Wared jumped out of the rover and dropped to his knees a few feet in front of it. He took off his goggles and ran his fingers through his hair. Fifty yards down a shallow slope, the dry ground gave way to a steep ravine that stretched as far as the eye could see in each direction.

Shea sat down next to him while Randee remained standing. "That wasn't on the map," she said and jabbed her finger in the direction of the ravine.

Wared glanced over his shoulder at the cloud of dust approaching behind them. "So this is it then, is it?"

Shea shrugged and took a shaky breath. "There's no way to get across, is there?"

"There might be," Randee said and took a couple of steps forward and pointed towards the ridge they had been following. "See, the tube is going further underground the closer it gets to the ravine."

"So?" Wared said. "I don't see it cross the ravine."

"Of course not," Randee continued, and pointed. "It's further down. We can't see it from here."

Wared felt his heartbeat quicken as he understood that Randee was saying. . He jumped to his feet and started down the slope towards the ravine.

"Follow me," he yelled over his shoulder as his legs pumped as quickly as he could manage. The stumbled over rocks and low bushes but kept running. As he reached the edge of the ravine, sweat was pouring down his face and he was out of breath. He leaned over the edge and grinned. Randee was right.

Shea joined him, breathing heavily, while Randee drove the rover down the hill.

"Look," Wared said and pointed into the ravine. Ten yards below the edge, the tube emerged from the ravine wall and stretched across the dark abyss below to the other side where it disappeared into the wall on the opposite side only to re-emerged closer to the surface. "We can cross on the tube."

"How?" Shea said and leaned down on one knee as she studied the structure. "We need to get down but also up on the other side."

"I think the support system could work," Wared said and pointed towards the intricate system that supported the weight of the tube. It was anchored in the ravine wall and stretched down towards the tube itself, then back up on the other side of the ravine. It was a suspension bridge.

"I don't know," Shea said, hesitation in her voice. "I don't like it."

The rover stopped behind them and Randee joined them. "What's the plan?" he said, breathing heavy. "We don't have much time. They'll be here in the next ten minutes."

Wared pointed towards the suspension cables.

Randee made a face and rubbed his chin. "You want to cross on the tube?"

"I don't see any other way. Do you?"

Randee looked across his shoulder. The Protectorate could be there at any moment. He nodded and put his hand on Wared's shoulder. "Help me with the backpack, will you?"

They left Shea by the edge and returned to the rover to fetch the bags. While behind the rover, Randee put his hand on Wared's arm. "Listen, I agree crossing here is the only option but Shea is not going to like it."

"Why not?" Wared said and glanced towards Shea.

"She's afraid of heights and gets unsteady and dizzy. You'll have to help me keep an eye on her so she doesn't fall. Got it?"

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"Of course," Wared said and hoisted the bag onto his back.

Randee smiled and slapped Wared's back. "Let's move then."

They started down the first cable, descending a step at a time while using a thin supporting wire for support. Randee led the way, Shea followed with Wared behind her. She hadn't said a word since they left the edge but Wared could tell she was struggling. She held on tightly to the support wire with both hands, moving sideways while keeping her gaze away from the abyss below. Her face was pale and from time to time, she paused, closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before continuing. Randee seemed to sense when Shea needed to stop and did the same without saying a word.

As they approached the tube itself, the sound of engines reached their ears. Doors slammed, voices yelled.

"They're here," Randee said and nodded towards the edge above them. "We better move it."

They stepped onto the tube itself and using the supporting cables, the moved more quickly across towards the other side. They had just started ascending the cable on the other side when they .

A dozen Protectorate agents dressed in black, weapons at the ready, lined the ravine edge on the other side. One of them was pointing towards them and gesturing. A sniper had taken up position on the ground.

Shea's breathing quickened and she squeeze the wire harder. "They're going to fire," she wheezed. "We're dead."

Wared grabbed her hand and held it tight. "They're not going to fire. They need us alive. Let's take one step at a time, ok?"

Shea looked at him with grateful eyes and followed Randee. Almost to the top, as soon as Randee climbed up on the other side, he dropped his backpack and started digging through the bag. As Shea and Wared joined him, he emerged with a portable blowtorch.

"What are you doing with that?" Wared said as Shea sat down on the ground and gulped some water.

Randee pointed towards the group of men on the other side. They had started following them down the cable. "We need to stop them."

"How are you going to stop them with that?" Wared said and pointed at the blow torch.

"I'm cutting the supports," Randee said and lit the torch. As he put the torch to the cable, men on the other side of the ravine started yelling. The men that were halfway down the cable to the tube, turned and scrambled back up. A shot rang out and dust kicked up just inches from Randee's foot.

"Watch out," Wared cried and stumbled backwards. Shea took cover behind a rock while Randee continued cutting the cable. A bright yellow glow surrounded his hands as sparks flew everywhere. Another shot rang out and this time, Randee cried out and collapsed onto the ground with his hand around his arm. He cursed and kicked as he rolled around on the ground.

"Randee," Shea shouted and rushed to his side with Wared right behind her.

"Keep cutting," he grunted as he sat up, blood trickling through his fingers.

Wared ran over to the torch and continued cutting, an eye on the men across the ravine.

Behind him, Randee ripped his shirt and had Shea wrap it around his arm. He then walked over to Wared and reached for the torch.

"You and Shea need to get out of here," he said with a grunt. "I'll take care of the cables."

"We're not leaving you here," Shea said as a tear ran down her cheek. "Not now."

"Someone needs to keep them from crossing, right? I can do that. You can't find the answers if you stay here and wait for me to be done. If we all leave, they'll cross over in no-time."

"But—" Shea started.

"He's right," Wared said. "As much as I hate to agree, we need to continue to move. The longer we wait around here, the more likely it is that they'll find a way to get across and capture us. We need to get going."

"They'll kill Randee," Shea said and pointed towards the sniper. "If we leave, there's no reason for them not to."

"It doesn't matter now," Randee said. "Step back, please, the cable is about to snap."

"We're not leaving," Wared said and reached for the . "They're less likely to take me out, I'll finish this. If we can stop from them from using the tube, we'll delay them either way."

Randee sighed, shook his head and handed the torch to Wared, then took cover behind the rock with Shea.

As Wared had suspected, there were no shots. He finished cutting one of the supporting cables within a few minutes and as it snapped, the tube swayed and creaked. The Protectorate squad on the other side backed away from the support cables, conscious of the fact that it could snap back at them if it broke completely. Wared moved on to the next cable.

"Only cut it partially," Randee instructed from his spot behind the rock. "It'll leave them guessing as to what might happen if they try to come across."

e and they packed up their backpack, he stole a glance across the ravine. Most of the Protectorate men had withdrawn to their vehicles. One had already left, dust covering its retreat while a couple of men, including the sniper, remained by the ravine edge.

"What do you think they're up to?" Wared said and gestured towards the other side.

"They're looking for another way to get across," Randee said as he hoisted his bag onto his back. "It'll only be a matter of time before they get airborne reinforcements or figure out some other way to get "

"We better move then," Shea said and looked in the other direction. "There's no time to loose."