I run through the doors in my sock-covered feet, turn the corner, and head down the stairs. Braxton reaches the room just as I do.
“What is it?” he asks, as Hera gets up from her stool.
“The perimeter alarm by the first gate has been tripped,” she says in a surprisingly calm voice. “Nothing is appearing on the cameras, but we thought you should be notified.”
The panel in front of Gage displays the layout of the complex, as well as the location of all perimeter alarms. The alarm indicator to the top right of the panel is glowing red. A few seconds later another one illuminates on the top left of the panel. Although the cameras are in night mode, nothing is displaying on the monitors as yet.
I step closer to the screens, scanning every inch.
As the camera by the Developmental Quad rotates, I see my footprints, almost buried under the new layer of snow, along with a second set of fresh tracks.
“Rabaan,” I call through the device still in my ear.
“Yes, Trea?”
“Is anyone patrolling the far east perimeter past the Developmental Quad?”
“No, why?”
“We’ve got company.”
At that moment, the cameras that we had planted go dark. Hera pushes an emergency button on the panel in front of Gage. We watch on our screens as all windows and doors are coated with some type of film.
“What did you do?” I shout at her.
“Emergency protocol states that if there’s a breach of the complex, all windows and doors will be automatically coated with impenetrable film.”
“You’ve just locked out the guards on patrol!”
“Rabaan,” Braxton calls to him by pushing a button on the panel that controls the front entrance. “Rabaan, can you hear me?”
“Braxton, what happened? The door is sealed and we can’t get in.”
Braxton shoots Hera a dirty look. “Gather your men and try to find another way into the complex. The buildings are on lock down, but there might be another way for you to get in.”
Braxton turns to me. “Where’s Quintus?”
“He might be in my room.”
“Go get him and see if you two can get that front door open in case the patrol can’t find another way in.”
I leave, go up to the floor above, and run down the hall to my little section of the living quarters, slipping occasionally in my socked feet.
Quin is exiting my room when I enter.
“What’s going on?”
“The perimeter has been breached,” I say, as I sit down just long enough to remove the socks. “Hera placed the complex on lockdown, so Rabaan and the others on patrol outside can’t get back inside. You and I need to get up to the front entrance to try and open it.”
I strip off the pants, removing the Levin gun from the front pocket and tucking it into my waistband. We rush up to the main level, taking two steps at a time. As we exit through the doors into the entryway, we see bright blue flashes outside. Quin picks up the Beta rifle from where I left it. We take our places in front of the glass doors, weapons raised.
Rabaan is firing into the woods as he crouches behind one of the vehicles off to the right. Two Morrigan lay motionless on the ground a few meters to the left. I can’t tell if they’re dead or simply wounded. Lehen and three other Morrigan are standing their ground just a few feet from the bodies.
A deflagration round detonates in front of the entrance. Quin and I both duck, but the device doesn’t penetrate the glass. Another round hits one of the vehicles, sending shrapnel flying. Rabaan shrinks back against the building after taking a hit in the shoulder. Frustrated, I raise the Levin gun at the door and fire. The energy blast is absorbed by the film, a blue wave rippling through the clear coating, dissipating away from the initial hit.
Another explosion radiates a few feet away, shaking the building slightly.
I get close up to the glass to see where it hit, when I spot Rabaan dragging himself over to the door, legs badly wounded. Quin tries his turn at blasting the glass with the Beta rifle, but it has no effect. He drops the weapon and tries to manually force open the door. I drop down to my knees and try to assist by pushing on the lower half. From the corner of my eye, I see a bright blue glow begin to radiate from Quin. It pours into the doorframe as he applies more pressure.
The film begins to quiver, pieces fragmenting slightly. I look out and see Rabaan watching, his battered body leaning against the glass. His focus changes to my face, an expression of sadness on his. He places his right palm onto the glass. I mirror him, my hand pressing against his.
He might not have always been on the right side of this struggle, but he did what he could when asked. I can think of worse people in the world.
A burst of brightness causes my vision to momentarily falter.
Rabaan sinks to the ground as a hole is opened in his chest.
“No!” I scream, as the protective film on the entrance shatters.
Quin pushes the doors open. I pull Rabaan’s body in as Quin shouts for the others.
Two of the Morrigan take Rabaan from me as they enter, dragging him further in. I fire my Levin gun at the Hostem outside, trying to provide cover for Lehen as he and another wounded Morrigan limp their way towards us.
Once everyone is safe, Quin closes the door. The protective film for the entrance doesn’t reappear.
“Everyone to the emergency bunker,” I hear Superior Hersher announce over the speakers. “This is not a drill. Everyone must evacuate to the emergency bunker.”
“You heard the lady,” Lehen says.
He and Quin practically carry the Morrigan through the doors and down the hall to the connection bridge, but I linger behind, watching the door close behind the group.
I kneel next to Rabaan, closing his eyes, check his uniform, and
