Cassie’s eyes fly open at Corax’s single word, throwing off the bnket and gripping her pistol tightly.

  “Smoke where?” I ask. “The town?”

  Corax nods.

  “Fuck.” Cassie doesn’t rex at all, still tense, her eyes scanning the horizon. “How far?”

  “An hour. Did you see anything else?” I ask.

  “Tires enter, leave.”

  “Sounds like an attack then.” Cassie says darkly. “Stop the car, you need your helmet.”

  Despite the fact that I would have no problem putting my helmet on while driving, I stop the car. Cassie hops out, bringing her battery with her, and climbs into the back seat. The moment the car door closes, I start driving once again.

  A helmet is pced gently on my head only a moment ter.

  “Thanks.” I reach up and buckle it in pce. I can’t use anything heavier without butchering my cooling ability.

  Cassie gets to work donning her vest. It’s tough with only one hand, and even harder while having to worry about the wire connecting her legs to her battery, but she somehow manages it. She straps on her helmet and slides her loud pistol, silenced pistol, and knife into their holsters. She picks up Vince’s rifle, staring almost longingly at it before passing it up to me.

  “You should use this.”

  I’m better with my pistols, but she’s right. Something a little higher caliber that can deal with things her 9mm pistol can’t is probably a good idea. There’s no point in having three pistols that all can’t deal with the same problem.

  I take it wordlessly and plug myself into the car to keep driving while I check the rifle.

  Gun’s clean. Magazine full. Receiver empty. Pull the charging handle. Receiver full. Safety on.

  I do the same with my pistols, ensuring they’re ready to go at a moment's notice before tucking them into their holsters. I wish I still had my harpoon to go with everything, but I don’t regret how I used it.

  I grab Corax’s harness and put it on him. I’m not sure how much use it’ll be underground, but it is another tool we can use.

  Is there anything else I can do to be more prepared? Nothing that I can think of, I just have to continue to be perfect.

  “Do you think anyone is going to be waiting for us in there?” I ask Corax. “Some kind of trap or something?”

  “No trap.” He says.

  Well, that’s good at least. I’m not confident enough to say we’ll get through this without a fight, I’m not that lucky, but there’s at least a small amount of hope I can tch onto. It’ll make it easier to keep moving.

  Cassie gets finished preparing, and starts on breakfast. She wolfs down a bar quickly, and chases it with water. She’s anxious, and eating is just time that she can’t be watching the horizon.

  “Probably too te to ask, but are there any other towns we can make it to?” Cassie breaks the silence.

  “No small ones, not unless you want to abandon the car.” I don’t think a fourth one is going to just fall into our p, but she knows that.

  “Fuck, of course.” She mumbles to herself just loudly enough for me to hear.

  We don’t say a word for another forty-five tense minutes. Cassie spends her time on the radio, flicking from station to station, trying to get any signal or response from the town. Of course one doesn’t come.

  “There’s the smoke.” I catch the first wisps of it on the horizon. “Corax, can you scout one more time?” It’s risky asking him to fly while the sun is rising, but it’s even more risky to go in blind.

  Corax leaps from the window and glides across the sand in response. He returns only ten minutes ter, when we’re only a few miles away from the base of the smoke. It’s pouring out of an exposed cave.

  “Nobody.” He reports, and Cassie lets out a held breath.

  “There still could be people inside.” I remind Cassie of something I’m certain she already knows.

  “I know.”

  “Did you trade for a gas mask?” I ask. “The smoke looks pretty dense.”

  “Nope.”

  “Alright. You wait out here, I’ll go in and-”

  “Fuck that.” She interrupts me. “I can handle a little smoke.”

  “Cassie, I really don’t think-”

  “I said I can handle a little smoke.” She repeats firmly.

  “If there’s smoke, there’s going to be fire, and that burns oxygen.” My voice raises a little bit, betraying my annoyance. At least it stops her from arguing. “It’s not about if you can handle it or not, you’re going to suffocate without even realizing it.”

  “And what about you? You’re part pnt, right?”

  “Everything comes from a nutrient canister in my chest. The little bit of CO2 I do use isn’t a constant need. I can close my air filters and be fine for a long time.” I try to keep my voice calm while I expin. “Just let me go in, figure out if there’s any oxygen at the bottom, and I’ll come right back up.”

  “Fine, you have five minutes before I’m coming in after you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Somehow, the rest of the drive is even more tense. It’s a relief when I can finally park just outside the cave entrance and get out.

  “Five minutes.” Cassie reminds me.

  “I know.”

  Corax hops onto my shoulder. As much as I wish he’d stay up here with Cassie, he is airtight. If something happens to me, he’ll be able to escape and tell Cassie.

  I step into the billowing smoke, plunging myself back into darkness. Corax’s beak preemptively settles on my ear.

  “I’m ok.” I promise him and feel my way down the cave with one hand.

  It’s a short, mostly straight path downwards. The path opens up into a massive cavern, with a ramp constructed from scrap metal directly into the center of the town. At least, I think it’s a town. It’s hard to tell when everything is on fire.

  Bck smoke pours out of shattered windows, only to get sucked out by a breeze from other, unseen cave entrances. The wind brings in fresh air, which only stokes the fmes further. Despite that, it should be safe for Cassie to be down here, at least for a little bit.

  The smoke breaks occasionally, revealing bodies tossed carelessly into red streets. A kid floats alone in an underground ke atop a sheet of wood, keeping their shredded body afloat. Their head drifts zily to the side, puffy eyes staring into the depths of my mind.

  Corax pulls on my ear, not to bring me out of some emotion, but to prevent my emotions from leaving me once again.

  That distraction gives emotions a chance to flourish. I don’t even know what all of them are. Disgust, terror, hatred, they’re all prominent, but wrapped in a hundred other emotions.

  Don’t let them consume me, I’m ok. Hold it together, just for a minute.

  I retrace my steps up the path. Cassie is bouncing from foot to foot impatiently, but I don’t have the space to care about her. I toss my helmet from my head and Vince’s rifle into the sand and colpse, letting tears drop into the quickly warming floor of the world.

  “What happened?” Cassie asks gently, crouching beside me and pcing one hand on my shoulder.

  Corax pushes against my cheek, reminding me of his presence.

  “You shouldn’t go down there.” My words come out garbled from the swirling thoughts in my head. It’s too simir to what she lived through. “We should just go somewhere else, abandon the car. We can figure out anything else.” I beg.

  “What’s down there?” She asks.

  I can only shake my head in response.

  “Is there oxygen down there?”

  I don’t respond. I can’t lie, and I can’t let her go down there. Of course, my silence is an answer too.

  “I’m going down.” She stands up and lifts the colr of her shirt over her mouth and nose.

  “Cassie please!” I grab her hand. “Please don’t! Just trust me.”

  “Look! I already know the town got attacked, it’s not hard to piece together.” Despite her argument, she doesn’t pull her hand away. “If someone is hurt down there, then I need to help them.”

  “Nobody’s alive. Please.” She’s not going to be able to handle it, and she has nobody to bring her back, not without Vince, Ivy, or even Lucas.

  “You don’t know that.” She stares into my eyes for just a few seconds. “Now, are you going to help me get through the smoke, or am I going to do it myself?”

  “Fuck.” I let the word drop from my mouth. She’s going to hurt herself. If she gets lost in that tunnel, she’s dead. Why can’t she just let me change her mind?

  I let her help pull me to my feet.

  “Just hold your breath, it’s not far. And keep your eyes closed until we’re through.”

  I lead her through the smoke, back into the burning remnants of the town. I lead her a few steps down the ramp, just to make sure the dark cloud is far above her head.

  “Alright, open.” I say reluctantly.

  “Fuck.” It only takes her a moment to take in the scene. “Corax! See if anyone is alive.”

  Corax takes off from my shoulder and Cassie begins to sprint down the ramp.

  “Cassie, wait!” I call after her. “I can’t go near the fire, it’s too hot!”

  “That’s fine!” She yells back, already reaching the main road. “Just wait somewhere safe!” She turns a corner and disappears into the fming town.

  I can’t leave her here. If she gets in trouble, I have to be here to help, no matter what it does to my body.

  There’s a small cave by the ke, and I can tell by the way the smoke is moving it’s acting as an air intake. I carefully make my way over, staying away from the fmes as much as possible.

  I reach the ke without too much trouble and sit at the cave entrance, letting the cool air wash over my exposed aluminum. I keep my eyes pinned to the stone floor beneath me. I just need to wait for Corax and Cassie to get back, that’s all that matters.

  “Nobody.” Corax’s loud voice echoes through the cavern, confirming the fact everyone already knows.

  He swoops in from nowhere, nding easily on my shoulder.

  “Is Cassie ok?” I ask.

  “Yes.”

  “Ok, please go keep track of her. Things could go wrong very quickly.”

  Corax nudges the side of my cheek.

  “Please, I’ll be ok until you’re back.”

  He gives me a small warning peck, and thankfully takes off once again, skimming along the ground and out of the smoke.

  It’s almost half an hour before Cassie returns. I can hear her feet stomping hard against the stone ground.

  “Fucking raiders!” She kicks the wall hard, the sound echoing through the burning cavern.

  “I’m sorry you had to see this.”

  Cassie shakes her head roughly and paces back and forth a few times.

  “I’m going to go check again.” She says.

  “You’re not going to find anyone.”

  “They found me.” She says darkly, and sprints off towards the town again.

  I don’t call after her, what do I even say? My eyes drift against my will towards the ke. That could have so easily been Cassie. How different would things have been? Would Vince ever have left Mara? Would anyone have ever found me? Would-

  Corax taps on my cheek.

  “Move.” He says gently.

  “Move where?” I ask.

  “Think.”

  Think, alright. What do I need to be doing? We need to be able to stay here, it’s the only real option. I need to bury the bodies, but that can wait. When the storm hits, every one of these tunnels are going to be buried, which means no new air coming in, and no smoke going out. Cassie won’t survive a single night if that happens.

  I need to put out the fires, but how? The ke has more than enough water, but I’d have to move an unfathomable amount of it to put everything out. I need a hose and a pump, there’s no other way.

  I can’t remove any of my water pumps without draining my coont loop, and that’s not going to happen safely. However, the car should have a coont loop as well, and that’s not going to die if I just take its parts for a bit.

  “I’m going to go get the car, please make sure Cassie stays safe.” I’m practically begging.

  He gives a nod, and disappears back into the burning town once again.

  I make my way up the ramp and walk up the entrance tunnel slowly, feeling and mapping exactly where the floor turns into wall on both sides. There’s enough space for a car to roll down, and I should be able to do it, even blind. If not, a couple scratches are worth not dying from smoke inhation.

  I plug myself into the car, and begin to slowly roll down the uneven pathway. I’m almost immediately stopped by the sound of thin metal crumbling against the wall.

  Alright, that’s fine, that’s why I’m going slow enough to stop anything other than minor cosmetic damage. My wheels must be slipping a little bit as I drive, I can account for that.

  I put myself in reverse, and try again. I make it another dozen feet before once again crashing into the wall.

  Every sensor in me says I’m fine. My engine is undamaged, the wheels are still spinning how they should be, all sorts of pressures are still fine, it’s fine.

  I graze the walls a few more times before finally reaching the ramp. My air conditioning will keep me cool, and I drive through the burning, bumpy streets to once again reach the water.

  I get out, grab the small amount of tools I have, and get to work.

  It’s not hard to remove the pump, this entire car was designed to be easily serviceable in the field. Making anything intentionally hard to fix would be ridiculous, and would absolutely cause deaths.

  The only problem with removing it is that I need a pce to store the coont. I need to re-use it when I’m done.

  “Corax!” I call into the cave for him, and he returns to me within seconds. “Can you ask Cassie to find a big bucket or something to store liquid in?”

  Corax takes off once again, and returns riding atop Cassie’s head only a minute ter. She’s carrying a rge metal bucket with a thick cloth wrapped around the handle.

  “What are you doing?” Her voice is raspy from the smoke and dry air.

  “Putting out the fire.” I grab the bucket from her, it’s hot, but not enough to damage my fingers further. I put it beneath the drain port and pull the plug.

  “Tell me how to help.”

  “You can help by sitting down and drinking water. I don’t have enough supplies to fix both the outside and inside of you.”

  Cassie opens her mouth to argue, only to end up coughing into her hand. A small amount of bck residue is left behind.

  “Fine.” She admits reluctantly, and hops into the back seat.

  “Corax, see if you can find some sort of tubing.” Even if I removed every bit of tubing from the car, it’ll only reach a few buildings, much less the entire town. “Any size will do, it just needs to be long.”

  Corax flies off just as the coont loop finishes draining. By the time I have everything removed, he’s returned with a somehow unmelted hose.

  “Thank you.” Adapting it to the pump isn’t hard, there are tons of random pieces of junk scattered around the town, and Corax quickly finds something that will work.

  I connect the hose to the pump, plug myself in, do my best to waterproof the connection with tape, and toss the pump into the ke. A single thought turns it on full bst, and I get to work on the nearest building.

  Stopping even a single fire is difficult, the hose I have is a far cry from anything a firefighter would use. It’ll do the job eventually though. I didn’t hear anything on the radio about a storm, which means I can hope for at least a day to fix things.

  The only bright side is that there aren’t all that many fmmable materials inside each building. They used wood for floors and furniture when they could, but most of the walls are stone and steel. Some smaller buildings are even made entirely of metal, with just a few curtains being the only fmmable material.

  I end up having to douse myself with the hose pretty regurly to regute my internal temperature, but even being inside a burning building is doable for a short period of time. I’m probably not waterproof without my silicone skin, but it’s better than dying, and none of my internals report any problems yet.

  It takes hours to put out the fmes in every building. The hardest part is the machinery. They had a water purifier on the side of the ke that was spewing bck smoke out of every gap in the metal. I ended up having to remove a control panel and just stick the hose directly inside to stop the fmes.

  It’s nearly pitch bck in here without the fire lighting up the room, but a glow does drift over the town from the ke. The water is alive with bioluminescence, bathing everything around it in its faint blue glow. It’s too bright to be natural, someone must have bioengineered whatever creature is glowing in there.

  A few still-smoldering remnants of once beloved family belongings are putting out wisps of smoke, but those will die on their own with time. I turn off the pump and return to the ke, only to find Cassie standing at the water’s edge staring at the child still floating in the center, Corax keeping her company on her shoulder.

  JanePtinum