Teething

Mechanical whirring just below the cliffside roused Eden from sleep.

It was almost engulfed by the burbling of the water in the cut bank below, but quietly persistent, like a forlorn mosquito in his ear. Despite the exhaustion weighing his limbs back to earth, Eden pushed himself into a seated position, checking his mask's straps on the back of his head and kicking his capelet off his legs as he stood. The log fire’s surviving embers emphasized the way dust flew up under the heavy wool, burning each particle a glowing orange against the dark.

He sent a glance over to the fire, watching as it clutched at its own life force desperately. The fluttering flames strained to light much beyond the three bodies huddled around it, washing light upon the two remaining sleeping figures in the pattern of a heartbeat, falling away and drawing forward as if it were the tide. The glow faded entirely just before the edge of the cliff, leaving the high moon to pick up the slack ever beyond it.

Dirt and rock crunched under the rubber soles of Eden's boots as he hiked to the cliff's end, tying his hair back in a rather feeble attempt to keep it from obscuring his vision. The world dipped down when he reached the edge, mountains peaking even beneath himself, the river between the valleys violent despite the coolness of the night. Brushing his overgrown bangs from his visor, Eden squinted against the dark, looking below for any sight of where the whirring might be coming from.

In the distance, just above the waterline, he caught the faint silhouette of what looked to be a common worm mecha—simplistic in form and the barest version of durable, and only marginally dangerous at close range. If it was this far away from the factories, it probably had loose wiring and an increasingly shortening lifespan. All he needed to do was put out the fire and sleep it off.

With a sigh that got caught in the respirator on his mask, he leaned back, letting himself fall onto his ass. He watched the mecha for a few moments longer before deciding to go back to sleep, only to notice the water rising to swallow the trees. Leaves trembling, their branches reached just above the water only long enough for Eden to blink, and then they had disappeared into the depths. The path they were hoping to follow through the neighbouring mountain was, too, becoming consumed by the rising water.

"Oh, shit," Eden hissed, scuttling helplessly backward before actually managing to find his footing. He ran back to the campsite, reaching to grab his previously discarded capelet as he passed it. Hurriedly, he clipped the green wool over his shoulders as he stomped out the fire.

D.B. twitched awake from her slumber, quickly unfurling herself from the ball she'd curled up in. Her ears were pinned back in distaste, nose wrinkled and tail curling around the ferret-like form of Heimskur. "What in hell's name—"

"We've got motherfuckin' lamprey mechas out there," Eden said, kicking around the firewood until he was satisfied it wouldn't reignite. "Water's already above the treeline and going to swallow our escape route."

The words had hardly tumbled from Eden's mouth before D.B. stood up, Heimskur coolly clutching her dark fur to keep from plummeting to the ground. D.B. trotted over to the edge of the cliff, paws kicking up dust in her wake. "How many?"

"I only saw one," Eden said, stooping to pick up the leather satchel from where D.B. had been resting against it. He didn't bother checking the contents, he knew it'd all be there. "But considering how fast it's rising, uh. Maybe fifteen."

"Double that," D.B. barked, looking over her shoulder at him. Heimskur stood on its hind legs, balancing steadily just between her flanks, staring over the ledge with the bone-like surface that smoothed over where its face should've been. "The smoke probably activated them. Come look."

Obediently, Eden raced over as he threw the strap of the satchel over his shoulder, adjusting it to rest just behind his side. He stopped next to D.B., leaning just barely forward to catch sight of the land drowning below him. The water reflected the sky in darkening colours, rippling as it grew deeper. His breathing stuttered when he realized that the water had already doubled in depth, tealing away any hope they'd had of using the mountain passage safely.

"Is it too late to turn around?" Eden asked, not quite a joke. The idea of swimming still didn't sit right with him.

"You know right well if we go back we'll be executed, at kindest." D.B. huffed a peeved breath against the light wind, though any sound of it was cast away under the intense burbling of the rising water. Her tail wagged nervously as she considered her options. "We won't be able to get far enough out of range before submersion. Do bring free my respirator."

Disappointed, Eden pulled away from the ledge to open the satchel. He didn't need to rummage around to find it; D.B.'s respiratory mask took up half of the main pocket. With gentle fingers, he pushed aside a heart shaped locket he was intending to sell at the next market to pull the mask out of the bag, and held it out in an offer. "Maybe you should consider wearing it at all times?" Eden said, eyeing the way the water closed over an entire fucking mountain.

"Not all of us fancy never smelling the air," D.B. replied, in the weirdly British dialect that she always seemed to adopt in stressful situations. She moved to sit in front of Eden, Heimskur sliding off her back silently, staring blankly up at him. "Besides, it's rather unflattering."

Eden couldn't argue with that—he'd resorted to slapping a piece of white duct tape with a drawn on smiley face just below his visor so weak vendors would stop cowering in his presence. It didn't quite work.

D.B.'s wasn't any better. Worse, he'd argue. It was most closely resembling the gas masks they'd made for dogs in the early-to-mid twentieth century, too difficult to create more subtly formed respiration masks like his own for such shaped heads. He'd tried, but any of the ones that didn't fall apart couldn't quite fit.

Rocks dug into the thick fabric on Eden's knees as he crouched as close as he could get to D.B.'s level, once again struck by the idea that maybe a dog intelligent enough to figure out how to speak probably wasn't normal. In his peripheral, Eden saw Heimskur was once again standing on its hind legs, grey fur and bone-face a glowing silver under the moon, and Eden decided that maybe a talking dog was the least concerning thing about his life. Especially considering the rising issue of the water, now maybe twelve yards just below them, and the increasingly loud whirring of an approaching lamprey mecha.

Not good, considering it would grind them to mere pulp if it could get close enough.

Quickly, Eden fastened the mask over D.B.'s head, clipping the thumb-sized oxygen tank to her collar. He checked the air-tight seal that locked just above her throat before nodding her his approval. She shook her head as a test, and walked back to the cliff's edge when she decided it was satisfactory.

Eden sent a glance back at Heimskur, who continued to stare up at him. The expressionless features only felt exaggerated in the low lighting.

"Does Heimskur need to breathe?" Eden asked, not quite expecting a reply from the faceless ferret, and not at all surprised when he wasn't given one. D.B., however, shook her head.

"It doesn't matter if it can," she said, looking down into the lightless depths of the water. Her voice was muffled by the protective mass, though not any less audible. "Let's go."

Eden couldn't even think to form a response yet when D.B. jumped off the ledge. There was a moment of silence, immediately followed by a heavy splash. Claws pulled awkwardly at Eden's clothes as Heimskur climbed to his shoulders, wrapping itself around his neck.

Just before Eden could jump over the edge of the cliff, something breached the surface of the water to his right. Droplets splattered Eden's side as it emerged, the mechanical whirring thunderous above the sloshing of the water. Red light spilled over Eden, and he hardly managed to duck out of the way as the lamprey lurched forward. Water spilled from between the teeth on the forefront of its lanky body as it squirmed back to regain its balance, but Eden refused to give it the chance.

The overflowing river was cold enough to send a trill through Eden's entire body as he dove into it, the whirring of the lamprey mecha deafening in the few seconds before he hit water. Heimskur remained steadily attached to his shoulders despite the excitement, and the moment of silence before he broke the surface of the water was almost more of a relief than catching sight of D.B.'s swimming form only a few yards ahead of himself.

The lamprey fell over the edge of the cliff and landed only a short distance away from Eden, creating a massive ripple that forced him underwater. Darkness damned his senses, but he kicked forward anyway, bringing a hand up to press the night vision button on the side of his mask. Hardly did it help, but it was better than the alternative. He swam deeper, hoping to shake the lamprey off his trail. Lamprey mechas were, after all, created more for flooding and chewing, and tended to find themselves too heavy for extensive swimming.

The whirring was dulled to a soft buzz below the surface, red lighting appearing more white under the influence of night vision. Just ahead of him was D.B., who turned right on time to knock him out of the way of another lurch from the lamprey. Eden swam out to the side, chest heaving. D.B. started for the trees, and Eden followed close after her.

With the next lunge of the mecha came a surge of water, pushing the trio right into the trees. Eden gripped at D.B.'s back as she brought them closer to the forest floor, leaves and dirt kicking up around them.

The red gaze of the lamprey fell over the trees, but their bodies were obscured by the thick branches. Whirring sounded desperately just above them, and then became distant as it retreated back to the surface, branches twisting as they readjusted without the mecha's heavy presence.

D.B. nudged Eden in an order to continue close to her. At some point Heimskur had let go of Eden and reattached itself to D.B.'s back, though continued its staring up at Eden as D.B. lead him through the crevices between the mountains. As the water became clearer, Eden turned off his night vision. Beams of light breathed life into the water, highlighting the path they were following in a forgiving ivory.

By the time they reached the end of the ravine, each streak of light had adopted a honeyed hue. They breached the surface, the sun greeting them just over the edge of the horizon, iridescent glow heating the sky a beautiful pink. It stained the water a shade Eden both admired and hoped to never see again as he pushed himself onto the grass and solid ground, D.B. and Heimskur right ahead of him.

Pain gripped his muscles in a stiff hold, and all Eden wanted to do was to sleep, but he couldn't help the exhausted grin that split his face behind his mask.

Shit. His life was really just saved by a talking dog for the hundredth time.