Read Online Haven 6 by Aubrie Dionne - Free Book Online Page B

scout ship. There would be no way for them to get back to the Heritage . They’d have to wait in the jungle, in the dark, with no cover or reinforcements for who knew how long? “One of us has to get inside.”
    “Over there.” Litus pointed to the edge of the jungle where a tangle of leaves dragged Mars’s and Tank’s limp bodies away.
    “They’re taking them!” Eri’s voice croaked as fear suffocated her throat. “We’ve got to do something.”
    Litus’s face turned solemn. “Head for the ship. When you get inside, close the hatch and buzz Commander Grier.”
    Eri paused. That all sounded like the kinds of things Litus should be doing himself. “What about you?”
    “I’m going to buy you time.”
    The thought of an arrow piercing Litus’s heart flashed in her mind. “No. It’s too dangerous.”
    “Someone has to report and get help.”
    Scanning the empty camp, she and Litus were the only members of the team left.
    “Tell Aquaria I love her.” Litus’s eyes burned with intensity. “Now go!”
    He ran toward the jungle, firing in all directions. Eri scrambled, tripping over her boots. When she looked back, Litus had downed three clumps of leaves with legs and chased the remainder into the jungle. Eri zigzagged through the remnants of camp, trying not to look at the fallen bodies of her teammates. The air was ripe with the smell of putrid jungle rot and sweat.
    Eri chanted the orders in her head. Get to the ramp. Close the hatch. Notify the commander.
    One clump of leaves lay unmoving at the bottom of the ramp. Eri circled around it, curiosity getting the better of her. Legs, much like human limbs, poked out from the leaves. The skin was tan as a leather hide, and its feet wore rough leather boots.
    Wait a second. Eri crouched down beside it, yanking off a fern. The leaves had been plucked and reassembled in a thick overgrowth, woven together with some sort of grassy reeds.
    Her hands shook out of control as she dug into the leaves and pulled the covering free. A human face with a slight dusting of beard and brown eyes stared back at her, lifeless. He looked like the man who served vegetables in the cafeteria of the Heritage , missing a front tooth, with a very bad tan.
    They’re people.
    She felt betrayed, tricked, hoodwinked. The odds of another civilization evolving exactly the same on an entirely different planet were…almost impossible. If not entirely impossible.
    Litus’s laser fire abruptly stopped, and Eri jolted into motion. Rainwater had made the ramp slick and she slipped, banging her elbow as she went down. Grime and green muck stuck to her hands as she scrambled. An arrow flew by her head into the loading bay. Almost there.
    She reached the top, forcing herself not to look back. The panel glowed dim green in the night, beckoning her. Sweat dripping down the sides of her face, Eri hid behind the corner and read the screen. Outside, one of the leaf-covered men yelled like a hyena closing in on its prey.
    Her mind raced as she tried to remember the hatch retraction code. Seven seven eight two. Wait, no. Seven one-one-eight-two…
    She wiped her slimy hands on her pants and punched in the second code, her fingers shaking as they pressed the screen. The hatch moved above her head and she felt a wave of relief. I’m going to make it. I’m going to get help.
    A beeping sound vibrated the bottom of her stomach and the gears stopped. The computer’s monotone voice came on. “Warning. Object obstructing hatch retraction procedure. Please remove to continue.”
    Freaking nebula! Eri scanned the portal frame. A single arrow had lodged inside the space where the hatch closed. She chanced one look at the jungle. Leafy men poured from the trees, all running toward the ramp. Even if she stood out in the open and jumped, she’d never reach the shaft.
    I’m doomed. We’ve all failed.
    The ship was too small to hide. They’d find her. But maybe she’d hide long enough to contact Commander