Mission: Her Protection (Team 52 #1)(5)

What the fuck? She sprinted forward, almost tripping over her own feet. She stumbled into the first lab.

It was empty and eerily quiet.

And completely trashed.

The workbenches had been tipped over, glassware and lab equipment lay smashed on the floor. She stared at the tiny green plants, that had survived millennia, only to be crushed under running feet.

“Hello?” she called out.

She heard another high-pitched scream. Was that Amara? This time, it came from down another tunnel that led toward the sleeping quarters.

Rowan shivered. The temperature had dropped and goose bumps broke out over her arms. She took a step and her foot bumped something.

She looked down. “Oh, God!”

Marc lay prone on the floor, blood dripping down his face. Huge slash wounds covered his chest and neck.

She knelt and pressed her fingers to his throat. It was then she realized he was freezing cold, his skin coated in a thin layer of ice.

He was dead.

Rowan sucked in a few quick breaths. What the hell was going on? Had a rabid polar bear gotten inside? She touched Marc’s face, and noticed his eyes were open. She sucked in another harsh breath. Both his eyes were milky white and covered in a cracked web of ice.

Something was seriously wrong.

A noise echoed in the nearest tunnel. She shot to her feet, staring ahead. Her heart was racing, pounding against her ribs. There was another sound, a scrape of something against the hard side of the dome.

Then slow, heavy footsteps.

Rowan didn’t stop to think. She needed to get away, she needed somewhere to hide.

She leaped over Marc’s body. Glass crunched under her feet and she winced. Where could she go? Her gaze swung frantically across the dome.

Those slow, menacing footsteps got closer. Rowan’s throat closed, and she then spied a small cabinet across the lab. She hurried over and ripped open the doors.

Two shelves were loaded with various boxes of equipment. She tore them from the shelves and tossed them on the ground. Next, she yanked out the top shelf and set it against the wall.

She tugged on the bottom shelf, but it wouldn’t budge. “Come on, come on.”

That inhuman roar came again, chilling her blood.

Rowan put her foot against the cabinet and yanked. The shelf came loose.

She almost lost her balance, but caught herself and tossed the shelf onto the floor. She launched herself into the tiny confines of the cabinet. With shaking hands, she pulled the doors closed. She couldn’t quite get the last one shut, so she left it slightly ajar. With a silent prayer, she hoped whatever it was that was tearing up the camp wouldn’t notice.

Rowan waited, her pulse pounding in her ears. As soon as she could, she needed to get back to her office. She had a pistol and several rifles locked up in there. She also needed to get a mayday call out and, once she was armed, go and help her people.

Now, the only sound she heard was her own racing heartbeat. It had to be a polar bear. But she didn’t think a bear had killed Marc. Even though his chest had been slashed, he was frozen.

A shadow moved on the other side of the lab and Rowan stopped breathing.

Holding her breath, she watched the shadow move across the lab. Then it resolved into a slim figure with a blonde ponytail. Rowan’s shoulders sagged. Emily.

Rowan was just about to push the cabinet doors open, when Emily spun, gasping.

“No,” Emily cried.

A blur of white. The thing moved so fast that Rowan couldn’t tell what it was. It launched itself at Emily.

There was a crash and Emily screamed. Rowan slammed open the doors and surged out. “Emily!”

There was a blur again, and the thing raced into a tunnel with Emily over its shoulder.

It was no polar bear. Whatever this thing was, it walked upright on two legs.

Chest heaving, Rowan searched for a weapon. She emptied out drawers, trying to stay calm and not let the sob in her chest break free.

“Dammit.” There was nothing useful in this lab. Her gaze fell on a broom leaning against the wall. She snatched it up and snapped the bristled end off. Hefting the wooden stick, she knew it wasn’t much, but until she reached her office, it would have to do.

Emily needed her.

Rowan moved as quietly as she could. She stepped into the tunnel leading to the second lab. The air in the base was frigid now, her breath causing tiny puffs in front of her. The lights were still on, so the power was still functioning, but she wasn’t sure what had happened to the heating system. Maybe the thing had torn a hole in one of the domes.

She reached the end of the tunnel and peered into the second lab. Benches were lined up in neat rows. Nothing moved. Where was Emily?

Then Rowan saw the bodies.

Her stomach rolled and she raced forward. No. Dr. Spencer, Dr. Chan, and Dr. Petrov all lay sprawled on the floor. Amara was hanging over an overturned stool.

They were all frozen. Rowan touched their skin, her hand shaking. Icy. God. She shuddered, filled with hot panic and welling rage. A layer of ice covered their hair. Amara’s shirt was torn open and Rowan could see the woman’s veins under her skin. They weren’t blue-green, they were blue-white, like her blood was frozen.

Rowan had to get to her office. She needed to make a mayday call and find a weapon.

She turned and strode out, the broom handle gripped high. She also needed to find Emily, Isabel, Lars, and the rest of her team.