From Beyond: The Complete Series by Scott Jasper T. & Hystad Nathan

Author:Scott, Jasper T. & Hystad, Nathan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Anthem Press
Published: 2023-09-21T00:00:00+00:00

EIGHTEEN

David

Somewhere in Northern Alaska

David caught up with Carter and Kate inside the cafeteria elevators. It had to be early morning already. He checked his Holo, finding it was just past six AM. Time was passing in a blur. He’d lost track. They still hadn’t slept, and he’d barely had a few hours the night before, and now this. He stared at the trail of slime on his hand as he entered the elevator.

“What was the holdup?” Carter asked as he held the door.

“I found this.” David showed him the thick liquid.

Carter made a face as he leaned in for a closer peek. “What is that?”

“It’s from the vent above the stall Mark used. Does that look like what we found aboard the Interloper?”

“Bloody hell, it does!”

Kate’s brow furrowed with concern. “What is it?”

“Spiders.”

“Like the one that was on Mark’s neck?” Kate asked.

David nodded, and Rachel pressed herself into the furthest corner of the elevator, suddenly wary of her brother.

All eyes turned to Mark, and he smiled blandly at them.

“Honey... what happened in the bathroom?” Kate asked.

“I threw up,” he replied.

David frowned.

“Yes, but what did you throw up?” Carter asked as the door rumbled shut and the elevator began rising to the medical level.

David shook his head. “You think they came from inside of him?”

“That, or puking his guts out was a handy pretext for having a meeting with a few of his buddies in the men’s room. The Grazer used a spider to communicate with me. Maybe they had another one contact Mark?”

The elevator opened, and Carter ran ahead. When they didn’t immediately follow, he stopped and waved impatiently to them. “This way!”

“Come on, honey,” Kate said, urging Mark forward. “Don’t worry. You’ll be okay.”

“I feel fine,” Mark reiterated. “We can go to bed now.”

The infirmary was at the end of the hall, guarded by a single soldier in an unmarked black jumpsuit. He stiffened with their approach.

“We need Doctor Leslie Hauser,” Carter explained.

The soldier’s gaze traveled briefly over them, as if searching for the source of the emergency. “She’s off-duty. Unless it’s a crisis, I suggest you wait until—”

“It is,” Kate snapped. “My son is sick. Call her. Now.”

“He looks okay to me,” the soldier replied.

“Let me handle this.” Carter stepped forward with a thin smile. He tugged on the collar of his sweater to reveal a big white bandage. “You see this? That’s an alien spider bite.” Carter jerked a thumb to Mark. “The kid has one, too. And we believe this facility could be infested. Not only that, but we’ve just received information that indicates their bite could be a means of implanting eggs that later hatch inside the host.”

The soldier’s eyes widened. “I’ll call the doctor.”

“You do that,” Carter snapped.

David listened while the soldier spoke into his radio in low, urgent tones. A moment later, he flashed his Holowatch on the door scanner, accessing the infirmary.

“Doctor Hauser will be here soon. She’s asked for you to stay in the examination room until she arrives.”

“Thank you,” Kate managed, grabbing Mark’s hand and leading the charge into the infirmary.

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