Lights flickered on and off as they walked down the empty halls. It was eerily quiet, though every once in a while they would hear distant screams that came from outside.

There was the clanking of the girl’s metal leg, too. But he was used to that and barely noticed it anymore. Part of him was concerned it might draw undue attention, but so far they had met no one. As if the creatures were content with the streets. Then again, they had plenty of targets there, so why come here where there was no one?

Kaine’s eyes paused on a door and he cringed.

No, he thought. Not no one. There are still patients in some of these rooms. Abandoned to their fate.

The staff must have run when the invasion began.

He glanced at Ondine, who walked close to him. She was his responsibility now. But how could he keep her safe with all those creatures out there? How could he keep himself safe, for that matter? Where would they go? He was looking for a way out of the hospital, but was this wise? It felt like they would be safer inside.

His initial thought had been to find a way off the planet—whatever place this was, it was not one he wanted to stay in. But finding a ship would require crossing alien-infested streets. That was assuming he could even figure out where the spaceport was.

Perhaps they should find a place to hide in the hospital and wait there for help. Surely, the Impies would come to the rescue. But the idea of cowering in a corner did not appeal to him. Nor did it feel helpful. More likely, it would simply delay the inevitable...

He chided himself. Why was he so negative? The situation was bad, but surely there was a way out. There had to be. There always was.

The ground shook as a loud boom resonated through the empty halls. Little hands grabbed at his leg as the trembling girl pressed herself against him.

Kaine patted Ondine’s hair, trying to comfort her as he looked around. The explosion had happened nearby. Part of him was curious about what had caused it, while another worried it would draw unwanted attention.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Spotting smoke down a hall, he grabbed the girl’s hand and started in that direction.

“Let’s go take a quick peek,” he said. “Maybe we can find something useful.”

He thought perhaps there were explosives he could use. It was not likely in a hospital, but still, it was worth checking out. Any type of weapon could come in handy. The staff had taken his phaser. He’d looked everywhere in the room, but had only found his clothes and wristpad.

As they neared the smoke, he could smell and hear a fire burning behind a door. It was getting hotter, too, as they approached. This was not good. If it communicated to the rest of the building, it would force them to leave the hospital.

He glanced back at the girl. “Stay here, Ondine. Away from the door. I need to see what’s on the other side.”

She complied, though she looked unhappy and nervous.

The door had been half blown off its hinges, making it easy to open. He kicked it a couple of times and it fell inward with a clash. Thick smoke drifted out.

Looking inside, he saw flames, though they had not spread further than a dashboard. He blinked as he scanned the room and paused when he saw the gateway.

“Oh. Of course.”

Every hospital needed a private gateway for emergencies. Likely, the staff had used it to flee the premises. They must have rigged it so the invaders couldn’t pursue them.

He stepped back with a frown. Glanced at Ondine.

What they needed was a plan, and one was starting to take shape.

There had to be more of these things. If not here, elsewhere in this damned city.

Moving away from the door, he lifted his wristpad and tapped on it.

“Let’s see where we are and where we can go,” he muttered.

The device informed him the world was Ovkan, the city Falkanos. It was one of the largest, well-known in the rim for its numerous hospitals. Each of them had a gateway, though he guessed each would have been destroyed like the one here. Perhaps some were still active, but it would take too long to check them all out. Too risky as well. The public gateways were even more likely to have been blown up—if not by the operators themselves, then by security. No. Their only hope, he realized, was the wealthy. Many of them would have private gateways. Few of them would think to destroy them. More likely, they would hope to use them to return once the threat had passed—the rich were notoriously self-centered, after all.

His wristpad brought up a list of all the wealthiest people in the city and he had it mark those who lived the closest to their location.

Those places would have security, and he’d have to get them through that. Lucky for them, he was a professional thief. That would be the easy part.

The hard part would be getting there.

Preferably without getting killed.

“Come on,” he told Ondine as he grabbed her little hand. “We’re getting out of this hellhole.”