Lyle and I passed through the gate. The warehouse took a few steps. Fog clouded me from seeing the distance.

The path leading to the factory was stone. I saw the other end was just dirt, The same as Snakewater. Nature reclaimed most of the factory. Weeds and moss sprouted on the cracks. An elevator led to the end of a cliff.

“Catboy, stop,” Lyle said.

“Are you speaking with me?” I asked. I did what he said.

“I’m only talking with you, aren't I? There shouldn't be a problem with that.”

I glanced at him, my ears twitched, “No — shouldn’t be a problem with that.”

The elevator creaked when he stepped on it, “See this lift? We can use it to go down. Just go in before you take too long.”

My tail swayed while listening, “That… That’s the stupidest suggestion I’ve ever heard! You know how old the equipment is? How would it even start up?”

“There is a high likelihood that the lift will start. Don’t ask me how, I don’t care enough to understand.”

I guessed when there’s robots and monsters, there’s a fair share of anomalies. I threw my hands up in the air, “Alright fine! Go ahead and operate 50-year-old dilapidated machinery. Let’s see how that goes for you.”

“Suit yourself,” Lyle turned the elevator’s crank, nothing happened. “Huh, there must be an electrical problem. A breaker panel nearby. Catboy, you can search for it down that cliff, can’t you?”

“No, we can go down the ladder over there,” I pointed at the worn out set of steps.

Lyle looked at the ladder, “Sure, we can climb down. You go first — I’ll wait.”

“Okay?” I titled my head. Lyle wasn’t telling me, and I wasn’t prying further.

I took a step on the ladder. A metallic odor came from the bars. The colour blended to a red and brown, the metal was rough to the hands. The ladder creaked with each motion. There was a long way down. My boots rang a dull thud when they contacted the bars.

*Groan*

Flakes of rusted leaves fell onto my head. My head looked up to see that the flakes settled along the air. I firmly planted my legs and feet into place, my body stationary. My eyes scanned on the hinges.

*Creak* *Bang!*

“Shit,” I muttered. The sound warned me.

My feet lept on their own, towards the highest spot from the ladder. Half of the ladder collapsed. My hands touched the nearest bars. I watched below as the metal fell into the cliff below. Only my arms prevented me from sharing the same fate.

I felt the tremble as I hung. My upper body propped me up with each step until my feet found a solid foundation. The rattling intensified. I scanned the area, and found a ridge. I jumped to the nearest safe spot.

My body twisted mid air. I allowed my instincts to guide me. My feet landed on the ground. The cliff almost made me stumble as I was so close to the edge. My legs stopped me in one fluid motion.

I steadied, and watched as the entire ladder crumbled from its weight. The now scrap echoed from the sheer volume. Dust raised up and blackened my vision.

Lyle glanced down as I cleaned off my sunglasses.

“Can you still walk?” Lyle shouted

“Well, this isn't the first time something pushed me off a cliff!” I yelled back

“I take it you go with my plan then?”

“No shit, Lyle!” I paused and cleared my throat, “Sorry… I shouldn’t swear. It’s just… I’ll look for the circuit breaker down there.”

I scaled off the cliff while my boots skidded off the dirt. I landed at the bottom with one last jump.

I made my way over to the wall, where there is most likely to be a breaker. The wires converged to one area, a box. Beside them was a skeleton.

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A skeleton? I saw the remains of a human. I didn't want to look, but a morbid thought crept on me.

A let out a breath; Okay, that’s not a skeleton of a child, not one of the orphans. I pushed the bones from out of my vision, and opened the box from its cover. The hinges loosened from my grip and slid off. The metal crashed onto the floor. I analyzed what was inside. There were cables and switches. The wiring was loose

Seems simple enough.

My finger flipped off the breaker. I pushed the cords back in. My hands turned the breakers back on.

*pfft*

Sparks flew out of the circuit panel. I receded back from the box, before I received the brunt of the force.

Inhale, and exhale, I did the breathing exercise Donovan taught me. I wasn’t letting out a noise, not here. I breathed deeply.

Alright, I’m fine now. I wasn’t going to—

I saw the remains of the dead, and all I’m worried about is meowing when nobody’s around.

…

Might as well call the degenerate and get this over with, “Hey, Lyle! I found the power box. Try the elevator now!”

The lift rattled to life. Lyle made his descent. The machine cried out in pain as it screeched to the bottom. The elevator gave Lyle some minor blowback from the sudden stop.

I said my hellos, Lyle said nothing. We both agreed to move forward into the large warehouse. There was a likelihood that the rats nested inside.

The fog dampened the building. I imagined that the inside was no better. The place had the same, metallic smell. The mist heightened the decay. Sturdy was a warehouse made of brick. I had confidence in the construction. The only stable construction in Iron Graveyard wasn't from iron.

We were at the corner of the building. I checked to see on the side. Moss overlapped the concrete and brick. A broken fence encased the area.

A robotic eye loomed over the distance. The robot had a pair of wings it used to hover off the ground. I saw how the flying eye illuminated the surroundings, it looked away from me.

A hand grabbed me and pushed me behind the corner. I turned my head. Lyle clasped around my mouth. His back and I leaned against the wall by force. A red light passed through the spot I was at. I breathed through his palm as the area flashed red. The light dissipated.

Time passed, Lyle let go from his grasp.

He peaked around the wall, “looks like it was after the circuit breaker and not us.”

“What the…” I breathed out. “What was that?”

“An eyedrone,” he said. “The robot seemed stationary until you turned the power on.”

I peeked at the corner next to Lyle, “you know how sweaty your hands are?” I asked when I was sure nothing was around.

“You were licking me the whole way. You got a rough tongue, you know that?”

“What I’ve done has nothing to do with your actions! You pulled out like some child. You saw me handle myself back at the elevator. Don't you trust me? Or am I just another beastkin that needs to be reared?”

“No, it's not that,” Lyle stared through his visor.

“Then what is your excuse?”

“Nothing — I just don't want you to hit the bucket when I’m here — that’s all.”

“Did you have a change of heart?” I studied his visor.

He glanced back, “I hate your guts. I'm not saying that to insult you, but to state a fact.”

I restated my question.

“I say what I mean, and mean what I say. There doesn't have to be a good reason,” he replied.

— — —

The iron doors swung open. Lyle and I entered. The electricity powered the lights, yet there were still dark spaces.

My ears picked up various footsteps on the cement, they chittered. A small silhouette goes by in the dark place. Lyle pulled out his shortsword and held it with one arm. I spun my knife before gripping the blade.

We slowly walked towards the middle of the room. Lyle motioned for me to stay close. The chirping grew intense. They spotted us, whatever they were. The creatures buzzed around us.

My ears swirled and found a specific sound. I flipped my knife to reverse grip. I sprinted towards the source.

A bug flew out from the shadow. I struck the creature mid air before. My eyes watched as my blade pierced the bug’s exoskeleton. Its wings fluttered on the ground.

I swore I felt Lyle swore under his visor from my first strike.

3 more giant insects appeared from the cracks. Lyle was busy on his own side. Well; If there was one thing I learned from him, being on the defensive never worked.

I rolled into the incoming insects, and sank my blade into the nearest creature. Another insect opened its mandibles in response. I stabbed its soft insides. I watched as the last insect spreaded out its wings in preparation to attack.

Do these bugs have any self preservation?

I threw my knife. The bug went down without much hassle.

Lyle’s side wasn’t any different. He swung and cut off 2 of the insect’s legs. He stomped on the bug while it was whirling on the ground.

No accounting for style, I suppose.

The overall kill count was 4 for me, and 7 for Lyle.

“That was easier than what I was expecting,” I said. “I thought this would be a tougher fight.

“Don’t get too arrogant,” Lyle responded. “What you fought was barely a colony. Cretins fight in bigger numbers. It is just that the queens know to stay out of human civilization.” He kicked an insect that was still twitching, “rats are more troublesome… Bloody cretins,” he muttered.

I pulled the blade from out of the carcass, and wiped it down with a handkerchief.

I noticed Lyle’s sword, “so are you going to clean or… No? Okay, go ahead and do whatever you were doing with that stained weapon… Sure.”