The monster lifted Rosek’s pitiful form until she was three storeys above the ground. The massive dolorium’s eyes, black and soulless, watched August as he ran toward the beast. At that moment, the inexperienced private felt no fear. He was ready to climb, kick, scratch, blast, or do anything else needed to save Hilde.

An awful screeching sound stopped him in his tracks. The mandibles were tightening, and the mech suit was starting to warp under pressure. August aimed his rifle, but a thought stopped him from pulling the trigger. What if shooting this thing only makes it angry? Those mandibles look like they could cut through the mech suit at any second.

He looked back, desperately hoping that General Wolf had some sort of plan, but the squad stood frozen in fear. None of them moved, and each of them stared with the same petrified, wide-eyed faces. Another screech pulled August’s attention back to the horror before him. He had to think of something fast. No!

He spied Rosek aiming her hand cannon at the last second before she pulled the trigger. The blast echoed over the flat, sandy terrain. A cloud of smoke obscured the short area between the red hot bore of her gun and the insect’s head. Nothing happened. Smoke cleared, and everything looked the same as it had before the shot.

August was about to call out to Rosek, but nearly fifty more shots went off until the mech suit’s arm was out of ammo and sending plumes of smoke to the sky like the chimneys that pierce the dome in the industrial district. The entire head of the monster, along with Hilde in its mandibles, was shrouded in dense, grey-brown air.

“Hilde?” August cried.

He got nothing in return.

A sound like bricks in a clothes dryer came from within the smoke. A chill crawled up August’s spine. The beast was shaking its head like a dog with a chew toy. The head was somehow undamaged even after eating the barrage of shots. August fell to his knees and dropped his rifle. If Rosek’s arm cannons couldn’t hurt it, the skybeam wouldn’t either. He was helpless.

The monster toyed with Rosek for a while before finally discarding her. She launched about a hundred feet and landed violently like an aircar plummeting to the lower districts after a mid-air collision. The mech suit rolled and contorted as the momentum pulled it along the sand before finally stopping. She didn’t move. From far, Hilde looked like no more than an abandoned wreck.

I won’t abandon you. He darted his eyes to the monster before him. The dolorium overlooked the squad, giving each member a moment of its attention. August took the opportunity to dash for Rosek’s motionless form, pumping his aching legs, meaning to get there in as few strides as possible. A shadow passed overhead, and before he could even look up, a spiny leg stabbed into the sand before him.

He halted, but the momentum of his run toppled him forward. He looked up with a mouth full of sand and froze at the sight of the dolorium’s glare. It towered over him, unwavering, looking more like a building than anything alive. Its eyes fixed on him and pinned him to the ground. He didn’t need language to understand what the creature was saying. Move, and you die…

August risked a short glance in Rosek’s direction. She still hadn’t moved. The dolorium growled. The earth shook beneath him, and he sunk an inch or two in the vibrating sands. He returned his gaze to the monster, hoping that would be enough to appease it.

The rumbling ceased as the dolorium turned into a statue over August. A strange squeaking, whistling sound cut through the still air from the direction of the squad. Whoever you are and whatever you’re doing, stop!

The dolorium roared and jutted toward the squad with horrifying speed. August spat out the sand and shouted, “stop making noise!”

Sterling ceased his movements in the middle of screwing a canister of poison onto his gun. The exterminator gaped at the monster that had seemingly teleported before him. He let go of the canister, and it slouched to the side, having been screwed in just enough to keep from falling to the sand. The dolorium towered over the squad, blanketing them in shadow. It raised its nasty, twitchy head and bellowed another screeching roar. Sterling dropped his gun, and everyone slammed palms to ears.

August took the noise as an opportunity to gain ground on Rosek. He made it about a dozen strides before the roaring ceased. He halted and turned back just in time to see the massive dolorium burrowing into the sand. The squad stared at the strange groove left in the sand before them with horror in their eyes. Sterling retrieved his gun and finished screwing on the canister.

“That won’t be effective against what we just saw, Colonel,” Wolf said.

Sterling ignored him and continued screwing.

August waved a hand at the squad. “Belmont!”

The medic’s eyes were bulging, and they hadn’t left the area where the monster had just disappeared. August shouted her name again, and it snapped her out of it. She looked at him, and then beyond him, and ran full speed once she saw Rosek.

August beat her to the scene. Rosek’s suit was whining and whirring more than ever. The front plate that usually opened up smoothly like closet doors was jammed and warped from the multiple impacts it had taken. The noise meant that Hilde was pushing the ‘open’ button over and over. She’s alive!

He crouched in front of the machine and tried to spot her through the cracks. A small opening caught his eye near the bottom of where the ‘closet doors’ met. The opening was about two fingers thick and was level to her seat. He wouldn’t be able to glimpse her face. He peered into the slot and called her name.

The only thing he could see through his limited window was a left thigh garbed in blood-drenched, tan shorts. His heart jumped to his throat. He called her name again, louder to contend with the desperate whirring of the mech suit.

Hilde responded. Not with words, but with quiet, painful moans. Belmont arrived on the scene and gently nudged August away. The medic leaned in and started murmuring to her injured squadmate. The rest of the squad came shortly after August sat in the sand, holding his knees like a helpless child.

Belmont got up and reported to the general. “She’s alive and well, but she’s trapped in there. Most of the functions on her suit are disabled. The exit function seems to be in order, but the front plate is too damaged, so the doors won’t open. Also, the suit’s left leg shattered and lacerated her above the knee pretty bad. I’d like to see to the wound as soon as I can.”

Wolf nodded as if the information he’d just received were no more pressing than directions. “We’ll have to pry her out of there.” He looked the wreck up and down. “That suit is totalled, but what matters is the soldier inside.”

Farscout stood alone where the squad had come from. He hadn’t moved since the beast returned underground—instead, the scout stared at the groove in the sand with wide eyes and a strange, sickly hue to his rust-colored skin. The scout blinked, forced himself to look away, and started to join the rest of the crew. He took one step, doubled over, and retched.

Wolf, Sterling, Belmont, and West conversed for a while, debating how to approach the situation. August sat still for as long as he could, but the thought of Hilde’s blood steadily draining from the wound in her leg prompted him to act. He dashed for the suit, jammed his fingers in the tiny window, and pulled. He barely moved it an inch. He knew Hilde’s exit button opened the suit with the force of twenty men, but that didn’t stop him from trying. Maybe her pushing the button so many times loosened it. Perhaps he was wasting his time, or maybe he was making everything worse. It wouldn’t be the first time.

He was about to let go and return to his spot in the sand. Let the colonels deal with it. They know what they’re doing. No! That’s exactly the kind of thinking that led to her getting mauled in the store! He doubled his efforts and pulled on the door with everything he had. Something popped in his upper arm. He yelped, but he pushed on. It felt as though he were making a bit of progress, but at this rate, his arms would be useless hanging tubes of meat by the time Hilde got out. He didn’t care. She had to get out of there. There was a lot of blood, and though August didn’t know much about internal human anatomy, he knew where the main arteries ran.

Strong arms pulled him away. His first instinct was to thrash and fight whoever dared to take him away from Hilde, but he snapped out of it quick enough once he recognized General Wolf’s voice.

“Don’t worry, son,” Wolf spoke quietly in his ear as West and Sterling rushed to Hilde’s suit. “They’ve got the right tools for this and the know-how. We’ll get her out.”

Sterling pulled a small metal object from his belt and tossed it over to West, who caught it with one hand without looking. The sniper jammed the object in the two-finger wide opening in Hilde’s suit and pulled it to one side like one would do with a crowbar. Sterling used his weight and strength to stabilize the suit as West continued with the little tool.

The doors cracked open, and the machine hissed. The opening was two fists wide now. “Be warned, son,” Wolf said. “You might not like what you’re about to see. It’s a relief that we’re getting her out, I know, but we don’t know what kind of shape she’ll be in. Be prepared for anything.”

Strength left August’s legs, and he collapsed in the general’s hold.