Roy As Roy Mendez stumbled out of Hell and sucked in the first breathable air, setting off a racking cough, he had a vague awareness that the hands of an angel were half-carrying him. He knew very little else at that point. He had been far from the door and completely disoriented when the flames ripped with unnatural speed through …

Jack “What’s he looking for?” Jack wondered. She gave him a reassuring smile. “He seeks the way back to your world.” Jack knew that the giant man in the suit of armor and the woman dressed like a primitive were not a part of his natural world, potentially not even the human beings they appeared to be. And he knew …

Rogan His heart still hammered, but his nerves held their shaky grip at the edge of their endurance. The guardsman he faced was lucky that they wanted to capture Benjamin alive. For that purpose, Rogan had prepared his barrier rather than his weapon. He knew himself fortunate as well, as the interloper had squeezed off three rapid, well-aimed shots almost …

Jack His assailant was just firing blind, and Jack flattened against the wall and squeezed off a couple return shots while Roy tumbled back into the entryway below. Jack’s head snapped around in alarm after the subject disappeared again. “Roy!” “I just tripped! I’m fine!” Roy yelled back from the floor at the bottom of the stairs. “Get after the …

Jack His mind raced through all the implications. A few moments ago he had merely been in pursuit of the presumed culprit in a long-running serial abduction case. The scenario changed as this new player appeared … She could not be human, not if she could move at such a speed. That meant she must be a ‘spook’, one of …

Nam The presence of the guardsmen slowed her down. She couldn’t risk them spotting her too early, lest Benjamin escape while the two wasted their time on her. She dared not use any flux to pass them either, because she did not want to tip Benjamin off to her presence. She had no intelligence on how sensitive he might be. …

Jack He was certain that only Roy would attempt to radio a description while running a full-tilt sprint. “Subject is a male Caucasian, (huff) mid-twenties, average weight and height, (huff) short brown hair… (huff)… wearing a button-down dark green shirt and jeans… and he’s a helluva runner…” Roy finally gave up and started pumping both arms. While encumbered by the …

Nam She watched the two guardsmen with both respect and frustration. She wished she could warn them they were in over their heads. Benjamin had not resorted to flux thus far, showing no inkling to her or them that he was anything but a local criminal, but she knew from other sources that he was the style of flux artist …

Jack The sergeant noticed the new icon appearing on the screen as his partner wrestled their patrol car around another hairpin corner. More cops were joining the chase at last, he saw with relief. He’d begun to think it would remain a one-on-one contest to the end. The rear wheels slid out for a moment as they found one of …

Rogan The hunter acknowledged his partner’s message, stood and poured out the remaining contents of his teapot over his camp fire. The liquid proved insufficient to quench it. His camp sat in the middle of a massive courtyard more than twenty yards of flagstone distant from the nearest combustible object, but a lifetime of good outdoor habits couldn’t leave the …