Return to Dark Earth (22 page)

Her hands tightened on the beaten piece of
silver in her hands. “Niklas—”

Suddenly Solomon burst into the room.
“Zombies. A mob of them heading this way, out of the jungle.”

Niklas cursed and set the necklace on the
carrier. “All right. Get this back to the Centurion and get it
loaded. Time for us to go.”

Nera was surprised they’d been uninterrupted
this long.

Niklas touched his ear. “Avril? Galen?
Zombies headed this way.”

No response.

He frowned and tried again.
“
Dammit
.”

Nera looked at the security agents. “You
know where they are?”

They shook their heads, but their faces
seemed purposely blank.

Niklas’ jaw tightened. “Nera, let’s go find
Avril and then get the hell out of here. The rest of you get back
to the vehicle and get these artifacts loaded.” He pulled out his
laser pistol and charged out the door.

Nera followed one step behind him. “They
were coming in from the back of the site. You think they were after
something specific?”

“Yeah.” His face was hard. “Yeah, I think
they were.”

***

Nik and Nera jogged through empty rooms. He
could hear the moans and grunts of the zombies now. They were
close.

“Solomon?” Nik said into his earpiece.

“Everything loaded, Phoenix. We’re inside
the Centurion and the zombies have us surrounded.”

Dammit
. “The other vehicle?”

“They’re here, too. Gunn said that Dr.
Luma-Smythe and Agent Ryant are still inside and not answering
comms.”

“Could be dead.” Nera’s tone implied she
wasn’t too concerned, if that were the case.

“We need to leave.” Gunn’s voice blasted
across the line. “The doc and the agent can look after
themselves.”

Typical Gunn. Looking out for himself. “No,”
Nik said.

“No one died and made you boss, Phoenix.
We’ll come back for them.”

But Nik never left anyone behind. He’d
abandoned friends and colleagues at the Institute once. Galen might
be rotten, but he’d once been a friend. He also didn’t believe that
Avril was a part of the Institute’s darker dealings, and Nik
respected her love of history.

“We’re going after them.” Nik checked his
mini-Sync. The only other place to look was what had been the
offices and staff areas. “Come on. This way.”

They headed down another ruined corridor,
splashes of paint still visible on the walls. Suddenly, two zombies
shambled out in front of them.

Nik aimed and fired, but Nera was already
exploding into action. Two fast slashes of her sword and the
creatures’ heads rolled across the floor.

“I suggest we make this quick and then get
out of here,” she said.

Nik nodded. They pushed on, and ahead he
heard the low and urgent murmur of voices.

They charged through a doorway and Avril’s
head snapped up, guilt stamped over her face. Galen stood next to
her, and between them, an old metal safe stood open.

“You two picked a shitty time to go radio
silent,” Nik bit out. “Zombies are here. The Centurions are
surrounded and the creatures are in the building.”

Galen cursed, and Avril bit her lip. But the
astro-archeologist finished rifling around in the safe. “It was
important.”

“Well, you might pay with your life—with all
our lives—so I damn well hope it was worth it.”

She pulled out a piece of paper, covered in
a film of protective plas. “It is.” She turned it and Nik saw a
hand-drawn map.

Nik frowned. “What the hell is that?”

“A map drawn by Captain Barth Blake.”

Realization burst through Nik. “You came in
here, risked your life, for a map to the Lost Inca treasure?”

Avril carefully tucked the map into her bag.
“It’s out there, somewhere. Imagine if we find it. We’ll go down in
history.”

“You’re crazy,” Nik replied. “It was a myth,
even in Terran times. You don’t think people tried following that
map? And you know the rest of the legend—his partner, Chapman
disappeared in the mountains, and Blake mysteriously drowned. Lots
of explorers and adventurers searched for it…none of them came back
from the jungle alive.”

Avril’s expression tightened. “A hoard of
Inca gold, Nik. Artifacts, history, it’s priceless.”

Niklas eyed her. “And ripe for sale on the
antiquities black market.”

Her brow creased. “What the hell are you
talking about?”

He switched his gaze to Galen, who looked
over Nik’s shoulder and stayed silent.

Nik wanted to believe Avril wasn’t a part of
it. But he knew there were too many powerful people in the
Institute who would sell off something as valuable as the Inca gold
so they could line their own pockets.

“You aren’t a part of the Institute’s black
market ring?”

She gasped. “Black market? Nik, you know the
Institute does what’s best for historical artifacts.”

Nera, who was glancing out the doorway,
pulled back. “You’ll have to have this argument later. Zombies
incoming.”

Nik bit off a curse. “We need to get back to
the Centurions. Now!”

The four of them moved into the corridor. A
small group of zombies were loping toward them. Galen, Nik and Nera
opened fire. They took down the lead zombies, but others were
gaining fast.

One zombie made it through and threw itself
at Galen.

“Shit!” Galen shouted.

Nik kicked the zombie, and once it was free,
he unloaded his laser into its head. He helped Galen up. The other
man hobbled and winced.

“Injured my leg.”

Nik spotted a ragged piece of metal stuck in
the man’s leg. He reached down and yanked it out. “Not much we can
do now. Put your arm around my shoulder.”

Galen gritted his teeth and nodded.

When they turned back, Galen was lifting his
hand to fire at the oncoming zombies again.

“Stop,” Nik told him. The agent frowned, his
weapon still aimed, but Nik grabbed his wrist and pushed it
downward. “Nera.”

With a nod, she rushed forward, pulling out
her sword. She swung the blade and turned, dropping low. She cut
down two zombies before leaping into the air and swinging her
lethal sword again. When she landed back on her feet, her sword
above her head, dripping with black blood, the zombies lay around
her. Dead.

“We should go.” She nodded down the
hall.

Nik caught up with her, part dragging Galen.
“You are magnificent. Let’s move. Fast.”

They ran through ruined rooms, and fought a
few more small groups of zombies. Then they headed out through a
smashed section of wall and reached the front of the museum
ruins.

The Centurions were ahead, surrounded by
zombies. Dozens of them.

“Dammit to hell.” Nik ground his teeth
together. “Options?”

“Can’t they use the Centurions’ laser saws
and cut through the zombies?” Avril asked.

Galen and Nik both shook their heads.

“The clearing is too small,” Nik answered.
“They can’t maneuver around here to take them down.”

“We could fight our way through,” Galen
suggested.

“We’d never make it.” Especially not with
Galen hobbling like he was.

Nera was eyeing the trees. “We could try
climbing.”

The trees glistened with the dark, oily
substance coating them. “The black stuff doesn’t look
friendly.”

“The zombies are going to notice us soon,”
Avril said.

Nera yanked something off her belt. “I’ll
clear the way to the Centurions, you run.” Her gaze met Nik’s.
“Don’t stop. Don’t look back. I’ll be right behind you.”

Everything in Nik revolted. “No way. I’m not
leaving you.”

“I’ll be right behind you.” Her voice
lowered. “I promise. Besides, you’ll owe me. And I will make you
pay up.”

The sensual promise in her words made his
gut tighten. “One scratch, Nera, and I don’t care what you do to
me, I will turn you over my knee and punish you.”

Her eyes flashed. “You can try.” She pressed
something on the small metallic object in her hand. “Now, get ready
to run.”

She tossed the object, and Nik realized it
was a grenade. It landed in the middle of the group of zombies.

Then it detonated. But there was no
explosion or shrapnel. Only noise. Nik winced at the high-pitched
whine the grenade emitted, but while it was uncomfortable to his
ears, the zombies howled. They fell to the ground, hands clamped to
the sides of their heads. Their tortured moans were deafening.

“Go!” Nera yelled. She ran at a group of
zombies least affected by the sonic grenade. She tossed another
grenade and drew her sword. Black blood splattered the ground.

Nik ran, helping Galen along, but every
footstep felt wrong. He wanted to race back to her side, help her.
Dammit
, he wanted to protect her.

But she didn’t need his protection, and
would slap him down for it. He sucked in a breath. Being crazy
about a strong, capable woman was hell on a man.

Nik shot a lone zombie as they neared the
closest Centurion. The back door slid open and Avril dived inside,
and Nik and Galen leapt in together. Solomon was there, slamming
the door closed behind them.

“Glad you could make it,” the younger man
said.

Nik pressed up against the side window. The
sonic effects of the grenades had worn off, and the zombies were
crowding in on Nera. She spun with her sword, lethal as ever.

“Come on, Nera,” he muttered. “Get over
here.”

The others in the vehicle were tense,
watching and waiting.

She wasn’t making much progress. Nik was
getting ready to pop the top hatch on the Centurion and find a way
to help her, when he saw her turn and run toward a tree. She
pressed her boots to the trunk and leapt high. She grabbed a thick
branch, her legs dangling above the zombies’ heads. Then with a
brilliant display of athleticism, she swung, released the branch
and grabbed onto another. She continued like that, from tree to
tree, flying through the air with more grace than a space circus
acrobat. Soon, she was above their vehicle.

Nik reached up and opened the top hatch. She
dropped down on the vehicle’s roof, and slipped in beside him. Nik
slammed the hatch closed.

“Damn, this stuff burns.” She tore off her
gloves and dropped them to the floor. The black gunk on them was
sizzling.

“Radioactive, too.” Galen was holding a
beeping scanner. He pulled some hazmat gloves from a compartment
and snatched up Nera’s contaminated ones. He slipped them into a
small containment box.

Nik grabbed her hands, studying their smooth
lines. There wasn’t a mark.

God, he wanted to yank her to him, kiss the
daylights out of her. But with the others watching, he didn’t.

“Let’s get out of here,” Avril yelled to the
driver.

The other vehicle was already moving, its
laser saw firing up.

“You got it,” their driver called back.

The Centurion lurched forward, and soon they
were following the same path they’d come through. The other vehicle
had moved ahead and they’d lost sight of it.

“Stars,” Avril said, her gaze glued to the
windshield. “The vegetation’s already grown back in places.”

The laser saw was once again cutting through
plant life. Nik shook his head, staring at the jungle. In the short
time they’d been in the ruins, the jungle had already claimed back
much of the path they’d cut earlier.

“What the hell?” the driver cried out, the
vehicle skidding to a stop.

Nik and Nera bumped into each other. They
traded a glance, then leaned forward, looking out the front window.
Thick, black vines slapped against it. They were writhing and
glowing an eerie neon green.

The driver muttered under his breath, then
backed up. Then he aimed the laser saw at the mutant vines.

Neon-green fluid sprayed out from the vines
as they spasmed, then retreated.

But the green substance sizzled on contact
as it hit the hood, burning through the metal. Another splatter hit
the thick synth glass of the window, and started eating
through.

“Hell.” The driver backed up again. “Damn
stuff is corrosive or something, it’s eating right through. And
that’s military-grade reinforced armor and synth glass.”

Nik stared grimly at the fist-sized hole in
the window. “We can’t risk getting hit by that again. Find another
way through and avoid that particular vine.”

“Right.” The driver sounded dubious. Gears
ground and the Centurion moved forward, then turned left to divert
around the mutant vines.

The engine coughed.

“No, no!” The driver tapped at the controls,
his hands dancing over the screen. Red lights were flashing.
“Dammit to hell!”

The vehicle ground to a halt.

There was silence. Nik caught Nera’s gaze,
and she raised a brow.

“What is it?” Avril demanded.

“That acidic shit has eaten through to the
engine.” The driver peered at his control screen. “Looks like a
crucial electrical cable is damaged.” He swiveled. “We aren’t going
anywhere.”

“Hell. And look at that.” Solomon pointed.
The hole in the window had grown, the substance continuing to
dissolve the glass. Three long cracks were forming, traveling
across the window.

“We get another solid hit by a mutant plant
or a rampaging pack of zombies, I’d say we’re fucked,” the driver
said.

“And not in the good way,” Solomon
added.

“Centurion One, this is Centurion Two.” The
driver tapped at the control screen. “Are you reading us? Our
vehicle’s been disabled.”

There was no answer.

“Centurion One—” Static hissed across the
line. With a wince, the driver turned the noise off. “They’re out
of comm range.”

“They’ll come back, right?” a young agent
asked, wiping his hand over his mouth.

Nik heard what no one was saying…they didn’t
have time to sit around waiting for a rescue.