Outside, it was utter chaos. The hail of gunfire and the clang on steel on steel filled his ears.

Abruptly, however, there was a ceasefire on both sides.

“Last Man seen!” the leader of the Lionesses called. “Cease fire!”

Everyone stopped moving but for Yair and the enemy robot he was fighting. Nikodemus was shocked; Hilargi was correct, he was losing to the other robot. Yair already had two holes punched in his torso and was pinned by the other robot.

“Get him! Get the Last Man!” The leader of the Lionesses cried.

Then Nikodemus focused on Yair, blocking out the screaming of both tribes to capture him.

Ellia, who was behind the sandbags with her women, looked over at him with the most furious face he had ever seen her wearing. She pointed her gun at him—he recognized it must have had a stun setting—and pulled the trigger. Nikodemus stood his ground, touched his temples, and emitted a wave of force from his mind. He held the beam still and redirected it toward the Lionesses.

Nikodemus began zigzagging toward Yair and the enemy robot, priming his mind so it was ready to yank the enemy robot off. It’s going to be very heavy. I don’t know if I can manage it… how could he possibly be losing? He’s far more sophisticated than the other robot. There must be another factor.

When he was close enough, Nikodemus reached out with his power—he felt it snaking out in front of him, carrying his consciousness with it. When it came into contact with the enemy robot, Nikodemus nearly crumbled under the weight of it when he tried to lift it. He fell to his knees, panting. He touched his pointer fingers to his temples again, breathing in deep. Once he did, he felt the strength of his power increase. His consciousness had only managed to wrap around the back of the robot, and had only moved it an inch away from Yair in a jerking motion.

Nikodemus panted with exertion, as if he were trying to lift the other robot physically. The noise of gunfire and yelling was in his ears; he could still feel the hot, desert wind whipping his face. He needed to block out his surroundings.

He inhaled three, deep breaths. With his eyes still closed, he visualized the world around him. He visualized the sand beneath his feet, the desert dunes, the mutants lurking underground, and finally, the battle going on around him. His consciousness touched those of the women around him, and he was flooded by their panicked thoughts.

I can barely keep fighting. The gun’s too heavy; my arms and ears hurt. Thought one.

I want to live. I want to see tomorrow. Thought another.

Focus. Think only about aiming your gun. Thought a third.

Nikodemus blocked them out and focused entirely upon the two robots grappling until, finally, he managed to wrap his mind entirely around the enemy robot. The rest of the world shattered, and it was just him lifting the robot. He felt it budge with a creak and when it did, he lifted it and threw it off of Yair. After that, Nikodemus collapsed.

***

Ellia watched the scene unfold before her. She was stunned; she had no idea that Nikodemus had such power. Nonetheless, she was happy that he had gotten the enemy robot off of Yair, because now the robot was free to destroy the other. He did so quickly and mercilessly. He threw himself on top of the enemy robot and threw a punch so hard that Ellia heard it resound from yards away where she stood. The robot’s glowing red eyes went out, and Ellia knew it was disabled for good.

Ellia was also furious, however. Furious because Nikodemus had left the fortress, endangered himself, and disregarded the hard work that every single one of her tribeswomen had gone through to capture him, for the sake of a creature that was not even human. What the fuck is he doing?

Ellia’s mind was moving quickly—thinking of the best solution to get Nikodemus back inside. She nudged June, who was kneeling next to her and picking off enemy soldiers with deft aim. “I need you to go grab the Last Man. First, however, I’m going to order Yair to grab him so he can defend you.”

Without questioning, June nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

“Yair!” Ellia called at the top of her lungs. The robot looked around the battle field until his gaze fell on Ellia. He was programmed to obey, so in a burst of speed, he arrived by her side—getting hit by a few beams and bullets on his way over. Once he was close enough, Ellia yelled, “I need you to grab the Last Man and head indoors with him! June will accompany you so she can open the door.”