Kai was proud of that throw. He turned to look at Derniere, expecting a reaction. Bell, now perched on her shoulder, sniffed the air.

Then, three things happened at once.

First, Derniere raised her head. Kai thought she was about to praise his shot, but then he noticed her hand rising, her finger pointing at something.

Second, a sharp ping rang out, followed by a burst of sparks as metal exploded just inches from Derniere’s face.

Third, an air horn blared from behind Kai. A deep, mechanical wail. A sound he knew all too well—the same robotic patrol that had been hunting for him the day before.

They had overstayed their welcome. Now, the machines were on them.

Kai moved first. Instinct took over. A surge of heat shot up his spine as the world slowed around him. He lunged, knocking Derniere to the ground just as a line of gunfire shredded through the air where they had been standing.

He rolled with the impact, twisting away as bullets tore through rusted metal and garbage bags.

In his slowed perception, he caught sight of the machine behind them. A hulking, two-legged walker, its rotating barrels locked onto them. The dull glow of its sensors are the only things visible in the dark.

Kai stared straight into the barrels, waiting for the flash that might be his last.

The barrels spun, but no bullets fired. The walker shifted, using its other arm to adjust something on the gun.

It was jammed.

Kai didn’t wait to question their luck. He grabbed Derniere and pulled her up. Their clothes were ruined, covered in filth, but survival took priority.

They couldn’t go back to the city. Not with that thing cutting them off.

So they ran.

Straight into the trash fields.

Behind them, the walker recalibrated, gunfire sprayed wildly.

The air grew heavier with the stench of rot. They were heading deeper into the wasteland, where decades of discarded waste had piled into mountains.

Kai’s foot caught on something jagged. He stumbled, barely catching himself.

Pain seared through his palm. He had grabbed something sharp—metal, broken glass, he didn’t know. He ignored it and kept moving.

Ahead, Bell let out a frantic squeak.

Kai turned toward Bell’s direction, but his vision faltered. Depth, distance—nothing felt right. The world had twisted into something surreal, like the very concept of space had unraveled before him.

A lone building stood amidst the wreckage, half-swallowed by the endless sprawl of discarded debris. Trash of all kinds had piled against its walls, burying the first floor entirely. Only a small balcony and a second-floor window remained visible. Behind it, a towering mountain of waste loomed, a testament to its abandonment.

Why worry about polluting the soil when there was no soil left?

Kai let out a dry chuckle but stopped when the bad taste in his mouth soured the thought.

Beyond the hill of garbage, there was nothing—just a void where the world seemed to end. Then he realized he wasn’t far off.

A man-made structure cut off the horizon. A wall.

Not just any wall. A towering monolith of metal and concrete stretched endlessly to the left and right, vanishing into the distance. It rose at least twenty stories high, its sheer surface swallowing the sky above.

There was no way past it.

Nowhere left to run.

“Towards the building!” Kai shouted between controlled breaths, pushing his legs harder.

Derniere was already sprinting in that direction, not needing to be told twice.

Behind them, the air horn blared again, the sound so powerful that Kai felt it in his bones.

He risked a glance back.

The machine was closing in. Its massive, mechanical limbs navigated the uneven terrain effortlessly. Every step carried a dreadful weight, a presence that felt almost… intentional.

For a second, Kai swore he could feel the machine’s thoughts—its cold, calculating malice.

Was it possible? Could it sense its own endless solitude, its years of mindless wandering? Was that why it was playing with them, relishing the chase in a twisted game of cat and mouse?

The horn blared again, deafening.

Kai didn’t look back this time. He focused everything on running.

The building was their only chance.

Derniere had already reached it, disappearing behind the structure. She reemerged a second later, waving frantically.

“Got a plan?” Derniere asked as Kai ducked behind cover.

“I guess we don’t have a choice but to fight the thing,” Kai muttered, peeking around the corner at the advancing walker.

“Do you think we can even damage it?” Derniere questioned, keeping her voice low.

“Maybe not internally, but I can take out its sensors. I saw them glowing in the dark.”

Derniere nodded, already slinging her rifle around. “Not much stopping power with this thing, but it’ll be a distraction.”

“Good enough.” Kai gave her a reassuring nod. “Keep it occupied. I’ll handle the sensors.”

He took a deep breath, forming a plan in his mind. The walker, like any machine, relied on sensory data to target them. If he could blind it, they’d have a chance to escape. He’d need to get onto it, close enough to smear something over the sensors—something sticky, something obstructive.

His eyes fell to his own hand, still lightly bleeding from an earlier wound. The nanos inside him had already started healing it, but the red streaks still glistened under the dim light.

A loud air horn ripped through the air, cutting his thoughts short. He risked another glance. The walker was close now, its red sensors glowing like demonic eyes. There were three of them—one at the front of the main hull, another between its legs, and a third near the top.

Stolen story; please report.

The walker saw him, and the world exploded into chaos. A barrage of bullets shredded the building beside him. Kai ducked back just in time.

Derniere fired from the other side. The shot pinged harmlessly off the walker’s armor, but it got its attention.

The machine adjusted, turning toward her.

Kai didn’t hesitate.

He bolted out from cover, sprinting across uneven ground, dodging scraps of metal and broken debris. The walker focused entirely on Derniere now, letting out another deafening horn blast as its machine gun fire chewed into the structure.

Kai heard Derniere yelp as part of the building collapsed, forcing her to retreat.

She wouldn’t last much longer at this rate.

“This way!” Kai shouted.

The walker’s turret swiveled toward him, the deep abyss of its spinning barrels locking onto his position.

This time, he was ready.

Time slowed.

Kai dropped low, sliding underneath the first burst of gunfire. Bullets whizzed past, tearing through the air at supersonic speeds.

He didn’t stop.

Rushing forward, he slid beneath the walker’s massive hull and reached up, smearing his blood across the underbelly sensor.

One down.

He sprang to his feet behind the machine. Another sensor glowed at its back. The walker tried to rotate and line up another shot, but Kai didn’t let it. He ran with its movement, staying just ahead of its turning radius. Then he leaped.

His fingers caught onto the edge of the main hull. Just enough to hold his weight.

Gripping tightly, he pulled himself up.

His injured hand reached higher, searching for another hold. He locked eyes with the sensor—watching him like a soulless mechanical beast.

The walker suddenly jerked, shaking violently to throw him off.

A loud bang rang out. The sensor near the top jolted, knocked at an angle by a well-placed shot.

Nice shot, Kai thought.

The walker stopped spinning and turned its attention back toward the building. The sudden shift nearly threw Kai off, but he held on, using the moment to climb higher.

Now on top of the machine, he crawled forward, fighting against its constant movement. It bucked and tilted, trying to shake him off, but he pressed onward until his fingers wrapped around the last sensor.

He smeared his blood over the glowing red light.

For a second, nothing happened.

Then the walker hesitated, the lack of data causing it to no longer function correctly.

Kai barely had time to react before it lunged forward, charging straight into the building in one final act of desperation.

He clung tight, shielding his head as concrete and debris rained around him. The structure trembled under the impact, sections of it collapsing.

The air horn blared again, and the walker continued on its way, not a single sign of stopping.

Kai let himself slide off the walker’s hull, free-falling onto the trash piles below.

He landed hard, but the debris softened the impact. He barely had time to catch his breath before Bell scurried onto him, climbing up his arm, his shoulder, and finally onto his head. The tiny creature stood tall, as if surveying the aftermath.

Derniere reached him moments later, breathless. She pulled him up, a grin spreading across her face—the kind that told him she had just witnessed something she never thought possible.

They shared a look. Then Kai gave her a brief, victorious smile.

Behind Kai, a thunderous thud echoed through the air. He turned just in time to see the walker crash into the massive wall, its hulking form slamming against the structure like a wrecking ball.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then—a crack.

Small at first, but quickly spreading.

“I think we should back up a little,” Derniere said, already taking a cautious step away.

“Agreed,” Kai muttered, not taking his eyes off the growing fracture.

The walker kept pushing, its bulk grinding against the wall. Its air horn blared again. Then again. Faster. Louder.

Bell tugged at Kai’s hair, its tiny claws scratching against his scalp as it let out a frantic squeak.

Kai understood.

“Run.”

The world erupted.

An explosion tore through the air, sending debris flying in all directions. Dust, metal, and shattered concrete rained down.

-------------------------------

Eliana ran, her shoes clanking loudly against the metal skywalk. Behind her, multiple sets of footsteps echoed, closing in.

She sprinted under a harsh, glowing light—so bright it washed out the world around her. She squinted, momentarily blinded. A fleeting thought crossed her mind: if someone below was stargazing, what would they think of a star suddenly disappearing?

A shadow cut through the blinding light, rushing toward her. An arm.

She ducked low, just in time, feeling the air shift as the strike missed her. Moving instinctively, she grabbed the man’s legs and, in one smooth motion, swept him off his feet. His body crashed head first onto the skywalk with a brutal metallic clang.

“Catch her!” Voices shouted behind her. More were coming.

Eliana pushed forward. Up ahead, two figures blocked her path. A quick glance behind—more were closing in from that direction too.

No way out but through.

She charged forward, throwing a quick succession of punches. The first guard staggered back. The second—a man clad in the imperial black-and-red uniform—seized the opening and kicked at her thigh.

Pain exploded through her leg, but she didn’t stop. She wouldn’t stop.

With a growl, she forced herself forward, adrenaline fueling her. The guard swung again—she caught the attack, deflecting it with a sharp twist of her arm.

Her elbow slammed into his throat. The man crumpled, gasping, collapsing to his knees.

The ones behind her were catching up, so she started to run again.

The path ahead looked clear for now. She just hoped it stayed that way.

Eliana was confident in her speed and agility. She could outrun the men chasing her—all she needed was a way back to the surface. Her eyes darted ahead, scanning for an escape route, and then she saw it: a stairwell built into one of the towering support pillars that held up the city’s levels. Without hesitation, she pushed herself forward, her boots pounding against the metal skywalk as she sprinted toward it.

She reached the stairs and took them two at a time, her breath controlled, her body moving on instinct. At the top, she rounded a corner and found a door blocking her path. Without slowing, she threw her weight into a kick. To her surprise, the door wasn’t secured at all—it swung open as if it had been barely hanging on. She rushed inside and immediately regretted it.

A wave of stench hit her like a solid force, thick and overwhelming. It was unlike anything she had ever smelled, making her stomach churn. But she didn’t stop. She forced herself forward, running through the suffocating air, her focus locked on the glimpses of city lights ahead. She could hear the faint echoes of New Oliver’s nightlife, the curfew now lifted, and she knew she was close. The thought of fresh air pushed her faster, a smile forming on her lips as she neared the exit.

Then a vibration in her hand stopped her cold.

Beep.

Her heart skipped a beat. She slowed her pace, lifting her wrist to check the small receiver embedded in her skin.

Beep.

Again. A signal. A location ping. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the name on the screen.

Kai.

The signal was close. It wasn’t coming from above, where she was heading, but from somewhere below her. She instinctively looked down, scanning the dimly lit expanse beneath her feet. All she saw was an endless stretch of trash, piled high in the city’s waste management system. There was no way Kai could be down there. Unless…

The thought sent a chill through her. She looked again, piecing together the possibilities, and a sinking realization formed in her mind.

Before she could process it fully, the door behind her slammed open.

Shouts rang out as guards poured in. She didn’t hesitate. She turned and ran.

Eliana tore through the last stretch of tunnels, weaving between pathways, climbing staircases, and navigating the labyrinth of the city’s underbelly. At last, she burst through to the surface, gulping in the crisp night air. New Oliver’s streets were alive again, filled with people. She disappeared into the crowd, blending seamlessly into the sea of movement.

She could hide her face in the shifting bodies, melt into the city’s pulse. But she couldn’t hide the smile on her lips.

She understood now. Kai had sent her a signal. A call for help.

Her hands clenched into fists, determination settling deep in her chest. “Kai… we’re coming for you.”