way her mind worked. Starbursts of color flared on the grid as she brainstormed plan after plan. She filled the grid with crackling energy, firing up all of us. Everybody wasthrowing out ideas or running scenarios through like mini vids. A confusing cacophony yeah but it also helped distract us both.
:Wait,:she said excitedly.:You said Snyder’s the only one who can give the agent outside new commands. And he’s the one who programmed the lift too.:
:Right,:Terroar said.
:I might know his override code. If he’s lazy and used the same one, at least.:
:It’s worth a shot.:
:Try “Maximus.”:
A long, agonizing second passed. Neither of us breathed. Then Terroar let out a low whistle.:Holy fuck, you’re amazing. How did you know his code?:
:I heard him use it on Earth. Open the back door to the ship’s computer for me, Terroar.:
:Done.:
She lifted her head and grinned up at me. Her eyes burned with the power of a supernova, and I wanted nothing more than to lock my mouth over hers and drink her down.:The ship’s mine now.:
SYKO
“Danger,”the computer announced in a perfectly calm voice. “Hull integrity is compromised. Life support will deactivate in two minutes. Counting down.”
Failure was an unfamiliar bitterness on my tongue that oozed and dripped like the KMM’s acid eating through the hull.
I didn’t like it. Not one bit.
The three of us sat on the cold tungsten floor, staring at the locked lift doors, me in the middle. The other two dyni kept glancing up at me, waiting for me to figure out a way to save us. It galled me to watch the hope slowly die in their eyes. Their realization that I couldn’t save them.
I’d failed us all.
Pain shredded me. My monster was none too happy with me either. Claws raked my ribcage. Powerful jaws pulverized my bones. Yet I kept him contained. If I had to die, I’d die in this form so I could remember what it felt like to hold Holly against me.
Temptation burned to connect to her one last time. But it would be selfish of me to indulge in the peace of her mind and spirit only to force her to feel me die.
