Cove bent down, picking handfuls of rocks up off the ground. He passed me some and tossed one in his hand. “Think these will work?”

I gestured for him to go ahead.

Cove swung his arm back and then sent the rock rocketing forward. It slammed into one of the robot’s heads, sending it down to the ground. Two more pairs of red eyes took its place. They still weren’t a match for Cove. He sent rock after rock hurling through space, and each nailed its target.

I gave a few test throws as he mowed them down like grass, then quickly gave up. It was a waste of ammo. Instead, I fed Cove the stones as he continued to knock more down.

Robot after robot fell down.

CLANG.

Something moved behind us.

I turned around, sending rocks flying their way. All but one missed their target. Ani and Ranch teleported away, abandoning us to our fate.

I tugged on Cove’s sleeve to get his attention, pointing at our new companions. “We might want to teleport ourselves.”

“I’m not sure I can.” He admitted, rearing up for another throw.

A rock went sailing into his target, smashing the robot into the earth. It hadn’t come from us. Someone else had joined the fray.

“Over here! Hurry up!” A young woman yelled from atop the pile of rubble at our side. Cove and I exchanged glances, then refocused our attacks, clearing a path. I snagged my backpack, dodging the debris the robots sent flying our way. We sprinted forward, the girl staying ahead of us, motioning for us to follow her. We did.

The robots gained quickly, held back only by the accuracy of the girls’ slingshot. She waited for us around the bend of a barely standing skyscraper, saying, “Down there. There aren’t as many,” while pointing towards a sewer drain.

The girl and I held the robots off as Cove hefted the cap off, boosting his strength enough to lob it at a group of incoming clangers. He scurried down the ladder, the girl and I following behind.

We dropped down onto the damp floor, taking a moment to catch our breaths. Water trickled in a stream, flowing through various tunnels.

With another smug glance in Cove’s direction, I pulled out a flashlight and handed it to him, motioning for him to go first. Behind me, the girl pulled a flashlight from her own bag, urging us onward.

Periodically, she would yell directions ahead, and we followed them to the letter.

Soon, we splashed out into a creek at the entrance to a forest at the foot of the mountain. Cove and I fell back, letting the girl walk ahead of us. “We’re safe, for now.” She said, her fingers dancing over the handle of her slingshot.

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“Now tell me–who are you? Where are you from? Why were you stupid enough to go into a city unarmed?”

“I’m Cove, and that’s Hayden. We’re… travelers.”

The girl scoffed and leaned in for a closer look. “You must be stupid.” Her eyes crept up and down our bodies, searching. “You don’t look like you’ve been wandering long.”

Cove shrugged. “We usually stay out of trouble.” I choked on my own spit at his words. Yeah right. “What about you?” he continued.

Her eyes narrowed. She stared for a few seconds, then sighed, tucking her slingshot into a pocket on her worn khaki hiking pants. “Name’s Matilda, but everyone calls me Mattie. I’m from Jemima, up north.” she pointed upstream.

Cove shot her a friendly smile, his whole face lighting up. “Thanks for the rescue, Mattie,” he said, reaching his hand out to shake. Mattie’s face went as red as a tomato. “N-no problem.” She released his hand quickly, dropping it like he was on fire. For all I know, it might actually have still been warm from my magic.

Her eyes jumped to the creekbed we were wading in, and she bent over, her bangs and ponytail sliding forward to hide her red face. “This is where I usually collect rocks for my slingshot.” crouching down in the creekbed, using her already wet hands to dig through the stones in the water. She pulled a few out, setting them on the edge to dry.

Cove bent down to help her, packing some rocks in his own pocket. I dropped my backpack next to Mattie’s and grabbed a few of my as well, just in case.

She glanced up through her bangs at Cove. Uncertainly, she suggested, “If you lost your slingshot, I can help make you a new one if you like?”

“No need to worry about us.” he said with another smile.

When we’d collected around 10 fist-sized stones each, we packed them in our pockets and distributed them through our bookbags. Seeing only two backpacks sitting there, Mattie frowned, looking at us suspiciously. “You only have one backpack for two of ya?”

I paused, one strap on my shoulder, to see his answer.

Cove’s eyes widened, “ I lost mine, and we didn’t have time to go back for it!”

She relaxed a bit at her words, and I couldn’t help but add a delightful topping of revenge. “Not that he’s a great packer anyway.”

Her eyebrows rose, and she waved me closer. “Really?”

Conspiratingly, I whispered, “He didn’t pack anything useful.”

Mattie nodded slowly. “I can see that.”

Cove tossed his hands. “Alright, fine. You were right, Hayden.”

“I know.”

“So, where are you two heading?” Mattie interrupted our bickering, securing her backpack on her shoulders.

“We were looking for shelter for the night.”

“In the city?” Mattie asked, looking at us like we were dumb. “It’s got robots, and it’s haunted. I’m sure someone in the village will take you in for the night. If you want.”

Cove and I looked at each other. Admittedly, the city wasn’t very appealing. “Sounds good,” Cove said. “Can we bring our cats? They hid while we were fighting the robots, but they should find us soon.”

Speak of the devil. Like magic, Ranch and Ani popped out of the trees, meowing.

“That’s the second time you ditched us,” I scolded. Ani meowed apologetically.

Mattie knelt down, dirt sticking to her wet pants. She reached her hand out, rubbing her fingers together and clicking her tongue at Ranch and Ani. “Are they yours? What’re their names?”

“The white one’s Ranch,” Cove clarified. “The black one is Ani.” Ani brushed his fur against her fingertips, desperate for attention. She dropped it on him willingly, cooing over how cute he was. The more reserved Ranch sat and stared, her blue eyes watching the proceedings cooly.

Cove coughed politely. Mattie snatched her hand back, sending Ani toppling to the side as he lost the supporting pressure. Mattie laughed at him, covering up my snicker.

“We should probably head back before it starts getting dark.” Her cheeks pulled her lips into a grimace. “ Been there, done that. Don’t recommend it.” She brushed the dirt off her pants, collecting mud on her hand instead. With a look of disgust, she moved to the stream and bent over it, using a rock to scrape the dirt off as best she could.

Sensing a story there, Cove pounced with a question as she worked. “Sounds like it was eventful.”

“If you call getting cut by thorns or falling flat on my face every five seconds eventful, sure.”

Her description brought to mind my own recent hike through the woods at dark, as the two chimeras had led me through the woods, delighting in every issue I had. I stored quickly to stand beside her, ready to go. “Sounds like we should leave.” Like her, I had no desire to repeat the experience.

I seemed to be thinking that a lot recently.