Breakout Read Online Free PDF

be random, gear he’d deemed too precious to use straightaway, but it might not help in their current circumstances.
    â€œThere’s one small problem,” Vost said, once they finished.
    â€œWhat?” Dred tilted her head, thinking she already knew, yet she was curious if their minds worked in a similar fashion.
    â€œKeelah is the only one who can find this room without fail. So every team moving without her will be handicapped and might not make it back, enemies aside.”
    â€œIt’s a problem,” Dred agreed.
    Keelah found an exceptionally dirty part of the wall and beckoned them over. “I’ll map the route. If you can’t remember later, it’s not my fault.”
    Everyone paid close attention, memorizing the turns and landmarks she gave, most of which would be glimpsed through the vents. Keelah also listed some scent tells, but they would be of limited use to anyone but herself and Jael. By the time she was done, the mercs looked nervous. They were used to having the advantage of good gear and numbers; they had less experience in hiding, sneaking, and relying on luck and timing.
    Dred decided to be blunt. “We don’t have the food stores to sit around for another down shift. Ideally, Ike has some crates of paste hidden away.”
    Vost nodded. “Since we don’t have to cook it, there’s no scent to pass through ventilation and give away our location.”
    â€œNow we just need to decide on teams, split up the list, and move out.”
    â€œSame as our watches?” Calypso asked.
    Duran grinned at her. “Fine by me.”
    Dred didn’t want to go out with Vost, and he could probably tell, because the merc commander said, “Unless you object, we’re better off together. He’s used to me and vice versa.”
    Redmond agreed, “We’ve been fighting together for a while. We won’t hide anything we find, guaranteed. Nobody’s getting out of this hellhole unless we’re square with each other.”
    â€œI’ll go on my own,” Keelah said quietly.
    While Dred wasn’t positive that was a good idea, she couldn’t force the female to join another team. Plus, with her experience, Keelah
might
be safer alone, less likely to be caught by Silence’s maniacs. So she only nodded. Unsurprisingly Tam and Martine partnered up, which left Dred and Jael.
    Exactly what I wanted.
    They staggered their departures to reduce the noise, so only Vost and Redmond were left when she and Jael slipped through the wall panel. The route back to safety burned in her mind’s eye; wondering how long she could hold it there, Dred pushed forward into the dusty dark.
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    JAEL had always been good at navigation, one of the reasons he’d survived battles that annihilated everyone else. His uncanny healing was the other, of course. But it didn’t hurt that he could glance at a map and orient himself instantly. So he led the way from the bolt-hole, with Dred close behind.
    The route took them through their old territory, above it, anyway, and he paused the instant he saw Silence’s men. Dred pressed closer, barely breathing, as they watched some kind of death ritual.
Those are the two Keelah and I killed. Now they definitely know some of us survived the Queensland massacre.
Five killers stood in black rags, adorning their faces with blood and ashes. In eerie quiet, they traced brow ridges and noses, mouths and chins, until their features were disfigured with the embellishment of death. Their eyes gleamed yellow at this distance, and they swayed as one, like ocean seaweed caught in a strong current. To Jael, it almost seemed as if they were dancing to unheard music, and they weren’t grieving, either. This was a kind of awful ecstasy, a celebration, even. Everything about it made his flesh creep.
    They’re not human anymore. She’s changing them somehow.
It was a