Breakout by Ann Aguirre Read Free Book Online

corpses. She used them for all kinds of grisly reasons, including home furnishings. He dropped from the ceiling, conscious of how liquid his muscles felt. The wound on his chest had sealed, but it was seeping yellow; the slice needed to be opened, cleaned, and drained.
    Putting that aside, Jael crept down the corridor to the charging cupboard. The RC unit was nearly powered up by this time. Any longer, and the droid would’ve disengaged and gone back to its cleaning subroutine. He picked the bot up and powered it down, then extracted the battery pack.
    Finally. I better get back, so we can start the real treasure hunt.

5
    Salvation in a Can
    Everyone stared when Dred got back to base camp, partly because of the alien but also because of the blade still lodged in her side. Breathing had become painful, and she probably had poison in her bloodstream, too. By the end, she was crawling even when she didn’t need to. Hex helped her a good portion of the way, likely intent on paying off its debt. That gave her a sense of what kind of being it was since most inside Perdition couldn’t give two shits about ideas like obligation and honor.
    â€œSod me,” Calypso breathed.
    â€œI need some first aid.” Dred’s knees gave out, dropping her on the floor.
    But before anyone could respond, Vost churned into motion. His men seemed like they were trying to stop him, but he shrugged off their hands. He input a code and started assembling what had looked like spare parts in his bag. Dred watched with a mixture of confusion and interest until she realized he was putting together a medical droid.
    â€œWe broke it down to cannibalize for the ship,” he explained. “But the thing still has a little bit of meds and antibiotics.”
    â€œNot much,” Redmond muttered. “And once it’s gone, that’s it. Your wounds—”
    Vost shot him a sharp look. “Hers are worse than mine, guaranteed.”
    Dred wanted to say something, but she wasn’t ready to confess, especially not when she didn’t trust the mercs. Vost would frame insightful questions and might ask how the ability started, plus where it came from; she couldn’t afford to give them the idea that she and Jael were more valuable drained of blood and used as heal packs.
    The medical droid went to work on her, injecting her with medicines she hadn’t used in turns. Hopefully, that meant the drugs would be more effective.
Holy shit.
A warm buzz stole over her, completely blotting out the pain. She felt nothing as the mechanical arm withdrew the blade, efficiently staunched the bleeding, and cauterized the wound with a laser. With a loopy smile, she touched the scar and felt nothing but the bumpy skin beneath her fingertips.
    â€œDon’t bust up the machine again,” Martine told Vost.
    Dred beamed at her.
I love these people.
    Tam nodded. “If we need the parts to finish the ship, then do it. But I have a feeling Silence may press us hard before we get to that point.”
    Hex paused on the way to the ducts and one of the mercs grabbed him.
Is the short one Redmond or Duran?
Dred couldn’t remember, but she was smiling again for no reason. “No, don’t hurt him. He helped me. Are you a he?”
    â€œNo,” Hex said.
    â€œShe?” Dred tried next.
    â€œAgain, no. There’s no gender binary. And why is that important?” The alien came toward the group, black eyes shining. “Did I hear something about a ship?”
    Martine stepped forward, blades out. “How do we know you’re not spying for Silence?”
    â€œI was in a fragging bag when they met me. Knowing the crazy death lady, do you think it was a clever ruse?”
    â€œProbably not,” Martine admitted.
    Dred couldn’t think of anything coherent to add to the conversation. For some reason, everything was so funny. She choked the impulse to roll over on her side and laugh. Somehow, she kept a