Night of Flames by J.J. Green

Author:J.J. Green [Green, J.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InfiniteBook
Published: 2018-01-01T07:00:00+00:00

LAUREN. He had to find her.

They’d agreed to meet at the comm module. Using the distant lights that led to the latrine as his guide, Ethan raced towards the meeting point, ignoring the fading protests of the desperate director. As Ethan drew closer to the spot, dark, swarming figures of men and women took shape.

The crowd was surging in a blind panic. People were shouting and crying. No one seemed to know what to do or where to go. Ethan went from person to person, trying to find Lauren, but she didn’t seem to be among them. In the chaos, he despaired that he would ever find her. Someone had to organize these people.

He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Everyone, get tools from the stores,” he shouted. “We have to find and kill the creatures.”

“We’ve tried,” growled a man nearby, lifting a sledgehammer in one hand. “Nothing kills them. Nothing. They’re all over the place, and we can’t contact the ship. We’re dead. All of us. It’s only a matter of time.”

“No. We can’t give up,” said Ethan. There had to be a way. “Come with me back to the barn,” he said to the man. “Maybe the creature that was in there has gone. If it has, everyone can go inside. We can barricade the doors and wait until morning, when the supply shuttle from the ship is due.”

“No way,” the man replied. “I’m not going near any of those things. I’m staying right here.”

“But you’re no safer here,” said Ethan. “One of them could attack any minute.”

“I said, I’m not going anywhere.” The man lifted his hammer again threateningly, and his eyes glinted in the light from Ethan’s lamp. Like the director, the man seemed to be barely holding himself together.

Ethan clenched his jaw. It was no use. Their soft lives aboard the Nova Fortuna meant they were entirely unprepared to deal with the emergency. And why had no one thought to set a watch while the others slept? They’d behaved like fools.

“No,” a voice wailed on the far side of the comm module. “Help him. Please. Somebody help him.” The victim’s terrible shrieking began, and the man Ethan had been talking to threw down his sledgehammer and, gripping his ears, ran off.

Then, above the shouts, cries and moaning of the crowd came a sound that made Ethan’s heart leap. It was Lauren’s voice, and she was calling his name. He headed toward the sound, pushing others aside as he went.

She was calling his name over and over. She seemed close by, though it was hard to navigate in the darkness and the confusion of voices.

“Lauren,” he shouted. “Lauren!” There she was.

She’d found Belle, and the two were standing together with their arms entwined. As Lauren saw him, her face broke into a smile of relief and happiness. She started forward.

“No,” a man shouted behind her as he backed up fast. He moved so quickly, Lauren didn’t have time to get out of his way. He knocked her down, and Belle turned and screamed as Lauren’s arm was torn from hers.

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