Evie sat in her cell and waited. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the guards had returned her to the prison, but her stomach ached with hunger and her throat was sore. At some point, she must have fallen asleep, but a deep rumbling that shook the whole dreadnought had begun a couple of hours earlier, and since then, she’d been wide awake.

From the slab in the corner of her cell, Evie could hear footsteps at the far end of the hall, like the clanging of someone wearing toasters for shoes. She went to the bars and waited as 2-Tor and Didi appeared.

Didi stood stiffly as she greeted Evie. “Mrs. Piffle requests your presence on the bridge. There is something she would like you to see before she disposes of you.”

Evie looked to 2-Tor. “So now you’re on Mastercorp’s side?”

“I am on the side of my paramour, Miss Didi,” 2-Tor replied. “I have argued on your behalf, but to no avail. I am sorry, Miss Evelyn. Truly, I am.”

“That’s it, then.” Evie shrugged. “So hurry it up.”

Didi opened the cell doors, and they escorted her from the prison. Evie walked quietly, head down, despondent. She deserved to be punished. She just hated that at the end she was going to be alone and facing someone as petty and vile as Viola Piffle. Back in the day, Dad had outsmarted Mastercorp. But Evie wasn’t her father, that was certain.

A few minutes later, in one of the dark, winding halls of the dreadnought, 2-Tor stopped short. “I say, oh, dear. I seem to be jammed.” His wings seized in an awkward pose, blocking most of the hallway.

“I just oiled you,” Didi complained, grabbing at his wings, trying to move them.

“I do not have the foggiest idea what is causing this.” 2-Tor sounded befuddled. He started backing up, little quick steps, bumping into Didi.

“Hey, bird brain! Be careful!” Didi swatted him on the head with a wing, but he kept moving back and stepped on one of her talons. They tripped and toppled over. 2-Tor pinned Didi to the ground as he flailed and flopped around. “I say! This is most irregular!”

“Get off!” Didi screamed.

2-Tor flapped his wings at Evie. “Run, Evelyn! Hurry! Go!”

Evie didn’t stop to think or ask questions, she just ran. She ducked around a corner, not looking back. On the inside her heart was soaring. 2-Tor had risked everything for the chance to save her. She felt so foolish for doubting him.

Signs hung on the walls at some intersections, but the labyrinthine dreadnought was still nearly impossible to navigate. Evie ran aimlessly, trying to find her way back to the docking bay and the exit. She had to escape over the bridge that led to New Miami. From there, she could escape into the woods, and then . . . she wasn’t sure, but she didn’t have time to think about it now.

Evie skidded to a stop as she came upon a catwalk that crossed a deep chasm. In the middle of the pit, rising up past the catwalk, was a communications tower. She had seen Rick set up a similar but much smaller device back at the settlement. She reasoned that all communications from the dreadnought must be routed out through this tower.

Rick. In case Evie didn’t make it out of the dreadnought, she had to let Rick know that Mastercorp was on the continent. She had to let him know how sorry she was.

Evie ventured across the wobbly catwalk, trying not to look down. When she reached the communications tower, she quickly opened up their systems. Her computer skills were a little rusty, but she managed to get a feed to Rick’s pocket tablet. For some reason he didn’t pick up, but that was probably for the best. She didn’t think she was ready to face him.

Taking a deep breath, Evie looked into the camera and left her message.

When she finished, she closed the feed and hurried to the other side of the catwalk. Soon she found a sign with directions to the docking bay. At last! she thought.

The docking bay was strangely deserted. The hoverships were all there, but the mechanics, soldiers, and guards who were always bustling around the staging area were nowhere to be seen. At the far end of the docking bay, the jagged mouth of the black robo-shark was closed tightly. Evie flipped the lever that extended the bridge out of the shark’s mouth and hurried across as the great black maw yawned open. Wind blasted through the open portal, whipping her hair as she ran.

Her hopes fell when she reached the end of the bridge and could see outside the mouth. Now that incessant rumbling made sense. At some point during the night, the dreadnought had taken off and was now flying over New Miami. The bridge extended to nowhere and dead-ended at a thousand-foot drop to the ocean below.

Evie searched for another way out. Maybe she could steal a hovership and fly to safety.

“Caw! Caw!” Something black swooped past her head. She ducked out of the way. It was a black raven, a model of metal robo-bird she had never seen before. It flew around in a tight arc and dove at Evie again. She screamed as it flew by, slicing a gash in her arm with a razor-sharp wing.

More birds flapped toward her. “Rawwk! Caw!”

Evie shielded her face with her arms and ran back up the bridge, trying to avoid the deadly flying robots. The birds perched on her head and shoulders. She tried to shoo them away, but they pecked at her, sending stabbing pains through her body.

The birds grabbed Evie with their beaks and talons and flapped their wings, pulling her into the air. She kicked and struggled, but it was no use. They carried her back to the black metal floor of the docking bay and dropped her hard. She landed on her knees.

Viola Piffle stood before her, tall and imposing. She smoothed her blond hair flat against her head as one of the ravens landed on her shoulder, glaring at Evie with eyes that glowed like hot coals.

“Come now, little Lane,” Viola said as Evie struggled to get to her feet. “There is no escape for you.”