Wolf’s heart rate surged. “What is wrong”
He’d been out of the loop as he’d prepared the sacred chamber and led the unbinding ceremony. Still, his orders had been clear. Call if the status quo shifted. Nobody had called. But perhaps the problem had gone unnoticed until now.
“Nothing’s wrong.” The snap in Aiden’s voice said otherwise. “Just checking on them. Making sure they didn’t escape their enclosure.”
Wolf understood that vigilance. He too had found himself in front of the isolation chamber many times over the past three days. “Wait there. I am on my way.”
“Why?”
The snap was sharper in Aiden’s voice. Sharp enough it gave Wolf pause. He chose his words carefully. “There are matters to discuss.”
“If those matters concern your Shadow Warrior, or the fucking mouthpiece, then I’m gone.”
And there it was, Aiden’s absolute immobility on the subject. Wolf shuffled around his brother’s stubbornness.
“There are other concerns to speak of.” Which wasn’t a lie. There were multiple worries to discuss.
“Fine.” The snap left Aiden’s voice. He sounded tired now. “I’ll wait.”
The line went dead. Wolf picked up his pace. He hopped a ride with the first vehicle he encountered in the old section and directed its driver to the clinic. Each minute of the drive across base weighed on him. Aiden would not wait long; this, Wolf knew well.
He exhaled in relief when he rounded the corner at the isolation viewing chamber and saw hisjavaaneestanding there, staring through the glass at his dead teammates. The SEALs were still lined up on the other side of the window, staring back, even though their eye sockets were empty.
It was odd how the five…things…just stood there, inches from the glass…like they were waiting for something. Based off the cameras monitoring the chamber, they hadn’t moved since they’d shambled their way up to the glass three days ago. Nor had they returned to their gurneys, sat on the floor, or wandered the room.
They just stood there and waited.
What in shadow’s name were they waiting for?
Aiden’s back tensed as Wolf joined him at the window.
“The white substance is thicker now than it was when they first...awoke.” Wolf’s gaze dropped from the empty eye sockets to the autopsy incisions. The five...things...looked far more alien than human with the thick spider webbing filling in all their missing pieces. “Are they aware of us?” Wolf asked when Aiden didn’t respond.
“I don’t know,” Aiden said without looking away from the window.
Wolf frowned. They’d seemed aware of them, even reactive, three days ago. The creatures hadn’t stumbled off their gurneys and approached the window until he and Aiden had arrived at the glass. And then the swarm of nano wasps. Those metallic insects had tried to infect them. He was certain of that.
Yet, it had been days now, and the creatures had shown no new reactions, other than periodic movements of their heads.
“Have you tried communicating with them again?” Wolf asked.
“Yeah…through the speaker...through Morse code.” Aiden shrugged. “No response. They just stand there and stare at me…even though they don’t have any fucking eyes.” His voice fell silent for a moment before adding. “Squirrel’s still off-sync with the others. Not by much, but it’s noticeable when they turn their heads.”
Wolf’s gaze settled on the creature with the rattlesnake tattoo. “It was the first to approach the window too, was it not?”
“Yeah. The others came a couple seconds later.” Aiden’s eyes narrowed. “And now, the few times they move their heads, the other four do it in unison. But Squirrel, he’s just a tad off...just a tad early.”
Wolf frowned, his gaze sweeping across the five creatures on the other side of the glass. “What do you think that means?”
The grunt Aiden emitted sounded frustrated or tired. “Hell, I don’t know. Might not mean anything. It’s just something I’ve noticed.”
“They still show no signs of violence. Nor do they appear to vibrate,” Wolf remarked.
Aiden turned to look at him, his eyebrows lifting. “Vibrate?”
“The nanobots in the lab still vibrate. We know these...husks...are also full of nanobots.” He nodded toward thewindow and the creatures beyond. “Their vessel is of flesh, rather than metal, but it is still a vessel. Yet they do not vibrate.”
“Maybe they don’t have enough bots,” Aiden offered. “Or maybe they can’t vibrate when surrounded by flesh. Hell, it’s impossible to tell what’s going on inside them. Maybe theyarevibrating, we just can’t hear it.” He paused to study the creatures beyond the glass, before continuing, his voice absent. “Do we even know why they’re vibrating?” Aiden asked.
