Prisoners: Starship Renegades, #5 by S.J. Bryant

Author:S.J. Bryant
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Saffron Bryant
Published: 2020-01-17T11:34:48+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Wren stalked the shadows at the entrance to the tunnel.

Prisoners lined the path to the tunnels, staring at Kari and her group. Some of them licked their lips and took half a step forward, as if meaning to take the guns. Others stayed at the back of the crowd, hiding. Joana was nowhere to be seen.

Wren's lips curled. Joana was in no more danger than usual. Wren could kill her with or without a gun. But it felt good to know the other woman was scared. She was probably hiding inside her shed surrounded by prisoners. Did they realize they were being used as meat shields?

"I can't believe you're doing this," Carolan said, coming out of the crowd. She belonged to a much smaller group of prisoners; those who looked genuinely impressed.

"Me neither," Atticus said.

"What if something happens?" Carolan said.

"We'll be fine," Kari cut in. "But the sooner we leave, the better. I don't like the way some of these people are looking at us."

Wren couldn't have agreed more and led the way into the gaping tunnel entrance. Cool darkness embraced her like a comforting blanket and she relished the shadows. She kept to the side of the passage, out of the beam of light from the entrance, and placed her feet carefully to make no noise.

The rifle's strap dug into her chest but better to have it draped over her back than weighing down her hands. If something did leap out of the darkness, she wanted to be able to get to her knife.

Kari and the others followed, their loud footsteps echoing and scraping like a hoard of creatures.

Wren scowled. How was she supposed to hear anything with that lot behind her?

They traipsed through the upper levels, past the place where Marcel had been taken. Here, Wren paused to study the markings a second time. The dried blood stained tiny pieces of gravel dark brown but they'd been scattered since the last time she'd seen them. Some brave—or stupid—souls had come down to see the evidence for themselves and scattered the dirt with their unwary feet. The claw mark in the ground remained, white and stark against the darker floor.

"How big is this thing?" Ryker said. "When you said there was a claw mark, I didn't realize—"

"Based on the size and length of the claw mark, the creature must be three feet tall at least," Piper said.

"I'm having second thoughts about agreeing to this," Aydin said.

"Too late now," Kari said. "Just be grateful we have guns."

"Quiet," Wren said.

Their breathing whooshed like a bellows but at least they stopped talking.

Wren strained her ears, listening to the gentle flow of air in the passage, the distant dripping of water, and tiny scurrying of small creatures. But nothing big. Nothing that could have made the claw marks at her feet.

"Stay close," she said. "And be quiet."

She stalked down the passage, staying just ahead of the circle of light cast by Atticus' flashlight. The smell she'd sensed the day before, musky and animal, had faded.

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