Free Xenofall (The Wasteland Chronicles, Book 7) by Kyle West Page B

earlier, leading right to the Bunker entrance.
    Staring at that path, I made the decision.
    “Julian,” I said. “Lock down Perseus. We’re going in.”
    ***
    T he heavy Bunker door opened with a metallic groan, revealing a passageway of darkness.
    “Makara?” I called. “Samuel?”
    My voice echoed into silence.
    “Keep it down,” Char growled, clicking on a flashlight.
    He strode forward, his brother following silently. As they went ahead, Anna, Julian, and I brought up the rear. I retrieved my own flashlight and clicked it on.
    We followed the corridor until it arrived at a set of stairs. Just being here brought back horrible memories. A rotten musk clung to the air. The signs of our flight three months ago were still here, evidenced by traces of purple slime coating the walls, hardened with cold.
    When we had reached the runway that night, I’d thought all was lost, even if Ashton had said he’d get us out. I hadn’t believed we were safe until we were inside Gilgamesh.
    Now, that spaceship was gone, along with the man who had piloted it. The very thought of Ashton filled me with a pang of sadness. And with Grudge dead as well, our team had now taken two serious hits.
    Anna’s voice snapped me back to attention.
    “Almost to the stairs.”
    We began the long descent to Level One. With this Bunker, the floors were numbered more traditionally – Level One was at the bottom, Level Fifty-Two was on top. In Bunker 84, it was the opposite. Level One was at the top while Level Twenty was at the bottom.
    However you figured it, the result was the same: fifty-two floors was a long way down.
    But we had only descended a few flights before I heard voices.
    I held up a hand, bringing everyone to a halt. In the following silence, the voices had ceased.
    “Anyone down there?” I asked. “Hello?”
    Looking over the railing, I shone my flashlight down. Below, three faces looked up at me – Makara, Samuel, and Michael.
    Ruth was lying on her back, eyes closed.
    I rushed downstairs, the others following. After four more flights down, we arrived at the landing of Level 38.
    “She collapsed at the bottom,” Samuel said. “We’ve had to carry her the entire way.”
    “What happened?” Anna asked.
    “We don’t know,” Makara said. “She’s out cold.”
    “You weren’t attacked?” I asked. “She just...fell?”
    “Yeah,” Samuel said. “Michael said she doesn’t have a medical condition that he knows of.”
    “We need to hurry it up,” Makara said.
    I knew she was right. Together, we lifted Ruth from the floor. Every muscle in her body was limp. I had no idea what could have knocked her out like this, but connected to what we had just learned about the writhes, it was more than a little worrisome.
    We went up the steps. With all of us lifting, it went fast. Within a few minutes, we had reached the top level, huffing from exertion. We carried Ruth down the dark corridor, toward the door still open to the runway.
    “We need to get Ruth to the Xenolith,” Samuel said.
    “The Xenolith?” Anna asked. “Why?”
    “We think she might be infected with a writhe.”
    ***
    W e put Ruth in the clinic aboard Perseus. Her face was pale and her form limp. Her chest rose and fell in shallow breaths.
    “You think it’s a writhe?” I asked.
    “It just seems awfully convenient,” Samuel said. “The moment we learn about the writhes, Askala triggered this reaction in Ruth. For all we know, she has swarmers on the way.”
    If that was the case, then they hadn’t reached the Bunker in time.
    Samuel continued. “Whether it’s a writhe, or something else, we know for a fact that the Elekai ichor has healing properties. And if it is a writhe, Askal or Quietus might be able to confirm.”
    “Get to Orion,” Makara said. “And follow our lead.”
    ***
    B oth ships touched down by the Xenolith. We exited the ships, entered the Xenolith, and ran down to the Elekai pool, toting Ruth with us.
    When we arrived at the