Not even a day out, and we're under attack. Around me, everyone scrambled into gear. Straps snapped. Weapons clicked into place. "Come on, Kae. Hurry up." Vira's hand found my shoulder. "They are planning to open the door. We don't want to get caught in it." My fingers fumbled with the buckles, I won't want to get caught in that again. My first encounter in the Ironwyrm flashed through my mind. I remembered how it all went down there. I would have been dead meat if Pierce hadn't pulled me through. Now that won't be the case. A champion by the name Lyra moved to the driver's section as I yanked my chest plate tight. "Any movement?" Raven shook his head. "Not yet, but we need to get the hell out of here before it comes back." Static crackled over the radio. "I repeat!" The voice pitched high with terror. "All units, we are under attack—!" A roar cut through both from the radio and outside. "We need to start moving!" Raven grabbed the door handle and wrenched it,

Uncertainty hasn't been more clearer for us. We all glanced at each other, wondering what the hell are we going to do? "We can't even go because of distance." Roland complained. Maybe if I can salvage something from the wreckage, I might be able to pull out a solution." Drake insisted, but I totally damaged it more with my plan. "Its no use, it won't shield us from ambush." Then everyone went silent again. When we have completely accepted our reality that we were all going to die, stranded here, we heard the radio crackle. Another voice came through the radio. "If you can hear me, meet us at Rendezvous Point. Coordinates being transmitted now. You have twelve hours. After that, we're gone." The coordinates appeared on Raven's system interface. Fifteen kilometers northeast. We counted survivors; No fewer than twelve of us remained. Raven instructed: "Scavenge the damaged transports and casualties for any important item. Take only what we can carry. Food, water, weapons, pow

The tunnel pulsed with movement as hundreds of them were approaching us. "Get ready," Raven declared as he turned to face Drake and Jabari, who were the last two in the queue. "The two of you should prepare to fight. The rest shield us from behind." He turned to me. "We could use that talent of yours again, Renshaw." "Are you sure about this?" Drake muttered. "I don't know how we will be able to defend the team in this tight situation." "We defend, hoping Renshaw figures out a way." "And if he doesn't?" "We will have no other choice than to push through." Drake threw me a glare. "You better not fumble this again. It's because of you we are in this situation." I pressed my lips together, a mixture of anger and guilt battling inside me. "That's enough," Raven raged. "If you don't stop this childish play this instant, I'm going to use you as a meat shield. Got it?" Raven glared at Drake, who 'tsked' and looked away. "They're here!" Vira's voice cut through the chaos.

The descent into darkness was violent and disorienting. I couldn't tell which way was up. My body tumbled through space, bouncing off tunnel walls that seemed to close in from every direction. The creature's talon still gripped my leg with crushing force, dragging me deeper into earth that should have been solid but gave way like water. My helmet slammed against something hard and the faceplate spider-webbed with cracks, alarms shrieking warnings. I tried to activate Radar Sweep but the system wouldn't respond, overwhelmed by the chaos or damaged by the impacts. I see nothing but darkness and pain and the occasional glimpse of the creature's scaled body as it keeps pulling me through passages too narrow for something its size. We were descending at impossible speeds. The tunnel walls blurred past, and I realized with growing horror that I was going straight to the creature's lair with an impossible idea on how I'll get out of it. My suit had an emergency release mechanism f

Something soft cradled my body. It was too soft, too cozy and too comfortable. Was back in the sphere? Maybe finally in my new apartment I haven't gotten the privilege to visit since I passed the trial. Wait! Am I home? My eyes snapped open and I launched myself off the surface, stumbling as my feet hit solid ground. Pain shot up from my injured leg, but it held my weight. I spun around, staring at the strange cushioned thing I'd been lying on. This is definitely not home to me. "Easy there, you're going to ruin the work I'd just finished." The female voice came from my left. I whipped around to see her standing at the other side of the room. She had bronze skin with black hair that was packed up in an uneven way as loose strands were seen around, almost similar to Sorayah's style but with no braids. That's when I really noticed what she had on. Rough fabric, almost like rags, held together by rope from head to toe. The material looked weathered, patched in