Free Extinction by Kyle West Page A

Death comes for us all, in the end. It is useless to resist.”
    “Come on,” I said.
    “Mark him, Ashton,” Anna said. “Alex and I will go downstairs.”
    Ashton nodded. Anna and I went left, never turning our backs to Ohlan. Slowly, we descended the stairs.
    My AR had a battery-powered light on it, which I clicked on. Underground, it smelled of must, mold, and sweat.
    “Makara?” I called out. “Samuel? Anyone...?”
    “Alex?”
    It was Makara – unmistakably Makara. My heart swelled with happiness at hearing her voice.
    Everyone else called out. They were all alive.
    “We have to hurry,” I said. “You’re locked in?”
    “How did you survive?” Samuel asked. “How did you find...?”
    “There’ll be time for all that later,” I said. “Right now, we have to...”
    “Ohlan has the key,” Michael said. “Did you kill him?”
    “No, he’s...”
    Already, Anna was turning around, charging up the stairs. I ran up after her. When we surfaced, we found Ohlan, still sitting on his throne, Ashton steadily pointing his handgun at him.
    “The key, Ohlan,” I said.
    Ohlan gave a small smile. Quickly, he reached downward, pulling on a small, round object that most definitely was not a key.
    “Grenade!” I yelled.
    The grenade was lobbed to the center of the floor. Ashton backed away for the stairs. I grabbed Anna and pulled her in that direction as well. Ashton tumbled down, falling several steps. I dove inside with Anna in tow. We landed with a thud in the center of the steps just as the grenade split the air, deafeningly loud. Bits of metal shot into the wall, several of the fragments sprinkling onto the steps from above. Several of the sharp edges cut my skin.
    I got off Anna, allowing her to get up.
    “You alright?” I asked.
    She nodded. “Yeah. You?”
    “Fine. We have to get that key.”
    We walked back up the stairs. We found Ohlan’s corpse lying in the center of the floor, blood pooling around his remains. As we neared, I saw grenade fragments sticking deeply into his skin. The sounds of battle raged outside, reminding me we couldn’t stay here long.
    Anna searched Ohlan’s pockets. A few seconds later, she came away with a large, metal key.
    “Got it.”
    We ran downstairs. I pointed my AR-15’s flashlight ahead into the darkness, revealing the forms of our four friends. They ducked out of the way; I realized I was pointing my gun right at them.
    “Sorry,” I said, pointing the gun toward the floor.
    Anna stuck the key in the cell door, giving it a twist. With a squeal, the metal-barred door swung open.
    They ran outside, and we all made our way upstairs and into the meeting hall. Ashton was first to speak.
    “We need to get moving,” Ashton said. “I don’t even know if we’ll make it to the ship in time.”
    “So there was a ship,” Julian said. “I knew it.”
    “We’ll explain everything later,” I said. “Augustus is waiting.”
    All of their eyes widened in surprise, but I didn’t have time to explain anything. I ran toward the door.
    “We have no weapons,” Makara said.
    I handed Makara my AR. “Take this.”
    As Makara took the weapon, I withdrew my Beretta.
    “Let’s go. The ship is in the northern fields.”
    With Makara’s nod, I charged forward into the red sunlight.
    Only to be greeted by a large Behemoth standing twenty feet ahead.
    ***
    T he Behemoth was at least twelve feet tall, with blue-gray skin. The skin had the splotches of pink coloring more typical of xenolife. Hollow white eyes stared from its flat face. Upon seeing us, the Behemoth frowned and made a fist with its massive right hand. Knuckles cracked.
    I sprang into action immediately. I aimed my Beretta toward the Behemoth’s head and fired. It moved its head, but still a bullet grazed the side of it. The Behemoth roared in pain as a small rivulet of purple blood oozed out, just below its tiny ear.
    Ashton went to the right while Anna dashed to the left, blade flashing. Makara got a few