The route to the portal was a maze of corridors and stairwells. Fluorescent lights flickered, sirens wailed, and the floor shook with distant explosions. Bodies, human and monster, lay sprawled along the way. The smell of blood and burnt flesh was thick.
We ran. Soldiers shepherded us, firing down side halls at creatures that darted toward us. In one corridor, the ceiling had collapsed, blocking the way. Men with earth‑shaping abilities heaved the concrete aside, sweat pouring from their faces. Children scrambled over the rubble, eyes wide with terror. A woman carrying a baby stumbled. I grabbed her elbow and steadied her.
"How much farther?" I gasped.
"Not far," a soldier said. His voice was tight with fear. "It's in the sub‑basement. Old facility. Kept secret."
"Why didn't we use it before?" someone yelled.
"Because it's one‑way," the soldier snapped. "And we don't know what's on the other side. Now move!"
We passed through a thick metal door into a circular chamber lined with strange machinery. A raised platform dominated the center. Above it hung a ring made of dark stone covered in runes that glowed faintly. Cables and tubes connected it to humming generators. Technicians in lab coats and headsets worked furiously at control panels. A man in robes stood beside the ring, chanting in a language I didn't recognize. His fingers traced patterns in the air.
The crowd pressed inward. Panic threatened to break. Soldiers formed a line, forcing people to stay back.
"Power levels at ninety percent," a technician said.
"Stabilize the field," another replied. "We can't afford a misfire."
A boom reverberated through the facility. Dust rained down. The lights flickered. A section of wall exploded inward, and demons swarmed through. Soldiers fired. A hulking creature with a goat's head and bat wings roared and lunged. A woman in the crowd screamed and threw out her hands. A beam of white light shot from her palms, disintegrating the demon. She stared at her hands in shock.
"Power at one hundred percent!" a technician yelled.
"Open the gate!" the man in robes cried.
The runes around the ring flared brilliant blue. The center of the ring shimmered, then filled with swirling light. The air crackled. A wind whipped through the chamber, tugging at clothes and hair.
"Go!" a soldier bellowed. "Through the portal! Now!"
People surged forward. I grabbed my brother's hand and held tight. We were pushed and jostled. The portal hummed, its center swirling like liquid glass. One by one, people disappeared into it.
A demon clawed at my shoulder. Pain lanced down my back. I stumbled. A soldier shot the demon at point‑blank range, killing it. He shoved me toward the ring. "Move!" he said. His eyes were wide with fear and determination.
My brother and I reached the platform. The swirling light was inches away. Heat radiated from it. I hesitated. What if we stepped through and fell into a void? What if there was nothing on the other side?
Another explosion shook the chamber. Screams filled the air. I tightened my grip on my brother's hand.
"On three," I said.
He nodded, lip trembling.
"One… two… three."
We jumped.