Chapter 18 · The Meat Grinder

"Hold the fucking light steady, Roxie!" Kaelen roared, his voice cracking like dry earth.

He was slumped against a rusted coolant pipe, his shirt torn open to reveal a chest that looked like a war zone. A jagged shard of reinforced carbon-steel was buried deep in his side, pulsing with a sickly violet light. Every time he breathed, the gravity core in his chest groaned, sending ripples of distorted air that made the surrounding metal warp and shiver.

"I'm trying!" Roxie snapped, her hands shaking as she gripped the industrial flashlight. Her own gear was a wreck. One of her speed-boots was sparking, the plating sheared off, leaving her leaning heavily on her good leg. "You're the one leaking gravity everywhere. I can't even see where the wound starts and the void ends!"

Kaelen hissed, his teeth grinding. He reached down and gripped the shard. "Shut up and watch the door. If a Purge Walker smells us, I'm using you as a shield."

"Cute. Really heartwarming," Roxie muttered, but she didn't move from the hatch. She glanced at Mina, who was curled in a ball in the corner, her eyes wide and vacant, staring at something only she could see.