Ballistic Coefficient

Pale and Kayla continued their march through the forest, neither one saying anything for several hours as they pushed their way through the dense underbrush. The entire time, Pale's mind was racing as Kayla's earlier statement continued to repeat in her head.

She was right that her fear of being attached was certainly a very human emotion, and that left Pale worried. She was supposed to be a weapon pointed at humanity's enemies, nothing more and nothing less; the idea that she could possibly be developing a personality of her own was concerning, to say the least. Her prime directive had always been the defense of human life through the elimination of anything that would threaten them, but would she still be able to carry out her mission if, suddenly, she was able to refuse those orders?

Pale didn't know the answer for sure, and that was even more concerning. To refuse her mission would be to condemn billions of people to extinction at the hands of the Caatex. She couldn't risk it, especially not when they had been the ones to give her life in the first place; she owed them that much, at the very least.

After a moment to consider it, Pale shook her head, clearing those thoughts from her mind. Kayla had a point, but there was no sense in dwelling on it now. For the time being, she'd simply continue to work her way forwards, and that meant making it into the Luminarium, ideally with Kayla at her side, if only because doing so would mean she had at least one ally backing her up among a sea of out-of-touch and possibly hostile nobles.

"Hey, Kayla," Pale said, finally breaking the silence, if only so she wouldn't be stuck in her own thoughts for too long.

"What is it?" Kayla asked without looking back at her.

"Stop for a second. We've been walking for a few hours; we can afford to take a break."

"If you're sure."

Both girls paused, taking a seat on the forest floor. Pale shrugged her pack off her shoulders and laid her assault rifle across her lap, looking around as she did so.

"So," Kayla said after a moment's silence. "What's on your mind?"

Pale shrugged. "Nothing much. Figured we both needed to rest our legs for a bit. How are you feeling? Still exhausted?"

"Bit of a headache, but nothing too intense."

"Good. We'll still need to fight at least one more person."

Kayla hesitated, biting her lip. "About that… what if we don't find anyone? I-I mean… we don't have much more time, and-"

"That statistical odds of that happening are extremely low," Pale pointed out. "Everyone is going to need every color of tome in order to gain entry. Worst comes to worst, we can simply park ourselves outside of the ending destination and wait for the next person to come along, then take them out and steal the tome we need from them."

"Okay… but, let's say hypothetically we can't, for whatever reason. What would we do then? I mean, we both want entry…"

That was a good question, Pale had to admit. She wanted entry because the Luminarium would possibly hold the answers she was seeking, whereas Kayla wanted entry because she had nowhere else to go now that her home town had been reduced to little more than ash. Truthfully, between the two of them, Pale knew she had the more valid claim, but she wasn't about to throw that in Kayla's face, not after everything they'd been through together.

Luckily, she had an answer already.

"Lifeboat rules," she said.

Kayla blinked, then tilted her head. "Lifeboat rules?"

"Yes. Essentially, in the case of a shipwreck where only part of the crew can make it out, rather than fight over who gets to go into the limited amount of available lifeboats, every sailor on board acts as though everyone will make it until the moment comes to draw straws, so to speak. Does that make sense?"

Slowly, Kayla nodded. "I believe so… you're saying that, if something like that happens, then until it comes time for us to pick who goes, we're both going to keep working together under the assumption that we'll both make it."

"Exactly right," Pale affirmed with a nod. "I see no reason for us to be at each other's throats over this. Like I said, the odds of us not running into anyone else are astronomically low as-is… but more than that, you and I are close, and I don't want to jeopardize that closeness by acting with hostility towards you."

Kayla let out an annoyed huff. "You can just say I'm your friend, you know… we've been through enough to justify it…" She shook her head. "Whatever the case may be, I think that makes sense."

"Good." Pale looked up to check the position of the sun, frowning as she did so. She rose to her feet, offering Kayla a hand in the process.

"That's enough resting for now," she said. "Let's get going."

Kayla nodded, and the two of them set off once more.

XXX

Unfortunately, Pale's prediction about the thick foliage slowing them down proved true, and by the time night had started to fall, they were barely halfway to their destination. The thought made her frustrated – they weren't short on time just yet, but it would soon become a valuable commodity, and they couldn't afford to waste it the way they had when they'd been forced to fight the Amalgamation.

Granted, she didn't exactly regret fighting it, but still.

"Stop here," Pale announced, causing Kayla to pause.

"Yes?" Kayla asked.

"We've gone far enough for one day," Pale told her. "We'll rest here for the night, then resume in the morning."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. We're only halfway there, and the idea of continuing on through the night is unappealing, to say the least. The last thing I want is to risk running into a second Amalgamation."

Kayla shuddered at that thought. "Gods, don't even joke about that…"

"That was no joke, I assure you." Pale took her pack off and laid it on the ground. "Do you want the first watch?"

"Sure," Kayla agreed. "You always take the first watch, it's about time I return the favor."

"Very well. Let's-"

Pale paused mid-sentence as she suddenly realized something – she couldn't hear any kind of ambient noise around them. There was no wildlife or even insect activity from what she could tell. And with the memory of the Amalgamation still fresh in her mind, that could only mean one thing.

Slowly, Pale looked at Kayla, then brought a finger up to her own lips; Kayla caught her meaning immediately, and sparks began to dance across her fingertips.

Unfortunately, that was the signal for whatever lurked in the dark to start moving.

A dull chittering noise filled the air above them, and Pale looked up to find that the dense foliage had started to move. As she stared, several eight-legged shapes began to descend from webs up above, their eyes glowing red and their mandibles gnashing together as they did so. They were large, about the size of a human torso from end to end, and boasted a black-with-green-stripes pattern.

That was all Pale needed to see. She shouldered her rifle, flicking off the safety as she brought it to bear, then began to let loose with several bursts of automatic fire. As she did so, the spiders continued to descend down from the trees, coming as if in waves. A few seconds passed, and by that point point, the tide of arachnids was so thick that she couldn't miss; she simply held down the trigger, hosing the oncoming horde with armor-piercing 6.8mm ammunition. Each shot was another dead spider, the bullets occasionally tearing through one's chitinous body and into the one behind it.

Kayla was no slouch, either – lightning and fire sprang from her fingertips, each one carving a swathe through the tide of spiders descending from the trees. And yet, it still wasn't enough – for every spider the felled, another descended to take its place.

"What is this?!" Kayla shouted over the sound of Pale's suppressed gunfire.

"We must be right beneath some kind of nesting ground!" Pale called back. "Burn the trees!"

"What?! But we're right-"

"Burn them, Kayla!"

She didn't need to be told twice. Kayla pointed a hand upwards, and flames spouted out from it, jetting up several dozen feet before finally making contact with the foliage above. The fire illuminated a thriving mass of spiders above them, and also caught the trees ablaze; a loud hiss filled the air as those spiders that were able to shrank back from the flames in an attempt to get away, while those that couldn't burned alive.

"Run, now!" Pale shouted. She scooped up her pack and threw it over one shoulder, then turned to take off running, only for a pained shout to catch her by surprise. Eyes widening, Pale turned around, and froze at what she saw.

One of the spiders had dropped directly onto Kayla's back, and now had its fangs buried directly in her neck. Kayla was trying in vain to knock it loose, but it was no good; Pale hurriedly switched her weapon to semi-automatic, then took a careful, aimed shot that eviscerated the spider, finally dropping it off her friend. Once it had been dealt with, Pale surged forwards, took Kayla by the hand, and began to pull her loose.

None of the spiders followed them as they ran, but somehow, Pale could tell that was the least of their problems.

XXX

They didn't stop running for several minutes, though eventually, Pale determined that the area was clear enough for them to rest. She reloaded her rifle, then turned to check on Kayla, who was doubled over in pain.

"What's wrong?" Pale asked, running over to Kayla's side.

"I don't… feel so good…" Kayla muttered.

She began to sway from side to side, and finally began to fall over; Pale caught her just in time, then gently laid her down on the forest floor and began to frantically check her wound. When she did, her heart skipped a beat.

There was a thin green fluid leaking out from the punctures in her neck.

"Kayla?" Pale said, suddenly frantic. "Kayla, talk to me. How do you feel?"

Kayla said nothing, instead letting out a low cough. Pale let out a muffled curse, even as she reached into her IFAK for something that should have been able to help. She withdrew a syringe, this one filled with cream-colored liquid.

"This is universal antivenom," Pale stated. "It's designed to counteract the effects of any kind of venom someone might come across in the wilderness."

She wasn't sure if Kayla could even hear her at this point, but if there was even a chance that she could reassure her, then that was what she'd do. Pale pulled the cap off the syringe, then stuck it into Kayla's arm and depressed the plunger, watching as the cream-like liquid flowed into her friend's veins. The universal antivenom was designed to be fast-acting, the same as the other medicine she had on her.

But to her dismay, several minutes passed, and Kayla was showing no reaction to it. If anything, she was starting to look worse – her breathing had become more shallow, and she'd started to sweat profusely. Pale stared at her friend in shock.

For the first time, she was unsure of what to do.

The antivenom should have worked, but it hadn't. She knew how to make antivenom herself, but that would require that she head back and capture a spider alive, as well as somehow obtain the proper equipment to make the medicine, which was not possible at the moment.

She was out of options, save for one.

With no other choice, Pale slung her rifle across her front and helped Kayla up, throwing an arm over her shoulder to support her. And then, she began to walk.

There were still several miles to go, but she'd be damned if she left her friend there to rot.

She owed Kayla that much, at the very least.