A/N This is going to go through heavy editing. I’m not happy with how it is as it stands.

The thunder of hooves across fractured rock filled James’s entire world. It had been battle after battle since the minotaurs and James wasn't exactly lucid for them all. Now every jolt reverberated through his exhausted body as he clung to Ser Loran’s waist but he had recovered enough that he was fully conscious. Blurs of half-toppled boulders and twisted trees rushed past at breakneck speed. The looming dread that seized his heart felt worse than any terror he’d faced before, and in the past few weeks, he had survived enough monstrous encounters to test the resolve of the bravest soul.

They had faced wave rift horrors, labyrinthine mazes of twisted roots, and the constant threat of being devoured by creatures spawned from the darkest corners of reality. Yet James had never felt so close to utter despair. The reason was maddeningly simple: they were running out of time, and the monstrous bears that showed up behind them would not relent. One misstep, and their entire party would be annihilated.

Wind tore at James’s face, stinging his eyes. With each stride, Starfall, Ser Loran’s loyal Aethermare, snorted in exhaustion. The silver-gray mare’s flanks heaved in and out, testament to how hard she was pushing herself. James tried to twist around for a quick look behind, but the precarious footing of their narrow mountain trail forced him to keep his center of gravity locked forward. If he toppled off, they’d lose precious seconds trying to pull him back onto the saddle or he’d simply plunge to his death.

Beside them, Elia guided her own mare, cheeks flushed, sweat plastering stray wisps of hair to her temples. Farther behind, Marcus slumped over Betsy’s broad back, blood still staining the flank of that sturdy pack-laden Aethermare. And Jackson . . . Jackson was a phantom shape at the edge of James’s vision. The man’s illusions shimmered, causing the half-light around him to warp in watery curves, as though reality itself tried to look away. He was showing up in their fights less and less.

A roar echoed, so loud that James felt his bones vibrate. He clenched his teeth. Those bears, the mutated, spined monstrosities were close enough that he could sense their foul breath on the wind. They had been pursuing the party relentlessly for what felt like hours. Earlier, they had nearly trapped the group on an exposed plateau. Only a last-second maneuver through a narrow path so tight that even the slimmest Aethermares had to squeeze through let them evade the pack. But it was only a momentary escape.

Ser Loran barked an urgent command, cutting above the din. “Stay on the route! We’ve lost them for now, but they won’t be long!”

James didn’t dare loosen his grip. Every jolt from Starfall’s gallop lanced fresh pain through his thighs and lower back. The knight’s posture was tense beneath James’s arms. “Th–they’re not giving up, are they?” James managed to rasp, voice cracking with dust and exhaustion.

“They never do,” Ser Loran muttered. “Spindle Bears, or something worse. The rift has them corrupted. All the more reason we must reach that exit.”

He lifted a gauntleted hand, pointing to a far-off swirl of bluish mana. It rose above the horizon like a shimmering haze, a sub-exit from the wave rift. Their only chance of escaping this nightmare. James swallowed. If any place could be more terrifying than the spined horrors chasing them, it had to be the rift’s dimensional boundaries. Elia has mentioned they were notoriously unstable.

“You’re sure that portal won’t just dump us into some other beast wave?” he asked, half-hoping for a lie.

Ser Loran’s mouth was set in a grim line. “No guarantees in a wave rift, boy. But trust me anywhere beyond Tellemoria’s side of that sub-exit is safer than here. At least beasties out there don't hunt relentlessly.”

They surged onward along a precarious ledge flanked by deep ravines. Far below, the gloom churned, wisps of rift-energy swirling like faintly glowing fog. James’s heart lurched each time Starfall’s hooves dislodged small rocks that tumbled into the chasm. Please, don’t slip was his silent prayer. Yet the unwavering steadiness of Ser Loran’s seat gave him a semblance of reassurance.

Behind them, Elia let out a sharp intake of breath. “We have to- oh no, the path’s out!” she cried, voice echoing through the jagged terrain.

James saw it then: a pile of collapsed boulders where their route should have continued downward. Some quake or rift distortion must have triggered a landslide. If they wanted to descend, they’d have to backtrack or find another path.

“Press on, we’ll circle around to that ridge!” Ser Loran shouted, angling Starfall to the left. “Up and over, quickly!”

Elia followed, eyes darting warily behind them. The others complied, urging their panting Aethermares up the slope toward a new trail that zigzagged through angular rock formations. James risked a glance back, and the hairs on his arms rose: in the distance, he could see dark shapes bounding across the previous ledge. The mutated bears. If they saw the group’s new path, they would be in pursuit again. These creatures were far too smart, cunning in a way that only added to the terror.

The party pressed upward. James’s muscles screamed in protest. Finally, Starfall crested a ridge, a nearly flat area of broken stone that sloped gently toward a swirling pillar of mana. The sub-exit was now in clearer view, less than a mile away, beckoning with ghostly luminosity. Relief flooded James at the same time that dread knotted his stomach. The final scramble had begun.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Elia’s voice rang out. “We can’t stay out here in the open. Once we’re across, we have to seal it from the other side.” She paused, voice trembling. “But remember these sub-exits are often unstable and have a ‘reset’ period every time someone goes through. If it acts up . . . we could lose precious seconds.”

Ser Loran inclined his head in agreement. “Precisely. That’s why we go through in a controlled order. No pushing, no panicking. We can’t let the portal flicker off after just one or two of us slip through.”

James heard the tension in Elia’s tone and realized she was casting anxious glances at Jackson, who had a habit of acting on his own. Joey, hugging Elia’s waist from behind on the saddle, gulped audibly. The young man’s mechanical arm gleamed with faint mana lines as he clutched Elia’s cloak.

“Unstable . . . great,” Joey muttered. “So if we do this wrong, we could get separated in random parts of the rift?”

“Or end up inside the rock if the sub-exit flickers,” Elia added grimly. “We have to be precise in making sure it's stable to go through.”

A hacking cough from Marcus drew James’s attention. The swordsman’s face was pallid; blood caked his armor from hard hits he took. “Better a random location than stuck here with those bears.” His lips twisted into a wry half-grin. “I’m not sure how many more swings I have left in me.”

James’s stomach flipped at the memory of how swiftly those creatures had overrun them in the labyrinth earlier. One blow from those massive claws had opened Marcus’s side like a butcher’s cleaver. Marcus was still bleeding. They had done what they could to stanch it, but the man needed real healing or at least safe rest. So far, neither had been possible.

Ser Loran urged Starfall into a careful canter, leading them toward a narrower path that curved to the sub-exit from the west. A fresh wave of snarls echoed from below, sending a bolt of alarm through the party. James glanced back, breath catching in his throat: yes, the bears had located their new route. They were bounding up the same slope with an unnerving agility. Though they were too big to make it all the way and that would slow them a minute maybe two. The twisted spines on their backs glowed with some vile, pulsing energy that crackled in the air. James found himself thinking, We’ll never be free of them, not unless we close that portal in time.

They galloped hard for another few minutes, weaving around rocky outcroppings. At last, they emerged onto a wide plateau ringed by stone pillars. In the center shimmered the sub-exit: a tall, swirling veil of bluish mana that flickered at its edges like flame caught in a gust. James’s eyes widened. It was both mesmerizing and terrifying.

Elia pulled her mare to a halt, dismounting with Joey soon after. Jackson, behind them, spurred his horse onward without warning. The rogue’s illusions sparkled, as if drawn in by the rift’s power, and in one reckless move, Jackson barreled through the swirling curtain. He vanished in a shimmer of warped light without a look behind him.

James’s heart kicked. “J–Jackson!” he shouted, voice echoing in the plateau. “What is he doing? He didn’t even”

“He didn’t wait,” Elia said bitterly, eyes flaring with anger. “Foolish. He could make it unstable for the rest of us if the timing’s off.”

A swirl of disturbance rippled through the portal, as though a stone had been tossed into a pond. For an instant, the sub-exit flashed, then went opaque. Then it stabilized again, glowing faintly as it started to become translucent again. James exhaled a shaky breath of relief. At least the portal hadn’t collapsed. But Jackson’s abrupt crossing might have forced the exit into a partial “reset,” leaving them precious seconds maybe a full minute, during which the sub-exit was more fragile.

Elia let out a tense sigh. “He’s always had more nerve than sense,” she muttered, then locked eyes with Ser Loran. “But we can still do this. These are often unstable and have a ‘reset’ period every time someone goes through it, just like we said. We have to trust it’ll hold.”

Ser Loran nodded curtly. “Aye. Right now, we decide who goes next. The beasts will be on us any minute.”

Marcus gestured, blood staining his forearm. “Elia, you have the best chance of sealing it. You should go sooner than later.”

But Elia shook her head. “No. Joey goes first. He’s not a fighter. If the portal shuts, at least we want the youngest to be safe.”

“I... I can fight,” Joey stammered, though his voice wobbled. He still clutched Elia’s reins. “I can help!”

“No, you can’t,” Elia said, kinder this time. She placed a trembling hand on his mechanical arm. “But you’re brave, Joey. And we need you alive.”

Ser Loran gave a solemn nod. “Help him mount,” the knight said.

Elia reached up, guiding Joey onto the Aethermare while coaxing her. Joey settled in the saddle, wearing an expression of mingled relief and guilt. He didn’t want to leave everyone behind, but the logic was sound. James tried to muster a reassuring smile, “We’ll be right behind you.”

Elia let out a quick breath, steel in her gaze. “All right. Joey, go!”

No sooner had the words left her lips than Joey urged Elia’s mare forward. She only hesitated only a second before galloping into the portal in a burst of bluish light. The sub-exit rippled again, momentarily flickering between translucent and opaque. Elia released a small cry of alarm if it collapsed now, they’d be stuck. But after a tense second, it stabilized once more, swirling with arcs of faint lightning along its perimeter. "Lucky the mare's are able to go through it with minimal interference.." Elia muttered under her breath.

“They made it,” James breathed. “Now what?”

“We fight about who’s next,” Marcus joked grimly. “But I’m in no shape for an argument.” His face twisted in pain. Ser Loran looked at James "Stay here son."

Marcus looked at his friend and leader and then looked at James as the Portal started to clear up again. “I’ll go, if no one disagrees. But, Loran...” He trailed off, obviously torn by the idea that he might be deserting them.

Ser Loran nodded once. “Go, my friend. You need treatment. If you remain, you’ll bleed out before we’re halfway through the fight.”

The swordsman gave a bitter laugh. “You’d think I’d be better at dodging by now,” he muttered, grimacing at the memory of the claw that nearly gutted him. Betsy snorted softly, as if sensing his injury.

The sub-exit wavered again as he approached. The tension in the air was like a coiled spring. Marcus exchanged a long look with Ser Loran. “Don’t do anything foolish,” Marcus said quietly.

Ser Loran’s face was unreadable beneath his dust-caked hair. “I’ll do what must be done. Now go.”

Without further delay, Marcus and Betsy plunged through the portal, flickering into the swirl of bluish light. Another wave of distortion radiated outward. Cracks of mana traced the air in bright arcs. James bit his lip, heart pounding. Any second, the exit could implode. But it didn’t. The swirling energy settled, though it seemed fainter than before. He heard the growling of the bears getting closer...