Ear-splitting screams clawed at Sawyer’s ears as he scanned the seething mass of Scutters blocking the path ahead.

“… answer me?” The tiny transmission unit lodged in his ear vibrated from the force of Foster’s voice.

Ahead, Scutters milled in a rhythm all of their own, unaware of the closeness of the humans. The agitated click and slide of their pincers rose over the rustle of the water, oscillating against his bare forearm even from a distance. He gently pressed against Julia, pushing her back around the corner and out of sight of the snapping aliens. She retreated with him, inch by inch, not taking her eyes from the Scutters until they were no longer visible.

She sagged against his forearm when they were hidden again, and he lingered for a second against the soft swell of her body. He told himself he was providing reassurance. Whatever.

Sawyer touched the button to speak. “Foster, stop yelling in my ear. You’re going to blow my ear drums.”

“Thank fuck.” Foster’s high-speed voiced rattled over the airwaves. “I’ve lost communication with Darr. Garrick is going absolutely fucking mental. Where are you?”

Sawyer squeezed the earpiece as if his fingers could change the facts he was hearing. “How can you have lost contact with Darr? He’s with you.”

Julia flattened against the brick wall, oblivious to the stream of water soaking it as she processed the conversation through her own headset. Sawyer wished for a mute button as he watched her eyes slide closed, her fingers clutching the Sweeper tightly.

“Foster?” he repeated. He shook his head at Anna and Hardy as they approached, Bailey tailing them. Hardy stole forward, dropping to a crouch to check the situation beyond the corner.

Exhaustion soaked into Sawyer along with the water. He willed Foster to answer, pinching his bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger. Their route was blocked. He rubbed his face in an effort to focus.

Foster crackled back into range. “A whole fucking shoal of Scutters appeared out of nowhere…cut Darr off. He’s gone. No fucking idea if he’s still around, or if he’s taken off. We’re too close to the nest to blast the Scutters. It could wake the whole nest…” Garbled voices in the background rose and fell in disjointed symphony.

“Foster?”

Anna touched her own earpiece, her expression serious. “You hear that?”

Sawyer grimaced. “Foster?”

More garbled noises. Voices. A thick rasp, like the slice of a grasshopper’s thigh against brittle wings, swooped and reverberated through the receiver.

Sawyer pressed the transmission button again, already concerned it was futile. “Foster, our map’s failed. We’ve been forced to track the Chittrix acoustically, but we’re at a dead end.”

He stopped. Still leaning in the stream of water, her hair slicked in dark rivulets to her face, Julia had opened her eyes. She pointed over his shoulder.

Slowly, Sawyer turned.

Behind him, the brickwork was torn open, a dark maw in the human construction, partly concealed by a dirty waterfall from a split in the tunnel roof. A new passageway.

Sawyer waded over and touched the savaged bricks. Red, dusty sludge coated his fingertips. “Fresh.”

Julia plowed against the current to join him, clutching the Sweeper protectively to her abdomen. She assessed the gouged entrance, taking in the jagged edges.

“Wow,” Anna whispered, her lips parted in disbelief. She took a step inside the entrance, stretching her hands to touch the interior.

Sawyer lurched forward. “Anna—”

Wonder and fear filled her voice. “Sawyer, look.”

He dropped his hand and targeted the walls with his headlamp, shadows jumping and twisting under the exploring beam. Sweeping curlicues and layers of scales, waves and waves of them, crusted the walls, reflecting the red light like shiny, organic tiling. Occasional patches of brickwork were exposed where the scales had failed to completely cover the original architecture, scabby patches of human construction that the Chittrix had failed to obscure.

At least, Sawyer assumed it was organic. He touched it despite a burning desire to run the other way. The scales flexed, bending and accommodating to the pressure of his hand. He snatched his fingers back, wiping them on his trousers and swearing under his breath.

“You ever seen anything like this?” he asked Anna.

“Yes.” Anna looked at him directly. “The primary hive. Deep in the primary hive.”

Julia stepped into the chamber, her face lit by the blue light of the Sweeper. “It’s not the route we planned, but the direction of this passage leads to the Chittrix signature.” Awe infused her voice as she peered at the organic layers surrounding them. On the ceiling, more rust-colored anemone-like plants burst like ruptured veins between the scales.

Sawyer heaved a heavy sigh. “Guess we don’t have much choice then.”

Hardy appeared, squinting into the dripping gloom.

“Scutters are agitating.” He took a step, the light from his pulse rifle scouring the scaled construction. “This the way forward?”

Sawyer directed his headlamp beam into the bowels of the tunnel where darkness absorbed the meager light. “Apparently.”

This tunnel was much smaller, enough to let a seven or eight-foot Chittrix move through the gap, but with walls narrow enough Sawyer could touch them with both hands simultaneously. He swallowed the rise of claustrophobia in his throat.

Vibrations rose under his feet, powering through the ever-present water. It was only a ticking hum, but there nonetheless. “Do you feel that?” he whispered.

Julia’s voice was hushed. “We must be close.”

Shadows grazed the periphery of his perception and he swung his rifle up and fired, realizing too late it was only rats, the pulse rifle burning their bodies into oblivion. The blast of the laser was unnaturally loud in the enclosed space, echoing painfully in his ears.

As the aftershock eased, Julia stumbled against him, gasping in big, hitching breaths. One hand abandoned the Sweeper, and she faltered against the wall, grabbing it for support.

Sawyer stepped closer, catching the tops of her arms in a firm grip. Her scent filled his brain, obliterating the funk of the sewer for a blessed moment. He bent low, whispering directly into the warm shell of her ear. “Slow down. It’s just a panic attack.”

She nodded, sucking air in through her nose.

“I know. Sorry,” she rasped. “Rats. Enclosed spaces. Water.” Her face was bloodless and tight. Shit.

Sawyer raised his head to speak to Hardy, but the words stuck in his throat as three Scutters raced through the broken tunnel entrance. They bolted along the scaly walls, armored claws vibrating in excited spasms.

“Scutters!” Bailey shouted from the rear as the aliens rushed excitedly for the small group. Julia pivoted and grabbing her SIG from its holster she discharged a full round into the scaled wall. Bailey followed suit with his pulse rifle, scorching the glossy bodies. The chitinous skeletons cracked and ruptured under the laser blast, knocking the flailing Scutters into the water in a boiling, hissing rattle.

Julia recoiled and lurched backward, colliding with Sawyer.

Damn. The Scutters were in the water, and he had no idea if they were dead or not. He fired his own pulse rifle downwards in short, controlled bursts then grabbed Julia by the arm, hustling through her resistance and dragging her further into the tunnel.

“Run,” he screamed, pushing her past where the aliens lurked in the muddy, sucking filth. Julia charged forward, holding the Sweeper aloft, shafts of light jumping as she bolted. Anna followed, Hardy covering her back, sweeping for more aliens as he retreated.

The wall was bulging and fragmenting where Julia had directed the SIG. Scales shattered from it, cascading towards the water in a splintering racket.

Sawyer’s pulse thrashed in his ears. Wall’s going to cave in.

Hardy saw it too, catching Anna’s elbow and swooping her backward off her feet, away from the disintegrating walls.

“Get out of the water!” Sawyer boosted himself onto a small ledge opposite the layered encrustations then shot out a hand to Julia and yanked with all his strength, wrenching her up in a violent tug. Her fingers gripped his forearm, and then she tumbled onto him, the Sweeper smashing painfully between their bodies. Sawyer kicked and rolled, covering Julia’s body with his own, his arms curved protectively around her head.

An ear-splitting roar blasted through the cramped space, shuddering through Sawyer’s bones. He tried not to inhale as organic matter and black soot clogged the air and spattered his back, obliterating everything. He waited, counting three complete rotations of the illuminated hands of his watch. The ticking motion kept him grounded while his heart tried to bust its way out his chest. Cramping in his ribs eased as the seconds marched on. When he could finally see the other side of the tunnel again, he released his grip and slid off Julia.

For a moment she didn’t move. Then she tilted her head in his direction, the whites of her eyes in stark contrast to her dirty face.

He nodded, gesturing for her to get up. “It’s okay now.” He sat up, wiping debris from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

As the air settled around them, there was no sign of Hardy, Anna, or Bailey. Sawyer pressed the transmission unit in his ear, but it didn’t even crackle with static. Sliding into the water, he retraced their steps to a mountain of bricks and rubble that extended to the ceiling.

The entrance was sealed off.

They were completely alone.