I stood there and watched the border from above.

  For maybe about an hour.

  I noticed that when an iron hound reached the end of its patrol and the floodlights were pointed furthest away, a 12-second window opened.

  I had 12 seconds to jump the fence.

  A long breath escaped me, and the smoke of my breath flowed high. I crouched low and began my approach toward the fence.

  Drrrr—boom. Click, chink.

  The closer I got, the louder the Iron hounds sounded. I could hear a constant hiss as the contraptions released vents of steam.

  The floodlights above were slow to move.

  They dragged across the snow and cast unnaturally long shadows. My palms were shaking with adrenaline as I got closer and closer.

  I may not be afraid of death anymore, but I still wanted to avoid being pushed six feet under by a hound the size of a tank.

  I reached the fence at the start of the window and wasted no time. I jumped the fence with a blast of water and landed with a hard thud.

  Then I ran like hell was behind me.

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  The iron hound was making its way back from the peak of its patrol.

  Four.

  Five.

  Six.

  The floodlight was sweeping back.

  I just ran into the expanse before me.

  Six seconds later the iron hound returned to its original position and brought its large head down. Then, it opened its mouth to turn on a bright, red light.

  The light shone down on my footprints.

  The hound slowly turned its head toward where the tracks led.

  Then with a low alarm like that of a ship horn, it brought its shoulders back and raised its cannons.

  WHOOOOOOOOM. WHOOOOOOOM.

  It sat there for a second, its alarm still blasting before it opened fire.

  CLINK, CLICK, FUOOOM!

  Two high-impact rounds shot from its shoulders and into wide arcs that aimed not for where I was.

  But where I’d be.

  I looked up to see the black shells sail overhead.

  The seconds seemed to stretch as I threw my palms forward and blasted myself back with chaos-infused water.

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  KA-BOOM!

  The shells smashed into the snow and the shockwave spun me back.

  I crashed and rolled in the snow as the earth shook with heavy stomps.

  Drrrr—boom. Click, chink.

  Drrrr—boom. Click, chink.

  Drrrr—boom. Click, chink.

  Drrrr—boom. Click, chink.

  I looked up from the snow and through my blurred vision I could see it. The iron hound was sprinting after me.

  To see something that big move so fast.

  It’s unbelievable.

  I pushed myself to my feet and charged a supermassive waterball with chaos.

  Then I fired it.

  The waterball smashed against the beast and the air around it flickered.

  My eyes widened as the beast jumped through my waterball unharmed. All I had done was break its shield.

  “MOVE BOY, NOW!” The dragon roared.

  My body moved on its own as I threw myself to the side. I crashed in the snow again and rocketed forward to give myself distance.

  The beast crashed where I had been but didn’t stop.

  It spun on a dime and resumed its chase. My heart hammered in my chest, as I looked over my shoulder. The iron hound was gaining ground rapidly.

  I spun around and fired another chaos-charged waterball. The iron hound fired its vents as thrusters and pushed itself aside.

  My waterball soared past it and smashed into the distant snow.

  The beast then leapt again.

  The dragon shouted at me again.

  “SHOOT IT WHILE IT'S IN THE AIR! THROW EVERYTHING YOU HAVE AT IT!”

  I raised my palms and fired a geyser’s worth of water above my head and directly into the beast. DRRRRRRRR-DOOOOOOOM!

  The overwhelming amount of water cut the iron hound clean in half.

  The front and back dropped with heavy thuds as the water rained down.

  My chest heaved as I gripped my coat. But I didn't have much time to catch my breath.

  WHOOOOOOOOM. WHOOOOOOOM.

  More hounds, dozens of them. I knew I couldn’t handle two of those things, let alone a dozen.

  I pushed myself up straight and threw my hands back. I’d have to burn through everything I had to escape.

  With a roaring thrust of water, I shot forward.

  After about twenty minutes the alarms faded and stopped. I stopped to catch my breath.

  My chest was heavy and my core was nearly drained of everything. If I got into a fight right now I would be dead.

  Even an injury would be enough to take me out because I couldn’t heal with Ouro.

  The dragon huffed with disappointment.

  “All of that talk of power and we were nearly overwhelmed by metal mutts.”

  I chuckled softly as I limped through the snow.

  “Don’t be too mad,” I said breathlessly. “I still won, didn’t I?”

  “Barely.”

  Thump.

  I stepped on something, and when I looked down I saw tracks. Train tracks. I looked down both ends of the tracks. They stretched for miles.

  Well this is a convenient find. Now it’s just a question of can I get to civilization before I freeze to death.

  There was hard rumbling in the distance.

  Looks like that problem was just solved.

  I stepped away from the tracks as I saw a light in the distance. I took cover behind a massive boulder and waited.

  The train began to slow as it got closer, until it finally screeched to a stop.

  When I poked my head out from behind the boulder I saw humanoids jumping from the train into the snow.

  They were about five feet tall and covered in heavy armor. They were armed with bulky rifles and their faces were hidden behind helmets.

  *“Command,”* one of them spoke with a muffled voice in an unknown language. *“We’ve arrived at the given location and are beginning our search, fan out!”*

  I watched from my hiding place as the dwarfs marched through the snow and waved their lanterns.

  “Look at how they space themselves to overlap their lines of fire,” the dragon noted. “If you’re spotted you’ll face the barrel of multiple weapons.”

  I sighed.

  It doesn’t matter how professional they are if I die of frostbite. My gaze shifted towards the train. It was a massive thing that radiated heat and smelled of coal mixed with magic.

  The locomotive had massive smoke stacks and steel wheels. Behind it was a flatbed that held a large artillery piece.

  There were six infantry cars behind that. I needed to get into one of those. But how do I get there without getting turned into Swiss cheese?

  The dragon hummed. “Perhaps you can summon a water clone as a decoy?” He paused. “Though with your reserves, you’d only have one attempt.”

  I swallowed.

  One attempt to get every head, gun, and lantern pointed in the wrong direction.

  Easy as pie.

  I slumped against the boulder and narrowed my eyes. Okay, which way to make it run?

  The way the soldiers were fanning out they were headed towards where I ran from.

  Then there were several who were marching towards my current location and a few on the opposite side of the train.

  I shifted my gaze to a treeline in the distance. If I could summon a clone and have it sprint into the treeline they’d waste time chasing the decoy in it.

  Or at least everyone would open fire in the same direction.

  I need it to make an L shape so that it rushes across everyone’s field of vision before banking into the treeline.

  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Focus, take everything of my being and pour it into this clone. I need it to be fast and agile.

  Just enough to survive until it reached the treeline.

  When I opened my eyes a clone stood before me. Featureless and small. But it was enough, now to make it run.

  I gave the mental command.

  Go!

  The clone broke out into a full sprint with an Olympic-level stride. It ran wide to catch the attention of the dwarves, then it cut hard towards the treeline.

  Without so much as a word, the dwarves opened fire and lit up the night. A wall of bullets streaks across the snow.

  Crack-boom!

  The clone dove low and scrambled into the treeline and pushed into the forest like a wild animal.

  *“All units! Form a perimeter around that treeline and close in! We’ll link up with the border units who initiated the chase!”*

  With the guards distracted I made my break for the train. I had the unique challenge of going fast without making a sound.

  Crunch.

  Crunch.

  Crunch.

  The snow compacted beneath my feet as I walked in the tracks of the dwarves towards the train.

  Their feet were both wide and long so it was easy enough.

  Still, it did little to calm my heart.

  When I reached the train, the warmth alone nearly made me faint with relief. I squeezed between two cars and climbed up.

  Then I opened the door to the car behind me, and inside was a space illuminated by lights embedded in the walls.

  Also on the walls were weapon racks.

  On either end of a wide aisle, there were bare seats wide enough to fit two dwarves. I pushed past them towards a room in the back of the car.

  The scent of tobacco was thick here.

  It was blocked by a steel door and when I pulled it opened I saw a toilet. It sat beneath a window with black curtains.

  I stepped inside and closed the door behind me, before I locked it.