“Cap,” Kat said, trying to push open the passenger side door and finding it stuck against the dirt berm we’d created with our crash.

  I threw open the driver’s side door and quickly climbed out, Ixitat right behind me. The aliens seemed to hesitate momentarily when they saw her, more like them in her appearance than she was to a human. It only lasted a split second before they regained momentum, racing toward us by using their long upper arms to help propel them along the ground.

  Clearing the car, Kat opened fire, plasma bolts ripping through the alien ranks, cutting them down one after another. Though their numbers made it impossible for him to staunch the advance on his own, the creatures didn’t seem all that durable.

  Trying to conserve energy as much as possible, I didn’t immediately go on the offensive. Instead, I pulled the dirt up in front of us to make a quick barrier. Eight feet was more than high enough to prevent the demons from going over it to get to us. It forced them to go around, funneling them into either Kat or Ixitat.

  Or so I thought.

  The first demon vaulted the berm and landed on the hood of the Mustang, claws sinking through the sheet metal. The rest of the group followed, clawing their way over the barrier as well as going around and leaving them much closer than before.

  “Bad idea,” I said, cringing. Kat hit a button on his rifle and a blade extended from beneath the muzzle. He swung it at the first creature that got within range, neatly cutting its throat before shooting a second. On the other side, Ixitat slashed three of them at one time, each with a different limb before biting the head off a fourth. I grabbed my gun and started shooting at the ones that had landed on the Mustang.

  For the first time, I noticed the sound of distant gunfire. Projectile weapons. Their echo indicated that either Yen had sent in the cavalry—which I doubted—or the countdown had hit zero. More likely, the prisoners had all been released. Moments later, much closer gunfire added to the din.

  The creatures continued pouring over and around the barrier, desperately trying to reach Kat and me. They didn’t pay as much mind to Ixy, more eager to bypass her than claw her face off, though she didn’t let them do either. She stabbed and bit the creatures, ferociously defending against the onslaught with her body while Kat did the same with his gun. He stabbed and sliced his way through the creatures with his rifle's retractable bayonet while judiciously firing plasma bolts. I held up my end mostly without using sigiltech, my energy blasts ripping into the relatively fragile creatures that tried to come at us from behind. Occasionally, I needed to push one or two back, but they seemed too light for their size and just a regular shove could knock them on their asses.

  I wasn’t sure how long we were at it. Long enough that there was a literal pile of the creatures surrounding us by the time the assault began to subside, their equally dark blood staining the chewed up ground at our feet. The Mustang’s windows had all broken and the hood, roof and along the frame looked like someone had taken a razor blade to the metal. If Matt ever saw the car like this, I was sure he would burst into tears.

  The gunfire surrounding us slowed to a stop as either the shooters killed the creatures attacking them or were themselves killed. Meanwhile, the drones continued sitting overhead, circling the combat area and broadcasting it across the Spiral, likely cutting in footage from the entire collection of cameras. At least the broadcast would inform Keep and the others of what was happening here.

  Kat growled as he bayoneted the last of the creatures, pushing it to the ground and twisting the blade in its neck before yanking it back out. Eyes wildly searching for the next target and realizing there wasn’t one, he retracted the bayonet and quickly replaced his used energy cell with a fresh one. Looking over at me, his expression silently asked me what we were supposed to do now.

  I didn’t have a chance to answer before one of the Kill Spree players came around the berm. Clutching a rusted conventional rifle and dressed in what were probably surplus fatigues, he wore an armored plate over his chest with a pinpoint camera lens in the center of the helmet over his head, tinted faceplate blocking his eyes.

  His finger rested on the trigger as he swung the rifle toward Ixitat, possibly mistaking her for one of the creatures or maybe just intent on killing anything he saw.

  I pulled the rifle from his hands before he could shoot, catching the weapon as it flew to me. He turned my way, crouching like he was ready to tackle me before stiffening and straightening up.

  “Ben?” he said, his gruff voice unmistakeable. He lifted his visor, revealing a black eye and some bruising on his cheek, along with a missing tooth in his otherwise happy grin.

  “Druck,” I replied, a smile spreading across my face. “We're here to rescue you.”

  “That’s great and all, and I’m happy you’re still alive.” He motioned to the battered Mustang. “But who’s going to rescue you?”

  CHAPTER 11

  I turned to the Mustang, suddenly aware of how much damage it had actually taken. I’d come to scoop up Druck, Quasar, Shaq, and Matt and get the hell out of here. That wouldn’t be possible if the sigils on the car were broken. Or would it? David had included the sigils to transit as part of my construct. As long as I had enough energy, I could get them back without the car. Or I could get us all stuck in the endless void between space and time because I had never created the action before. That thought sent a shiver down my spine.

  “I’ll figure something out,” I said. “After we find the others.” I activated the implanted comms, hoping I could reach them. “Matt, do you copy? Quasar? Are you there? Come in. Matt. Quasar.”

  “Don’t bother, Boss,” Druck said. “They nuked the comms when they brought us to Kirillia. Where the hell are we? And what the hell are these things?” He kicked one of the dead aliens. “They nearly ripped me apart from stem to stern when my prison door opened. If you hadn’t distracted some of them…” He trailed off, running a finger across his throat. “It was a good rescue. I give it a nine.”

  “Why only a nine?” I asked.

  “Because you lost the escape car. I should probably deduct more for that, but I'm confident you'll get us out of here. Somehow. How are you still alive?”

  “That’s a long story, probably better not told standing out in the open.” A few random gunshots crackled in the distance. “I don’t know where we are. I didn’t get the name of the planet, only the coordinates. Do you know you’re on Kill Spree?”

  He lifted his hand, using a finger to point to each of his eyes. “Do you see the black veins?”

  I looked more closely at him. Each of his eyes had black lines running from the pupil out to the edges. “Yeah.”

  “Those are the connectors for the cameras they surgically installed over my peepers. Lyke told us that’s where she was sending us once we left Omega. I used to like the show. Then I became a contestant and was nearly killed by these damned things.” He kicked the corpse a second time.

  “I can tell you the production team thought this planet was abandoned. Something about settlers that disappeared here a long time ago. There was no sign of dangerous native activity when they scouted it out." I squinted at Druck's eyes. "That’s a lot of work to surgically implant cameras in every player’s eyes.”

  “Not really. They have a machine that does it. They don’t even bother to put you under.” He scowled. “Bastards.” He kicked the corpse a third time. “I get the feeling these things aren’t native. But who knows. They seem to like the smell of humans.” He looked at Ixitat. “Only you would wind up with a xixitl on your squad, Captain.”

  Ixitat made a questioning exhale, lowering herself aggressively.

  Druck smiled. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. Any friend of Ben’s is a bestie of mine.” A few more gunshots rang out in the distance, along with more of the hissing screams. “I think that’s our cue.” He looked past me again. “I see the car. Where’s Keep?”

  “I did the transit,” I replied.

  “You? Yeah, I guess you must have gotten an upgrade to still be alive. But I doubt you went back to Atlas to get the car, which means Keep brought it to you. So where is he?”

  “On Head Case, on his way here. He was too spent to make the transit and be of much use.”

  “Copy that. Can I have my gun back now?”

  I tossed it to him. “Do you have any idea where the others might be?”

  “Nope. I’ve been locked in that crate since they dropped us from the ship, probably around six hours ago. Even during training, I only got glimpses of the others. They kept us separated. Probably figured we’d come up with a plan to join forces otherwise. Not like we aren’t going to do that anyway, especially now.”

  “Last man standing,” I said. “How do you think you would have worked that one out?”

  Druck shrugged. “I’m glad it won’t come to that is all I’ll say. No guarantees for any of us.”

  “Cap, we should move,” Kat said, peering around the side of the berm. “I think those things are regrouping.” He turned to Druck. “I’m Kat, by the way.”

  “Kat? Like ‘Here kitty, kitty?’” Druck asked.

  “Yeah. My full name is—”

  “Too long to say,” I interrupted. “That’s Ixitat, Ixy for short.” I motioned to her, and she bowed again.

  “Emil Druck. Former soldier for hire.”

  “Former?” I said.

  “If you get me off this rock alive, I’m never leaving your crew.” He paused. “You aren’t still dying, are you?”

  “Not from cancer,” I replied. “Bullets maybe, or claws if we don’t find cover.”

  He laughed. “Copy. Which way do we go?”

  I turned to scan the immediate area, spotting what looked like it might have been a settlement in the distance. It sat on an incline maybe two or three miles away. Flashes of light from the area suggested some of the contestants were already there. “It looks like we can find shelter there. And it is the high ground.”

  “And probably where all the killers will rush to,” Druck said. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”

  “I bet it’s where Matt will go, if he isn’t there already,” I replied. “Besides, maybe we can convince some of the others we’re all better off together against these creatures than fighting one another.”

  “Maybe. But maybe they also figure the faster everyone else dies the faster they get picked up.”

  “I’m willing to take that chance,” I said.

  “Me too,” Kat agreed. “It’s way too open out here. Too easy to be swarmed. The shadows are growing, Cap. Another mob will be on us soon if we keep lingering.”

  “Then let’s move,” I replied. “Ixy, take point. I’ll bring up the rear.”

  “Yesss,” Ixitat agreed.

  We were about to move out when a drone swung down from overhead, bathing us in a sudden bright spotlight that would give away our position to both the other killers and the creatures. I was about to pull it out of the sky when Sprite started talking through it.

  “Wow, oh wow, oh wow,” she bumbled excitedly. “I’m not even sure I can believe my eyes. If I’m not mistaken, we’re beaming in on the leader of the Persephon Prison Four, Benjamin Murdock himself. Even more amazing? He’s not one of our killers!” The drone descended toward us, stopping just high enough to prevent any of us from being able to manually grab it. The engineers back on Kirillia had no idea. “Ben, I assume you came to help your fellow fugitives to escape certain death once again.”

  I stared at the drone like a deer in headlights. “Uh…I…uh…” I mumbled, thrown by the knowledge that hundreds of thousands of people were watching.

  “He’s one for one,” Druck said, stepping in front of me. “And maybe when he’s done here, he’ll come back to Kirillia to kick the shit out of all of you pansy assholes for sending us here instead of giving us passage to somewhere that isn’t crawling with these…" He grabbed one of the corpses by the throat and lifted it easily, throwing it at the camera. “…sons of bitches!”

  I didn’t know whether to laugh or cringe as the drone ducked out of the way, staying focused on me. “Ben, do you concur?” Sprite asked.

  “Yeah, I guess I do,” I replied. “You didn’t just send these people here to kill one another. You sent them here to be food for these things.” I paused, wondering if I should bite my tongue or spit my venom. Maybe foolishly, I chose the latter. “Sedaya, if you’re watching this, I know your game, and I’ve gotten really good at playing it. My crew and I are going to make it out of here alive, and when we do, there won’t be anywhere you can hide from my retribution.”

  I pulled the drone down, slamming it into the dirt to smash it before turning toward the settlement. “Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER 12

  We started out toward the ruins at a fast walk, with Ixitat ranging a few dozen feet ahead. Far enough to get a view of the terrain ahead of us. Close enough to remain within sight.

  I lagged behind Kat and Druck, most of my attention behind us as we crossed the clearing where I had crashed the Mustang. We quickly reached a downhill slope that turned into a moderate outcropping of trees. We slowed, approaching cautiously, when single-rifle gunfire from five different locations inside the outcropping lit up the trees. The bursts slowed, quickly reduced by the distant gunshots to four separate shooters, then three, and finally down to two before the exchange stopped altogether.

  Meanwhile, the demonic creatures seemed to become a little more cautious, remaining back from us and mostly out of sight. Every once in a while I heard the hissing of the creatures communicating and caught a glimpse of an elongated, roughly outlined dark head rising into the starlight. The gunfire elsewhere in the area came and went in random bursts, none of it sustained like when we first arrived. The creature’s attacks had likely succeeded in some cases, failed in others. Either way, their assault seemed to be done.

  For the moment, anyway.

  Ixitat vanished into the treeline, easily scaling the trunk of a thick, squat specimen with reddish bark and yellow leaves. Some of the leaves had already fallen to the ground, leaving the tree bare enough for me to follow her progress, with my peripheral vision, from one branch to another while I kept most of my attention on our tail. Kat and Druck swept their rifles back and forth in an arc, each fighter a mirror image of the other, instant battlefield comrades.

  Entering the copse of trees, we caught up to Ixitat as she waited overhead, pushing something she had caught past her fangs and quickly devouring it. I was positive I didn’t want whatever she was eating, but having already used some of my chaos energy, I could have used a stop at a drive-through for a snack.

  I checked on the creatures one last time before we moved further into the outcropping, the vegetation behind us covering the demons from view. I had a bad feeling we were being herded into an ambush. I think Kat and Druck felt the same way, because their movements became more deliberate, their attention more focused. Even Ixy eased her movement through the branches overhead, making sure to cause less of a disruption.

  It quickly became quiet. Too quiet. I didn’t know if birds ever nested in this grouping of trees and native growth, but they certainly weren’t making a peep if they did. No other wildlife made itself apparent in the area either, the stillness serving to ratchet up the tension even more. A snapping twig or falling leaf was all it would take to create an overreaction.

  I exhaled sharply, still keeping my primary attention on our backs but also sweeping the flanks, not only looking for the creatures but also the killers we had seen on our way in. As for the creatures, were they intelligent? Or were they somehow controlled? They hadn’t seemed all that smart the way they had thrown themselves at us, willing to sacrifice themselves by the dozens. Had they remained in the woods, hoping to stay out of sight so they could get the drop on anyone who enters? Or, like me, had they decided the ruined settlement on the distant hillside was the best place to find cover?

  At this point, the native threat didn’t seem quite as bad as it had upon our arrival. Maybe that’s just what they wanted us to think. Something was going to give. I could feel the chill of it in the air and in the surrounding silence. The calm before the storm. My construct remained active beneath my armor, pulses of heat pushing out from restore, chaos energy pooling into the catalyst, ready for use. My finger moved to the trigger of my blaster, my left hand held out slightly, ready to channel whatever sigiltech action I called on next. Could I react as quickly as the attack I knew without a doubt was imminent?

  No.

  The bullet hit me in the shoulder, clipping it on its way toward the side of my head and glancing off my skull. The burning pain immediately followed as I collapsed onto the damp ground, wincing in pain as a second shot went after Kat. He had already hit the dirt after hearing the first round. The second bullet missed him, striking a tree over Druck’s head.

  “Shit,” Druck cursed, crouching and wheeling on his knee in the direction of the attack’s origin. He sprayed a line of bullets through the trees, quelling the ambush before rushing to my side. “Ben! Are you okay?”

  I reached up, touching the side of my head, feeling the dislodged flap of skin and staring at the glowing blood on my fingers when I pulled my hand away. I felt a little lightheaded, but I wasn’t going to admit it.

  The snapping twig I had been waiting for crackled to my left, and I raised that hand, using excite to heat the air in that direction. A line of flame lit along the grass and fallen leaves toward the target, the sudden eruption of fire revealing a woman’s surprised face at the side of a thick tree trunk. I recognized her from the Kill Spree promos. Emerald Jones. She had a jagged knife in her hand, raised next to her face, obviously hoping to take advantage of my wounded nature. She probably had no idea I wasn’t one of the contestants.

  She dove away from the fire, taking cover behind the tree as the shot whizzed past to light up a bush behind her. I ended the action, the fire fading quickly in the damp environment.