Vlad awoke with a start, eyes snapping open in his darkened office. A small red light was blinking urgently on his console. A sick feeling of dread flooded his stomach. Had Danny escaped?
"Alert status update!" he demanded, turning to face his monitor screen.
But no. It couldn't be Danny. The alert was being triggered from outside the compound. Vlad narrowed his eyes as the screen came into focus.
"Scan for life forms," he ordered.
The security system complied, providing him a view of the approaching craft. It was clearly military, with mounted blasters and an armored shell. Scans showed only a single life form inside.
"Identify."
"One life form detected on board. Initial scans seem to indicate it is an adult male Grangen. Multiple pieces of integrated technology are embedded in the body. What are your orders?"A smooth female voice responded.
Panic gripped Vlad.
"Lock down the compound! Full offensive measures authorized once target is in range. Alert all Halphas to gather in the memory room!" he commanded, lunging to his feet.
...........................................................................
Danny was jerked from his apathetic doze by flashing red lights and alarms. What was going on? Was this another trick from Vlad, trying to mess with him one more time? His irritation grew as the loud alerts continued. He could do anything to shut it off. He couldn't even cover his ears!
But an undercurrent of mixed worry and hope grew. This didn't feel like it had been planned. This was something else. Space Corps? Or was someone else breaking in, trying to rescue them?
Renewed with fresh energy, Danny began to struggle against his bonds again. Somehow Vlad had made these shackled impervious to phasing. But how much heat could they take?
Danny took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart and block out the incessant lights and noise.
He began to glow. He felt the heat surging through him, renewed and strengthened with every beat of his heart. The metal around his neck, hands, and legs grew hot. But it only added to the power pulsing from his skin. Danny took deep panting breaths, willing his hands to burst through their restraints.
The metal grew searing hot as it glowed red. Steam began to rise from his skin as he struggled. A silent scream of frustration and desperation swelled in his throat, threatening to choke him, to kill him.
With one massive effort, he wrenched his right hand free. The muscles screamed as the hand flew outward, his skin torn and bloodied around the wrist. Bruises glowed vibrantly around the arm.
Still pumped full of adrenaline, Danny began to work on melting the other cuffs.
YOU ARE READING
Split Between Stars
Science Fiction(Sequel to Half Life) Danny has lived his whole life thinking he was the sole survivor of Halpha's destruction. Space Corps has hunted him and his kind for years, making it almost impossible to survive. But after being saved from their clutches at...
