“Some of the dead bodies are moving.” Tane’s voice was sharp. “Something’s coming out of the piles.”
Indy’s screen flared to life with heat signatures. A lot of them. Arden gasped.
“Squad Three, you have—” Indy made a frustrated sound “—a fuckload of medium-sized heat signatures incoming.”
“We see them.”
Tane’s voice was cool and controlled. On screen, dark shadows leaped out of the piles of bodies. They moved across the ground in a lightning-fast wiggle. They looked like giant worms.
They rushed at the berserkers.
Arden watched one of the creatures leap right at Tane. Indy and Arden had a clear view of the bottom of the alien—it had a wide, red sucker mouth. The thing looked like a giant leech.
Carbine fire erupted.
All around, more of the alien leeches were flinging themselves at the berserkers. The squad was cursing and fighting.
Arden touched her screen. “Roth, Squad Three are under attack by leech-like aliens.”
“Acknowledged,” Roth’s deep voice responded. “We’re headed their way.”
“One touched my armor,” Hemi yelled. “It’s sizzling. Saliva is corrosive or poisonous, or something.”
“Fuck.” Indy was tapping furiously on the keyboard.
Arden watched more laser fire light up the sky. “They’ll be okay, Indy. They’re tough. And Nine’s on the way.”
Indy nodded, but her face was pinched.
Watching the fighting, Arden tried to keep her own worry hidden. Come on, come on. She knew that the berserkers were tough, excellent fighters. They fought hard and dirty. They’d be okay.
She searched the screen for any sign of Dom.
Then she heard Hemi’s deep shout. “Fuck! Help.”
“There’s a sucker on Hemi,” Levi yelled.
“Get it off me!” Hemi bellowed.
Tane was sprinting toward his brother and, on screen, Arden saw Dom leap over several bodies, knives in both hands.
Dom reached Hemi first. The bearded berserker was on the ground, wrestling with the giant leech attached to his chest. Dom dropped down, slashing at the sucker. As soon as he cut into it, it exploded. Gore flew everywhere.
Hemi sat up, roaring.
“Three more suckers incoming, Dom,” Indy said frantically.
Arden pulled in a shuddering breath. She saw the horrible creatures slithering across the ground, honing in on Dom and Hemi. Oh, God.
Chapter Five
Dom gripped the neck of Hemi’s armor and dragged the man aside. Hemi grunted, the side of his neck covered in nasty burns.
“Watch…out,” Hemi bit out.
Turning, Dom saw another sucker rushing across the ground at them. He slashed out with his knife, the blade cutting into fleshy skin. It exploded.
Another creature leaped into the air, hungry mouth opening and closing. Dom thrust the knife in deep. Splat. He spun again and saw a third one slithering across the ground. He kicked it and when it flipped, he threw his knife at it.
Another explosion of gore. Dom scooped up his knife and shoved it back in its sheath. Then he gripped Hemi’s armor and dragged the man away from the danger zone.
Ash raced over to help. The taller man grabbed Hemi from the opposite side, and together they set him down on the grass. Dropping to his knees, Ash yanked open his small med kit. He leaned over to treat Hemi’s injury.
“Hang in there, my man,” Ash murmured.
Dom straightened, scanning for more suckers. The front of his armor was splattered with gore, and steaming lightly.
The rest of the squad was firing. More suckers were racing across the ground from the piles of bodies. Dom tightened his grip on his knives. He’d always been good with the blade. He’d trained with knives ever since Salvatore had given him his first one as a boy.
Striding forward, he saw Tane and Levi spraying carbine fire. Griff kicked one of the suckers into the air. Then aimed his carbine and unloaded laser fire into it.
“There are more of them in the bodies,” Griff yelled.
“Indy, we need back-up,” Tane barked out.
“Squad Nine is on the way,” Indy said in their earpieces.
Dom glanced over to check on Ash and Hemi. Ash had the other man on his feet, but Hemi looked like he’d been on a three-day bender, then lost a boxing match.
“Anyone see the bomb?” Dom searched the area.
“Dom, you’re right near the signal.” The voice in his earpiece didn’t belong to Indy. It was Arden.
Her cool voice moved through him. He could easily picture her sitting in the Command Center. Hell, he could smell her, still taste her. He closed his eyes for a second. He was so weak.
When he opened his eyes, another sucker came at him. He bent low, his knife flashing. As the sucker’s body disintegrated, he scanned the ground again.
“I can’t see a bomb,” Dom said.
“Motherfuckers.” Suddenly, Hemi stepped forward and aimed his carbine. He sprayed laser fire around.
“Painkillers kicked in,” Ash said dryly.
“Dom, behind you,” Griff yelled.
Dom swiveled and spotted a sucker coming up behind him. He slammed his boot down on top of it. It twisted and made a hissing noise. He brought his knife down through its head.
It exploded.
Wincing, he yanked his knife out. He’d had enough blood and guts for the day.
Something glinted in the remnants of the sucker. Cazzo. He toed his boot through the mess.
“Indy, Arden. I found the tracker. It was in one of the suckers.” It was corroded from being inside the alien. He crunched his boot down on it. They tried to never waste tech, but the tracker was damaged, and who knew if the Gizzida had hacked it. “The bomb’s not here.”
All around him, his squad mates cursed.
“Squad Three, mission fucking aborted,” Tane said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“With pleasure.” Levi stomped closer, his carbine still aimed at the corpses.
They all closed in, backing up together and moving away from the lake.
“I have the Hawk en route,” Indy said. “Get back to the rendezvous point.”
“I see the Darkswifts,” Ash called out.
Dom glanced to the west and saw the dark shadows of the powered gliders in the sky above the far end of the lake. Then, as he took a step backward, his boot hit something wooden. He heard a splintering sound, and his foot dropped through.
Cazzo. His leg was stuck up
