ASMSG Scifi Fantasy Paranormal Emagazine May 2014 | Page 28

SFP Indie Issue 2
“Well, looks like someone had a change of plans. I’m
estimating about forty…fifty cars, at least twice as many
people.”
“They won’t get through the gate,” Xin said. “It was
designed to keep out APCs.”
“Uh…The gate just opened…Por dios…They’re
driving in!”
“What?”
“No kidding, I swear to God.” The tension in
Carlos’s voice escalated. “Someone must be screwing
around with the security system.”
Zara suppressed a hiss of irritation. “Find that
person, Xin, and disable his access. I don’t want to have to
fight my way out of here.”
“I’m on it, but I can’t guarantee they won’t get to you.
If they’re already through the gate, they’ll be pounding on
the front door in seconds. You don’t have time; get
moving. And Zara, if you don’t take Galahad with you,
he’s as good as dead.”
Zara’s mind raced through the options available to
her, the possibilities. She shrugged, dismissing the many
logical reasons why she should not do what she was about
to do, and took her first step down her path with a terse
and coolly decisive order. “He’s coming with me. I’ll get us
out of the building. Carlos, stand by for an extraction.”
“Copy that.”
She stepped toward Galahad. “You need to change
into something else.” The thin cotton tunic and pants he
wore would not provide sufficient protection from the
chilly night air. Besides, his clothes looked like something
issued to long-term residents of mental hospitals.
Something with fewer negative institutional implications
would work better at keeping him as inconspicuous as
possible.
He blinked in surprise, her voice jerking him back to
reality, and he looked up at her. “There is nothing else to
wear,” he said. He released his breath in a soft sigh, his
gaze drifting away from her to the rabbit outside the
window.
Nothing else? A quick search of the suite confirmed
his words. The only pieces of clothing in the suite’s large
and mostly empty walk-in closet were several pieces of
identical white cotton tunics and pants, a subtle but highly
effective dehumanizing strategy. “We’re leaving anyway,”
she told him as she returned into the living area of the
suite. “Get up. We’re going.”
He stared at her in bewilderment. “Going?”

28 | P a g e

Zara exercised exquisit R