There was a brief pause, then the nutrient bath erupted in a foaming spray of activity. Dozens of rooted tentacles broke the surface, an army bearing thorny weapons.
“Dark night!” J.B. breathed, thumbing fresh rounds into the shotgun.
Doc took deliberate aim, then fired the Le Mat blaster. The .63 shotgun charge took the plant-thing in the upper left chest but didn’t seem to do any damage. “By the Three Kennedys!”
A tidal wave rose up over the metal platform where Ryan stood, forced by the sudden surge of the plant-thing tearing itself loose from the root bed. He went with the water, vaulting over the side. Once he landed, almost on top of the gutted seed herald, a quick step left him with the SIG-Sauer in his fist again.
He shook out the nearly depleted clip and shoved another one home as the noxious water swirled around his boots. Keeping the plant-thing in sight, he narrowly avoided being impaled by another thorn that came rocketing out of its mouth.
Ryan fired three shots, spacing them across the plant-thing’s chest. Even in the uncertain light, he could see the holes appear in the greenish black flesh. In an eyeblink they covered over.
The clock read 251.
The spilled nutrient bath rolled across the floor, shorting out some of the computer banks when it touched them. The plant-thing drew away from the sparks, bringing an arm across its incomplete face.
It had a weakness. The realization filled Ryan with a savage satisfaction. “Jak,” he called.
The albino looked at him. Conversation was made difficult by the roar and splash of the nutrient waters and the collapse of the computer systems.
“The flare gun you found at the White Sands redoubt,” Ryan said. He held out an empty hand.
Jak reached into his pack, then flipped the waterproof case for the pistol toward Ryan.
Leathering the SIG-Sauer, Ryan caught the case, bringing it in close so he wouldn’t drop it. With the rush of waters swirling through the room, it could wash away and be lost in a matter of seconds.
The LED readout was down to 241.
Ryan opened the case. Inside was the flare gun and three cartridges.
“The Other won’t rest until we’re dead, lover.” Krysty was less than a yard away, her haggard gaze resting fully on the approaching plant-thing. She was reloading her pistol methodically.
“We aren’t dead yet,” Ryan replied, snapping the flare pistol closed. “Just you hang on.” He spun, leveling the weapon before him.
The plant-thing was twenty yards out and closing, bristling with the thorned appendages that came with it.
“The bastard thing wants me, lover. I can hear its thoughts inside my head. Somehow it knows about my mutie powers. It knows.”
Ryan aimed for the center of the plant-thing, then stroked the trigger. The flare leaped free of the barrel, streaking across the distance in an eye blink, trailing out a smoky haze behind it.
Once the flare embedded in the plant flesh, it burned white-hot. Computer-amplified screams from the plant-thing filled the chamber. It stopped all forward movement, wilting in place. Tendrils shot out of its chest, dipping down to start sucking up the water around it. The flare hissed.
Reloading quickly, Ryan fired the remaining two flares into the thing’s chest. They burned more holes and added to the screams. The plant-thing wilted even further, but gave no indication of dying.
Ryan glanced at the clock231. “Boldt,” he said, looking at J.B.
“Don’t know,” the Armorer said. “Wasn’t here when we got here.”
“Who’s in the tunnel?”
Jak was still trading lead with someone, though the forays weren’t very industrious.
“Those White Sands soldiers,” J.B. replied.
“They are a tenacious lot, Ryan,” Doc commented. “Filled with vim and vigor.”
Across the room the plant-thing showed signs of regaining its strength. Ryan watched it, his stomach cold and hard. A glance at Krysty at his side showed that she was pale, covered with perspiration that ran in large drops.
“It wants me to help it,” Krysty said. “Wants me to kill you.” Her pistol trembled in her hands. “Gaia, help me, Ryan, but I don’t think I can hold it off much longer.” A fine trickle of blood ran down her upper lip from her nose.
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