Kin only had time to kick strongly once and propel himself towards the top of the bay when the Jorogumo drone’s hand slammed into the spot where he had occupied just fractions of a second ago.

Fast! Kin hissed with shock as the machine clenched its fist, pulling out a scrap of metal, then turned, pivoting on its waist joint so that its body now faced upwards in a horrific contortion of its frame

PURSUE

THREAT

The robot leapt off the ground, pushing itself up and after Kin, when Kin finally had the presence of mind to fire his pressure-pistol at the thing’s head.

Clang

The radar dish juddered with the impact and the drone screeched, now distracted, throwing its legs out in every direction and slamming into the metal with deafening force

It’s blind now, run, run, don’t look, run

The drone recovered quickly however, and decided to take another swipe at Kin, all eight metres of steel and sinuous wire swishing through the water with a shockwave that buffeted Kin and threw him into a strut. He yelled into his rebreather as his back made contact with the metal.

It was like someone picked him up and broke him over their legs.

"Hurk...agh!"

Kin tried to kick his legs, but every move seemed to send a sharp spear of pain down his spine. As he floundered in his agony, the drone swiftly stalked towards him with that unnatural gait, bending too low and too much to the left and right, like some maddened clockwork predator, a failed creation of a fallen god.

Again he fired the pressure-pistol, wincing as the recoil pressed on his sore back.

Again the machine reeled, again it came back up.

And again it advanced.

“Kin, listen. You have to find a place to hide. You can’t fight it. That drone is built for combat.”

“Yeah… good one, Mion.” Kin spat. “Really good, if I could find a place to hide.”

“I’ve got no choice, Mion.”

“There’s no hiding hole. There’s no adult. No pod. No suit.”

“Just me.”

Just Kin and the abyss.

So Kin fired again.

And again.

The gun clicked.

He tried again.

The gun clicked.

Oh no no please no oh no please not now

The gun clicked.

Kin stared up as the drone advanced, scrambling back, kicking frantically, the jets of red-hot pain in his back damped out by the overwhelming need to survive

Go go go don’t look back just go

He kicked and shot up with amazing speed between the legs of the drone.

Yes, almost there.

He didn’t know he could go that fast. Be this quick.

But the drone had hunted before. Had lived longer. Kin’s will to survive wasn’t enough, not like in every other story, where you got something just because you wanted it enough. So what if you had an iron will, if you didn’t have the strength to accomplish it with?

No. Even if Kin had wished with all his being for his life, the facts remained.

He was not fast. He was not strong. He did not check his weapons. Ten thousand reasons why he just wasn’t good enough, and no amount of willing and pleading or raging against the universe, with this cold black uncaring grave of a world, would amend that.

The drone grabbed his leg.

Kin started to struggle.

The drone started to pull.

Kin jerked, screamed, went still.

The drone stopped pulling.