I lay on my stomach, feeling the earth give way beneath my fingers. Nothing like the sterile concrete of Sector Seven.
"Get up, kid. Come on, no time to laze around," Ephraim’s voice sounded muffled, like it was coming through cotton.
I tried to push myself up on my right arm—and nearly screamed. The pain hit so sharp the world went black. I rolled onto my back and looked at the arm.
"Shit..." I breathed, staring at the blackened mass. "It won't come off."
"It's part of you now, kid," Ephraim sat nearby, leaning against a fallen tree. "We'll cut it off later, probably. If we find something sharp enough."
I tried to deactivate "Will to Live." Nothing happened. The world refused to return to normal.
It was unbearable. Too much data.
"Water," I croaked.
Ephraim held out his canteen. I reached for it—and missed. The distance doubled. I could see the vector of its motion, its mass... but I couldn't just reach out and grab it.
"By the way, your eyes aren't changing back. You doing alright?"
"It'll pass," I said. "Where's Zeno?"
We found him a few meters away, half-buried under dirt and branches. He looked even worse than me. Shoulder torn open. Thick, dark lubricant leaked from the joints. He didn't move. Only something inside him clicked rhythmically.
"Zeno. Status," I commanded.
"Structural integrity—forty-two percent. Power core in critical condition. Recommendation..." he hesitated, the sound breaking into static interference. "Recommendation: remain stationary until the arrival of a repair crew."
"There is no repair crew. Get up."
I forced myself to stand. The world tilted. Where we had punched our way out, a deep crater had formed.
And then I saw it. On the horizon, where the forest turned into a rocky wasteland, a cloud of dust was rising. Through my "white" vision, I could clearly see thermal signatures. Ten. Twelve. Moving fast.
"Ephraim. Up. We have company."
"The Inquisition?" he bolted up instantly, forgetting his exhaustion.
"I don't know. Judging by the speed, light mounts."
I walked over to Zeno and grabbed his intact arm.
"Help me. I'm not leaving him here. You found something in Sector Seven that reduces weight, right? Use it."
Ephraim approached Zeno and crushed it right over him.
Together, we lifted him and dragged him toward a thick patch of spruce trees. Melted metal scraped against inflamed flesh. Consciousness was slipping away. To keep from passing out, I started counting.
Pulse—110.
Stride length—0.8 meters.
Distance to the forest—40 meters.
Incline—12 degrees.
"Shut up," Ephraim muttered, breathing heavily. "You keep whispering. Stop it already."
"If I stop, I'll pass out," I said, exhaling.
"Then count in your head."
After a while, we made it into the deepest part of the forest, beneath the tangled spruce branches. I covered us with broken limbs, trying not to move my mangled arm.
A few minutes later, they passed by. Less than a hundred meters from us. Through the bushes, I saw them as bright orange silhouettes. Heard the hiss of steam. The clang of steel hooves.
When the noise died down, I finally let myself collapse onto the ground.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter