The Kill Order

Chapter 14

"Jen? Jen, where are you?" Troy practically trampled me trying to get inside the base.

With a worried glance at Johnson, I sprinted after my squad-mate. The battlefield was surprisingly low on gore. Kwan was applying pressure to a wound on Collins' leg, but the only other injuries appeared to be to our pride.

Troyan and I burst into the base at about the same time – on foot, I was still fast enough to overtake him. He frantically moved down the hallways, calling Jennifer's name over and over again as my heart sank lower in my chest with each step.

It was deathly silent and still inside the base. There was more blood in the hallways than I'd seen outside, and as I checked the armory, I found one of the few guards stationed at the base practically ripped to shreds. Troy barely spared the corpse a passing glance as he continued searching for Jen.

I knelt down beside the pile of meat that must have once been a human. His head was nowhere in sight, and what little skin he had left was coated in thick blood. Pieces of his body were scattered around the room, and his insides were disgustingly visible. The sight and smell bothered me less than they should have, but I still felt myself holding back vomit. As this man lay dying, I was out in the forest playing nice with one of the creatures who had done this to him. I hated the wolves. I hated my team, for not being here. I hated Mason.

I hated myself.

After finding some of the scraps of his combat uniform, I finally landed on the nametag, and pulled it free with a sigh of relief. Richard Marks. At least now we would have a name to send home to his family.

Knowing there was nothing more I could do for him, I left the room, his name still clutched in one hand.

Jennifer's name better not be next on the list.

Down the hall was the medical bay, where I found Troyan pacing anxiously. "I think she's in there, Shep, but I can't get in," he said, his eyes frantic.

Glancing at the door, I realized the genius of it. The medics had barricaded themselves in the med-bay, and destroyed the lock mechanism so no one could follow. The door itself was reinforced enough that I doubted even a wolf could break it down.

I glanced at the electronic lock for half a second, before being disrupted by a loud crash. Troyan was hurling his own body at the door. After his initial attempt, he backed off, and prepared to launch himself at it again.

Gritting my teeth, I slammed into his side before he could attack again. "Troy, cut it out! You're not helping. Go get Kwan, he can hack this faster than either of us." My squad-mate looked like he might argue, but I gave him my most imperious glare. "You want to help her? Go. Now."

He left with a murderous look in his eyes. At least he went.

Without his distraction, I pried open the panel with the tip of a knife, and began examining the wires. If I remembered correctly, I could override the automatic lock with the correct series of impulses to mimic the open code. After an examination of the touchpad, I carefully connected the wires in the eight number sequence.