2400 AD

Krakat moved from the window to inspect the rest of the house. He had a gut feeling that Mishak wasn’t alone. The light from his helmet lit the way and he looked in every niche and corner of the house, every bedroom, the bathrooms, lounge and hallway. Eventually he entered the kitchen just as Callum and Cleo were leaving it.

Callum fired first, but missed.

Cleo came around and fired too but Krakat had already taken a dive to the floor and was crawling away to safety. He had to find cover quickly.

Their helmet lights searched the floor ahead of them but found nothing.

“Where the fuck did he go?” Cleo asked.

“Not far. Find cover. Quickly. Move!”

A shot rang out just as Callum and Cleo hit the floor and wriggled towards cover.

“You know you can’t come out of this alive,” Krakat shouted from somewhere outside of their vision.

“Shhh,” Callum said. “Don’t say anything.”

“Only one of us will leave here alive, and it’s going to be me.”

Callum remained silent and still. Cleo closed her eyes and listened for movement.

“I could kill you with my bare hands. I don’t need a weapon!”

A shattered glass lay on the floor to the right of them. Callum reached for it carefully so as not to cut himself. He picked it up and threw it down the passage where it shattered on landing.

A red-hot laser shot through the air towards the sound.