Magnetic forces beyond Theseus’s limited understanding propelled John forward, his head down and arms held tight against his body, as if he’d morphed into a human torpedo. That sort of acceleration would play havoc with his brain – it was all up to the systems now. Five meters covered and the golem wasn’t moving. Seven. Eight.

Then the statue’s arm moved like liquid metal, lifting up to pluck the approaching human missile from the air with sharp fingers. Nine meters. The system reacted, John’s trajectory altered. He was going to make it…

A red beam swept past Theseus’s shoulder, slicing through the air and into the cavern beyond. A laser. Theseus nudged himself sideways to avoid its erratic movement as it came slicing down, cutting the golem’s arm off at the shoulder. The extended limb exploded into a cloud of dust just as John’s body swerved with computer-controlled precision and blasted into the cavern beyond. Disorientated, Theseus searched for his footing again as the stone creature’s body morphed, turning around without actually turning, as if its front and back had swapped sides in an instant. Then it jumped into the darkness after John.

The laser intrusion had thrown off Theseus’s concentration, however. He swept his own, harmless red beam across the dark cavern and fired a blind shot. In the remaining seconds he swept the targeting laser around, sending the plasma missile swerving on an erratic course as its systems tried to hone in on the uncertain destination. Then he picked up something moving in the darkness. Something big. He kept the targeting laser trailed on the bulk with a steady hand, praying he’s picked the right target. The plasma shot was almost there…almost…

There was a crash. Sparks briefly lit the cavern ahead and yelp of surprise echo back through the tunnel. Then the plasma missile found its target. Superheated energy exploded across the golem’s body, disintegrating it in a tight ball of ionised gas. Without pause, Theseus dropped the cannon to the floor and dashed towards the end of the tunnel, flashlight penetrating the darkness ahead.

John was dangling from a grappling hook, his propulsion-pack nowhere in sight. Noticing Theseus, he gave a thumbs-up. Breathing a sigh of relief at his friend’s survival, Theseus turned his attention to the others, cautiously inching their way down the tunnel towards him.

“S’ok,” he announced, “John’s alive and that whatever-it-was is dust,”

The three Veritas girls squealed their relief and hugged one another, but Theseus ignored their celebration and slipped past to confront the boy hiding in the shadows, failing not to look suspicious.

“The hell was that all about, Gibson?”

“Dude, I was just tryin’ help, okay?” replied the redhead, “Man, John’d be a goner by now if I’d not done anything!”

Theseus had to resist the urge to smash his fist into Joel’s stomach. “He was almost a goner because of you! You any idea what could have happened?”

Joel ran his bony fingers through his ginger mane, scratching the back of his head as he tried to laugh off the seriousness of the situation. “Aww, man, who cares what could’ve happened? Everyone’s safe, right? It’s proper fated stuff!”

Theseus scowled. There wasn’t time for dealing with this guy and his heroic fantasies. “Just…just get a move on already. And don’t touch anything. Last thing we need is a cave-in,”

The pale-faced Raven slinked off through the shadows, grumbling to himself. Another body for Theseus to keep an eye on. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, and repeating a few martial art mantras under his breath to stabilise his chi, he began reloading the weapons into the spider-mech before the next stage of the journey began. If this tunnel had just been the entrance, he hated to think what might be laying in wait ahead.

Chapter 50
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