The controls made no sense! When Gwil tried to go left, the damn thing went right. When he wanted to go forward, it spun in circles. He shouldn’t have thrown the driver out; he could've used the man's help.

Pressing the big red button labeled ‘STOP’ had turned off the actual drill, which, while disappointing, was for the best. Through the narrow windshield, he’d glimpsed both Podexians and prisoners fleeing in terror, and it would’ve been tragic if he drilled any prisoners after declaring that he’d save every single one of them.

It seemed like he’d gotten stuck on the wall or something. No matter what he tried, the tank just lurched back and forth.

Gwil sighed. He wasn’t accomplishing anything. Full of shame, he threw open the hatch.

Sticking his head out the top, Gwil found that cheering prisoners surrounded the tank. No Podexians in sight. And he was delighted to learn that he’d driven the tank through the door, out into the tunnel that led to the mining cavern. It had gotten lodged sideways across the tunnel, but whatever. The thing was useless, anyway.

The prisoners banged on the hull of the tank in celebration. Many of them were already pushing further up the tunnel. Gwil could hear Isca yelling up ahead.

He climbed out onto the roof of the tank, looking around for Cort, only to find that the man stood right beside him.

“They retreated down the tunnel when you took the tank,” Cort said. “We gotta push after ‘em, but we have a second to breathe. Good job. But you’re gonna let me drive that thing, cause that was… abhorrent.”

“Good luck,” Gwil said. “Hey, we’re off to a good start.”

“Aye, the easy part’s done. How the hell did you get inside the tank?”

Gwil shook his head. “I was gonna ask you that. You didn’t see?”

“One second you were there, then you were gone. To be honest, I thought you got juiced by the drill. But then I realized it must have been you driving when the tank started…” He spun his finger in haphazard circles.

Gwil cupped his hand to his ear. “Do you hear that?”

A chugging engine. Prisoners started fleeing back down the tunnel.

***

Leira, Buzzard (still immobilized), Ansoir (still asleep), and Brock lumbered toward the madness at the end of the tunnel. They were coming up on the Podexians from behind.

A minute ago, a host of guards had rushed past them, driving some bizarre-looking excavation machine that resembled a giant bear trap with churning spiked jaws. So determined was that crew that they paid no mind to the Talus wandering down the tunnel.

“It’s a bit regrettable to unleash such devastating power upon my former allies,” Buzzard mused. “But I do admit, I’ve been devilishly curious about the full potential of my invention. Heehee.”

“Makes sense to me,” Leira said. “You’re a traitorous scumbag.”

“Is it really betrayal when I was only here to take advantage of Stondemaier’s resources and negligence?” Buzzard said. “In any case, I’m merely… nudging the needle. Those men are doomed. I am incapacitated. You have taken my weapon, and I have no power to stop you from using it. You already have checkmate in this engagement, so it’s only logical that I help you.”

“Wait!” Leira yelped. “Couldn’t this thing make all the Kaia explode?”

“I am a world-renowned authority on Kaia, you imbecile! Do you really think I would’ve forgotten about that? The weapon’s fuel is cut with Erithist. You could submerge yourself in a vat of Kaia and pull the trigger, and the Kaia wouldn’t even spark. Don’t question a scientist!”

“Huh? That shit deadens Kaia too?” Leira asked. She knew about Erithist’s uses against Hallows, but she’d never heard that before.

“Little known fact,” Buzzard squealed. “The interaction is not so utterly domineering as it is with Nirva, but yes. And they like to keep it very quiet. Heehee.”

***

There’d been a lot of rumbling, shaking things during Gwil’s time within the prison. But this sound was different. Shrill and visceral, like a knife slashing up the guts of the earth.

“GET BACK!” Cort screamed.

The prisoners did not need to be told—they were already running for their lives.

The terrifying machine came into view. Two pillars on the side, glowing with cords of Kaia. The thing between them was like a giant mouth.

The jaws were smashing together like some rabid, spliced-up beaver, lined with teeth that were giant spiked balls. The thing was chewing through the tunnel and spitting debris.

Cort grabbed Gwil and dragged him back. The prisoners poured back into the cavern that they’d just fought their way out of. They’d gone silent except for their buzzing breaths.

Cort dumped Gwil on top of the tank and climbed down into the hatch. “I’m gonna crash into it. Do whatever you can. If I die, Isca’s in charge.”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Before Gwil could say anything, Cort slammed the hatch and fired up the engine.

He could hear Cort yelling and swearing as he inched the tank forward and backward, forward and backward, maneuvering out of the jam that Gwil had left it in.

The gnashing jaws drew closer, slow but relentless. The ceiling collapsed in the machine’s wake. The ground shattered with the upheaval.

The tank began rolling forward, straight into hell’s own meat grinder. Gwil repositioned himself, crouching, ready… to do what?

The tank stood no chance. This thing would pulverize them. The jaws destroyed solid rock like a horse chomping on carrots.

Gwil began prying at the tank’s hatch again—the bastard had locked it. But this wasn’t gonna work. He needed to get Cort out of there. They’d try something else.

But he couldn’t force his way through. No time. Gwil slammed his fists against the hatch. His scream tore at his throat. Too slow. Always too slow.

He stood and faced the machine. Five meters. He could see the driver positioned on a platform that rolled along behind the jaws. There was no space to go around. He had to jump through the jaws.

Just before he leapt, an eruption of purple fire filled the tunnel.

***

Leira cackled like a demon as she unleashed a storm of hellfire upon the Podexians.

Standing atop the litter, she held that power in her hands. Spraying the weapon from side to side, as if watering a garden with a hose, she flooded the tunnel with destruction.

Roaring, ravenous, purple fire, the shade of lavender. She wrote death. Traced endings. She knew not how many. That the scales could be tipped so easily. With just the strength in her finger. How terrifying.

They did not scream. They did not get the chance to turn around and look at her. How many souls? A hundred?

Gone. Lives reduced to ash in the blink of an eye.

The river of fire engulfed the excavation machine. She saw the driver crumble into dust. The flames licked the exposed Kaia conduits… and nothing. The machine’s towers sagged, melting, as it sputtered to a halt.

The flames died out quickly, as Buzzard had promised. The whooshing roar ceased. Her laughter filled the tunnel, ringing off the walls.

Leira hiccupped into silence. A single sob racked her shoulders. She clenched her teeth against the next.

“It’s so easy,” she muttered. “So easy to be monstrous.”

Beneath her, Buzzard stuck his head out of the litter and looked up at her. The effects of her spores had worn off for the doctor, but she had dosed Ansoir again to keep him unconscious.

Knees shaking, Leira sat down.

The doctor climbed up to join her, easily thanks to his lengthy arms. “Your morals are too human. Everyone dies. We’re all just living on borrowed time. What you did to them is nothing compared to the unavoidable eternity of suffering that awaits in the Hells. Heehee. And that was not such a bad way to go. Instant. No pain. No fear. No mess.”

Buzzard sat down beside her. Leira nearly shoved him off. Instead, she threw the laser gun away. “Why did you build that awful thing?”

“Guh,” Buzzard gulped as the gun clattered across the ground. “Um, it was very expensive. But if anyone has the right to such power, it’s you, Megrim Daughter.”

Leira glared at him.

“Perhaps a history lesson is in order. These nuclear-powered weapons—colloquially referred to as laser or plasma weapons. In the Old World, they were the deadliest power that humanity possessed. Capable of causing transgenerational damage on a massive scale, both biologically and environmentally. The World revolved around them. Their destructive potential created a stalemate that lasted centuries.

“But not forever. These weapons were unleashed during the frenzied aftermath of the Apocalypse. Their radiation should be a deadly poison. But it is a part of us now. Hardly more dangerous than regular fire. We changed. How could such a change come to pass? Certainly not through natural evolution.”

“Get to the fuckin’ point,” Leira said.

“The point is that our World is full of power that should not be. Unearned, stolen, profane. Kaia, Nirva, the divinities themselves. These forces cannot be avoided or eliminated. They will be wielded. Tools, nothing more, nothing less. It is the will of the bearers that matters.”

Leira didn’t know what to say to that hogwash. And then Brock collapsed. She and Buzzard were bucked off, sent rolling onto the ground. Ansoir had tumbled out of the litter to lie motionless beside them.

The Talus lay on his stomach, slamming his fists against the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. That he had no voice with which to utter his despair made it worse.

Leira clutched at the pang in her gut. “Fucking hell.”

***

“Whaaaat is happening!” Gwil yelled.

The purple fire was devouring everything.

Cort had brought the tank to a halt.

The giant jaws, blackened and melted, went still, slack like a dead animal.

The unnatural flames dissipated. It had only lasted seconds. A raging inferno, blown out like a candle.

Cort threw open the hatch and stuck his head out. “What the fuck was that?” he barked. “Did you do that?”

Gwil didn’t answer. He squinted through the haze, a grin forming on his face as he climbed down from the tank and moved up the tunnel.

“Leira! Leira!”

He started running.

The fire had melted everything into fluffy ash, even the piles of fallen rock and a layer of the ground itself. It was like running through fresh snow, except that the soles of his boots were melting. Little purple tracks, embers, cut through the ash like veins.

Leira turned. They leapt into each other’s arms. Gwil started jumping up and down.

“I knew you’d come! Cort, everyone! Get over here! I told you!”

Leira was beaming. “Fucking hell, Gwil, you made a mess of this. Nice!” Prisoners emerged from the tunnel, hesitation turning into excitement. “Who are all those people? You’re staging a whole prison break?”

“You saved us all!” Gwil yelled, swinging her arms around. “I was sure we were all dead. And then whoooosh! You were here! Just in time.”

Her expression quivered, but she turned it into a stilted laugh. Then she shook her head. “I don’t even know how many I just killed. Look.” She gestured at the ashy field. “Nothing.”

“Stop that. We’re all only alive because of you. And you didn’t have a choice.” He grabbed her shoulders. “You’re a hero, Leira. I bet not even Ashkana could’ve done it.”

She smiled at that. Then, looking over Gwil’s shoulder to see the horde of ghoulish prisoners, she nodded. “So, what’s going on? We’re really breaking everyone out?”

“Yeah,” Gwil said, grinning. “Everyone. But that was always what I was gonna do. After we met that lady that you made cry -Sophia, I think– I thought this place needed changing. Leira, it sucks so bad here.”

Leira blinked. “Okay. But we need to hurry.”

Gwil pulled Cort to the fore. “Leira, this is Cort. He’s tough and smart and hilarious.”

Cort scowled. “I thought he was bad. And then you show up spraying an atomic like it’s a bottle of champagne. You did not disappoint.”

“Funny you say that,” Leira said. She started speaking very fast. “And nice to meet you. But we gotta get going. Kaia. Leviathan. Gwil, this place is psychotic. I’ve got the guy who hit you with his skimmer over there.” She gestured behind her. “Ugh, and that cowboy bastard, don’t even get me started.”

“Is that Doctor Buzzard?” Gwil yelled. “I knew you weren’t really a piece of shit, doc!”

Buzzard waved at Gwil but stayed back where he was.

“Oooh! Leira!” Gwil ran to where Brock lay motionless on the ground. “You made friends with the rock guy? That’s so cool!”