Cruz: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 2) Read Online Free
Author: Anna Hackett
invasion. It had kept her warm at night, kept her company when the shadows of loneliness dogged her. She needed her focus now, more than ever.
With a shake of her head, she stuck another charge on the next pump and waited for the light. Revenge was all she needed. Warm bases and warm bodies were a luxury she couldn’t afford.
She eyed the charges. One more should be enough. She didn’t want to overdo it when she had no idea if what they were storing was explosive or flammable. She didn’t want to leave a crater or set what was left of the city up in flames.
A growling sound echoed down the empty street.
The hairs on the back of her neck rose. With hurried movements, she stuck the last charge on the lid covering the underground tank. Then she shoved the rest of her stuff in the backpack and swung it onto her back. Time to go.
The snarls and growls got louder, followed by an almost wolf-like howl.
Except she knew these were no wolves.
They came into view, racing along the street in a vicious pack. Canids.
The canine-like aliens had thick, tough skin, spikes along their backs, and jaws filled with wicked teeth. They’d also developed a taste for human flesh.
Dammit. Santha sprinted back around the gas station building, squeezed through a hole in the fence and ran in the opposite direction. She lifted her gaze to the rooftops. Up was best. Canids could jump but they weren’t the best climbers.
She spied an apartment building ahead. She’d scale the wall, wait the canids out, and then as a bonus, she might get to watch the raptors blow themselves to tiny alien pieces while she was at it.
But she was halfway to the building when raptor fire hit the ground around her. The green poison sizzled and hissed. She dived over it, rolled and got straight back to her feet.
Santha cursed under her breath. A raptor patrol was coming from the opposite direction, leaving her trapped in between. Eight of them, all armed.
She pulled her two Shockwave laser pistols from their holsters on her hips and fired. She didn’t bother aiming. She just wanted enough distraction to get to cover.
Some of the raptors scattered, others kept firing.
Santha walked backwards, her green lasers lighting up the street. As she neared a shop front, she turned and ran.
The door to the grocery store stood open like a gaping mouth. She’d just reached it when raptor fire tore across her left thigh.
“Ahh.” She almost went down but grabbed the door frame. The burning pain was indescribable. Panting, she pulled herself inside.
Fuck . The acidic poison was chewing through her trousers and eating through her skin. Now she was bleeding profusely, too, her trousers wet with her blood. Not good.
Gritting her teeth and fighting to stay conscious, she grabbed a grenade from her belt, ripped out the pin and tossed it outside.
She didn’t wait to see what happened. She heard the bang, and the yells of the raptors, but she also heard the growls of the canids getting closer. She quickly grabbed a tube of med-gel off her belt, ripped the lid off with her teeth and squeezed the entire tube onto her wound.
Instantly, the pain eased a little. It was all she could do for the moment. She needed to get out of there…because the raptor poison also paralyzed.
Santha hobbled to the back of the store and out into a narrow alley. She hadn’t gone far when she realized she was leaving a hell of a blood trail.
Shit . She squeezed her eyes shut. The pain might have lessened but it was still bad enough to have bile rising in her throat. She swallowed repeatedly and kept moving, but it wasn’t long before she was dragging her leg and sobbing from the pain. The paralyzing effect of the raptor toxin was shutting down the muscles in her leg.
The canid yips and howls were getting louder.
She wouldn’t make it. Not like this.
Santha slumped against the side of a building. After fumbling in the pouch attached to her belt, she yanked out a pressure injector filled with
With a shake of her head, she stuck another charge on the next pump and waited for the light. Revenge was all she needed. Warm bases and warm bodies were a luxury she couldn’t afford.
She eyed the charges. One more should be enough. She didn’t want to overdo it when she had no idea if what they were storing was explosive or flammable. She didn’t want to leave a crater or set what was left of the city up in flames.
A growling sound echoed down the empty street.
The hairs on the back of her neck rose. With hurried movements, she stuck the last charge on the lid covering the underground tank. Then she shoved the rest of her stuff in the backpack and swung it onto her back. Time to go.
The snarls and growls got louder, followed by an almost wolf-like howl.
Except she knew these were no wolves.
They came into view, racing along the street in a vicious pack. Canids.
The canine-like aliens had thick, tough skin, spikes along their backs, and jaws filled with wicked teeth. They’d also developed a taste for human flesh.
Dammit. Santha sprinted back around the gas station building, squeezed through a hole in the fence and ran in the opposite direction. She lifted her gaze to the rooftops. Up was best. Canids could jump but they weren’t the best climbers.
She spied an apartment building ahead. She’d scale the wall, wait the canids out, and then as a bonus, she might get to watch the raptors blow themselves to tiny alien pieces while she was at it.
But she was halfway to the building when raptor fire hit the ground around her. The green poison sizzled and hissed. She dived over it, rolled and got straight back to her feet.
Santha cursed under her breath. A raptor patrol was coming from the opposite direction, leaving her trapped in between. Eight of them, all armed.
She pulled her two Shockwave laser pistols from their holsters on her hips and fired. She didn’t bother aiming. She just wanted enough distraction to get to cover.
Some of the raptors scattered, others kept firing.
Santha walked backwards, her green lasers lighting up the street. As she neared a shop front, she turned and ran.
The door to the grocery store stood open like a gaping mouth. She’d just reached it when raptor fire tore across her left thigh.
“Ahh.” She almost went down but grabbed the door frame. The burning pain was indescribable. Panting, she pulled herself inside.
Fuck . The acidic poison was chewing through her trousers and eating through her skin. Now she was bleeding profusely, too, her trousers wet with her blood. Not good.
Gritting her teeth and fighting to stay conscious, she grabbed a grenade from her belt, ripped out the pin and tossed it outside.
She didn’t wait to see what happened. She heard the bang, and the yells of the raptors, but she also heard the growls of the canids getting closer. She quickly grabbed a tube of med-gel off her belt, ripped the lid off with her teeth and squeezed the entire tube onto her wound.
Instantly, the pain eased a little. It was all she could do for the moment. She needed to get out of there…because the raptor poison also paralyzed.
Santha hobbled to the back of the store and out into a narrow alley. She hadn’t gone far when she realized she was leaving a hell of a blood trail.
Shit . She squeezed her eyes shut. The pain might have lessened but it was still bad enough to have bile rising in her throat. She swallowed repeatedly and kept moving, but it wasn’t long before she was dragging her leg and sobbing from the pain. The paralyzing effect of the raptor toxin was shutting down the muscles in her leg.
The canid yips and howls were getting louder.
She wouldn’t make it. Not like this.
Santha slumped against the side of a building. After fumbling in the pouch attached to her belt, she yanked out a pressure injector filled with
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