“Why are you two kissing without me?” Lena shouted. “I should blast you both apart!”

Alexia gazed at the zombie and pursed her purple lips. "Uooooooooooooh, someone is jealous."

John rolled his eyes and pushed the space witch back. "Alexia, it's good to see you again, but we are in a pickle right now."

Alexia crossed her arms. "I can see that."

"Do you know where Kara is?"

"She took the monorail to the laboratory. Where were you?"

John stretched his mechanic arms up and lowered. He told her about Copper who freed him from a hibernation tube at the male jailhouse compound. The Director contacted Copper to release John so he can stop the demonic outbreak. Lena arrived to break him out, although Copper already freed him. When they learned the power plant was overheating, they traveled straight there to stop it. Luckily, they cooled down the core before it reached 100%.

Alexia sighed. "Thank god….. I almost thought I wouldn’t make it."

"Where have you been?" Lena asked, putting her shotgun behind her back.

"Kara and I broke out when the ladies went crazy," Alexia explained. "I sensed demons possessing them….. Everywhere."

John crossed his arms. "From where?"

"In the control room, we found a scientist hiding under a desk. Kara interrogated him until he said the outbreak originated from the SPD research facility."

John raised an eyebrow. "There is an SPD facility here? On a fucking prison planet?"

"He wasn't lying, but I never heard of it either."

"Why didn’t we know about it?" Lena asked.

Alexia threw her hands up. "I know the director likes to keep secrets from us. He thinks it is none of our damn business."

John growled and punched the pillar. "That is bullshit! We are supposed to be on the same side!"

"We are only SPD agents, enforced to eliminate supernatural threats. Whatever our company is doing, it is out of our league to know their business."

John pointed his finger at Alexis. "And you agree to that?"

The space witch glared at the werewolf. "Since we are alone here, we can investigate the facility. The SPD will not know if there are no survivors."

Lena walked up toward Alexia. "What did the scientist say about the lab?"

Alexia sighed. "Not much. A demon spirit possessed him. He went berserk before Kara crushed his skull. She is heading to the research facility now. I came here after I heard the power plant turned critical.”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"You're lucky we got here first," said John. "The entire planet would have blown up."

Alexia dropped her mouth with shock in her eyes. "Really? Whoa! Whoever built this place wasn't smart at all."

"Tell me about it."

Lena stared at the core. "What should we do next?"

John glared with determination. "The lab will be our next stop. We will find Kara there and discover what the hell is happening. The director wanted us to stop whatever is making the freaks appear. If we don't stop them, they could move off-world and infect other colonies like a plague. And we are the only ones here who can stop them."

"I agree," said Alexia, "the train is down, but I have a vehicle in the garage. We can take it straight to the lab."

"Good, I will grab Copper and meet you there."

*****

John stood next to Copper as the elevator drifted down. The elevator still boiled his nerves.

"How long will you stay in that form?" The hovering robot asked.

John glared at Copper. "You got a problem with it?"

"Bloody no! I'm only confused about how you change back and forth."

John tapped his temple. "Alexia implanted a chip inside my head to control myself. I can choose to transform anytime I want."

"How come you haven't changed back yet? Does it last longer?"

John shrugged. “Depends on how I feel, I guess. I’m still calving for demon blood.”

Copper blinked his eye lens. “Bloody werewolf.”

After the elevator stopped, the double doors opened, letting John and Copper moved into the garage chamber. The entire interior was concrete with white lights shining over black buggy vehicles, lined up against the back wall. Toward the open garage door, the girls waited near a black armored personnel carrier. Eight wheels, red and blue lights on top, and one window on the front.

“Great pick, Alexia!” John complimented.

The space witch smiled at him and opened the back door behind the APC. “It is the only vehicle I could find. But it is easy to drive.”

“I call shotgun!” Lena shouted and climbed through the back.

“Because you have one?” Copper followed Lena into the APC.

John climbed in next and took Alexia’s hand. She pulled herself in and glanced into John’s eyes. “Maybe we’ll have time to fool around in here before we reach the lab.”

The werewolf chuckled. “After we get off this rock.”

Alexia hummed and closed the door. She strolled into the driver’s compartment, finding Lena already sitting behind the wheel.

John peeked over Alexia’s shoulder. Her lavender scent still shined from her long purple hair.

“Can you drive this thing?” he asked.

Lena switched the engine on and placed her hands on the steering wheel. “Alexia said it is easy to drive.”

She pushed the gas pedal while turning the APC through the garage door. She drove the transport up a slope beneath the monorail tracks and forward across a barren plain. The route was a little bumpy, but it didn’t slow down the armored vehicle. Black clouds still shadowed the nightmarish landscape as if the planet never has a sun. With the APC’s bright lights on, the surrounding couldn’t stay invisible for long.

Alexia pointed her finger at a monitor next to the steering wheel. “That is the automotive navigation system. It will show you where to go.”

Lena turned the monitor on, displaying a geographic map. “Got it. Only ten miles to go.”

John grinned. “Good. We should be on the course then.”

Lena heard a beeping sound and checked the map. “Uh-oh!”

“What is the problem?” Copper asked.

Lena glanced at the ANS screen. “It’s the weather warning detector. A huge plasma storm is approaching us!”

“How bad is it?” John asked.

Alexia sneered at him. “Very bad.”