I didn’t argue. Knew it would be pointless. Despite our promise to leave any fallen brother behind, none of us would actually do it. We’d come into this hell together. We’d leave together or not at all.
The cracked wasteland stretched before us like a nightmare puzzle. I could see potential paths—places where the ground looked solid enough to hold our weight, where the gaps between stable sections were narrow enough to jump. But one wrong move, one miscalculation...
I went first. As the smallest and lightest of the three, I had the best chance of testing the stability of each section without triggering a collapse. I bunched my muscles, measured the distance to the first stable platform, and leapt.
My paws landed silently on solid ground. I crouched, testing the surface, feeling for any vibration that might indicate it was about to give way. Nothing. I looked back at my brothers and nodded.
Laurent came next, his movements graceful despite his previous injury. He landed beside me, careful to distribute his weight evenly. Marcel followed, his larger form requiring more precision to land in the limited space we’d secured.
Clear,I thought.Next section.
We fell into a rhythm. I would jump first, testing the landing. Laurent would follow, then Marcel. Each leap required absolute focus, absolute silence. The gaps between stable ground grew wider as we progressed, forcing us to push our limits. Fifteen feet. Twenty. Distances that would have been challenging even above ground, on solid earth, became terrifying with the knowledge of what waited below.
Halfway across, sweat matted my fur despite the arid heat. The smell of sulfur rose from the chasms, burning my nostrils with each careful breath. I could feel Isabeau’s presence growing marginally stronger with each successful jump. We were movingin the right direction, at least. Following the pull of our bond like a compass pointing north. Or maybe she was farther away from death. That would also be a relief.
Twenty yards ahead, I could see what looked like solid ground—the end of this fractured hell. Just a few more jumps. A few more chances to die.
The next gap was the widest yet. I backed up as far as I dared on our small island of stability, gauging the distance. Thirty feet, maybe more. At the very edge of what I could clear even under ideal conditions.
I can make it,I projected, trying to convince myself as much as my brothers.But I don’t know about you two. Especially you, Marcel.
His eyes narrowed at the implied slight to his jumping abilities.I’ll make it, little brother. Worry about your own landing.
Laurent studied the gap with clinical precision.There’s a smaller section there,he thought, indicating a tiny outcropping about halfway across the expanse.We could use it as a midway point. Two jumps instead of one impossible one.
I nodded. The outcropping was small, barely large enough for one of us to perch momentarily, but it would have to do. I backed up, took a deep breath, and launched myself forward.
Time seemed to slow as I sailed through the air, the chasm yawning beneath me. I focused on the small target, adjusting my trajectory slightly mid-jump as I’d learned to do during hunts above ground. My front paws hit the ledge first, claws digging in for purchase as my back legs scrambled to find solid ground. For one heart-stopping moment, I thought I’d overshot, but then I stabilized, crouched low on the tiny platform.
Now for the second jump. No room to build momentum, just pure strength and will. I gathered myself and leapt again,clearing the remaining distance to the larger section of stable ground beyond. Safe. I turned back to watch my brothers.
Laurent went next, his lighter frame making the first jump look almost easy. He landed beside me on the outcropping with his second leap, so close our fur brushed. No time to celebrate. He immediately launched into the second jump, clearing it with room to spare.
Marcel’s turn. His massive form bunched with coiled power at the edge of the platform. I could feel his calculations through our mental link, his adjustments for his greater weight and bulk. He jumped, power rippling through his muscles.
For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t make it to the outcropping. He stretched in mid-air, front paws reaching desperately for the edge. They caught, claws scraping against stone as he pulled himself forward with a surge of strength that would have been impossible for a normal beast. He steadied himself, preparing for the second jump.
And then it happened.
His shifting weight dislodged a small pebble from the outcropping’s edge. A tiny thing, insignificant in any other context. It fell, bouncing once against the wall of the chasm before disappearing into darkness.
The sound echoed. Barely audible, but in the dead silence we’d been maintaining, it might as well have been thunder.
Cripes!I swore, already knowing what would follow.
The ground began to tremble. A low hiss rose from the depths, growing louder by the second. Marcel didn’t hesitate. He launched himself toward us, covering the remaining distance in a desperate leap that landed him sprawling at our feet.
No time for relief. The massive serpent erupted from the nearest chasm, its enormous head twisting in the air as it sought the source of the disturbance. Vertical pupils narrowed as theyfixed on our frozen forms, its forked tongue flicking out to taste our scent on the air.
Run!Laurent’s mental shout galvanized us into motion.
We bolted toward what we hoped was the edge of this fractured wasteland, no longer bothering with silence. The serpent gave chase, its massive body flowing over the broken terrain with horrifying grace, finding purchase where we struggled. It moved faster than anything that size had a right to, closing the distance with each passing second.
It’ll catch us before we reach solid ground,Marcel projected, his thoughts racing alongside ours.
Then we kill it,I decided, skidding to a halt and turning to face the monster.We’ve killed worse.
Had we? I wasn’t actually sure. But my brothers stopped beside me, forming a triangular defensive position as the serpent reared up, its head rising twenty feet into the air as it prepared to strike.
