CHAPTER 39: GROUND

Eva threw her hands over her face as the intense force of the sonic weapon exploded right in front of her. All she could hear was an electronic scream . . . and then silence.

With both her ears ringing, Eva opened her gummy sand-crusted eyelids and realized she was lying face-down in the soft warm earth next to a large, twisted hunk of metal. She spit the dirt out of her mouth and waited for the ironclad grip of Besteel to scoop her up once more and take her away—but it did not happen.

Her eyes focused on the wreckage next to her. The upside-down letters spelled the word “Goldfish.”

“What? Oh, no!” Eva was immediately up on hands and knees, scouring the area. Her trembling hands felt something heavy and round, like a log lying silently on a forest floor.

She found the truth.

Muthr lay still on her back, her eyes as dead as night. The robot had intercepted Besteel’s shot to save Eva.

“No, no, no,” Eva cried. She tried to lift the robot up, but she was too heavy. Eva looked down at Muthr and saw that the top of one of the braincases was missing. She examined the damage to Muthr’s inner porcelain skull, which housed a glass globe. Within that globe was an ivory-colored brain, wired full of electrodes.

The globe was cracked.

A thick pink fluid was trickling out onto the sand.

Eva put her hand over the crack and tried to stop the syrupy fluid from running out. The amber light in the robot’s eyes fluttered on, then went back out. There was a gentle nudge from behind.

You. Not. Safe.

“Otto,” Eva said, “Muthr’s hurt really bad.”

Come. Not. Safe. Otto nudged her once more.

“No!” Eva’s tears burned her eyes. “We have to fix her. Come on. Help me find the Omnipod.”

Opening his maw, the water bear spit the Omnipod out onto the ground in front of her. Eva blinked as she picked up the device, astonished that he’d already found it.

Not. Safe. Tunnel biters. Otto grabbed Eva’s tunic with his beak and tugged at her.

“What? No, Otto, I have to—”

Besteel’s voice called out to her. Eva stood, trying to see through the haze of settling dust and sand. “Leettle one, no more gamez,” Besteel yelled over the hum of his charging boomrod. “Come outz, come outz, wherever you are!”

Come. Safe. Me.

Eva tore her eyes from Muthr, lying under the wrecked hovercraft, and climbed up onto Otto’s head. He carried her from the crash site to an open area outside of the ruins. Eva climbed up onto his back and discovered that his herd had surrounded Besteel and his glider.

Why haven’t they crushed him? she thought. Do you want me to watch, Otto?

No. Come. See.