Dorian stepped close to the beast to land a blow, but the monster suddenly reared on him. My heart skipped a beat as the creature sent my husband flying into the wall. The weird material caved in on itself, burying Dorian underneath it. Cam and Bryce dove forward to claw at the pile of rubble, but I couldn't leave Jessica. Arlonne was just pulling herself up from the other destroyed wall. The building around us trembled. It was growing unstable, even in the light gravity.
“We have to get out of here,” I shouted to the others. “Chandry, try pushing it back.” Joseph muttered wildly underneath his breath, something about a leathery white body and red eyes. As he crawled from beneath the debris, Dorian let out a ragged gasp, and my shoulders lifted with relief. He was okay. Injured, but okay. This monster was nastier than I’d thought.
The monster roared as Chandry tumbled too close to it. It snagged her on the side, and she gasped in pain. Blood poured from her side, and she rolled away. The monster was growing tired; its movements were slowing. My pulse staggered as it let out a wheeze. Chandry pulled herself toward us. Jessica tried to get up, but I shoved her back down. She wasn’t going anywhere this time.
Dorian, Cam, and Arlonne moved forward together to corner the beast in its nest. The monster let out its wail, and Jessica hissed, pressing her hands against her head again.
“It’s so loud,” she wept. “Where’s Dan?” For a moment, her breaking voice made my heart soften. All she wanted was to find her boyfriend.
A shudder pulsed through the air. Chandry gasped. The beast jumped forward to an empty space in front of it. It must be making a portal! I pulled Jessica up beside me. Bryce and Sike ran forward with Joseph, who kept mumbling as he passed in and out of delirium. Maybe it was better to be delirious at a time like this. The monster vanished.
“Let’s go,” Dorian yelled. “Move, move!”
I rushed forward. Joseph stumbled in front of me with Bryce and Sike, and I dropped Jessica for a moment to help them grab him before he fell and injured himself more. Chandry pulled on an invisible circle in the air and gritted her teeth.
“Hurry,” she shouted. “This one isn’t as powerful as the last.”
Dorian helped Bryce and Sike push Joseph through. I followed, dragging Jessica with me despite her continued protests. Arlonne and Chandry slipped through just after Cam. We panted as we landed on soft forest ground. Greens blurred around me. I couldn’t focus on where we were.
Suddenly, someone was fighting against me.
Jessica wrenched herself free of my grip.
“No, I can’t leave him,” she cried. “I know I can’t trust you. You left Dan! You said you would help him. Let me go.”
She was terrified to leave Dan, which I couldn’t fault her for, but her own life was in danger. We had to get her to safety and regroup if we wanted to come back and save him. I understood her worries, but she needed to listen to reason. Anger flamed my face as I reminded myself that Jessica was hurting. “We’ll get him later, Jessica. It’s too dangerous. I’m not letting you go.”
“We have to go back and find him,” she cried. “The portal’s still open.” Before I could tighten my grip, she slipped out of my grasp with a surprisingly strong yank and leapt backward through the portal. Arlonne snarled and dove through after her before the rest of us could react.
“I’m tired of your attitude,” Arlonne said, but her voice suddenly faded. I stared in horror at the sight.
“What’s happening?” I asked Dorian desperately. “Can you see them through the portal?”
“It doesn’t work like that,” he said, and shook his head.
“Arlonne,” Bryce cried. Chandry’s face contorted with effort. I saw it on all the vampires’ faces. The portal was closing. Chandry tried to hold it open, but her hands grasped uselessly at the air. It was gone.
Arlonne and Jessica were gone.
“No,” Bryce breathed. “She’s…”
Joseph groaned as he leaned against Sike. Bryce released the injured man and wiped a distraught hand down his face.
I stooped down, holding my head in my hands. This shouldn’t have happened. This Jessica woman had already cost us so much on this mission, with a detour to that odd world after endangering herself by trespassing in the Leftovers. I shook my head in disbelief but forced myself to stand.
Bryce let out a litany of curses from his mouth, and nobody did anything to calm him. He needed this.
We were… somewhere. I stared at the ground and felt the familiar nip of cold air. There was snow and tropical plants. I frowned, glancing at Dorian. His weary eyes met mine. We had to do something.
It looked like some immortal vegetation, but it was even colder here than Black Rock. If we weren’t in Black Rock, where were we? I glanced up at the sky, but the canopy of treetops blocked out most of a dark sky. Wherever this was, it was either late at night or early in the morning.
“It feels like the Leftovers,” Dorian said. “Just not Utah.”
I calmed my spinning brain. This was a major setback. Our mission had failed, and now we were lost in new territory. It had to be another part of the Leftovers in the Mortal Plane. If there was a squad stationed nearby, we could send word to the Bureau.
Sike paused for a long time. “I don’t understand why Jessica went back. She might not survive back there. I hope Arlonne is okay.”
I agreed with Sike wholeheartedly. Jessica didn’t trust us, and she had suspicions about the agencies investigating
