As they exited the last few hundred feet of the hive, Garrick’s lungs burned from lack of oxygen, and his eyes stung viciously from the Chittrix lice fluid. But Anna’s hand was in his, and he wasn’t letting go.

Finally, light flooded the last part of the tunnel, suffusing the organic walls, illuminating their route. Hardy reached the end first, his body silhouetted in daylight.

He turned, catching Violet and hustling her away from the exit. They collided with Garrick and Anna.

Hardy knocked his head backwards against the wall in violent frustration.

“No way out. The exit opens onto hundreds of Chittrix. You can’t even see the ground. We’re lucky they didn’t spot us,” Hardy said, the muscles in his neck corded.

“We can’t go back. They’re behind us as well.” Anna twisted in Garrick’s grip, wiping tears and gunk from her cheek.

The incessant chittering and burring following them rose in intensity, and Garrick, crouching low, took a few steps and peered round the corner. The alien lice were reclaiming the tunnel as their own. They obscured all surfaces, including the roof. Garrick withdrew, resting his back against the wall, and ran a bloody palm across his face.

There was nowhere left to run.

He shook his head at Hardy. “Nearly on us.”

He reached for Anna’s hand and touched it to his cheek.

Suddenly, the air between them flickered, and then hypersonic pressure burned through Garrick in a scalding tsunami of energy. It forcibly penetrated every cell in his body before hurling him against the floor of the hive. His vision blurred, as Anna and the others were also thrown from their feet by the invisible pulse. Beneath him, the floor twisted and bucked.

A heavy, weighted silence engulfed him, the stillness disorientating after the frenzy of the Chittrix lice. His breath was hot against his face, as he lay unable to move, waiting for the feeling to return to his numb limbs. Finally, a rush of blood warmed his feet, and sensation rolled into his legs again. He pulled himself up on to his hands and knees, coughing up blood and spit. Beside him, Anna spluttered and rolled onto her side, dragging in great lungfuls of air. Sound slowly filtered back into Garrick’s brain; Violet groaning, and Hardy swearing imperceptibly on the edges of his hearing.

Anna stood first, her hands outstretched in wonder, running her fingers down the scaled edges of the tunnel. Tiny fragments blistered and crumbled beneath her fingertips and fluttered to the earth in a sprinkle of flaked amber crystal.

“It worked,” she said, turning to Garrick, her face happy and luminous.

* * *

They climbed out the hive into daylight, blinking in the brightness after the muted light of the hive.

Chittrix and Scutters lay dead in disjointed, crumbled piles over hundreds of feet of grass. Garrick took a few hesitant steps to the closest Chittrix. The abdomen was shattered; internal organs exploded outwards in a jellied rush. He withdrew hastily. The silence of the dead aliens him was all the proof he needed. He’d seen enough.

“It really worked,” Violet said, her voice breaking the hush.

Hardy kicked one of the corpses, and it slid apart as if dissected by scalpels. He stood and stared, his pulse rifle hanging mute at his side. “Bloody amazing.”

Anna tugged Garrick’s hand, her face serious. “The Sweeper’s only taken out the hive. Others will return any minute.”

* * *

Filthy and shattered Garrick led them across the black field of dead insects, heading west, but when the Coyote came crashing through a narrow street directly ahead, relief gave him a final surge of energy. He whooped loudly, waving his arm to attract attention.

The driver was nowhere to be seen as it skidded to a halt, then the roof hatch clanged open, and Foster appeared. He slammed the sides of the vehicle in a metallic thump as he climbed out and stood on the bonnet. He spread his arms wide in appreciation of the devastation in front of him then gestured wildly at Garrick and the others.

“Fucking hurry up!” he shouted, as he jumped to the stony road, making sweeping gestures with his hands.

The smaller Jackal came careening around the corner, Sawyer caning the engine.

Garrick helped Violet and Anna into the Coyote as Foster ran a few paces away and crouched over a bulging kit bag. With a sly grin at Garrick he adjusted the rocket launcher on his shoulder, the digital visuals engaged and loading. He beamed over his shoulder and winked.

“Extra gift to finish things off.”

The rocket launcher gave a three second engagement beep then fired, almost throwing Foster onto his back. It shot high into the sky, a silvery-grey dart with a plume of brilliant white, arcing above their heads before turning and pointing directly at the ravaged hive to deliver its deadly payload.

As Garrick slammed the hatch shut on the Coyote, the explosion rocked the vehicle, throwing him painfully against the metal sides.

He hurled himself into a seat and grabbed Anna’s hand as Foster threw the engine into gear and floored it.

Anna squeezed his hand. Now that they were safe, tears of happiness welled in her eyes. “You came and got me.”

He lifted her fingers to his mouth and kissed her scratched knuckles.

“Always.”