who are still living and breathing. People who
can
die. People like you. Understand?”
Some of the crew shift and grunt. Others exchange troubled glances. Sadira says, “Why don’t you just open the other door yourself?”
“I can’t,” Rufus snaps.
“Have you tried?” asks Quenby.
Rufus heaves an impatient sigh, then marches tothe other side of the airlock and slaps at a red button that’s sitting next to the hatch.
Nothing happens.
“See?” he barks. “We can’t get through. Not without a key, a password, or a buffer overflow.”
“What about the man-eating monsters?” Yestin inquires.
“What about them?”
“Well—what if those monsters have to be replaced as well?” The little boy speaks hesitantly, edging closer to Noble as if to shield himself from Rufus’s glare. “Maybe this airlock will only fill up if all the monsters are in here with the crew.”
“Oh, dear,” says Quenby.
Noble is appalled. “Are you suggesting we share this room with a herd of carnivorous beasts?” he growls, turning to Rufus. “We can’t do that! There’d be a massacre!”
“I know,” Rufus agrees. “It wouldn’t be smart. Which is why I don’t think it’s the monsters that are missing.” He taps his chin thoughtfully, his narrowed eyes flitting around the airlock. “There must be another level to this game,” he muses. “A higher skill level. Once you reach the Biolab, you must have to go somewhere else. Someplace that’s got people in it.” His tone sharpens. “Come on, guys! You must have
some
ideas! Don’t you even know your own ship?”
“What about …?” Yestin begins, before trailing off.
“What about what?” Rufus demands.
“What about B Crew?”
Rufus looks surprised. “B Crew?” he echoes.
Yestin glances beseechingly at Arkwright, who clears his throat and says, “B Crew are in the Stasis Banks.” Since this means absolutely nothing to either Rufus or Noble, Arkwright goes on to explain that there are two crews on board, each of which spends alternating four-year shifts in suspended animation, or cytopic stasis. According to Arkwright, there’s an entire second crew tucked away in a stack of sleeping pods on B Deck. “Normally, they’re comatose,” he relates, “but they might have woken up.”
“No. They haven’t.” It’s the teenage girl Merrit speaking. Her voice is high and thin and hoarse. “They won’t wake up. They can’t. They’re part of the ship now.”
Everyone turns to stare at her.
“I was in the Vaults with Haemon. Before you found us,” she quavers. “We saw B Crew and they were … they were being absorbed.”
“Absorbed?”
yelps Dygall.
“All the tubes in their arms and the ‘trodes on their heads—those things were growing into them.
Burrowing
into them,” she croaks.
Merrit croaks, “Like pink spiders.”
“You mean B Crew are dissolving?” Tuddor asks her.
She spreads her hands helplessly. “I don’t know. I couldn’t tell,” she replies.
“I bet they’re turning into zombies.” Rufus soundsbrisk and confident, as if he’s been expecting zombies. “I bet that’s what you have to deal with on the next skill level. Spaceship games are always full of zombies.” He breaks off suddenly, an expression of alarm on his face. “Did you hear that?” he says.
A red light starts to flash above the closed hatch just behind him. There’s a
clunk
, followed by a soft whining noise as the door panel begins its slow, grinding ascent into the wall.
“Quick! Run! Hide!” cries Rufus.
Noble is taken aback. For a moment, he just stands and gapes. Then Yestin seizes his hand and pulls him toward Rufus, who’s now plastered against the shiny white wall to the left of the rising door panel. It’s not much of a hiding place. If a dozen soldiers pour through the hatchway and turn their heads, Rufus won’t stand a chance.
Perhaps that’s why only Yestin has decided to run
into
the airlock. Everyone else is bolting in
can
die. People like you. Understand?”
Some of the crew shift and grunt. Others exchange troubled glances. Sadira says, “Why don’t you just open the other door yourself?”
“I can’t,” Rufus snaps.
“Have you tried?” asks Quenby.
Rufus heaves an impatient sigh, then marches tothe other side of the airlock and slaps at a red button that’s sitting next to the hatch.
Nothing happens.
“See?” he barks. “We can’t get through. Not without a key, a password, or a buffer overflow.”
“What about the man-eating monsters?” Yestin inquires.
“What about them?”
“Well—what if those monsters have to be replaced as well?” The little boy speaks hesitantly, edging closer to Noble as if to shield himself from Rufus’s glare. “Maybe this airlock will only fill up if all the monsters are in here with the crew.”
“Oh, dear,” says Quenby.
Noble is appalled. “Are you suggesting we share this room with a herd of carnivorous beasts?” he growls, turning to Rufus. “We can’t do that! There’d be a massacre!”
“I know,” Rufus agrees. “It wouldn’t be smart. Which is why I don’t think it’s the monsters that are missing.” He taps his chin thoughtfully, his narrowed eyes flitting around the airlock. “There must be another level to this game,” he muses. “A higher skill level. Once you reach the Biolab, you must have to go somewhere else. Someplace that’s got people in it.” His tone sharpens. “Come on, guys! You must have
some
ideas! Don’t you even know your own ship?”
“What about …?” Yestin begins, before trailing off.
“What about what?” Rufus demands.
“What about B Crew?”
Rufus looks surprised. “B Crew?” he echoes.
Yestin glances beseechingly at Arkwright, who clears his throat and says, “B Crew are in the Stasis Banks.” Since this means absolutely nothing to either Rufus or Noble, Arkwright goes on to explain that there are two crews on board, each of which spends alternating four-year shifts in suspended animation, or cytopic stasis. According to Arkwright, there’s an entire second crew tucked away in a stack of sleeping pods on B Deck. “Normally, they’re comatose,” he relates, “but they might have woken up.”
“No. They haven’t.” It’s the teenage girl Merrit speaking. Her voice is high and thin and hoarse. “They won’t wake up. They can’t. They’re part of the ship now.”
Everyone turns to stare at her.
“I was in the Vaults with Haemon. Before you found us,” she quavers. “We saw B Crew and they were … they were being absorbed.”
“Absorbed?”
yelps Dygall.
“All the tubes in their arms and the ‘trodes on their heads—those things were growing into them.
Burrowing
into them,” she croaks.
Merrit croaks, “Like pink spiders.”
“You mean B Crew are dissolving?” Tuddor asks her.
She spreads her hands helplessly. “I don’t know. I couldn’t tell,” she replies.
“I bet they’re turning into zombies.” Rufus soundsbrisk and confident, as if he’s been expecting zombies. “I bet that’s what you have to deal with on the next skill level. Spaceship games are always full of zombies.” He breaks off suddenly, an expression of alarm on his face. “Did you hear that?” he says.
A red light starts to flash above the closed hatch just behind him. There’s a
clunk
, followed by a soft whining noise as the door panel begins its slow, grinding ascent into the wall.
“Quick! Run! Hide!” cries Rufus.
Noble is taken aback. For a moment, he just stands and gapes. Then Yestin seizes his hand and pulls him toward Rufus, who’s now plastered against the shiny white wall to the left of the rising door panel. It’s not much of a hiding place. If a dozen soldiers pour through the hatchway and turn their heads, Rufus won’t stand a chance.
Perhaps that’s why only Yestin has decided to run
into
the airlock. Everyone else is bolting in
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