The Fall of the City of Steel

Preparations

In a matter of minutes, the pair reached the iron mine, and Acridoidea unclamped her hand from her prisoner's wrist.

Soren breathed a sigh of relief. "We're not too late," he noted.

He turned to his guide.

"Thank you," he bade properly. "I'll see you in a few days."

Before turning and leaving, Soren felt the urge to give her some additional gesture of gratitude. Instinctively, he knew a handshake to be unviable. He considered attempting to kiss her hand, but her ever-present frown informed him that this was a poor idea. He would later wish that he had thought to salute her. Instead, he simply nodded, turned, and began for his plane.

As soon as Soren settled into his seat, he breathed heavily to make his voice convey exhaustion. Then, he called on his radio, "Can anyone hear me? I don't have much time. Please respond!"

"Who is this?" came an unidentifiable voice.

"This is Soren Caster," Soren introduced. "And the iron mine's been sacked! I was visiting to speak with Halsey, and I heard gunshots outside. Then I just hid. I don't know who hit us, but Halsey and his men are all dead, and I think the workers are gone, too. I made it back to my plane, and I'm getting out of here."

Silence.

"Do you copy?"

"Um... yes, sir. Do you require escort?"

"No."

Back on the ground, Acridoidea watched Soren fly off into the distance. The increasingly grim future did nothing but galvanize her resolve, but this gambit was something different. Relying on that foreigner quietly infuriated her.

Looking around the silent compound, Acridoidea allowed herself a prideful smile. Only then had it occurred to her how impressive it was that her tribe had infiltrated the compound, killed the staff and freed all of the slaves without losing a single member.

Suddenly, she remembered Buthoidea, who had been solely under the supervision of Dr. Piasecki since Rico landed the helicopter. Hastily, she removed the arrows and crossbow bolts from the corpses of Halsey and some of his soldiers, then began sprinting back, leaving no immediate clues that the tribe was responsible for the raid.

Acridoidea did not stop at James' workshop; she ran directly to the landing clearing, where Buthoidea lay in the spacious helicopter's medical bed. Dr. Piasecki watched her, smiling at her stable vital signs.

"Buthoidea," Acridoidea addressed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Buthoidea confirmed, between deep breaths. "Where were you? I think it's been hours since we landed."

"I'm sorry, Buthoidea," apologized Acridoidea.

"How did the raid go?" Buthoidea asked. "Did we save them?"

"We saved them," Acridoidea confirmed. "All of them."

"How are they?" she inquired.

"I... I don't know. I've been dealing with the defector."

"Who?"

"That old man who took two arrows..." Acridoidea described. "He had a prisoner who helped us as soon as we freed him. He summoned this medical helicopter."

"Oh..." Buthoidea reacted. "I had no idea. All I remember is lying there in the dark. And blood on the ground."

Acridoidea hugged her sister. "I'm so glad you're safe," she whispered.

She glanced at Dr. Piasecki.

"Did he hurt you?" she asked her.

Buthoidea almost laughed.