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This whole drive has been a nightmare for Cleve, far worse than when he took the rover across the ford a few days ago. His fingers ache from clutching the steering wheel so tightly, and he grimaces as the vehicle comes into a sudden spinning halt, caught on a mushroom log. No doubt about it, Cleve’s going to have to spend a lot of time honing his mechanics skills in Tenoch’s shop, paying in sweat for the damage done to this vehicle.
Out the front windshield, Cleve sees the siege worm in all its glory, wreaking havoc on the terrain. With how its tendrils are tearing up the countryside, they’d do a good job on the pass, he reflects. Though he hasn’t seen a beast like this before, he’s been under artillery fire, and this isn’t so different. He keeps his calm better than the wolf beetles do, that’s for sure. Mr. Fuzzy gets away from Mariah, who takes off after Corazon’s pet. Cleve gets out of the rover, too. Those tendrils might be long enough to reach the vehicle, so he needs to figure out what it’s stuck on. He tells the teenagers in the back they should run for it. “If the rover gets hit, we’ll all get smashed,” he warns them.
“Are you giving up on the rover?” Takuto asks.
“No, I’m not. But I think maybe we need to split up.”
“Mr. Cleve, we can’t leave you behind!” Takuto insists. “We can help you push the car free.” Louisa’s got her hands full with Mrs. Fuzzy, but Takuto slips out of the car to join Cleve. Arx follows more slowly, first taking a hit of their lung drug to ease some tension.
Cleve agrees to the help, but only because it seems the fastest option. “Okay, but at any sign of danger, you guys run,” he tells the pair.
“Yes, Mr. Cleve!” Takuto readily agrees. He and Arx take up positions to lift and push the rover. Cleve slips back into the driver’s seat in order to throw the vehicle into reverse. The rover comes free with a lurch, causing Cleve’s hands to slip. Something new lights up on the dashboard then, the letter L, and the hum of the vehicle shifts. Cleve looks down at the steering wheel and discovers that there are a set of switches concealed underneath the cruise control toggles. He’s just serendipitously found lower gear! “Oh, nice!” Cleve breathes out, glad for a bit of luck. The rover is vibrating far less now, which should be harder for the siege worm to detect.
Suddenly a scream rings out over the sounds of disturbed earth and vegetation. Through Mariah’s open door, Cleve sees the awkward angle of the younger man’s left arm, and the blood dripping down his limp hand. The siege worm’s tendril has recoiled from its strike, but there’s nothing to stop it from coming back down again. Cleve grabs his rifle and jumps out of the rover. “Takuto! Now’s the time for you to learn how to drive!” he tells the teen. The vehicle handles better without the backhoe atop it, and in lower gear, Takuto won’t be able to go too fast. These aren’t ideal conditions, but they’re not the worst. Nothing Takuto could do with the rover would be worse than what the siege worm could.
Cleve’s not afraid, but he recognizes a dangerous situation when he sees one. His choices here could get everybody killed. We should have been out of here already. If only I hadn’t gotten the rover caught! he groans to himself. Outwardly, though, he’s in charge. “Back this out of range,” he orders as Takuto scrambles into the driver’s seat and Arx slips into the back of the rover. Then Cleve brings his rifle up and fires a few shots at the writhing siege worm tendril, all misses. There is nothing to dissuade it from slapping back down at Mariah again.
“It’s me! It’s tracking me!” Mariah calls as he dashes toward the rover with Mr. Fuzzy in tow. The tendril flails around, and just as he nears the vehicle, it finally manages to land a second solid hit, striking him across the back. The force is enough to fling him into the side of the rover, and when he hits the ground, he’s still and quiet. So, too, is the siege worm.
Mr. Fuzzy is caught under Mariah, panicky but contained.
“All right, I’m going to load him up,” Cleve announces, responding swiftly to the new situation. “Takuto, get in the back.”
“Yes, sir!” Takuto says, hopping out of the driver’s seat obediently. He comes around the car to the passenger side and is momentarily taken aback at Mariah’s condition. Cleve doesn’t let his thoughts linger there though; he tells Takuto to get the wolf beetle into the crowded back of the rover. Mr. Fuzzy does not go easily, landing a solid bite on Cleve when he extricates Mariah’s hand from the creature’s collar. Arx gets involved, taking the leash and coaxing the wolf beetle inside.
As Cleve maneuvers Mariah into the rover, the ground shakes now and then from a lackluster swing of the siege worm’s tendrils. The fight has gone out of the creature, so perhaps Mariah was right that he was the target. Or the rover being quieter is hiding them. Whichever it is, they are out of danger for now—external danger, anyway. Mariah’s going to need some serious patching up. Cleve gets him into the front passenger seat, and Takuto holds him upright from behind while Cleve buckles him in. Then it’s time to get going again.
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