The doctor of the town was overwhelmed. Not only by the injuries, but by the sudden influx of gravely sick patients. The sheriff had to go personally to pressure him into treating their prisoner’s bullet wound first so they could question him. I heard several of the deputies discussing it as I sat in my cell, now chained to the wall. Kuros was in the cell beside me, and one of the deputies had executed a man in the cell next to mine to make room for the new prisoner coming. At this rate, I wasn’t sure why they even believed a larger prison would be necessary. Seemed to me the sheriff had long given up on the idea of taking prisoners. He treated this like a war, and it was him against everyone. All rules and ethics off the table.

Kuros sat quietly in the corner of his cell, staring blankly ahead. The deputies watched us closely, making sure we didn’t speak to one another. Though, I imagined Kuros wouldn’t have anything to say for quite a while. Just as we were about to discuss the possibility of breaking out, things escalated so much further.

“What you reckon tore them fellers up so bad before they rolled in?” one deputy asked another, bouncing his foot restlessly as he sat on a stool near the entrance.

“Probably infightin’. You know, with them sayin’ PanTech HQ fell, I bet everybody’s scramblin’ to be the new head honcho and this kinda fightin’s happenin’ all over creation,” the other answered, looking every bit as anxious as his comrade. He didn’t believe a single word of his own theory.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sheriff stumbling through the door, accompanied by another deputy with the prisoner in tow, slung over his shoulder like a sack of feed.

“He’s waking up. Tie him to the chair there and we’ll start the interrogation,” Eric said. The deputies wasted no time following orders. Seeing a terribly wounded, unconscious man tied to a chair was certainly appalling. But at this point, not the most appalling thing I’d seen the man do.

As the man’s eyes slowly opened, the sheriff threw a bucket of water into his face, startling him fully awake.

“Name!” Sheriff Eric shouted.

“You know my name, Sheriff. I’ve been stationed here for almost a year now.”

“I don’t memorize the name of PanTech employees, and I’ll forget yours again as soon s we’re done with this interrogation. Humor me.”

“Nate,” he said.

“Alright, Nate… want to tell me what happened to you and your buddies? Let’s start there.”

“What’s the point? You’re not going to believe me anyway,” Nate mumbled, his voice strained, clearly in a great deal of pain.

“The point is you get to live a little longer,” Eric said, drawing his pistol and putting it against Nate’s temple. “Now talk.”

Nate glared at him. “Alright… giant spiders made of steel. Tall as ten men. Whole unit fully armed managed to damage one before we were decimated. A few of us retreated to warn the town. Rest stayed behind to fight, and our communication went silent shortly after. They’re all dead.”

The sheriff laughed, coughed, and then laughed some more. “Giant metal spiders, huh? I reckon you want to die, then. Want to try that again?”

“He’s not lying,” I said. “I’ve seen many of them. Almost a dozen of them chased—”

He spun around, firing a shot right by my head, the sound of the blast as painful as the bullet itself would’ve been. My ears were ringing.

“Shut your mouth!” he shouted at me.

The sheriff looked almost delirious now, eyes wide and breathing heavily before turning back to Nate.

“Three of them, and they’ll be here before you know it. Almost certain they were heading this way,” Nate said.

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Eric drew back his fist, but was interrupted by Deputy Choy barging in.

“Sheriff! Sheriff, we got trouble,” he said, struggling to catch his breath.

I winced. Surely they weren’t here already.

“What is it?” Eric snapped.

“Doctor’s clinic has got people lined up out the door, waiting in the streets outside. People are showin’ up left and right, and they’re sick like you, Sheriff, or worse. It’s like some kind of plague. People’s gettin’ real upset. It’s lookin’ like it’s about to be a riot.”

Eric’s eyes shot to me again, no doubt remembering our conversation about the virus when I arrived.

“You brought it here, didn’t you? Wouldn’t nobody sick til you showed up!”

He raised his gun toward me again, but shouting outside distracted him.

“Get out here, Sheriff!” a voice called.

“Come on out!” shouted another.

This was a worst case scenario, along all fronts. The virus engaging in the very behavior I feared most. A sort of cluster activation in many individuals who were previously infected but experiencing no symptoms.

The sheriff holstered his pistol and stormed out, gesturing for his deputies to follow.

At last, the three of us were left alone.

“Nate…” I whispered.

“Don’t worry, I know who you are,” he said. “I recognized you the moment we rolled up, professor.”

The last word was almost growled more than spoken.

“We need to find a way to escape together,” I said. “You need to be treated properly or that wound’s only going to get worse.”

“I don’t take orders from you, professor. I had one final order from my commander, and that was to warn the townspeople about the approaching threat. That’s what I’m going to do. Whatever traitorous agenda you have, you’re on your own.”

“Don’t be a fool, Nate,” Kuros said. “I just lost all my men too. I understand how you’re feelin’ right now. This town still needs us.”

“Oh, because of the virus?” Nate asked, grinning. “Pretty terrifying, huh? You must be honored sitting in a cell next to one of the great minds who made it.”

Kuros turned to me, looking for a denial.

“I… it’s not a complete lie, but there’s so much more to it than that. I opposed it from the start and was literally being mind controlled for months.”

“No one has ever been normal again after reeducation. Sounds like you’re trying to cover your tracks with any lie you can come up with.”

“It’s not a lie. Frelya…” I stopped, finding myself struggling with the words that came after her name. “Frelya found a way to reverse it.”

“I never understood her obsession with you…” Nate said coldly.

“Me either,” I said.

“I don’t care about all that!” Kuros hissed, struggling to keep his voice low. “My town’s about to be destroyed by a virus, or metal spiders, or the madman claimin’ to run it. Whatever PanTech troubles you want to air out, I reckon you ought to air it out some other time. If the three of us can get out of here, we might be able to do somethin’. What do you say, Nate? Truce for now?”

Nate grinned, fidgeting with the ropes behind him.

“Almost got it,” he said.

“Good!” I said. “You can get Kuros and I out after you’re free and we can go from there. Should we try to deal with the sheriff now, or regroup?” I asked, looking to Kuros.

“Too many innocent bystanders around him right now. Sounds like half the town’s crowded around, and he’s barely outside the door. We can understand what they’re saying they’re so close. I say we slip out the back. If we get into a gunfight with him now, innocent people are gonna get killed.”

“The longer we go without acting, the more are going to die anyway,” I said.

Kuros frowned.

“What do you think, Nate?” he asked.

“You two are on your own. I’m not teaming up with a traitor,” Nate said.

Just as I was about to respond, a familiar voice filled my mind.

“I’ve located an Explorers League team and we’re on our way,” Ghost said, speaking to me through our enhancers’ communication function. Only I could hear him.

I was startled, but so happy to hear from him. This was the break this town needed. With their help, we could handle the arachnid units and get things back on track.

“Thank goodness, Ghost. How far out?” I replied. Kuros tilted his head at my awkward silence, probably wondering why I hadn’t responded to Nate.

“We won’t make it in time. The town will have to hold them off for at least a few hours. Perhaps a day. We’re moving as quickly as we can with limited transportation.”

I sighed.

“That’s going to be a problem. Things are really bad here. I’m currently tied up in a jail cell while a madman ignores the virus spreading like a wildfire.”

“Do what you can,” Ghost said, followed by silence.

“Are you alright?” Kuros asked.

“I just got communication from my partner. They’re on their way with one of my Explorers League units.”

Nate laughed. “Yeah, that’s convenient. My whole unit’s wiped out, so now backup is on the way. Besides, if we couldn’t destroy them what makes you think your mountaineering domesticated cats and dogs can do anything, huh?”

“Because they know how the machines are built. We’ve disassembled them, reassembled them, studied them. If you know how to fight them, they’re not invincible.”

Nate clenched his teeth, seeming more upset than relieved.

“Is that so…” he growled, pulling a hand free.

“You did it!” I said. Hurry, help Kuros and I get loose.

“Look, we’ll make sure your boy gets help. Just calm down!” I heard the sheriff shout.

Everyone’s voices were rising in volume. This was getting more and more out of hand.

“Good luck,” Nate said, rising to his feet and heading out the door.