Rafferty looked up as the giant machine lumbered toward the group. The kind they called a Hermit. With its big shoulders and wide, shallow head, Rafferty had always thought it looked like a shrugging turtle. Each arm contained a repeating gun, which fired large caliber bullets.

The question that needed answering was whether or not those guns were loaded.

If the God had engaged before, the chambers might be empty, and this job would be easy. If it hadn't, the chambers would be full, and the job would be anything but.

Seth blew a large gum bubble, sparkling blue, and snapped it loudly.

"All right, rook. You're up," she said.

Rafferty didn't object to going first. She did object to being called rook. Resisting the urge to glare over at Seth, she got ready to run.

"And since it's your first time with us, you have to do it topless. Tradition," Seth added.

Rafferty froze.

"She's kidding," said Katrin.

Rafferty looked over at Katrin, angry and relieved. Katrin had a little smile on her face. They all did.

Be a good sport. Be a good sport.

"Not about the first part, though. Giddy up," Katrin said.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Rafferty raced toward the God. She couldn't take it out by herself, not on the first pass. Her job was to tag it. If she could get it to mark her as the enemy, the God might ignore the others as they got into position to attack.

She jumped, tapped her heels together, and leaned back as she rose toward the God's chest. She delivered a pretty good kick, enough to jostle the machine in its tracks. The burst of Blue propelled her away from the God, and she managed to twist in the air enough to land on her feet.

Rafferty started running as soon as she hit the ground. She was hoping to hear the loud, echoey click that meant the guns were empty. If she didn't, she'd start a wide circle to her right, hoping to throw it off balance as it tracked her. At the very least, she would give the others a clean shot at the thing's left side.

She didn't hear a click.

Which meant she had to run like hell.

Rafferty raced toward the others. If they'd done the math right, the rest of the group was out of range, so if she could make it back to where they were standing, she'd be clear.

She could hear the bullets hitting the ground behind her. It hadn't locked on her yet, but it wouldn't take long.

The other girls were screaming something at her, and, truth be told, looked a little freaked out. That almost certainly wasn't good. Also, she was far away, and the guns were noisy. Didn't they understand she couldn't hear them?

Trevor raised one hand, and looked straight at her, which meant he wanted her attention. She did the best she could to nod, which meant she was listening. Trevor amazed her. This was the same guy that could have a mini-meltdown over improperly folded laundry, but in a real crisis he never lost his cool, not for a second.

Trevor jerked his head to his right, which meant she needed to veer to her left. Now. So she did.

The impacts got louder just before she did. She felt the dust they kicked up on the back of her neck, and then she felt sharp pain in her right arm. Rafferty risked a glance. It was just a scratch. Not even a hole. It was bloody and it stung, but she would still have full use of the arm for the rest of the fight. If Trevor hadn't timed it so well, it would have been a lot worse.

Her friends were getting bigger, which meant Rafferty was getting closer.

You guys are going to go, right? I mean, if it's tracking me, and I'm running toward you….

The other girls sprang into action as if they were reading her thoughts. Seth and Brianna passed on her left, while Katrin raced past her on the right.

The bullets were getting louder again. Rafferty didn't have far to go, but she thought she might be running out of time. Trevor wasn't gesturing in either direction, which meant she didn't know if it was tracking her from the left or right. She was just going to have to pick a direction, and hope she wasn't stepping into her own death.

Then Trevor pointed up. Jump.

Rafferty cocked her head, which was the only way she could think to ask him if he was sure. There would be no way to move left or right if its aim followed her into the air.

Trevor pointed again, insistently.

She stopped thinking and put everything she had into the leap. When she landed, she'd be out of range.

The question was whether or not she'd be full of holes when she did.