Halfway through, she spotted the end of the low passage. From there, it was a short hike back up to the weather deck and her boat.
Salvation was near. She just had to make it a bit farther.
The rifle barrel hit a bulkhead with a loud clank. A screech came in reply.
Ada scrabbled forward, low and fast. The screech had come from behind her, but she dare not turn with her lamp.
On all fours, she crawled under a section with higher clearance.
Almost there, almost…
The screech turned into a hiss. This time she did risk a glance.
Fur darted away from the beam, and the hissing faded. She started crawling fast when the creature bolted into the collapsed passageway, red eyes glowing in the light.
A scream escaped her when she saw the thing. The face and torso looked ratlike, but it had prosthetic legs and arms made of metal.
It scuttled toward her, the metal claws clicking on the deck. The same thing she had heard below.
Ada swung her rifle around and got the abomination in her sights. The thing opened its mouth, a snakelike tongue slithering out along with a hiss. Still screaming, she pulled the trigger.
The bullet took off a leg, and the creature flopped onto its side.
Not waiting to see whether it got back up, Ada crawled until she was free of the cramped passage. Standing, she slung her rifle, knowing she wouldn’t have time to load another round.
She unsheathed the machete instead and took off running for the hatch that led back to the deck outside. More hissing and screeching followed.
From the sounds, she had at least three of the mechanical rodents trailing her. When she got to the hatch, she swung it open and looked back just as they came skittering around the corner.
Only these weren’t all rodents. One was bigger than the others and had the face of a primate. Some sort of monkey, also with prosthetic metal limbs and tubes coming out of its torso.
She screamed again in horror.
Grabbing the hatch, she slammed it shut before any of the creatures could get outside. They thumped into the other side, mechanical claws scratching on metal.
Ada ran toward the bow of the ship. Halfway across the deck, something shattered behind her. Two of the creatures skidded down the bulkhead of the crushed command center. Another leaped out of the broken window.
Gripping the machete, she sprinted to the gunwale and peered over. Her boat was still there, but the chain had come undone and it was hanging only by the rope. She swung her legs over the other side as more creatures flooded out of the command center.
She would never be able to climb down before they got to her. The only option was to jump. But she couldn’t swim and jumping into the boat would break her legs and maybe her neck.
Her eye caught the life buoy she had seen earlier. It lay between her and the monsters, but she had no choice. For this to work, she must act fast.
With her machete in the air, she ran at the three monsters, screaming like a Cazador during the battle for the Metal Islands.
The monkey-faced creature leaped at her, and she swung the blade, hacking off its nose and knocking it away. Both rodents jumped at her at the same time. She ducked below them and slid.
Coming to a stop, she grabbed the buoy and wrapped it around her body with the rope and pack she wore.
A dozen of the mechanical hybrid monsters darted toward her from the command center, crossing the deck like a swarm of insects.
She ran, swiping at the two rodents that had jumped over her seconds earlier. Her machete took off two legs of the first beast, and she kicked the second in the face, sending it sailing like an old-world soccer ball.
When she got back to the gunwale, she took off the buoy, her bag, and the rope, which she uncoiled. The bag went overboard, onto the boat’s deck.
She tied one end of the rope to the machete’s hilt and snugged the machete between the rail bracket and the top edge of the hull, then grabbed the free end of the rope. Putting the buoy around her midsection, she climbed up onto the rail, hoping she had the courage to jump.
But the screeching, hissing monsters were all the motivation she needed. Holding the rope, she sprang out, over the boat, and watched the water rush up to meet her boots. She splashed under the surface.
She pulled on the rope she held, praying that the machete would stay locked in place. Hand over hand, she hauled herself toward the surface.
She finally burst through and flopped over the waves like a fish on a line. Then, kicking and pulling, she got to her boat.
Grabbing the side and hooking a heel, she managed to pull herself over the gunwale.
The mechanical monsters were already skittering down the hull like crabs.
She shook the machete loose, and when it fell, she pulled it out of the water and swung it against the bow rope mooring her boat to the ship. It took three hacks to sever the line, and two more to cut the stern rope. When it snapped, the boat lurched and she fell on the deck.
Dripping, she scrambled to the controls. The engine fired right up, and she steered away, not looking back until she had put some distance between herself and the ghost ship.
The hybrid beasts were climbing back up the hull, heading back to their lairs now they had missed out on their meal.
No more exploring, she thought. Stay focused and stay on course.
Speeding away, she wondered whether X would be proud of her performance back on the ship. One thing she had learned: she had better survival skills than she’d thought.
TEN
“There are too many of them, and they have us surrounded,” Michael said.
A holographic map of the Vanguard Islands hovered over the central table on the bridge of Discovery. The rest of the crew, including Rodger, Magnolia, Samson, Sofia, and Les, huddled around to look at the positions of every Cazador vessel, ranging from the smallest skiffs and runabouts to the warships.
Rookie Hell Divers Ted, Lena, Hector, and Alberto were also here, standing behind the table and ready to pitch in.
Les said, “Even if we can take them all out from the sky, it will expend the ammunition we need for…”
Michael still hadn’t quite processed everything they had learned back in the briefing room, but he knew what the captain wanted the ammunition for: to destroy the defector base in Africa.
They also had the skinwalkers to consider, and he had a feeling they would show up sooner rather than later. If they knew that X was dying, they would come now.
“Samson, get Lieutenant Sloan on the encrypted line,” Les said.
The chief engineer sat down at the comms station.
“What can we do?” Ted asked.
“Go to compartment two with Rodger,” Michael said. “Put on your gear, and be ready.”
“Ready for what, a dive?” Lena asked.
“Anything,” Michael said.
“Why do I have to go?” Rodger asked.
“Because I don’t think any of them even know where compartment two is,” Michael said.
“Go on, Rodger,” Mags said.
With a groan, he led the rookies and Sofia off the bridge just in time for a report from Samson.
“Lieutenant Sloan says the militia has been pulled back from the other rigs to protect the Hive and the capitol tower. So far, there have been no attacks on boats carrying our troops.”
Michael looked at the holographic map again. Several of the red dots representing Cazador vessels blinked to indicate movement. As he watched the warships Elysium and Renegade, the realization hit him.