The sounds of something wet splattering against the ground echoed up from the chamber below. “Looks like a short drop down, I don't think there's another way up.” Jack peered down into the chamber below. Steam twisted in lazy spirals, heat rising from jagged fissures in the stone. The fire signs weren’t just random… here, they coalesced, pooling like molten threads in the dim glow.

  “Eirwen,” he said, grabbing the coil of rope, “tie this off proper. Once I'm down there, it'll be my only way back.”

  She moved to the ledge, her robes brushing stone, and wrapped the line around a sturdy outcropping. “Aye, it shall hold,” she murmured.

  Jack glanced at her. “Now tell me straight. How do we deal with these… slimes?”

  Eirwen’s eyes brightened, and she straightened. “Slimes are most commonly dispatched by thaumaturgic or enchanted means, yet there exists a more… corporeal method. Concussive force, when applied directly to the core, suffices to render the entity incoherent. The gelatinous matrix collapses; cohesion is lost. Subsequent harvesting may then be executed without undue hazard.”

  Jack squinted. “…So, whack ‘em hard in the middle, and they stop bein’ all gooey?”

  “Yes,” she said. “A precise and decisive concussive impact upon the central viscera induces liquefaction and renders the ooze amenable to safe collection.”

  Jack nods, and starts testing the tension on the rope, getting ready to jump down. “Fancy way of sayin’ smack it ‘til it quits. Got it.” He drew his pistol. “ “Shots are a little smaller than my shotgun, but should do the trick.”

  “If you hit the core, yes.” Eirwen nods.

  Jack smirks. “Oh trust me, darlin’, I can bullseye a field mouse on a fence post at 200 yards, with a nine mil. A slime core shouldn't be much more difficult.”

  Eirwen paused, looking at Jack as he prepared to jump down. “Erm, I do beg your pardon, Jack, but in that scenario, is the mouse… running along the fence post?”

  Jack paused, looking over at Eirwen with a serious expression. “... Now why in the hell would the mouse be runnin’?”

  “Because the slime cores are about as small and much faster. Slimes can move them around easily inside their bodies. And you are dealing with fire slimes so it'll be especially dangerous.”

  Jack threw down the rope onto the ground, looking at Eirwen with an expression of mild annoyance. “That was some pertinent information to know before we set out, woman! Shit, if I had known, I would have brought my double barrel instead!”

  “Well excuse me, I had assumed you hunted slimes before in your land! You were so quick to take charge, I assumed you knew what you were doing!”

  “Dammit, Eirwen! You know I'm a fish out of water ‘round here! I ain't even know what an Echo Lion is ‘til yesterday!”

  Before the bickering could continue, a huge gout of flame erupted from the hole in the ground, coming from the chamber below. This caught both the hot rodder and the witch off guard, causing Jack to stumble. Unable to keep his balance, he fell into the chamber below, landing face first on the ground.

  Jack hit the cavern floor face first with a grunt. Dust puffed up around him as the impact rattled through his ribs.

  Above him, Eirwen’s voice echoed down the shaft. “Jack! Are you alright?!”

  He groaned and rolled onto his back. “Peachy,” he muttered, spitting out dirt that got caught in his mouth. “Just needed a quicker way down, is all.”

  The cavern was… uncomfortably warm.

  Jack frowned and pushed himself to his knees. The light down here wasn’t from geothermal heat. It pulsed… Slowly. Like the inside of a furnace breathing. “…that ain’t good,” he muttered. He stood up and turned around.

  Then he froze.

  The entire far side of the chamber was glowing. Not the floor, not the walls. Something sitting on the floor.

  Something enormous.

  A massive, semi-transparent mound of molten orange gelatin shifted slowly in the center of the cavern. The thing was easily the size of a golf cart, its surface wobbling and sagging like a living lava lamp. Heat shimmered off it in visible waves. Deep inside the creature, a bright ember darted around like a trapped star.

  The core.

  Jack stared at it. “…well I’ll be damned.”

  Above him, Eirwen called down again. “Jack! What do you see?”

  Jack kept staring at the thing. The slime slowly turned toward him. The entire mass rolled forward with a heavy, wet glorp, leaving a smoking trail on the stone.

  Jack lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well…” He reached for his pistol, still in its holster. “…I reckon you undersold this one a little.”

  “What do you mean?”

  The slime surged forward another foot, heat rolling off it like an open forge. Jack squinted at the glowing core shifting deep inside the mass.

  “That slime ain’t the size of a bucket,” he said calmly. “It’s the size of a damn wagon.”

  There was a long pause above. “…what?”

  The slime suddenly lurched toward him. Jack stepped back quickly. “Oh yeah,” he added, drawing his pistol. “It’s also real interested in meetin’ me.”

  Eirwen’s voice changed instantly from academic to alarmed. “That’s impossible! This cave should only support juvenile slimes!”

  “Well this one didn’t get the memo!”

  The slime heaved forward again, a wave of molten gel slapping against the stone. Jack raised his pistol, eyes locked on the shifting glow inside the creature. The core zipped across the slime’s body like a bubble in a lava lamp.

  “…Tiny target,” he muttered, racking the slide. “Alright… big ugly jellybean. Let’s see what you got.”

  BANG

  The shot tore into the gelatinous mass, but the glowing core darted aside, sliding through the transparent red ooze.

  Shit, Jack thought. Eirwen wasn’t kidding. Thing’s skittish as a hare with a caffeine overdose.

  The slime lurched forward, viscous tendrils snapping at the air. Jack stumbled back, pistol held tight, teeth clenched.

  A sudden breeze whispered past him, tugging at his hair and clothes. The air itself seemed to bend toward the fire slime. With every passing second, the creature’s core glowed brighter, hungrier.

  Air feeds fire… Jack’s mind raced.

  “Jack, watch out!” Eirwen's voice cut through from above. “It's pyrokinetic! It's about to-”

  Jack dove behind a jagged rock just as a massive gout of flame erupted from the core, scorching the very spot he had been standing a heartbeat ago. He swore under his breath, chest pounding, adrenaline snapping tight through his arms.

  The flames died down.

  Jack rose from behind the rock, pistol already up. He squeezed the trigger twice in quick succession.

  BANG. BANG.

  Both rounds punched through the gelatinous mass…

  …but the glowing core snapped away at the last second, darting through the slime like a trapped firefly.

  Jack watched it ricochet from one side of the creature to the other, bouncing wildly inside the translucent body.

  “Aw, come on…”

  He lowered the pistol a fraction, jaw tightening. The thing wasn’t just fast. It was reacting to the bullets.

  Trying to predict where it would move was like trying to hit a housefly with a thrown rock.

  Jack spat to the side. “Alright,” he muttered. “So we’re doin’ this the hard way.” He brought up his pistol again, but another tendril whipped toward him. Instinct took over. Jack fired.

  BANG

  The round tore through the appendage, splattering burning slime across the stone. A split second later-

  Ping!

  Dust kicked up near Jack’s boots as something struck the ground beside him. He blinked, glancing down. Then his eyes flicked toward the stone wall behind the wobbling mass. Jack raised the pistol again and fired deliberately at the wall.

  BANG

  The bullet struck stone-

  Ping!

  -and skipped away.

  A heartbeat later, dust puffed up from the ground near him again. Jack’s brow lifted slightly. He looked from the wall… to the slime… then back to the wall.

  Slowly, a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. Alright, he thought. I can work with this…

  Jack began sidestepping to the right, raising his pistol.

  BANG!

  The round punched straight through the gelatinous mass. “Come on…” he muttered, keeping the gun trained on the shifting glow inside the slime. “Come on, get over here…” He fired again.

  BANG!

  The bullet zipped harmlessly through the creature’s body. The glowing core skittered aside inside the red ooze. A shrill hiss escaped the slime, like air leaking from a bellows.

  A tendril snapped toward him. Jack ducked low as it whipped past his head. The massive blob shuddered - then began sliding toward him.

  Jack’s grin widened as he kept drifting sideways. “That’s right,” he murmured. “C’mon, you big angry jello cup…” The slime lurched closer. “Just a little closer…”

  The cool breeze returned. Jack felt the air pulling past him toward the creature as the core began to glow brighter inside the slime.

  Here we go again.

  He watched it carefully. A split second before the flames erupted, Jack dove left - rolling back to the spot he’d been standing in moments before.

  A roaring blast of fire scorched the stone where he’d just been. Jack came up on one knee, pistol already rising. But he wasn’t aiming at the slime.

  He aimed at the wall behind it.

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  The last three rounds in the magazine slammed into the stone.

  PING—PING—PING

  The bullets skipped off the wall and screamed back toward the slime in a tight grouping, slicing into the gelatinous body from the opposite side-

  -and the glowing core darted away again.

  The rounds tore harmlessly through empty slime. Jack blinked.

  The ooze wobbled angrily, the core bouncing around inside it like a hyperactive cat.

  Jack lowered the pistol slightly. “Damn it…”

  He sighed, ejecting the magazine. A fresh mag slapped home. He racked the slide.

  Jack ducked as a tendril snapped over his head, the slimy lash licking across the stone wall.

  “Eirwen!” he shouted, holding a hand towards her. “Toss me a potion or somethin’ I can chuck at this thing!”

  “I… don’t have any!”

  Jack glanced up toward the ledge where she knelt down. Then back at the massive slime. Then back at her. “The hell you mean you don’t have any?!”

  Eirwen looked momentarily flustered. “I had assumed you would dispatch the slimes with relative ease, so I packed only empty bottles for collection.”

  Jack stared. She lifted one of the bottles as if demonstrating the wisdom of this decision.

  “…Collection?”

  “Yes. For harvesting the liquefied remains.” She cringed, offering a sheepish smile. “... Sorry.”

  Jack slowly turned his head back toward the enormous fire slime currently trying to roast him alive. Then he looked back up at her. Both his hands lifted in an open, wordless What in God's name were you thinking?! gesture.

  Another gout of flame blasted across the chamber. Jack ducked behind a rock, shouting up at Eirwen. “Next time, maybe pack some potions first!”

  His eyes snapped back to the slime. It was getting too close. “Jack, you can't let it touch you! If it absorbs even a small part of your limb, you may have no choice but to remove the entire limb!”

  “Oh that's real comfortin’, Eirwen!” Jack shouted up at her sardonically, instinctively pulling his arms in a little tighter. “I feel so much better about this situation!”

  Jack vaulted over the rock he’d been using for cover, boots hitting the stone floor as he sprinted toward a more open section of the chamber. Behind him, the slime suddenly began to change.

  The sprawling mass pulled inward, its tendrils retracting as the gelatinous body compressed into a wobbling sphere. The glowing core spun rapidly inside the red ooze.

  “Jack, look out!” Eirwen shouted from the ledge. “It’s preparing to charge at you!”

  Jack glanced over his shoulder. “…You mean this bouncy ball can charge?!”

  The slime launched forward. The massive sphere rolled across the stone floor with shocking speed, rolling straight towards Jack as he watched it coming towards him.

  “Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me-”

  Jack jumped aside at the last second, diving into a narrow crevice as the slime rolled past him like a flaming boulder. He watched as the gelatinous mass rolled up the wall, slowed, then dropped back down and began rolling in the opposite direction.

  Jack stayed tucked in the crevice, unwilling to risk his limbs anywhere near that thing. He glanced up toward Eirwen, about to ask if she had any ideas-

  -and then he noticed it.

  A cracked slab of stone hung crooked from the cavern ceiling. Barely holding.

  Jack looked back down at the rolling slime.

  The core’s fast, he thought. But it never leaves the slime… His eyes drifted back to the slab. …and the slime can’t dodge gravity.

  Jack drew his second pistol, slamming a magazine into it and racking the slide. His eyes tracked the slime as it slowed slightly on its turn. If I time it correctly…

  Jack stepped out of the crevice and into the middle of the chamber. Eirwen gasped. “Jack, what are you doing?!”

  “Improvisin’,” Jack replied.

  His gaze never left the huge rolling mass. Inside the slime, the glowing core began spinning faster. The slime launched toward him like a flaming cannonball. Jack held his ground.

  Closer.

  Closer.

  Then at the last second-

  Jack dove aside, both pistols snapping upward toward the ceiling.

  BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-

  Bullets slammed into the cracked stone. Dust rained down from the ceiling.

  The slime rolled up the far wall and began to slow.

  BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-

  Jack kept firing. Cracks splintered through the slab above.

  The slime stalled at the top of the wall…

  …and began rolling back toward him.

  BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-click-click…

  Jack’s pistols fell silent. The slime barreled toward him again. Jack took a single step back. Above him-

  CRACK.

  The ceiling groaned. The slime picked up speed. Jack braced himself.

  Then-

  SLAM!

  Stone crashed down in front of him, shaking the chamber and blasting dust across the floor.

  For a moment, everything went still. Then a thick red ichor began seeping out from beneath the slab. Something darker pulsed weakly inside the crushed slime… a faint glow flickering… fading. Jack let out a long breath. “Sorry, jellybean…” he said. “But gravity don't miss.”

  Eirwen carefully shimmied down the rope, as she lowered herself into the chamber. Smoothing out her skirt and robes, she stared at the slab in disbelief as the slime leaked out from under it. “…Remind me never to play Chess with you,” she said.

  “Gather up whatcha need for that mana fuel you were talkin’ about,” Jack replied, holstering his pistols. “I’ll keep watch so nothin’ else bothers us.”

  Eirwen nodded, already pulling several empty bottles from her shoulder bag before setting to work. She carefully slid a bottle under the edge of the slab, collecting a thick stream of glowing red slime. “Fascinating,” she murmured.

  Jack glanced over his shoulder. “That thing just tried to eat me.”

  “Yes,” she said brightly. “And now we get to use it for fuel.”

  Jack just sighs, and slumps down on the slab, sitting on it as Eirwen works, and keeping an eye on the entrance to the chamber. “Next time I fight one o’ these things, I'm bringin’ my shotgun.”

  “That would certainly speed up sample collection,” Eirwen said.

  ---

  The two traveled back toward the village, Jack far more tired than when he had set out.

  Eirwen’s shoulder bag clinked noisily with filled bottles of Fire Slime essence, the latter looking far more jovial of the two. “I knew you were going to succeed, Jack,” she said. “First the Echo Lion Alpha, now a Greater Fire Slime? And you don’t even have any magic. Just your weapons, and your wits. It is quite incredible. You’re like a clever knight… one I’ve only read about in fantastic novels.”

  Jack wanted to argue, tell her it was no walk in the park, that he was risking his neck, not going on some pleasant picnic. But he was just too tired. All he really wanted was to lie down in the back of his car, get a good night’s sleep, and wake up tomorrow ready to move on.

  “Well, this knight’s gotta hit the trail,” Jack said. “Soon as my Charger’s patched up, I’m back on the road.”

  The smile on Eirwen’s face faded. She slowed as Jack walked ahead, her brow furrowing. “You mean… you’re leaving? For good?”

  “Yep,” Jack replied without hesitation. “A car’s built to be driven. If I ain’t drivin’, I ain’t livin’.”

  Eirwen trailed behind Jack as his words sank in. “I thought… you might stay a while longer.”

  Jack gave a small chuckle. “As much trouble as I caused the village, what with leadin’ them Lions into it? You think they want me hangin’ around?” He shrugged. “Not to mention, I’ve got three pelts and all them horns. You heard the elder… she said the village survives ’cause there ain’t nothin’ valuable here. If I stay… that ain’t true anymore.”

  “I see…” Eirwen looked down, her expression darkening as her elven ears slowly drooped. The bottles in her bag clinked softly as she walked. She fell silent and trailed behind Jack as they returned to the village.

  ---

  When they reached the village, Jack let out a breath. The sun was starting to set once they arrived. “Welp, I reckon I’ll start on them tires with ya tomorrow.”

  He slipped off his leather jacket, having just gotten it back from the blacksmith. The new metal-spiked pauldrons made things a little awkward, but after some fumbling he managed to kick off his boots and use the jacket as a small blanket. He looked over at Eirwen and gave a smirk. “I’ll see ya in the morning, darlin’.”

  “Yes…” Eirwen said softly, giving him a small, melancholic smile. She waved from the driver’s side door. “...I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jack was asleep within minutes.

  Eirwen returned to her house and opened the small chest beneath her worktable. Inside were regular slime cores she had saved over the years… rare things, too valuable to waste on experiments.

  Tonight, she used every one of them.

  At the tannery she arranged for the Echo Lion hides to be cut and cured into thick leather liners. The old tanner raised an eyebrow at the order. “Reckon he’ll be movin’ on soon, then?”

  Eirwen only nodded.

  By lanternlight she worked the leather and slime mixture around the metal rims, binding the layers together with resin and heat. She made every tire he would need to replace. The work took hours.

  She didn’t stop.

  Near dawn she uncorked one of her more delicate potions and carefully poured the clear liquid along the crack in the Charger’s windshield. The glass shimmered faintly as the fracture slowly sealed itself. There was a little warping, which was expected with magic like this. But it had been sealed.

  For a moment she rested her hand on the hood of the strange machine.

  By the time the sun rose over the village, the Charger stood ready for the road. Fresh tires. Clear glass. A full tank of mana fuel. Eirwen wiped the soot from her hands and looked at the sleeping man inside. She brushed a bit of dust from the Charger’s hood, careful not to wake him.

  ---

  Jack awoke in the back seat, rubbing his eyes. He pulled on his jacket, tied his boots, and stepped out of the car.

  Eirwen stood by the hood of the Charger, staring at it with a thousand-yard gaze.

  Jack walked up beside her, raising an eyebrow. “Mornin’, Eirwen.”

  She blinked out of her stupor and offered a tired smile. “Oh. Good morning, Jack.”

  He tilted his head. “You okay? You look like you’ve been up all night.”

  Eirwen waved the concern away. “Oh, I was. I decided to finish the tires last night. I often get caught up in my work until morning.”

  Jack glanced down at the new slime tires with leather covers leaning beside the Charger, ready to be fitted. One eyebrow crept upward. “Thought you said you didn’t have enough slime cores to make all four tires.”

  Eirwen froze, then looked away. “Oh, I-uh…found some I had forgotten about in a chest at my house. Once I had them, I thought it best to use them. It was not a big deal, as one might say.”

  Jack nodded slowly. “Uh… huh.” He shrugged and crouched beside the wheel. “Well, guess the only thing left is swappin’ ’em out.”

  “Um, Jack,” Eirwen said, gently touching his shoulder.

  He looked up at her. “What’s up?”

  “…Might we talk while you work? You’re brilliant, and you understand what I say, and you… don’t seem to mind my company…” Her voice trailed off.

  Jack smiled up at her. “Well hell, darlin’. I like talkin’ to you too.”

  Eirwen smiled. The two set to work.

  Jack grunted as he tightened a lug nut and wiped his hands on a rag. “So what’d ya wanna talk about?”

  Eirwen held one of the tools he’d handed her, turning it slowly in her hands. “It is just… unusual.”

  “What is?”

  “You.”

  Jack chuckled. “I get that a lot.”

  She shook her head. “No, I mean the way you are.” She gestured toward the Charger, then the road leading out of the village. “Most people here either fear things they do not understand… or refuse to believe in them at all. But you simply look at them and think about how to solve them.”

  Jack leaned back on his heels. “Well, that’s one way to stay alive.”

  Eirwen smiled faintly. “It is more than that. You listen when I explain things. Even when I ramble.” Her ears drooped slightly. “Most people stop listening after the first few sentences.”

  Jack shrugged as he tightened the final lug nut. “Their loss.” He gave the tire a testing tug and stood. “You explain things just fine. Hell, half the stuff I’m doin’ out here only works ’cause you told me how magic works in the first place.”

  Eirwen blinked. Then her ears slowly lifted again.

  ---

  The villagers brought the supplies Jack had bartered for with the elder.

  The blacksmith had finished riveting metal plates over the gashes in the door and hood. Jack frowned at the work, silently judging how the added weight might affect the Charger’s balance. The blacksmith eyed the car with folded arms. “This dwarven engine o’ yours is finicky as a noble’s mare, ser,” he said. “But she’ll hold against the winds now.”

  Jack inhaled sharply, then nodded. “It ain’t dwarven. It’s American.” He sighed. “But… I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.”

  Nearby, the tanner inspected the leather-wrapped slime tires for flaws.

  A farmer approached carrying a sack of supplies, harvested crops and honeyed meat wrapped in knitted cloth. “The elder said ya needed rations for the road ahead,” she said. “Hope this’ll do.”

  Jack took the sack and gave her a grateful nod. “Much obliged.”

  Eirwen stepped up to Jack with a melancholic smile. “You’ll be departing, then?”

  “Yep.” Jack opened the driver’s door and tossed the sack into the back seat. Then he glanced over at her. “Anything ya need from yer house before we hit the road?”

  Eirwen blinked, looking at Jack as if he just grew a second head. “I beg your pardon?”

  Jack frowned slightly. “I thought you were coming with me.” Jack shrugged. “I can use your help to keep the Charger runnin’. And Lord knows I can use some help figurin’ what’s what in this world.”

  Eirwen stared at him, her ears slowly rising. A genuine smile began to form… then she turned to the villagers with sudden concern. “But… I know the apothecary is sometimes overburdened when disaster strikes. And I want to help improve the lives of the villagers. And then there are my experiments-”

  “Eirwen.” The tanner placed a steady hand on the witch’s shoulder. “We’ll be fine without you.”

  The farmer nodded. “We know you’re meant for greater things, dear. You shouldn’t feel obligated to stay in our little hamlet.”

  The blacksmith folded his arms and gave her a firm nod. “So please… go. Pursue what you were meant to.”

  Eirwen looked between them, stunned. “You all mean that?” A small laugh escaped her as tears welled in her eyes. “Thank you.”

  She turned back toward Jack. He stood leaning against the driver’s door, wearing a knowing smirk. “Get in,” he said. “We’ll swing by your house and grab your things.” He jerked his head toward the passenger side. Eirwen hurried over, opening the door and climbing inside.

  A few villagers stepped back as the Charger rumbled to life. The strange machine rolled forward toward the road beyond the village. The gathered villagers waved as it passed, and Eirwen leaned out the window, waving back enthusiastically.

  “Thank the goddess,” muttered the blacksmith. “My forge is finally safe from her tamperin’.”

  The farmer chuckled. “That girl’s heart is pure as spring water… but I sure won’t miss her ‘experiments’ in my fields.”

  The tanner folded her arms and nodded toward the departing car. “She’s good with healing magic. Real good.” She paused, watching the Charger disappear down the road. “But she’s a peculiar one. I’m just glad there’s someone out there who can keep up with her.”