Ethan’s boots hammered on the metal grid work as he ran behind Becca. The seeds of misgiving Cade planted earlier had sprouted and grown in his belly. He didn’t like being down here one damn bit. As soon as they’d dealt with whatever was happening at the infirmary, he was going to the docking bay to hurry up Finn’s repairs.

Dr. Chase Redd was sitting bolt upright when Ethan stormed into the small medical suite on Becca’s heels. Shaw was with him, offering him a glass of water. Betty Soh was nearby, her face creased with concern behind her large glasses. Relief smoothed her features as soon as Becca entered the room.

Ethan quickly scanned the room. There was no sign of Luca. “Where’s Luca?” Ethan demanded, his voice louder than he intended.

Shaw shook his head, the glass poised at Redd’s lips. “He left for engineering.”

Shit.

Redd swatted the water out the way, upending it over the blanket as he ripped the oxygen mask from his face. His eyes were dark slits, his mouth turned down in an angry snarl. It was hard for Ethan to imagine him as a serious scientist.

“Chase, you need to keep that mask on.” Becca hurried to the bed as Shaw bent to mop up the water. “Your oxygen sats were really low. Please.” She took the mask from Redd’s claw-like grip and tried to place it back over his nose and mouth, but he swiped at her hand, hurling the mask to the floor. Ethan lunged forward, his heart tripping. No one touched Becca like that, sick or not.

Redd ripped back the silvered sheets and swung his legs out the bed. His bare feet hit the floor with a slap. “Fucking get out of my way,” he growled.

Before Ethan could intervene, Becca caught Redd’s wrist.

Damn. Fearless as ever.

Ethan sidestepped, ready to assist if she needed him.

Redd wrenched his wrist free. “Out of my way, Johnson. I have shit to do.” He straightened, his skinny, bare legs sticking out from a knee-length hospital gown.

He swayed upward, and Becca swooped in once more. She took his arm and pushed him gently back onto the bed. Her tone was brisk and efficient. “Redd, I’ve already told you. You’re weak and you need to rest. Your body has been through a hell of a trauma.”

Ethan lifted the man’s feet off the floor and back onto the mattress. The hospital gown shifted, and Ethan got a glimpse of a dressed wound on Redd’s leg. The white gauze was soaked through, yellowy green fluid seeping from the edges.

Nasty.

Ethan touched Becca’s waist. “Becca, have you seen his leg?"

“Sorry?” she said, distracted.

Redd was shifting restlessly on the bed, twisting from side to side. “Out. I tell you. Spiders! Crabs! Crawling all over everyone.”

Ethan shot a confused glance at Becca. “What the hell does he mean?”

Becca shook her head and bit down on her lower lip in concentration. “He’s still in shock.” She bent lower to catch Redd’s gaze. “Chase, I need to check the wound on your thigh.”

“Out. Out. Time to travel.” Spittle flecked Redd’s lips as he scowled at Becca and Ethan.

Ethan’s hands fisted at his sides and he took an instinctive step forward. Becca’s closeness to Redd was setting his teeth on edge. His fingers hovered protectively at the small of her back. “Becca—”

Redd lashed out, hitting Becca across the face in a violent blow that sent her reeling. Ethan caught her before she hit the floor, his arm locking protectively around her waist. He yanked her out of Redd’s reach as Redd tumbled from the bed, spitting expletives. He squatted on the floor for a few seconds, his hospital gown a crumpled mess around him as a stunned silence dominated the room.

Shaw remained on the other side of the bed, cloth in one hand, broken glass in the other. “Dr. Redd?”

Redd slowly stretched his head from side to side, his lips peeling back from his teeth in a grimace. He lunged at Betty Soh and laughed when she screamed and dropped her clipboard. She stumbled, then scrambled for the safety of a small office space located off the far side of the room. Her face appeared at the window, her mouth wide with fear.

Redd pointed and laughed.

Ethan shoved Becca behind him and readied himself as Redd glanced from Shaw to Ethan and back again. Ethan touched the holster of his handgun, but Becca’s soft fingers closed over his. “No,” she whispered in his ear.

“Well, what then?” he muttered, not hiding the frustration in his tone.

Redd decided for him, lunging upward. Ethan didn’t give him time to pick the weaker man. He dove for Redd, snagging him in a bear hug around the waist and toppling him. They crashed to the floor together, and something wet and tight exploded in a harsh pop under Ethan’s forearm. He winced and rolled, fighting to gain control of the wild scientist.

Redd jolted under Ethan’s restraint like he’d been electrocuted, and an unearthly keening escaped his throat. Ethan lunged for a wrist, but Redd was lightning fast, his torso barely contained by Ethan’s heavy weight. He bucked, the back of his head jackhammering backward missing Ethan’s face by a whisper of air. Damn. Ethan hardened his grip.

“Ethan, he’s seizing. Get off him.” Becca’s voice penetrated the protective haze in Ethan’s mind. She slammed a loaded hypodermic into Redd’s bicep and depressed the plunger fully. Redd sagged almost instantly, his body releasing and softening under Ethan. His eyes fluttered closed.

“Shit.” Becca gasped.

Ethan rolled off the inert Redd, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. Adrenalin still punched through his veins and his hands trembled as he rocked into a kneeling position. “Becca, you okay?”

Redd cracked one eye open at the sound of Ethan’s voice then leaped up as if pulled by elastic, his feet finding the floor with a velocity Ethan could barely track.

What the fuck?

“Chase! No!” Becca lunged for him, trying to grasp the tails of his hospital gown, but Redd was already at the door of the infirmary, cackling while he slammed the door controls, his bare butt sticking out of the gown.

The door slid open and Redd took off, sprinting down the corridor, his scrawny legs pistoning.

“Aimee, seal the corridors,” Becca shouted.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Johnson. Door seals are offline right now,” Aimee replied, her voice smooth.

“What?” Becca spat. “Aimee, seal the corridor now.”

“Correcting power outage and waiting for doors locks to come online, Dr. Johnson.”

Ethan pulled Becca to her to her feet. “Did he hurt you at all?” He skimmed her arms and sides with his hands, looking for any signs of blood.

She shook him off, her eyes blazing. “Ethan, I’m fine.” Her chest was rising and falling in rapid agitation. She raised a hand and took a breath. Her voice lowered. “Sorry. It’s not your fault. I’m fine, thank you. Damn.” She looked around. “Betty, you okay?”

Betty Soh crept out the office, her cheeks flushed, hand clutching the base of her throat. “I’m fine. Becca, he was insane.”

Becca nodded. “Shaw?”

“I’m okay. What the hell was that Becca? HPNS?”

Becca shook her head.

“Not like any HPNS I’ve ever seen,” Ethan said, unholstering his handgun.

Becca stepped in front of him, blocking his exit. “I’m his doctor, and I’m telling you, you’re not going after my patient with a gun.”

Ethan did his best to suppress a snort of derision. “Becca, did you see what just happened?”

“We need to get him back here. He’s sick.”

“Yeah. And dangerous, Becca. Crazy and dangerous.”

She shot him a stony stare then turned and grabbed a drugs vial and paper-wrapped hypodermics. She stuffed them in her pocket, her movements choppy and angry. “Come on.”

“Door locks are now online,” Aimee chimed.

Ethan rolled his eyes. “Well, that’s just dandy. I don’t suppose Dr. Redd is still in the corridor?”

Aimee didn’t miss a beat. “No, Ethan Carter. He is not.”

“Not programmed for sarcasm, is she?” The lights flickered above Ethan’s head then pulsed far brighter than they should have.

Damn, what now?

Then absolute darkness.