Free Dusk of Defiance (The Era of Ensemble Book 1) by JP Woosey

station where another tram will be waiting for you. We’re deeply sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.”

Chapter 8
    Luke could feel his heartbeat increase, but it felt like time had slowed down. He shifted his body weight slightly. He was crouched, in a position where he was ready to pounce. The doors of the tram hadn’t opened yet, but it had stopped. He double checked he had his backpack and his revolver.
    A deep breath left his lungs . The doors slid apart opening fully. He bolted out of the tram. He could hear movement, footsteps, shrieks, growls and screams. Luke hurdled an overturned bench, and headed for the first door he could see. The vicious noises of the creatures were all around him. He felt surrounded. He failed to see any of the bloodthirsty demons, as he glanced around. All he could see was an abandoned station, with demolished benches and smashed advertising columns. Through the shattered glass was an advertisement for a show premiering at the theatre. The object which caused the glass to smash was in the middle of one of the performer’s faces. Luke carried on towards the door, there were a few steps which led up to it and he stumbled slightly as he rushed up them. He stopped as he crashed into the door. It didn’t open. Luke furiously pressed the touchpad at the side of the door, but nothing happened. He glanced around, the sounds were getting louder. The creatures were getting closer. It would be seconds rather than minutes before they were upon him. He thumped with an angered fist at the door release pad. Luke anxiously took short breaths, as adrenalin pumped wildly throughout his body. His muscles twitched. The sounds were nearly upon him. There wasn't much time. His head jerked right and left. His senses heightened. His heart raced. They were close. He continued to press the touchpad, harder and more frequently, until it finally opened. Luke rushed in and the doors slammed shut behind him. He sighed relieved, but his eyes widened as the doors began to open again. He looked for the touchpad to close the door, but before he could locate it, the door had thumped shut once again. It continued to open and close. Stuck in a loop. He must have damaged the touchpad.
    Luke slowly backed away from the door. With any luck those demented beings will get crushed in the door, splattered between the dark metal… I can only hope. He turned around, the walls were painted white, but words and sentences were scratched all along the corridor. The floor was white, with missing tiles every few steps. There were overturned wheelchairs, smashed test tubes and vials, syringes and empty blood transfusion packs scattered across the floor. Luke activated the light on his wrist device to help him to watch his step.
    The science department wasn’t a part of the ship Luke had visited frequently. He’d occasionally come to see Elizabeth if she’d been working late, but he never liked to if it could be avoided. There was something about the people. They looked down at him, ignored him if they could, like he didn’t belong there. He remembered making a remark to Elizabeth about it, the strangeness of the scientists, too busy to look up from their work. She had taunted him, 'Do they look down on you, or do you look up at them?'. Elizabeth had an uncanny way of making him question his own thinking. But there was one person in this section Luke knew he would never feel comfortable beside. How did Elizabeth work with him? The head scientist. The one with a sneer permanently on his lips. Luke had only spoken to him once or twice. The man's attitude was severely dismissive, as if Luke's very presence was an annoyance. Elizabeth had shrugged, as if even she admitted that this time Luke was right. The head scientist was immaculate. The man's hair was always slicked back, lying flat to his skin. He was clean shaven to the point that the bristles on his chin would probably refuse to appear. And his name was.... Luke felt