The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (e reader txt) 📕

the ship. A series of large balconies circled around the center which housed a massive tree thousands of years old. Its thickest branches stretched out, lovingly carved into more walkways, benches, and gardens at the top of the sphere. The lowest level was a beautiful landscape of edible vegetation. Stores were set up across all the balconies, none of which took away the beauty of the natural ecosystem, nor the surrounding space outside. Bridges stretched around the ancient tree, connecting the balconies at their furthest points for faster travel across the sphere.

They would have been in awe, seeing it for the first time, were it not shrouded in darkness. They were hit again by the foul smell of garlic, only now it was accompanied by rotten eggs, cabbage, feces and who knows what else. Even Jackal gagged this time, and Ruby could not keep his lunch down.

SIX

Ruby whined, trying to keep his mouth shut, but the taste of his own stomach acid was too much to bear. He could not get his helmet off in time. Sour liquid and chunks coated his helmet. He could feel the nasty warmth draining down his collar.

He cried, dropping to his knees. He felt around his helmet to get the release lever, but Reaper stopped him.

"Don't! We don't know what this stuff is!"

"What do you mean?" Sparrow touched Ruby.

The same black smoke on the other side of the door was flooding the lobby. It puffed and rolled like ocean waves rising against taller surfaces before crashing back down to the floor. It moved when it was touched, reacting similarly to a liquid. It could be carried, and otherwise manipulated. It was too cold to handle for long.

Jackal's glove developed frost upon the surface.

"What in God's name…." Reaper's rifle dropped to his side.

Everyone looked up except for Ruby, who quietly sobbed on the floor.

The smoke made a trail around the lobby, a path to follow. Yet what caught their eyes was the damage.

Broken pots, benches, walls, and railings. Wires and pipes stuck out from the walls and floors. A store nearby had collapsed in on itself, an arm and half a head visible underneath the rubble.

Bodies were strewn across the ecosphere. Blood everywhere they looked, decorated the walls like graffiti. A man was torn in half at the waist, his torso barely clung onto the railing and floor. Wet crimson still dripped from the balcony above where his other half rested.

Fleebeeron, has been beautiful anthropomorphic flowers, were withered and rotten, torn apart. There were even androids scattered about, destroyed beyond repair.

Claw marks were dispersed across many surfaces. Far too large to be caused by any of the dead victims. They could have been from ardrizi, but when Mjolnir tried to match his own claws up, his hand was dwarfed.

Even the plants were not safe. Chunks ripped out of stalks, stems, and trunks. Sap oozed from the fibrous wounds. It seemed they would be the only survivors of the onslaught that took place in a once wondrous garden.

"Why? Who could have done this?" Sparrow bit back tears. Her stomach twisted.

Ruby gagged and turned away from the scene. He did not want to make a bad situation worse.

Mjolnir knelt down, gently running his claws through the smoke.

"I've never seen anything like this before."

"The smoke?" Jackal knelt down as well.

"It could have caused this... massacre."

"Gas? It ripped people apart, left gashes in metal?" Jackal almost laughed. "That's ridiculous. There's no way in hell!"

"You have a better explanation?" Mjolnir grumbled.

"No, but that's better than assuming a gas could have done this."

"Hey," Reaper cut in. "We need to find a way up to the bridge. So, we gotta get up there." He pointed.

"Honestly, I don't care what caused it. I don't wanna look at it anymore." Ruby pushed himself up to his feet.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here, guys." Sparrow hugged herself.

Jackal took the lead, searching for a way up to the higher levels. They were careful not to step on anything disgusting and to keep an eye out for anyone that could still miraculously be alive.

Reaper had another scan ran over the ship. No extra signs of life. He even had the scanner checked for glitches. Restarted. Ran again. The only good it did was enhance a map of the ship.

Every door they came across was barred up. Debris collapsed, blocking them completely. No matter how much Ruby messed with the wiring, they did not open. There was even one door missing its internals. Faint scratches were etched around the panel. Whatever happened, it was done in haste and with little care.

The further into the sphere they traveled, the worse the carnage got. More bodies. More blood. The gas was as thick as ever. They had been unknowingly following it.

"So…" Sparrow stopped. "Can gas do that?"

"What the…." Ruby stared.

They came across an elevator, only its doors had been busted open. They were bent, pulled off their placements to block the shaft. A cable was frayed. Scratches too big to be human, or ardrizi etched the interior. Down below, with a flashlight shining down, they spied the elevator itself. Nearly shattered on impact. A human arm laid atop it.

Sparrow gasped and backed away.

"We need to hurry. If whatever's done, this is still on the ship, then we're all in danger." Reaper said.

"We can turn around now. Say we tried." Ruby suggested.

"Hell no! We need to find whatever did this!" Jackal waved his rifle. "We need to save the survivors at least."

"There's an open door over there." Mjolnir stepped over a couple of bodies that were piled up in the middle.

The others followed. The smoke thickened the closer they got to the door. It was not completely open, but blocked from shutting completely. Some junk of metal was lodged in the way. Sparrow could fit through, but no one else could. The smoke pooled through the gap, rolling over itself like a rushing waterfall.

The source must have been on the other side.

No one approached. They stayed a good arm's