The Dead Fleet (Juggernaut #3)

Twenty Eight

The blackness was absolute. Heavy. Oppressive. Ellie felt like she was drowning in the dark. She squeezed her eyes shut. White and red lights flashed in the corner of her eyes. She opened them again and saw nothing. She closed her eyes, held her breath, then inhaled slowly. The air was normal.

It's just dark. It can't hurt me.

She opened them again. The blackness was unchanged. Ellie stood up slowly. Her fingertips still touched the bulkhead door. It was the only frame of reference she had. There was the door, behind that the intersection, and behind that the door Malachi had closed. The door he had closed on her.

No, he had to close it. What else could he do? Tila probably told him to. I hope they're okay.

Ellie felt along the door to the wall, then searched up and down for the control. Why wasn't it illuminated? Fingertips explored and prodded every control surface she could identity but nothing worked.

Maybe the explosion damaged it. Maybe the agents did. Maybe the agents have a flashlight?

Ellie turned her back to the door and pressed both palms against the metal. The agents were sleeping nearby, but where. Ellie took one small step forward and felt around with her toes. Nothing. She crept forward again. Her foot touched something hard. It scratched against the floor. The noise made her jump. She recoiled quickly. Her heart pounded. She anchored herself to the safety of the door again and scolded herself for being afraid. It must have been a blaster, that's all. They must be close.

She poked her toe out again in a different direction and found something soft and yielding. She crouched down, still touching the door, and explored the body. Her fingers found straps and webbing. She tugged at them and shifted them a little closer. There was something squarish, metal, cold, with groove down one side. She shook it and heard a moving part rattle inside. There were no buttons. Not a flashlight. She dropped it and moved on. She found two empty pockets and the empty holster of a sidearm. The needler Tila picked up? The other one might still be here, but what good would it do? She needed to see where she was going. She would worry about how to fight later.

Her hand moved over the agent's chest. Here was something cylindrical. She pulled it free from it's container and explored it with her hands. It was about half the length of her hand. It had a machined texture for grip. One end was smooth and hard. The other moved. A button? Ellie smiled to herself. Finally, some good luck. She closed her thumb over the button and tensed.

She hesitated.

The last thing she had seen before rolling behind the door was the grenade. The thing she held was the same shape. Was the button in the same place? She remembered Malachi pressing something like this. She bit her lip and gave silent thanks to the stars that she had realised in time.

Ellie took her thumb off the button and carefully placed the flashlight on the floor and left the grenades untouched.