Free Quarantine (The Shadow Wars Book 7.5) by S. A. Lusher Page A

them as cudgels.
    They managed to find the second security center without incident, and without hearing anything from Hunter. After a few moments, they had the second portion of the lockout lifted and were on their way to the third security center.
     
    * * * * *
     
    “Are you shitting me?” Colin groaned.
    Allan stared at the welded shut door and considered his options. They'd had to bash, bludgeon and murder their way through close to a dozen more insane personnel on the way out of the medical deck and on their way to the oxygen plant.
    And now this.
    “Now what?” Duncan muttered. He didn't sound anything like his usual, cheery self. And, if anything, Colin had been even more frustrated and cranky than usual.  As opposed to his hopes, Allan had only been getting angrier and more frightened as time went on. He had to really sit on the urge to start physically attacking the door.
    “Ships have maintenance tunnels belowdecks,” Allan replied. “It'll be the most direct route and honestly, we need to be quick.”
    “Why?” Duncan asked.
    “Do you want to stay here?” Allan replied.
    “Well what the fuck do you think!?” Duncan snapped.
    Allan stopped, turned and looked at him.
    “Sorry,” Duncan muttered. “It's just...”
    “Yeah, I know. Come on.”
    They hunted around for a few moments before locating a small maintenance room with a hatch in the floor. Allan went first, prying open the hatch and staring into the dim shaft below. After a moment of seeing nothing, he lowered himself into the hole and climbed down the ladder. Colin went next, followed by Duncan. The trio soon found themselves moving along a tight and narrow metal tunnel. Allan felt his pulse begin to drive harder and faster. He was leading the way now, machete in hand. He had yet to grab another weapon.
    They'd made it roughly halfway through the tunnel when he heard something, a quiet mutter that sounded very near by. He stopped, swallowing, machete raised. Anyone could be down there with them. The tight maneuvering would make for some nasty, difficult combat. If only he could find a single working pistol...
    He started moving again and found himself thinking of Hunter. Two of them were dead now, Smitty and Fletcher, not to mention the skeleton crew onboard the speed ship. Four of them against however many insane, demented crewmen were onboard, ready to rip their guts out or die trying. Possibly three...where was Hunter? Maybe she'd lost her radio, or maybe she was hurt and holed up somewhere, waiting, or maybe-
    A massive, hulking figure suddenly stepped out in front of him and punched him, once but hard , in the chestplate, sending him stumbling backwards. He landed hard on his back, gasping, staring up at this immense menace standing over him. Only it was no longer interested in him but the man standing behind him.
    Colin.
    Before Allan could react, he realized that this titan was holding onto something. This one had learned . He held a short metal pole of some kind, what might have been a pipe, stained with blood. The crewman pulled the pipe back and with the overhanded gesture of someone throwing a spear, smashed the end of it directly into Colin's faceplate. The sound of shattering glass and screaming briefly filled the small corridor, followed by a wretched and immediate silence as, Allan imagined, Colin died. The crewman pulled the metal pole free.
    Colin immediately collapsed to the floor.
    Screaming, Allan surged to his feet and shoved the tip of the machete up into crewman's head, directly through his jaw, ramming it through the roof of his mouth and piercing his brain. The crewman's body vibrated violently, as though he was having a seizure, limbs twitching furiously, a horrible gurgling sound emitting from his ruined mouth. Allan tore the machete free and shoved the crewman back.
    He fell bonelessly to the floor.
    Allan and Duncan stood there for a moment longer, staring at both bodies, then just at Colin. Neither said anything