Chapter Eleven
Isaac unwrapped the soft cloth and slowly pulled the blade from its carbon fiber sheath. He didn’t know what he’d expected, and he’d worried a bit when Bruno mentioned a new weapon, but he should’ve known his older brother would never commission something that didn’t serve a purpose. The blade that sat gleaming upon the fabric glittered like polished silver, but it was clearly made of something much more durable than mere steel. He sensed the tech infused within the metal. The moment his energy reached out and wrapped around the blade, he realized that this was much more than a simple cutting tool.
“You can infuse it with power, much like the shield rings,” Bruno said. “It’s stronger than steel. Its composition is similar to the hull of our starships.”
Isaac looked at his brother. “You designed this.”
Bruno nodded. “I didn’t create it, but I gave Greyson and Solomon the specifications. In truth, we designed it for you. It is a gift from your brothers.” He smiled slightly. “I wanted you to have a blade that fits your true self. The man you hide from everyone is not someone you should be ashamed of.”
Perceptive bastard. Isaac shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say ‘thank you’,” Saige murmured, putting her hand on his shoulder.
Isaac could feel her support through their bond. And, too, she was right. “Thank you, Bruno. To say I didn’t expect this is an understatement.”
His brother shrugged. “Thanks are not necessary.”
“Even so. This is a beautiful weapon. How could you know we’d need it?” Isaac concentrated, infusing the weapon with energy. He sensed the difference immediately. The blade felt lighter. Sharper. He wondered what would happen when he used it on an enemy. This could be quite deadly, he mused as he carefully slid the blade back into the sheath. He buckled it to the back of his belt, making sure that he could easily draw it when needed. “How did you know that I’d need it? It’s probably the only thing that’ll hurt the Other.”
“Just as you have secrets which you haven’t shared, so do I,” Bruno said slowly. “I can sometimes see things that may happen and prepare for them.” He shrugged. “I have had this ability for a long time, though I prefer not to speak of it. It’s unreliable.”
Isaac stared at his brother. “I had no idea.” I don’t blame him for not wanting to talk about it. That sort of ability is more a curse than a gift, he thought. “I’m sorry you’ve had to carry that kind of burden.”
Bruno looked away, eyes returning to the map display. “My gift is rarely helpful. I prefer not to talk about it,” he reiterated.
“Of course.” Even though Isaac yearned to ask questions, he respected Bruno’s reticence. We don’t have time for me to interrogate him, anyway. We need to find the Other before he hurts anyone else. Isaac twisted his torso, rechecking the weight of the blade against the small of his back as best he could in the tight confines of the ship. It sat comfortably against his waist, and he nodded, satisfied. “Where’s the entrance to the tunnels?”
“Here.” Bruno pointed again at the heads-up display.
Saige touched Isaac’s shoulder. “Are you sure we should go in there? The alien could have set traps.”
“If not us, then who? We are Sentries.” Bruno touched the corner of his eye. “It is our duty.”
Isaac mirrored his brother, touching a finger to his eye, too. “We protect humanity.” He put his hand over Saige’s. He sensed her disquiet, but he also felt her resolve. “Don’t forget, we have defenses that normal humans don’t. We’re pretty durable.”
“Yes, I remember.” Saige smiled briefly. “And I have no intention of letting an alien kill me for some random speck of DNA that I happen to have inherited.” Her expression firmed as she hesitantly touched the corner of her eye in solidarity. “Let’s do this.”
Isaac lifted her hand and kissed the back. “You amaze me, sweetheart.”
She blushed. “Whatever happens, I intend on seeing it through.”
“You won’t be alone,” Isaac said.
Saige nodded. “I know.”
****
“I intend on seeing it through.” Who am I fooling? I’m scared to death. Saige thought, very privately. She glanced at Isaac. He was checking the heads-up display one more time. The idea of him facing that alien with nothing more than a sharp blade made her shiver. She took a deep breath, and then let it out again. I have to do this. We have to do this. She swallowed her doubts as she watched Isaac climb out of the star ship. He offered his hand, and she took it, desperately trying not to look at it as some sort of destructive omen, where he helped her to her doom. It’s just a hand, Saige. Get a grip on yourself. Isaac helped her out of the ship, then called out to his brother. “Set the cloak on auto, will you, Bruno? We don’t want civilians stumbling over our tech.”
Saige rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen stress-tight muscles. The only way out of this is through, she thought. That alien wanted to kill her. She wanted to live. And Isaac said I’m a Sentry now, too. It’s my responsibility to help protect Earth. She felt weird just thinking about that, but she couldn’t hide from the press of so many people against her empathetic senses. She’d changed, and there was no going back.
“The cloak is already set, so the starship will be safe,” Bruno said, jumping down behind them. He jammed a battered baseball cap on his head, then looked at Saige. “You’ll do,” he said, then turned toward Aspen Street. “There’s an entrance under the church.” He led them down the block.
Saige wasn’t sure what Bruno meant. She frowned at his back as they followed him a few paces behind. The baseball cap on his head looked ridiculous for a man she’d seen talking to world leaders on television.
“He approves of you,” Isaac murmured.
Saige looked at her paired mate in surprise. “That’s … odd. He seems so preoccupied.”
“He is, most of the time.” Isaac lifted a shoulder. “But Bruno can be very surprising when you’d least expect it.”
“Like when he put that ugly hat on?”
Isaac grinned. “Yes. Exactly like that.”
Saige snorted. “It looks so weird on him.”
Isaac laughed.
She smiled up at him, then wrinkled her nose when he pulled out his sunglasses. “Really? You know those things don’t do a damn thing to hide your identity.”
“That’s only because you know who I am behind them. No one else will put the clues together.” He smiled wryly. “I don’t want anyone to recognize us. With Bruno here, it’s even more likely that someone will see us and flip out. We need to keep everyone safe, not provide this evening’s entertainment.”
“No one will recognize us. I am wearing a disguise, brother.” Bruno slowed, pointing to his hat.
Was he listening this whole time? Saige wondered, flushing slightly.
“Even if it is ugly,” Bruno added, and then he winked at her.
Saige blinked, surprised at his teasing. He’s not angry. Interesting.
Bruno turned back around, readjusting the hat on his head. Saige snorted softly. “Huh.” Of course, the hat didn’t do a damn thing to disguise the purposeful way he walked. Anyone who’d ever seen him on television would instantly know who he was. “Maybe we should just get inside as quickly as possible. We’re lucky this street isn’t very busy this time of day.” She looked around at the small houses surrounding the church. Some of them had peeling paint, and the entire block held an air of slow dilapidation. Even so, that didn’t mean no one lived here.
“Agreed,” Isaac said, hand on Saige’s lower back.
She let him guide her as Bruno pointed to a back alley. They ducked around the corner and into the smaller street. Bruno hurried down the dusty lane, and then along the rear of the old building. He led them toward a back corner where an old door hung slightly ajar at the bottom of a half staircase of stone steps. The latest layer of paint on the door had faded to that weird, chalky patina that signaled life in a hot climate. Bruno opened the door, and nodded for them to head inside.
“It’s unlocked?” Saige asked.
“The lock is broken.” Bruno pointed to the twisted metal jamb. “We should hurry.”
Isaac followed his brother inside, and Saige followed him. Bruno led them down a hallway to another door that had clearly seen better days. The scratched wood sat askew in the frame. The entire place smelled both dusty and dank. Saige grimaced. “This place feels abandoned.”
“It’s not. We entered directly into the lower level,” Isaac said, slowing. “See? There’s a stack of boxes. I bet they contain bingo cards.” He pointed.
Saige followed his finger. The boxes looked fairly new. “You have no idea if they have bingo cards.” She pursed her lips. “Not unless you can see through cardboard.”
“Isaac is correct.” Bruno handed her a card.
Saige stared down at the bingo game. Great. I’m facing an alien with a bingo card as my weapon. She looked up and saw a stack of them on a shelf set into the wall just past the door. “This is not helping my nerves, guys.” She imagined fending the thing off with paper cuts and grimaced.
Bruno chuckled as he opened the door inward, revealing a staircase. “I believe this leads to the true basement.”
Saige rubbed her stomach, wishing her anxiety would settle down. “I thought we were already in the basement.”
“This place seems to have varying levels,” Bruno replied.
Saige nodded. “We should hurry. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” She felt tired and worried. This is taking too long, she thought.
“It’ll be okay, sweetheart,” Isaac murmured, taking her hand. “I promise.”
His touch reassured her, and she squeezed his fingers, wanting to show him she wasn’t some silly girl. “How much further?” she asked once they’d descended the creaky stairs. The dank smell was stronger on the lower level.
“Not far.” Bruno led them down another dim hallway. “Here.” He stood in front of a waist-high opening. It looked like someone had cut out the old paneling and then fit it back in place. Bruno gently pulled it out and set it aside. “More steps,” he said quietly.
Isaac stepped forward. “Let me lead.” He pulled out his cell phone and flicked on the flashlight.
Bruno nodded. “Saige, you may follow him. I’ll protect your back.”
Saige managed a strained smile, and then she followed Isaac down the stairs. The wooden risers protested as they stepped down them, but the sound wasn’t loud. She hoped the alien couldn’t hear them coming. It couldn’t really speak properly, so maybe that meant it didn’t have ears? Or maybe it used some other sense to interpret human speech. She shook her head. These random thoughts are not going to help you.
“You okay?” Isaac asked quietly.
She exhaled. “How the hell will we even see the alien in here? The thing is all black. The fucking thing is hard to see even in good light,” she told him, remembering her stomach-churning attempts to look at the Other. “It has some sort of light twisting technology.” She stepped off the last stair and squinted. A dim tunnel stretched ahead of them. Dirt floors and old timber made a nose-wrinkling stench from the noxious combination of mold and dust.
“We don’t need to use our eyes. Keep your empathy open,” Isaac said.
I was afraid he’d suggest that. Saige grimaced. “Of course.” She didn’t really want to sense the alien with her brain, but what other options did they have? Isaac walked forward, and she trailed him, a hand on the small of his back. The warmth of his body reassured her, and so did the strength of his emotions. He was wary, but not frightened. And Bruno felt like a warm, solid pillar of strength behind them.
“Can you feel the Other?” Bruno asked. “I sense something ahead, but I can’t pinpoint the location. It’s muted.”
“It was difficult to sense on the road, but not impossible if you open up to full power,” Isaac said quietly. “Whatever cloaking tech it used wasn’t a hundred percent proof against our empathy.”
Saige almost stopped walking when his words prodded her into recognizing the nagging itch at the back of her skull. Why hadn’t she noticed the acrid sting of it when they’d entered the building? Because you were too busy trying not to run away screaming, she told herself. “Yeah. I sense it,” she muttered. “Unfortunately.”
“You mean ‘fortunately’. If it’s trying to hide from us, that means we can hurt it. That’s a good thing.” Isaac stopped at a curve where the tunnel split off into two directions. “It’s that way,” he said, heading forward.
Saige nodded. “Not far.”
“I am beginning to recognize the pattern of its energy,” Bruno said as they followed Isaac. The floor grew uneven, as if it had been dug long enough ago for the foundation of the passage to sink in some spots.
Saige stumbled hard on something, and Isaac grabbed her before she fell. “You okay?”
“It was a root, I think. Or a rock. Ow,” she said, flexing her foot. She shook her head, then tried to see where they were heading. She tilted Isaac’s hand to shine his dimming cell phone light down the tunnel. “What’s that? On the wall?”
“It looks like a heavy door,” Isaac said, lifting the light higher.
“A cell?” Bruno sounded surprised.
Isaac edged forward, and Saige kept close to him. When they reached the old half door, she peered through the heavy bars set in the top half. The overwhelming scent of mold and something coppery made her want to sneeze, but she held it in. The last thing she wanted to do was suck in more of the bad air. She squinted. “I think there’s someone in there, on the floor.”
“I can’t sense anyone,” Bruno murmured, hands on the door’s lock. He narrowed his eyes at the chained bolt. “He might be unconscious.”
Or dead, Saige thought, but didn’t say it out loud. Both men were smart enough to know of the possibility without her pointing it out like a ninny. She rubbed her nose. The coppery scent smelled like blood. Nothing good is in that room.
“Here,” Isaac said, handing Bruno his new blade. “Break the lock.”
“Thank you.” Bruno took it and eased the tip into the end of the bold. It cut through the mechanism like butter. The chains slid to the ground with a harsh clatter. He handed the blade back to Isaac, who sheathed it.
“Shit,” Saige said, looking up and down the hall. She could barely see anything. “I hope no one heard that.”
“The Others have poor hearing,” Bruno said, confirming her earlier speculations.
Saige nodded, then realized he probably couldn’t see her. She couldn’t even make out his face. If she hadn’t had her newly sensitive empathy to help her, she would think his brusque tone meant he was angry, instead of merely focused.
“I didn’t know that,” she murmured quietly, wondering how he knew about the aliens’ hearing. Weren’t they all supposed to be dead? Had he ever met one before today? Isaac’s emotions spilled over her when he touched her arm, warm and reassuring. She knew he meant to distract her from getting caught up in her thoughts. “Are you going in there?” she asked him.
“Yeah. You hang tight here while I check things out,” he told her.
“Ok.” She wrapped her arms around herself as he went into the cell, then shuddered as he put a finger on the neck of the man sprawled on the floor. He set his phone down, propped up so the light shone dimly through the small space.
“Damn. He’s dead. Not long, though. Early this morning, maybe.” Isaac reached under the man and rolled him over. His cell phone light highlighted the face. Half of it had been caved in. Clotted blood matted down the man’s hair. “Cause of death … blunt force trauma to the skull,” Isaac said dryly. “Obviously.”
Saige gasped when she finally recognized the distorted features, then put her hand against her mouth, hard. “Oh God,” she muttered, swallowing bile. Bruno touched her shoulder, steadying her. She sensed his concern, but it didn’t help. He wasn’t the man she wanted reassurance from. “Shit, shit, shit.” She closed her eyes, fighting back sudden tears.
“Saige?” Isaac was suddenly in front of her. He cupped her cheeks. “Sweetheart, look at me. What’s wrong?”
She shook her head, eyes still closed. “That’s my father.”
“Oh, hell.” Isaac gathered her into his arms and walked her back into the hall. “I’m sorry, Saige.”
“No. It’s okay.” Saige let herself sink into his hug even as she tried to convince herself to deal. “Did I do this to him? I just wanted him to leave me alone,” she said into his shoulder. “Maybe I should’ve let him come to my apartment.” The thought made her guts twist, but at least he’d still be alive, right?
“No, you had nothing to do with this,” Bruno stated unequivocally, shoving the lock and chains into the room. He swung the door shut, hiding the grisly remains from sight. “The Other claimed to be eradicating mutations in the code, correct?”
She nodded, then leaned back and ran a hand over her face. She turned in Isaac’s arms, but didn’t step away. She wasn’t ready to leave his warmth yet. “Yeah. It told us that, ‘Mutations in the code can not persist.’ Isaac said that meant my grandparents’ DNA had been tinkered with. I had no idea about any of this until a few days ago.” She eyed Bruno’s silhouette, wondering what he thought of all this. He didn’t speak again, and she sensed frustration from him. Isaac, on the other hand, radiated calm.
“Neither did we,” Isaac said, hands on her arms. “No one knew any of the Others were still alive. This is not your fault, Saige.”
Saige thought of stepping away from him, to show Isaac and his brother that she could handle this situation. But can I? Really? She felt like shit. She heard rustling, and then a snap. A soft green glow lit up Bruno’s face.
“I found a few old glow sticks,” Bruno said. He tossed it to the ground, then snapped another. “Darkness is not our friend right now.”
Saige wanted to take a deep breath, but the dusty mildew odor kept her from trying. “I’m okay,” she said again, trying to convince herself that she meant it. Another snap of a glow stick brightened the room to the point where she could make out the shape of the passage for several feet in either direction. The light did not help her feel any better.
“I found some cryptic reference to code in the archives last year. I thought it had something to do with the Stronghold net, not our genetic heritage.” Bruno sighed. “I was wrong. Obviously.” He stepped closer to Saige and Isaac. “I am very sorry about your father, Saige. Though he was not an admirable man, I know it still must feel shocking to find him in such dire circumstances.”
Saige hadn’t expected such sympathy from Bruno. Though I should have. He is a Sentry, and has the same empathy as Isaac. He isn’t what he appears to be on television. She took a deep breath to settle her voice. She’d survived her father’s abuse when he was alive. She would not let his death take her down. Not now. Not when she had so much to live for. “Thank you, Bruno.”
“We should keep going. I’d rather deal with the Other before it knows we’re here,” Isaac said, running a hand up and down her back comfortingly.
Saige nodded. “I agree. We need to push on.” And getting the hell away from her father’s body couldn’t hurt.
“Indeed. I sense a disturbance in the—” Bruno began to say, but a large shadow suddenly cut off his sentence. He reared back, arms flailing, and then his feet lifted off the ground. Darkness engulfed his torso. He kicked his legs wildly.
Oh, shit! Saige rushed forward. “Bruno!” Her hands encountered a cold, hard surface over Bruno’s face. Why didn’t we sense it? The alien’s armor or whatever it was stung her skin, and she cursed, but didn’t let go. She tried to push her fingers under the appendage. “Dammit! It’s got its arm over his face. He can’t breathe. Why didn’t we see it coming?” Even as she said it, she knew why. The Other had improved its cloaking tech, and it was dark as hell down here. “Fuck!”
Bruno tried to kick at the alien, but his position had no leverage. He jabbed at it with an elbow, but the Other wasn’t only stronger, it was much taller than he was.
Isaac slashed at it from the side. “Saige! Get back! I can’t get a clear angle.”
Saige shook her head. “He can’t breathe!” She could feel Bruno’s growing desperation. “Why is it trying to kill Bruno? He’s a Sentry, not a mutation. This makes no sense!” Panic gave her strength, and she tried to pry at the appendage again. She could feel Bruno’s desperation.
“Mutations in the code must not be allowed to replicate,” the Other said, unexpectedly.
Are you fucking kidding me? Saige thought, beyond pissed. “Fuck you! Bruno Day is a Sentry! Your people created him,” Saige yelled, letting go. She kicked at the alien. She could at least distract it while Isaac took it down, right?
“Mutations in the code—” it began again, but then the voice stopped with a thick cough.
“You’re a fucking mutation,” Saige muttered, trying to dig her hands around its appendage again. Her palms were on fire from its weird, acrid cloak thing, but Bruno needed her help. He wasn’t fighting back anymore. He hung limply from the alien’s grasp. “Isaac. Cut off its arm. Bruno isn’t moving,” she said roughly. She felt like crying and screaming, except neither of those would help Bruno right now. “We need to get it off of him.”
“Working on it,” Isaac said, his voice strained. “Get ready to yank hard when I say so.”
Saige couldn’t spare him a glance. She’d finally got her fingers beneath the appendage. She wrapped her fingers around Bruno’s wrist. He’d tried to protect his throat, but it obviously hadn’t done him much good. “Hurry,” she urged, not liking the clammy feel of his skin. “Bruno’s unconscious.”
“Now!” Isaac barked.
Saige dug in and pulled. The alien’s arm loosened, and she yanked harder. The appendage abruptly swung out in a direction a human’s arm would never go as Isaac jammed the blade into a joint just above Bruno’s shoulder. A sickening crunch accompanied the movement, and Saige fought a gag, but then Bruno pitched forward. Saige sprang back, barely catching him as he fell. His heavy, limp body carried her down to the ground.
The Other screamed, jerking back, and Saige gritted her teeth against the shrill sound. “Isaac! Kill it!” She groaned as Bruno’s dead weight resisted her attempts to pull him out of the way. “Shit, shit, why couldn’t you be smaller? All you guys have too many stupid muscles,” she muttered, hands on his face. “How the hell do I heal him?” She pushed energy at the Sentry, but it seemed to rebound back into her. “Fuck! I guess only mates can do that.”
“Mutations in the code.” The Other lurched forward. Black ichor spilled from the cut appendage. “Mutations should not have been allowed.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Isaac snarled at it. “We’re not mutants. You are.”
Saige glanced up. Isaac slashed at the Other, then pivoted away. The alien’s head swiveled to her, and Isaac growled, stabbing short and sharp into the creature’s torso. A flash of light lit the Other from within as the energy in the weapon discharged. More black ichor spilled down. “Do. Not. Look. At. Her.” He stabbed again. Sharp beams of light flared out from the blade as he used the stored energy to cut through the Other’s thick shielding.
Saige sensed Isaac’s savage need to protect her and stared at him for a moment, shocked. No one ever had felt that way about her before. She swallowed, awed, then turned back to Bruno. She’d have to savor Isaac’s fierce protectiveness later. She needed to get his brother breathing. “Come on,” she said, starting CPR. She pinched his nose, then took a deep breath and opened his mouth, counting as she forced air into his lungs. She did it again, and then again. Abruptly, he gasped, eyes opening. Saige rolled him onto his side as he choked, hard.
“Easy,” she said, rubbing his back.
“What—” Bruno croaked.
He sounds like shit, she thought, worried. What if that thing had damaged his carotid? “Don’t try to talk.” Saige gripped his hand. “You’re going to be okay.” She made a face. “I think. I couldn’t heal you.”
“It’s okay. I heal fast.” Bruno squeezed her fingers, choking again. Saige helped him sit up, and only then did she look for Isaac. He stood over the Other, panting. The alien lay on the ground in a crumpled heap.
“Is it dead?” Saige asked, eyes shying away from the mess. It had to be dead. Nothing could look that crumpled, and still be alive. “Please tell me it’s dead.”
“Yeah.” Isaac took a deep breath. “Unfortunately.” He rolled his shoulders, then knelt down and wiped his blade on the alien’s cloak. “I trained to kill. I never wanted to make the mistake of hesitating again. There was no way to stop it without killing it.”
It deserved killing. Saige frowned as he cleaned the ichor from his weapon. “Why is that bad? It tried to kill us.” She watched Isaac sheathe his weapon. The sense of relief she felt from him was tempered with regret. I know how that feels, she thought, thinking of her father.
“I wanted it to explain what the hell it was doing here,” Isaac said, rubbing his forehead with the back of his wrist. “Shit. Now we have nothing.”
“It did explain itself. Mutations in the code,” Saige said bitterly. “You did the right thing, Isaac. It was never going to stop until we were dead. Until I was dead. Imagine what would’ve happened if you’d hesitated.” She held his memories. She knew how tortured he’d felt about his inability to help his father save his mother.
Isaac stared at her. “I don’t—” He broke off, grimacing, then started again. “Yeah. I know you’re right. Still. I wish there’d been another way.”
“You did what you had to do,” Bruno rasped, getting to his feet. “It’s done. We protect our people.” He touched the corner of his eye. “You are a Sentry.”
Isaac nodded slowly, and touched the corner of his eye, too. “I know.”
Bruno nodded sharply, then walked to the alien. He stooped down, grimacing.
“Stop,” Isaac said, grabbing his brother when he swayed. “Before you fall on your ass.”
“I need the device in its hand,” Bruno whispered, pointing.
Saige looked at where he gestured, then scrambled across the ground. She tugged at the thing grasped in the Other’s appendage. It felt both slick and gritty. She made a face. “It feels awful.” She shuddered.
Isaac dropped to his knees beside her. “Let me have it.” He rested his ichor-streaked hands on his thighs.
Saige handed the sticky box over. Isaac pressed his index fingers into two indentations on the surface.
“No.” Bruno staggered over.
Isaac put a hand on his brother’s leg. “For fuck’s sake, Bruno. Take it easy. I’ve got this.”
Bruno shook his head violently, and Saige felt a wave of frustration from him. “This is my responsibility,” he rasped.
“Give it to him,” she told Isaac.
Isaac looked at her, and she felt his worry, but she nodded reassurance. The stubborn man is going to hurt himself if we don’t give it to him.
Isaac sighed and handed it over. When Bruno placed his fingers on the keys, a display similar to the one in the starship flared up. Saige stared at the unfamiliar symbols. “Can you read it? Because it looks like complete nonsense to me.”
Bruno nodded. “Yes.” His voice sounded stronger, but still rough.
Isaac stood up and helped her to her feet. “Well, what does it say, brother? What’s so important that you couldn’t wait for us to check you over?”
“It’s a log.” Bruno frowned, eyes flicking over the alien characters. “This particular Other has been on Earth for at least twenty years. How the hell did we miss it?”
“We weren’t looking for it.” Isaac rubbed his beard, grimacing when it spread ichor across his face. “I thought they were extinct. We all thought they were extinct.” He shook his head. “Jesus. What a mess.”
Saige pulled out a tissue from her pocket and handed it to Isaac. “Wipe your face.”
He rolled his eyes, but did as she said.
“It seems to be a lone survivor,” Bruno whispered, eyes flicking over the script.
Why are we standing around talking about this? We almost died here. My father did die here. It’s time to get the hell out of Dodge. Saige wrapped her arms around herself. “We need answers, and barring that, we need to go. Are you sure there aren’t any more of them down here?” She glanced around the tunnel, flinching when her gaze landed on the closed cell door. There’s all kinds of bad shit down here. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more secrets about to jump out at us, she mused. Isaac put a hand on her arm. She forced a smile. He pursed his lips, clearly not buying it. “I’m okay,” she whispered.
Bruno tapped something and the display changed. “Rest easy, sister. This Other was working alone.” He frowned, scrolling faster than Saige could follow. “This is a log of a resistance movement. It has entries going back two hundred years.” His voice still sounded like shit, but his surprise came through loud and clear.
Saige glanced at Isaac. He was watching his brother, eyes shadowed. “We have no record of a resistance.”
“No,” Bruno said. “The Others who changed our parents were unified in their purpose.” He coughed harshly. “This creature is an outlier.”
He shouldn’t be talking, Saige realized. “Maybe you can tell us more later, after your voice heals,” she suggested. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was get out of the dark, dusty tunnels. “This one is dead. It’s not a threat to us anymore.”
“You’re sure it was working alone?” Isaac asked. He put a hand at the small of his back to check his weapon. He didn’t seem to care that his hands smeared dark ichor on his clothes.
Watching him, Saige made a face. She hoped the thing’s blood didn’t eat through the fabric of Isaac’s jeans and burn his thigh. Her palms still tingled, and she’d only touched the alien’s arm. Isaac adjusted the blade, then took her hands. “Shh. Let me see, Saige. I can sense your pain, remember?”
Saige was about to protest, but the prickling of her skin told her he’d already healed her. “Thanks,” she murmured instead, staring at the smears of the thing’s blood on her wrists. Yuck.
He kissed her fingertips. “My pleasure.” He cleaned her skin with the tissue she’d given him. “Shh. You’re okay. I promise.”
Saige felt the warmth of his tone all the way down to her toes. It eased her more than anything else right now. Later, she told herself. You can jump his bones later.
“I am positive this Other worked alone.” Bruno coughed again. “There is no record of any others in this device.” He rubbed his throat, grimacing.
“Shit, you sound terrible. Let’s get you home. I know you have super healing abilities, but this place is not going to help you breathe any easier.” Isaac tapped his brother’s arm, and pointed to the cell. “What do you want to do about the bodies?”
“You can let my father rot,” Saige said. She wasn’t sure when she’d made the decision, but she couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Her father wasn’t someone she needed to immortalize in a mausoleum. The last thing she was going to do was visit his damned ashes.
Isaac’s surprise washed over her. “Are you sure?” He turned to her.
She shrugged, suddenly quite certain. “He’s a drug addict. No one will miss him. And I have nothing to inherit from him except bad memories. By the time anyone finds him down here, we’ll be long gone.” She wasn’t happy he was dead, but she wasn’t exactly sad, either.
“The Other will disintegrate within a few hours,” Bruno rasped. “There’s no need to do anything.”
“Stop talking,” Isaac told his brother. “You’re going to wreck your voice if you keep it up.”
Bruno sighed.
“The body will disintegrate?” Saige shuddered. “Gross.”
“It has something to do with the crystalline structure of their carapace,” Isaac said, tugging her away from the carnage.
“That doesn’t make me feel any better. That means the Other is more like the Spiders than a human,” she muttered. She followed him back to the stairs. “I feel like I need to take a shower, and then maybe a bath. And another shower after that.” The grit from the dirt floor clung to her. Her mouth felt dry as dust. She couldn’t even imagine how Bruno felt. His throat had to be killing him.
“You can sleep in the tub, if you want,” Isaac said, a hint of humor in his voice. “You might drown, but hey, it’ll be a fun way to go.”
“Very funny.” Saige snorted, then wished she hadn’t. The dank smell of the tunnel wasn’t going away until she changed clothes. “I feel … weird,” she said, once they were outside. She inhaled, trying to put the stench of the Other out of her mind as they walked back to the park and the safety of the starship. Night had fallen while they were in the tunnel. A nearly full moon glimmered low on the horizon.
“Weird?” Isaac asked as they neared the ship. “Because of your father? I can understand that.”
She nodded. Isaac boosted her up into the starship. “Yeah, that. And because, well, it’s over. He’s not following me anymore. And the alien is dead. It all happened so fast.” She didn’t know how to explain her unsettled emotions. “It doesn’t feel real.”
Bruno glanced at her as he settled into the cockpit. “Sometimes life’s greatest challenges happen in an instant, and are over just as fast.” He coughed, then made a pained sound.
“Yeah, I guess.” Saige put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for helping us.”
He nodded. “You are a Sentry.” He touched the corner of his eye very solemnly.
Saige copied the gesture, feeling ridiculous, but the smile on Bruno’s face reassured her.
“Isaac chose well,” Bruno rasped.
“Stop talking, Bruno,” Isaac said, clearly exasperated.
Bruno flashed his brother a grin, then gave him the finger.
Saige laughed, then clapped a hand over her mouth. Sentry Bruno always seemed so stern on the television, yet here he was, joking around. Amy is never going to believe this, she thought as the starship lifted off into the sky.