With a surge of urgency, I knelt beside him. Panic clawed at my throat. "This injury," I rasped, my voice hoarse. "What caused it?"

His eyes fluttered open, wide and filled with a primal fear. "The beast," he whispered, his voice barely a sigh. "It went north."

"A beast?" . Had that ominous entity somehow slipped through while I was busy tearing the portal open? Impossible. I was practically clinging to the frame! Was I so focused on escaping that I missed its departure?

Doubt gnawed at me. Were there other portals scattered across this timeline? My head spun. Even if there were, I was powerless to close them now. The portal that brought me here was a fading memory, sealed with a chilling finality.

But despair was a luxury I couldn't afford. I came back for a reason, to fight for a better future. This injured boy, this "beast" he spoke of – they were the future. I had to see this threat, understand it.

"Tell me everything," I urged, tearing a strip from my already tattered shirt. With a practiced gentleness born of countless battles, I pressed the makeshift bandage to his wound, hoping to staunch the bleeding. "What does the beast look like? Where did it come from?"

The boy winced as I spoke, his voice a ragged gasp. " before it reaches my village… Destroy the Bab... Please. " He coughed, a spray of blood staining the makeshift bandage.

Frustration gnawed at me. Information trickled in like a slow leak in a broken dam. I needed more, needed to assess the danger. But for now, I had to focus on the boy in front of me.

"Hold on," I said, my voice firm despite the rising panic. "I can't heal you completely, but I can try to stop the bleeding. You'll be alright."

A flicker of Anger flickered in the boy's eyes. Whether this anger stemmed from my words or a surge of his own inner strength, it didn't matter. He had to hold on. We both did. This unexpected paradise, the injured boy, the unseen threat – it was a bizarre welcome back, but a reality I had to face. The fight for a better future had taken an unexpected turn, but I was determined to see it through.

After stemming the flow of blood from the youngling's wound, I couldn't afford to waste time. The urgency in his words, "The beast... went north," echoed in my mind. With a surge of adrenaline, I sprang to my feet, my mangled hand protesting with a dull throb. Ignoring the pain, I set off in a northward sprint, the lush green blurring beneath my feet.

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A bone-chilling scream ripped through the air, shattering the symphony of nature. It wasn't the boy's voice. It was a primal yell, tinged with raw terror, a desperate cry for help that clawed at my insides. My pace quickened, lungs burning, legs straining.

As I crested a grassy hillock, the scene unfolded before me like a grotesque tableau. Two figures, barely older than teenagers, sprinted towards me, their faces contorted with fear. Their clothes were ragged, their eyes wide with panic. They looked like cornered animals, their youthful exuberance replaced by a primal urge for survival.

One of them, a young man with fiery red hair, screamed, his voice cracking, "We shouldn't have left Khaled! He was our friend! This is a proper end for people like us who leave their friends left for dead!"

Even as they raced past me, their words hammered into my brain. A knot of guilt tightened in my stomach. Had I left someone behind in my desperate escape? No, it wasn't possible. But the raw emotion in the boy's voice sent shivers down my spine.

A monstrous shriek pierced the air, the sound like metal scraping against bone. I turned towards the source, my heart hammering against my ribs. A vast, amorphous shadow loomed in the distance. It pulsed with a sickly Bluish light, its edges constantly shifting, defying definition.

Then, with a speed that belied its size, the shadow lunged at the two fleeing figures. They stumbled, the ground giving way beneath their frantic footfalls. The red-haired boy tripped, his friend yelling out in a heart-wrenching cry of despair.

Just as the shadow was about to engulf them, it seemed to recoil, its form contorting like smoke in a gale. But it wasn't a barrier that stopped it. The creature simply… vanished. Dissolved into wisps of vapor that dissipated harmlessly into the air.

The red-haired boy scrambled to his feet, his face stained with tears and relief. He gaped at the empty space where the creature had been, then turned to me, his eyes wide with questions.

"Who are you?" he stammered, his voice trembling. "What was that thing?"

I took a steadying breath, my own voice raspy. "I'm Kassem," I said, extending a hand towards him. "I don't know what that was, but it seems you're safe now."

He stared at my hand, then hesitantly reached out and clasped it. His grip was firm despite his fear. "We're Jahith and Samad," he said, gesturing to his panting friend. "And thanks… thanks for saving us."

Relief washed over me, a wave cresting and then receding. The unseen threat was a mystery, but for now, I had managed to help someone. These boys, scared and reckless, were a stark reminder of the future I was fighting for.

A future filled with fear, perhaps, but also with hope and resilience. And as I looked into Jahith's tear-filled eyes, I knew my fight had just begun.