OPERATION GHOST RIG

THE HUNT BEGINS

The rifle's muzzle flashed in the darkness.

The shot echoed through the communication room, but Elias knew before he pulled the trigger that Asher was already gone. The man had moved like smoke, vanishing through a hidden door that clicked shut behind him.

Elias's ears rang. The alarm still blared, a rotating siren that seemed to shake the walls. Red emergency lights flashed, painting the room in pulses of blood.

He was alone. And somewhere below, the creature was free.

"Damn it," he muttered.

He moved to the door Asher had used. Locked. Electronic keypad, glowing faintly in the red light. He could try to breach it, but the hunters would be converging on this position. Staying here was death.

He checked the rifle. Full magazine, one round spent. Thirty rounds left, maybe. The dead woman's radio was still clipped to his belt, silent.

Elias went to the console instead. The communication array was still powered, its green lights blinking. If he could send a distress signal before the hunters arrived, the whole mission would change.

He grabbed the microphone and flicked the switch.

Static.

He adjusted the frequency. More static. The array was active, but the signal was being jammed. A deliberate block, probably controlled from the main security center.

"Vance." Asher's voice crackled through the overhead speaker. "You're wasting time. The communication array is useless without the encryption key. And I'm the only one who has it."

Elias's jaw tightened. "Then I'll take it from you."

"Bold words for a man who's about to die." Asher's tone was almost bored. "But I'm not going to kill you. Not yet. You're too valuable."

"The target," Elias said. "That's me. You want me alive."

Silence for a moment. Then Asher laughed. "You're sharp. But not sharp enough. The target isn't you, Mr. Vance. It's someone far more interesting."

The words hit like a punch. Elias's mind raced. If he wasn't the target, then who? Becky? Henry? One of the others?

"Who?" he demanded.

"You'll find out soon enough." The speaker crackled. "If you survive the next ten minutes."

The line went dead.

Elias didn't wait. He grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall and slammed it against the console, shattering the display. If he couldn't use the array, neither could they. Then he moved to the door and kicked it open.

The corridor beyond was chaos. Red lights strobed. Water dripped from the ceiling. And somewhere close, he heard gunfire.

The hunters were already engaging.

Elias ran toward the sound. If his people were fighting, they needed help. He moved through the corridors with the rifle raised, his boots splashing through shallow puddles.

The gunfire grew louder. He turned a corner and saw a body on the floor. One of the hunters, his tactical vest torn open, his weapon missing. His eyes stared at nothing.

The creature had been here.

Elias knelt and checked the body. The hunter's radio was gone. His sidearm was still in its holster. Elias took it and tucked it into his waistband.

A sound behind him. He spun, rifle raised.

Lauren stumbled out of a side passage, her face pale and slick with sweat. "Elias! Thank God."

"Where are the others?"

"I don't know. We got separated when the alarms went off. The hunters are everywhere."

Elias grabbed her arm and pulled her into an alcove. "What about Mateo and Ava?"

"I lost them near the helipad." Lauren's voice shook. "I saw one of the hunters dragging Ava away. She was fighting, but he was too strong."

The words hit Elias like ice water. Ava taken. Mateo missing. Becky and Jesus in the server room, possibly compromised. Henry's loyalty still unclear.

"Which way did they take her?"

"Toward the observation deck. I think they're using it as a command post."

Elias nodded. "Then that's where I'm going."

"Alone? Elias, you can't—"

"I can't leave her." He checked the rifle. "Stay hidden. Find the others. Get them to the server room if you can."

"And if I can't?"

"Then find a place to hide. I'll come for you."

Lauren opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. She nodded. "Be careful. The hunters aren't the only thing out there. Subject Zero is loose."

"I know." Elias turned and moved down the corridor.

The observation deck was three levels up. He climbed the stairs, staying low, listening for movement. The alarm still blared, but it was fainter now, muffled by the rig's bulk.

He passed a window and looked out. The ocean was still there, gray and endless. But something had changed. The supply ship was closer now, maybe two miles out. It was moving slowly, circling.

Watching.

Elias forced himself to keep moving. He reached the landing outside the observation deck and crouched behind a stack of crates. Two hunters stood by the door, rifles held loosely. They were relaxed, confident. They didn't expect company.

Elias raised his rifle and sighted on the first hunter's leg. A disabling shot, not a kill. He needed information.

He squeezed the trigger.

The shot echoed through the corridor. The first hunter screamed and collapsed, clutching his thigh. The second spun, raising his weapon. Elias fired again, hitting the man's shoulder. The rifle clattered to the floor.

Elias rushed forward, kicking the weapons away. He grabbed the first hunter by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"Where's Ava?" he demanded.

The hunter groaned, his face twisted with pain. "I don't know—"

Elias pressed the rifle barrel against the man's wound. "Wrong answer."

The hunter screamed. "The observation deck! They took her up top!"

"How many men?"

"Five. Maybe six. Asher's there too."

Elias knocked the man's head against the wall, hard enough to daze him. Then he turned to the second hunter, who was crawling toward a radio.

"Stay down," Elias said. He crushed the radio under his boot. Then he moved to the door.

It was unlocked. He slipped through and began climbing.

The observation deck was the highest point on the rig, a glass-walled room with a panoramic view of the ocean. As Elias climbed the final ladder, he could see figures moving behind the glass. Silhouettes, distorted by the salt-crusted windows.

He reached the top and pressed himself against the wall. The door was a few feet away, partially open. Voices drifted out.

"—still missing. The creature's in the lower levels, but it's heading up."

"Doesn't matter. We have the package. Asher wants her alive."

"Alive? Why her?"

"Because she's the target. She's the one the experiment was designed for."

Elias's blood went cold. Ava. She was the target.

He peered through the gap in the door. Ava was tied to a chair in the center of the room, her face bruised, her eyes wide with fear. Four hunters stood around her, rifles ready. And in the corner, Asher sat at a desk, his tablet glowing in the dim light.

"Ah, Mr. Vance," Asher said, not looking up. "I was wondering when you'd arrive."

Elias stepped through the door, rifle raised. "Let her go."

Asher sighed and set down the tablet. "You're predictable, Vance. That's your weakness. You can't leave anyone behind. Even when it's the logical choice."

"I'm not leaving her."

"No. I know you're not." Asher stood and walked toward Ava. He stopped behind her chair, his hands resting on her shoulders. "But you don't understand what she is. What she represents."

"She's a doctor. A survivor."

"She's a failure." Asher's voice hardened. "The serum was supposed to enhance her. To make her stronger. But it didn't work. The experiment failed. And now we need to understand why."

Elias's grip tightened on the rifle. "You injected her. Before she woke up."

"We injected all of you. But Ava was different. She was the only one who didn't respond. The only one who rejected the serum." Asher smiled. "Which makes her very, very interesting."

Ava's eyes met Elias's. There was fear there, but also something else. Determination.

"Don't listen to him," she said. "He's trying to get in your head."

Asher laughed. "She's right, of course. I am. But I'm also telling the truth." He pulled a small syringe from his pocket. "This is a second dose. If it works, it'll complete the transformation. If it doesn't..." He shrugged. "Well, we'll learn something either way."

Elias took a step forward. "You're not touching her."

"Then shoot me." Asher spread his arms. "Kill me, and the hunters kill her. Either way, you lose."

The room fell silent. The alarm had stopped blaring, leaving only the sound of the wind outside.

Elias weighed his options. Four hunters, all armed. Asher, too confident. Ava, tied to a chair. And somewhere below, the creature was climbing.

He could shoot Asher. But the hunters would kill Ava before he could fire again. He could try to take out the hunters first. But Asher would inject her.

There was no clean play.

"Time's running out, Mr. Vance," Asher said. "Make a choice. Your friend's life, or your principles?"

Elias lowered the rifle.

"Smart man," Asher said.

But Elias wasn't surrendering. He was waiting.

The door behind him exploded inward.

Subject Zero burst through, its massive form filling the doorway. Its blind eyes swept the room, its claws scraping the floor.

"Found you," it growled.

Chaos erupted.

The hunters opened fire. Their bullets tore into the creature, but it barely flinched. It swung one massive arm, sending a hunter crashing through the window. Glass shattered, and the wind screamed through the room.

Elias dove for Ava. He yanked at the ropes, his fingers working frantically.

"Get down!" he shouted.

She dropped to the floor as the last rope came free. Elias covered her with his body as bullets whizzed overhead.

The creature was in a frenzy now, tearing through the hunters with savage efficiency. Blood sprayed across the walls. Screams echoed through the observation deck.

Asher grabbed his tablet and ran for the far door. He paused at the threshold, looking back at Elias.

"This isn't over, Vance. She's still mine."

Then he was gone, the door slamming behind him.

Elias pulled Ava to her feet. "Can you run?"

She nodded, her face pale but determined.

They ran for the broken window. The creature was still occupied with the remaining hunters, its roars shaking the room. Outside, the wind howled, and the ocean churned far below.

"There!" Ava pointed to a maintenance ladder leading down to the helipad.

They climbed through the shattered window and grabbed the ladder. The metal was cold and slick, but they descended as fast as they could, the wind whipping at their clothes.

Above them, the observation deck exploded in a shower of glass and metal. The creature's silhouette appeared at the broken window, its head turning as if searching for them.

"Hurry!" Elias shouted.

They reached the helipad and ran. The helicopter sat in the center, its rotors still, but the door was open.

"In here!" Ava said.

They climbed into the helicopter and slammed the door. Elias locked it and ducked down, pulling Ava beside him.

The creature's roar echoed across the rig. It was coming.

"Do you think it can't get in?" Ava whispered.

Elias looked at the thin metal door. "I don't know."

A shadow fell over the helicopter. The creature had jumped from the observation deck, landing on the helipad with a crash that shook the metal.

It sniffed the air, its head turning slowly.

"I smell you," it said.

Elias held his breath. Beside him, Ava was trembling.

The creature took a step toward the helicopter. Then another.

Elias reached for the rifle. He had maybe twenty rounds left. Not enough to stop that thing, but maybe enough to slow it down.

He raised the weapon.

But before he could fire, a new sound cut through the night.

A voice. Amplified and distorted, coming from the rig's speakers.

"Subject Zero," it said. "Return to the lower levels. Your prey is not here."

The creature froze. It tilted its head, as if listening to something only it could hear.

"Return," the voice repeated. "There is better prey below."

The creature snarled, its claws scraping the helipad. But then it turned and lumbered away, disappearing through a doorway.

Elias exhaled. The voice had saved them. But whose voice was it?

And why did it sound familiar?

Beside him, Ava stirred. She looked at him with eyes that were wide and haunted.

"Elias," she whispered. "I remember something."

"What?"

"The white room. The man who questioned me." She paused, her voice shaking. "It wasn't Henry. It was someone else. Someone I knew."

"Who?"

Ava's eyes met his. "It was you."

The words hung in the air like a blade.

And outside, the wind howled, and the supply ship moved closer.