The sound hits like a shockwave.
“Yep,” I say. “That got your attention.”
It charges.
Fast.
Too fast.
“Okay,” I mutter, sprinting the last few meters to the loader. “We’re doing this now.”
I vault onto the machine, slam my hand against the control panel, and pray to every questionable deity that the thing still works.
The panel flickers.
Come on.
Come on?—
It roars to life.
“Beautiful,” I breathe.
The engine kicks in with a heavy, grinding growl as I wrench the controls forward. The loader lurches into motion just as the beast barrels toward me.
I swing the machine sideways, slamming its reinforced arm into a stack of debris and sending it cascading into the creature’s path.
The beast plows straight through it.
Of course it does.
“Right,” I mutter. “Plan B.”
I gun the engine and drive straight at it.
“Hey!” I shout. “Over here!”
The loader’s arm swings out as I activate the hydraulic extension, slamming into the creature’s shoulder with enough force to dent the metal plating.
The beast recoils slightly.
Not much.
But enough.
“Yeah,” I say, grinning despite myself. “You felt that.”
It snaps its jaws at the machine.
I yank the controls, swerving just out of reach as its teeth slam shut inches from the cab.
The sound of those jaws closing?—
Gods.
That would have been me.
“Okay,” I say breathlessly. “We’re not doing that again.”
