Orion Colony Complete Series Boxed Set by J.N. Chaney (best detective novels of all time .TXT) 📕

“What are they?” Stacy asked again.

“I knew I couldn’t chance either the Rung finding this installation or Legion until he was wiped out,” Jezra said. “When I awoke, I created the mist around this marsh as well as the creatures through scientific engineering. The creature already existed in a way. I only made them larger through experimentation. I also gave them the ability to permanently walk on land.”

“The sawg?” Tong asked.

“Yes,” Jezra answered. “The sawg already indigenous to our planet were upgraded in a way. They became my protectors that live in the mist.”

“I still have a million questions, but I could use some food and I’m sure Arun would like something to eat now as well,” I said, motioning for the door. “Lead on.”

Jezra nodded then headed out of the chamber and to the circular stairs leading to the first floor.

I hung back with Stacy.

“You buying all of this?” I asked under my breath.

“Something seems off,” Stacy said, shaking her head. “Everything has an answer that fits too perfectly in line.”

“Yeah, and she’s kooky as an old bat,” I said. “I don’t think she’s playing with a full deck, if you know what I mean.”

“Eyes open,” Stacy said with a nod. “We’ll talk with Arun and see how she wants to play all of this.”

Up ahead, we followed Tong and Jezra to the eating area. It turned out to be nothing more than an open room with tables and chairs. There was no kitchen or service line, just a number of square openings in the wall. Above each opening was a display screen with a series of buttons.

I watched, interested, as Tong and Jezra each went up to their own square in the wall. They maneuvered through the display screen, pressing buttons and swiping until they each decided on a food item, or what I guessed were food items.

After they each selected their meals, they pressed a button. A moment later, the food they’d decided upon came out on a tray from further into the wall.

“What the f—”

“How did you do that?” Stacy asked, cutting me off.

“Oh of course.” Tong waved us over to an empty square in the wall. He showed us how to maneuver through the options for food. “This is called a—a nutrition creator. I think those would be the words closest to it in your language at least. You can scroll through food options here. Once you’ve decided on something, you select it and then press this button.”

Tong ran through the process, looking at us with a nod.

Jezra took her food to one of the tables and started to eat.

Stacy and I followed Tong’s instructions, going through choices we didn’t understand. I stopped my sideways scrolling on something that looked like a bowl of spaghetti. I knew it couldn’t be spaghetti, but it looked like white noodles with meat sauce on it.

“What do you think, Mutt?” I looked down, asking him. “How much like spaghetti could this taste?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jezra and Tong speaking. Jezra motioned to the door of the room and the two stood up and walked over. I wasn’t sure what they were talking about. It was in their own tongue again, but Tong looked worried.

I saw motion coming from the square opening in the wall. My bowl of definitely not spaghetti came to rest in front of me on a conveyer-like belt. It smelled like tuna.

“Dean!” Stacy yelled so loud from right next to me she nearly gave me a heart attack.

“I know, I know, it can’t be spaghetti smelling like that,” I said, looking back at my bowl of food.

“No, the doors!” Stacy yelled again.

I looked over to where she pointed. A clear glass door to the room we were in separated us from Jezra and Tong. On the other side of the door, Tong looked just as confused as we were.

White gas from the ventilation shafts overhead poured inside our room.

Mutt started to bark. He raced for the closed door and jumped at it. Despite throwing his weight at the barrier, it didn’t move.

Stacy and I followed, already coughing as the gas filled our lungs.

“Let us out! What are you doing!?” Stacy screamed, slamming her fists into the white door as we reached it. “Tong, open the door.”

Tong’s mouth was moving, but we couldn’t hear a word. He slammed on the door from his side.

When I joined them, I caught sight of Jezra lifting something out of her robe. It was a short piece of steel.

“Tong, behind you!” I screamed, lending my own weight toward bringing down the door.

Already my head felt lighter, courtesy of whatever gas was being pumped into the room. I coughed, still trying to point behind Tong at Jezra. The old Remboshi wore a look of utter madness in her eyes.

Jezra brought her weapon down on the back of Tong’s head hard. He crumpled to the ground in front of us.

I slammed my fists into the door so hard, the entire clear door shook but didn’t break.

I started to cough, my head swimming.

“Stand—stand back,” Stacy said, lifting her weapon to the door. Her movements were slow as if she were performing them under water.

I fell backward.

BOOM!

Stacy sent a round into the glass door. It didn’t do a thing. Mutt was already unconscious next to me. The last thing I remembered before blackness came for me were Jezra’s huge eyes peering down at us from the other side of the door.

21

One second I was on the floor, thinking, There goes my chance to see if it tasted like spaghetti at all, the next I was awake on the ground in a circular-shaped room. The room was big enough to fit a dozen crawlers inside. Lights set into the two-story ceiling gave me enough illumination to know I was alone.

Two doors set on opposite sides of the room were the only way in and out. There were