Blood fell from Caleb's chest plate onto the Scorpion fifty feet below. Red beads struck blue-smeared shell and ran between the plates. He watched them through the crack in his visor, trying to judge how much he was losing.
The stinger held him against the upper wall. Each shift of the tail moved the bone inside his torso and dragged his broken chest plate with it. He could get a little air into his lungs if he stayed still. The respirator filled with the heat of his breath and the wet sound he made taking it.
Below, Rina caught Hiro by the back of his harness and hauled him off a sheet of ice. The floor folded where his boots had been. He hit the ridge, rolled against the stone, and kept hold of his rifle.
"Freeze the mud!" Rina shouted.
"I am! It keeps boiling through!"
Hiro fired into the edge of the sinkhole. A new crust spread over the sludge, cracked down the middle, and sank. He shifted his aim closer to the ridge, building footing where Rina could reach it.
