The sounds of a huge explosion stopped Mia dead in her tracks “That sounds like…” she turned around, facing the direction the explosion just came from “…?!”

She braced herself, the wind slamming into her “What is going on?! Wasn’t Cy at the camp?!” she shouted over the howling wind and rustling of trees. After a moment it stopped, she checked herself over to make sure she was alright, shaking free foliage that was stuck to her.

She then climbed a tree, though halfway up she started to see the source, and at the top she saw it, a giant mushroom cloud “…another explosion, like before, but smaller?” Thinking back to…forward? Remembering the explosion that originally killed her with John, this one was indeed smaller, to further prove that it didn’t engulf everything like the last one, that engulfed everything from the capitol to that dungeon.

“What did he call it… “she tried to remember, but the name was escaping her.

While watching the cloud rise into the air, she saw the familiar towering figure of Cy rise up into the air out of the cloud, writhing around “She survived that?!” Mia yelled, honestly impressed.

[Not without sustaining injury.]

“Eh? You can tell?”

[Look, towards her head down a few segments.]

Mia looked to the area pointed out to her, and sure enough, just barely able to make it out she saw a huge gash missing from one segment, a hole in her chitinous armor, like someone just took a bite out of her “Oooooh…”

[Regardless, you need to run. Staying here is not good for your health.]

“Hrm? Feel fine?” Mia stretched, looked herself over one more time, then leaped from the tree, landing at its base “Tired though.” She looked at her status, not surprised to see [Exhausted] on it. “Was running for hours…the swamp… the ice water… “

[Unless you want that exhausted to be replaced with something a lot worse, run. Get as far away as possible. It was localized and concentrated but with their flimsy technology it will spread. Run, I do not know how much time, if any, you have.]

“O-ok.” She started running again, not wanting to argue with how serious Ami was being so serious “What will spread?”

[Toxic]

The name rung in her head; she had heard of it before “Toxic?”

[Not now, no think, just run. If need be, let me take over. Just. Run.]

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

She did so, used to the endless running by now.

“CHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-!”

Mia clutched her ears, pain ringing she stopped, turning back “Cy?”

[Do not pay the death throes of a wrym, run.]

“No, wait.” She started climbing a tree.

[Mia, what are you doing? You need to run.]

She reached the top, looking at the thin line in the distance that was Cy thrash about “…Ami…what is toxic?”

[Something bad, extremely bad, so bad you should be running.]

“Yeah but…” she watched the wrym rise up into the air, sticking straight up, the gash now bigger then it was before “…what is it?”

“CHWEEEEEEEEEEEEE-“

[…A rot, brought about by the components used to create what John called a nuke. It infects, clings to life and destroys it. Eats it away at life till nothing is left.]

“And the church… uses it?” she asked, not seeing the point of using something so… destructive…

[I doubt most know the aftereffects of unleashing a nuke. Or don’t care, it is a weapon, a very powerful weapon. Toxic is just an unfortunate side effect, an acceptable one for whoever is making them. Maybe that is the intent.]

“CHWEEEEEEEEEEEE-“

“…” She watched Cy wave back and forth, screaming into the sky, she watched silently, emotions swirling inside of her.

“CHWEEE-E-EEE-EEeeee”

Mia watched with halted breath, as one final time Cy went straight into the air as her injured segment rotted away, snapping in two “CY!” She stood up, running to the edge of the branch she was sitting on as Cy’s head fell to the ground, the rest of the body falling after it. “No-“

[Saved to slot 2- Mia what in the flying fuck are you doing?!]

“This isn’t right!” Mia said, attempting to load but was instead greeted by a panel with a red X through it. “Ami!”

[No! that is insane!]

“I don’t care! She got killed because of me.” She tried to load again, only to get denied with the message stating emergency override. “Let me load!”

[You emotional fucking child! She tried to kill you! She was going to capture you and turn you into a doll! She was a monster that chased you for hours! And you want to go back, to save her, just so she can do it all over again?! Are you sane?!] there was a pause [You broke my inability to feel emotions with this stupidity!]

She huffed “But! The toxic, the rot! I can stop that to!” she looked at her status, still not seeing toxic on it, she then looked back at the giant mushroom cloud “I can’t outrun that!”

[You never know until you try, I do not know all the specifics on that bomb they used. It could be incredibly localized, and for your sake, you’d better hope so. Now drop this nonsense and ru- Load denied: emergency override…are you li- load denied: emergency override.]

Mia had plopped herself down on the branch, panel pulled up, and was poking the load button over and over.

[Load denied: emergency override Would yo- Load denied: emergency override grow u- Load denied: emergency override CHILD- Loa-Loa-Load de- Loa]

She continued this, her cheeks puffed up, and continued her assault on the load button until finally…

[Load denied: Emergency override FINE!]

Mia paused, watching the screen switch from red to blue “See? That wasn’t so hard.”

[If this goes horribly wrong and she kills you…]

“Then it’s my mistake.” Mia huffed “Not like I don’t make hundreds of them already.” She stood up from the now completely frozen tree branch she was sitting on “I want to try at least saving one person…besides…” She looked at her status, toxic had appeared “…I’m not outrunning that…” she inspected herself, noting not much had changed, she didn’t feel sick.

[If you load 2 and start running, you might.]

“Nope.”

She hit load, going back all the way to slot 3.