​     "Claudia? Claudia?" Nothing. Damn. 

​     He'd blown Tindriss back two hundred feet with that blast. He put the bazooka back over his shoulder. Hopefully, he'd still be alive in the minute it took to recharge. Then he'd be able to use it a second time. Until then...

​     He pulled the grenade launcher off his other shoulder. 

​     And these weren't like grenades found anywhere on Earth. These grenades had enough wallop to take down a raging robot dinosaur. 

​     And he had a dozen of them. 

​     Tindriss struggled back to her feet. 

​     He hit her in the shoulder with his first grenade. It detonated on impact. BAM! It wasn't enough to knock her over, but it did cause her to stagger back a step or two.

     He fired off a second one. BAM! 

​     Right in the solar plexus this time. It doubled her over, yet, still, it wasn't enough to knock her off her feet. 

​     The third one caught her in the forehead. BAM! And that one twisted her neck, and did, finally, knock her to the ground, although she recovered immediately, rolling back to a standing position. Adam never stopped coming towards her. He hit her in the chest with what grenades he had left. BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! She didn't go to the ground again. 

     Damn, she was tough. 

     He got to within four feet of her when he pulled out his other grenades.  

​     He always carried with him a couple dozen smaller stamp grenades. They'd adhere to the Coal Maiden's body wherever they landed. BAP! BAP! BAP! BAP! As Adam pitched them with his left hand, he pulled his specially designed machine gun from its holster at his waist. He fired hundreds of bullets, each with the ability to pierce steel. B-B-BRAPPPPP!

     He emptied the clip and ran out of grenades at the same time. 

     And now, here they were, nose to nose a second time. 

     Adam had his hand blasters strapped to his chest. One for each pec. One for each palm. Now her eyes looked more deep purple than red. Adam thought of emptiness as he looked into her eyes.

     He aimed a blaster at each of her two pupils, then pulled both triggers. 

     Again, these were blasters specially designed for Adam. The slugs were long and thin, and there were dozens of them in each blaster. He never quite did, yet, for several seconds there towards the end of the barrage, he thought he began to see her eyes soften a little bit, get the slightest bit rubbery. 

     Both guns ran out of bullets at the exact same moment.

     He let them fall to the ground. They were useless to him now. 

     Adam whipped out two knives he kept hidden under his armpits and used them to try and slice his way into Tindriss. No good. The knives bent. One broke. He let them drop to the ground as well.

     No more weapons.  

     Now it was just the two of them, alone on a barren, toxic landscape.

     Adam was in the fight of his very long life, and it had at last come to this. 

CONTINUE