The Colony Boxed Set 1. Grace Goodwin
capable of literally ripping my body in half with their enhanced cyborg strength, did make me a little nervous.
Maxim nodded as we passed. He had been pulled into a conversation with Governor Bryck seated on his right, a giant brute of a man, an Atlan Beast, Ryston told me, who ruled Base 2. I thought my Prillon warriors were big, but an Atlan…
I approached the captain slowly. His plate of food barely half eaten. He looked a little off, as if ill.
My hand was on his shoulder before Ryston could stop me. “Are you all right, Captain? You look a little green. And not because you’re a frog man.”
He’d told me earlier that he was a Navy SEAL and had volunteered to fight in the Coalition Fleet with his older brother two days after the first Prillon ships made contact with Earth. His brother was still out there somewhere. Still fighting, as I knew Brooks wished he could be.
He raised his head to look at me and I gasped. The black streaks I’d noticed earlier on his chest and shoulder had spread up his neck onto his cheek, like infection spreading out from a wound. “No. Something isn’t right. I can’t—my head—it hurts.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. He toppled over and I tried to hold him up, but he was a lot bigger than I was, and dead weight.
Ryston’s arms grabbed him from behind and kept him from pushing me down with him. My mate shouted over his shoulder. “Get the doctor. Now!”
Everyone scrambled and the doctor, the asshole I still hadn’t quite forgiven for that almost “exam” he’d wanted to give me, rushed forward with his little wand as Ryston lowered Captain Brooks to the floor.
“What are those black streaks?” Prime Nial’s voice broke through the silence.
The doctor answered, but did not look up from his patient. “We don’t know. They started showing up a few weeks ago. Nothing shows on the ReGen scans. After a few days, they fade. I assumed it was a new virus or other antigen native to The Colony. We are still discovering new things about this world every day.”
“That doesn’t look like it faded, Doctor,” Ryston added.
“He’s the first human to be infected. Their immune system and physiology is different.” The doctor looked into the captain’s eyes, checked his pulse, looked at his little wand thing again as I held Captain Brooks head in my lap. Brooks was still breathing, barely, and I didn’t want him to feel like he was alone, just in case. I ran my hand through his hair, over and over, just holding him, soothing him as much as I could.
“He’s got trace amounts of Quell in his system.” The doctor’s words made Ryston stiffen beside me and I ran my fingers along the captain’s brow, hoping he could feel my touch even as I wondered what the hell was going on. Was some kind of infection spreading through him?
“Quell? Are you sure?” Maxim asked.
“Yes.” The doctor answered without looking up.
What was Quell? Why was Maxim’s rage so strong that my throat tightened and I had to fight not to vomit lasagna all over the floor? And was it true, Captain Brooks was the first human affected? Did they not understand human physiology? Didn’t Earth give the Coalition doctors data on human physiology before we sent our soldiers, and our brides, out into space?
Three stuttering breaths and the captain went into convulsions.
Ryston yanked me back, out of the way, as four huge warriors came to hold Brooks down. It seemed to go on forever and I held onto Ryston for dear life. Maxim joined us, placing his body between me and the sight of the captain shuddering and shaking on the floor.
When it was finally over, the doctor shook his head.
“He’s dead.”
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.