Kara dangled in the fraying cable's grip, the grappling hook's line cutting into her belt, her dislocated shoulder a throbbing agony as Marcus and Ghost hung limp against her, their weight pulling the cable toward the fiery pool below. The chasm's walls groaned, dust and rock cascading as they closed in, the air thick with the stench of molten metal and fear. The transport's electrified net snapped closer, its edges sparking, a mere foot from Kara's leg, while the enforcers' boots clanked ominously on their descending cables, rifles trained with cold precision. The boulder's shockwave had cracked the chasm floor, a new fissure splitting open, spewing geysers of steam that scalded Kara's skin.
The grappling line jerked, the masked figure on the ledge straining to reel them in, but the cable snapped another thread, sending them swinging toward the wall. Kara's boot scraped rock, dislodging a slab that plummeted, narrowly missing Ghost's head. Marcus stirred, blood streaming from his scalp, his hoarse whisper, "Hold… tight…" lost in the roar as a drone swooped, its claw latching onto the cable, dragging them downward with a mechanical screech. The transport's spotlights flared, blinding Kara, and a rifle shot ricocheted off the hook, sparking perilously close to her hand.
Lena's voice boomed, amplified and venomous: "Your last breath is mine!" Her cannon blast struck the chasm wall above, unleashing a torrent of boulders, one smashing into the drone, its wreckage spiraling into the flames. But the impact severed the grappling line's anchor, sending it whipping free, and Kara's belt buckle groaned under the strain. The net surged, brushing her arm, a jolt of electricity searing her skin, her muscles spasming. Ghost's unconscious form slipped, her jacket tearing, and Kara's fingers caught her collar, the effort wrenching a cry from her raw throat.
The chasm rumbled deeper, a seismic groan signaling total collapse, and a massive slab broke loose, hurtling toward them. Marcus lunged, shoving Kara aside, the slab grazing his leg, bone cracking audibly as he roared in pain. The masked figure fired another grappling hook, this one hooking Marcus's harness, but the line tangled with the drone's wreckage, pulling taut and snapping the cable completely. They fell, the net closing in, its electricity crackling as it grazed Ghost's leg, jolting her awake with a gasp.
In mid-air, a pulse round from the ledge blasted the net's edge, disabling it, but the chasm's walls slammed together, crushing the transport's cables, sending enforcers plummeting with screams. Kara twisted, her free hand snagging a jutting spike, her body slamming against the wall, Ghost and Marcus dangling below. The spike bent under their combined weight, metal screeching, and Lena's chopper reappeared, its cannon charging for a final shot. The masked leader shouted, "Jump!" as the chasm floor erupted, a geyser of fire and rock surging upward.