Marcus navigated the Firestorm toward the river shallows after swallowing hard. At the top right of the forward viewport, a timer appeared and started to count down, minutes and seconds.

  Fenicks spoke over the intercom. "Low tidal flow has begun. Target operation window: thirty minutes. Estimated time of arrival: twenty-nine minutes."

  Marcus squinted. It didn't look that far, maybe a ten-minute walk, fifteen minutes at most.

  The moment the upright stepped off the ledge, its legs sunk into the silt and mud of the riverbed. The machine had to raise its gait twice as high to get any forward momentum, and they almost immediately started moving at half speed. He feathered the clutch and shifted down to stop from stalling out.

  "No going back now." Arminius radioed, the Hastatus a few steps back and to the left.

  In the shallows were two high rocks, evenly spaced along their path, worn down from flowing water for many years. They were spiney toward the bottom and thicker near the top.

  "As long as we get to that first rock before the water starts rising, we'll be in good shape." Arminius said.

  Layne leaned forward, propping his arm up on the top of his console and holding his chin in his hand, covering his mouth. He glanced at Marcus before returning his attention to the forward viewport.

  "How's your fuel looking?" Arminius radioed.

  Marcus pried his gaze from the riverbed and reached over to a round gauge with a switch beneath. In the darkening cabin, after pressing the button, the center of the meter glowed green for a few moments. He gasped.

  "Q—quarter left." Marcus called out.

  Layne sat up straight and looked to Marcus with wide eyes.

  "How long is that?" Arminius replied.

  Fenicks spoke over the intercom. "Remaining fuel estimate: twenty minutes."

  Marcus's arms began to tremble. They were supposed to be good on fuel until they met up with the caravan on the other side. "How did we use so much in such a short distance?" He blurted out. "Do we have a fuel leak?"

  "Negative," Fenicks said. "Two-stroke mode incurs increased fuel usage."

  Marcus looked around at his control panel. "Well switch us back, or we're done for!"

  "Understood." Fenicks replied from the pilot's console. "Initiating emergency procedure R-14-E. Begin by maintaining RPM over 3250—"

  Layne scrambled from his chair and stepped up on the pilot's platform. "I got it, keep going." He began reaching over Marcus's head and throwing the toggles that Fenicks called out.

  Marcus, still sitting in his chair started throwing the switches in front of him on cue.

  Suddenly, as Layne followed Fenicks's instructions, the engine began to sputter, and the cabin swayed. It threatened to stall. The mechanic was nearly tossed into the left wall from the sudden jolt.

  Marcus shifted to first gear and punched the clutch and throttle to keep the machine running. The engine sputtered and gasped as the Firestorm started to slow to a stop.

  "Critical," Fenicks spoke over the intercom, "intake crossover incomplete. Engine 1 F.M.X. to P.R.I. — false, Engine 2 F.M.X. to P.R.I. — false. Take immediate action."

  Standing on both the clutch and throttle pedals to keep them fully depressed, Marcus wedged himself against the chair, shimmying up enough to reach the overhead throw switches labeled E1 FMX and E2 FMX. With two fingers, he toggled them, and the engines roared to life. Adjusting himself back into position, he shifted to second, then third as the engine redlined with even the faintest tap on the throttle.

  "I didn't read your last." Arminius radioed. "How long do you have?"

  After Layne recovered and finished the process, the engines hissed, and the exhaust stacks overhead started to plume exhaust smoke once again. The superchargers whined as the system returned to four-stroke mode.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  "Estimated remaining travel time," Fenicks said, "45 minutes."

  Layne stumbled back to his seat and gripped the console, his arms still visibly trembling.

  Marcus repeated Fenicks's estimation over the radio, stuttering.

  "Same, I used more than we thought, but we're making good time." Arminius called out. "It should be enough to meet up with the caravan and get squared away."

  Just as the two uprights passed the first stone waypoint, the waters began to rise as the tidal flow of the river reversed. The timer had 20 minutes remaining.

  Marcus breathed deep to calm himself, focusing on the low rumble of the engines but remained unblinking as he stared at the grasslands slowly drawing near.

  As the Firestorm passed between the two rock waypoints, the water rose from the machine's ankle up above its knee actuator.

  "Here comes the harder part." Arminius radioed. "Try to keep her straight and steady. If you shift too much, you'll bog yourself down."

  The water's flow began to force the Firestorm to turn with the river. Each step, Marcus had to gently adjust to keep the upright on course. As they crossed the second waypoint, he had to periodically lean on the controls to avoid getting spun around. The water line was up to the Firestorm's hips.

  And the timer had 10 minutes remaining.

  Sweating and breathing heavy, Marcus stared at the grassy slope, now taking up most of the viewport. It seemed like they were within arm's reach of the shoreline, but the green indicators on the forward display said otherwise. With each step, he had to carefully ease into the river's flow.

  If he turned too sudden, it would cause the upright to sway into the direction of the water and slow them down. If he corrected too late, it felt like the riverbed would give way under each step and threaten to topple the Firestorm. There was an invisible tightrope that was the thin strip of stable ground that Marcus had to get a sense for as the machine advanced.

  As the upright closed within a dozen paces of the shoreline, Fenicks spoke from the pilot's console. "Warning: water level nearing engine two intake. Recommend E2 F.M.X. to aux."

  Marcus grunted but remained locked onto the path ahead, unblinking. The timer rounded past the 5-minute mark.

  Layne pried himself from his intense, hunched over state. He pulled himself up to the pilot's platform and reached up, toggling the E2 F.M.X. switch. The engines hissed for a moment and then the superchargers kicked in again with a high-pitched whine.

  Less than 2 minutes remained.

  Layne crawled back down and returned to his statue-like, hunched over position, holding his chin in his hand with mouth covered.

  Finally, after what felt like eternity, they reached the opposite shore just as the waterline reached the Firestorm's waist with little distance remaining to the cockpit hatch. As the upright left the river, water poured out of every gap in the armor plating, creating a waterfall that dumped back into the rapids as Marcus brought the machine to a halt a few steps from the flow.

  The timer stopped, blinking with 45 seconds remaining.

  "Alert," Fenicks spoke through the pilot's console, "engine two intake obstruction detected. Recommend purging before resuming normal operation."

  "I know how to do that." Marcus reached up to the switch overhead that could divert the exhaust to the intake ports. He flipped the second engine's toggle, and another waterfall began to pour out from just above the upright's waist in the rear.

  The Hastatus stumbled ashore and began dumping liquid from every gap in its armor.

  "Phew." Arminius radioed. "The easy part's over, now for the hard part."

  Layne looked up at the ceiling. "You said this was the hard part."

  "It was." Arminius replied. "But each step of this journey is going to get more and more difficult."

  Layne sighed and ran a palm down his face.

  Marcus chuckled and started to look over the map, when a sudden dread filled him. The same kind of terror felt when the countless eyes were upon him in the dream. His attention gravitated up the grassy slope, to the forest that skirted the crest. Something in there was watching, waiting. It was massive. For a brief moment, the sight of two emerald cat eyes staring at him crossed Marcus's mind like an invasive daydream. His heart raced. A tightness welled in his chest. Breath escaped him.

  "Irregular E.S. energy signature detected within operational range." Fenicks spoke from the pilot's console. "Deploying countermeasures."

  A moment after Fenicks finished speaking, the tension in Marcus’s body eased and he gasped for air.

  "You alright in there, kiddo?" Arminius radioed.

  Marcus sputtered. "Y—yeah, all good here." He panted, still out of breath.

  "I'm going to scout ahead and see if the caravan made it through yet." Arminius radioed as the Hastatus started to ascend the hill. "Let's not fall behind schedule."

  Layne looked over his shoulder and blinked. "Are you alright?"

  Marcus swallowed hard and his breathing slowed. "Just needed a quick break, I'm fine."

  His best friend turned even more. "You're pale as a corpse. Let me know if you need me to take over."

  Marcus shook his head and shifted to first. "Let's just keep moving." He let off the clutch and launched the Firestorm forward, to catch up to the Hastatus.

  "Really," Layne leaned toward Marcus, "it wouldn't be a big—"

  "Impact immanent, brace, brace, brace." Fenicks blared over the intercom, followed by a harsh and steady warning tone.

  Ahead of the Hastatus, beyond the tree line at the top of the hill, a massive explosion lit the whole area, and a pillar of flame and smoke climbed high into the sky. A shockwave nearly folded the trees on the edge of the forest in half. The Hastatus stumbled backwards, swaying violently to stay standing.

  The shockwave hit the Firestorm. Layne was launched over his chair and into the back of the pilot's console.

  If it wasn't for the death grip Marcus had on the joysticks, he would have also been thrown from his seat. Instead, he was jostled and found himself dangling from the side of the chair, one foot wedged against the clutch, the other slipped under and dangling beneath his body.

  Layne coughed and groaned, pulling himself back into his chair. "What the hell was that?"