The wind howled down through the gnarled trees as they walked towards the portal, the air thick with the smell of damp earth and decaying leaves. The darkness clung to them, heavy and thick, the moon a thin, slivered blade cutting through the branches overhead.
"We have to stop it," Margo panted, fogging the icy air with her breath, her shuddering hands shaking over the buckle of the rifle strap around her shoulder. She looked at Gabriel, his eyes cast in shadow, his hollow eyes black. "If we blow the core, we blow everything."
Gabriel's teeth closed, his fists contorting, his neck muscles cabling into tense ropes. He moved back, his eyes darting toward the shadow among the trees. "I know," he was panting, his voice a wrecked, hoarse sound. "But if we don't, my mother will find us. She won't stop until we're all dead."
Lei shook with fear, his fists clenched against the coldness of the metal gun in his hand. "But if we break it…," he gasped, his voice shaking, his eyes brimming and wide, "if we break it, you'll—"
Gabriel interrupted him, his eyes blazing with a wild, frenzied light. "I know what it means, Lei," he growled, his voice harsh and bitter, his hands trembling. "I know what it means more than all of you."
Margo held the rifle tight like a vice, her breath icy, wheezing tiny puffs of air, her own heart a wild, uncontrolled thrash within her chest. She felt cold metal piercing into the palm of her hand, the gun heavy a harsh, ugly reminder of blood on her hands.
"We have to do this," Gabriel gasped, his own voice a splintered, ragged thing, his eyes haunted and empty. He extended his hand, his hand shaking, his fingers grazing hers. "Please, Margo. If we don't. if we don't, all of this will have been for nothing."
Vielle marched forward, her eyes burning, her jaw set hard, the icy sheen of a hunting knife in her hand. "He's right," she panted, her voice low and furious, her eyes dark and wild. "We have to do it. We can't keep running. We have to stop it."
Margo's heart ached, her breath caught in her throat, her mind tangled, twisted around fear and doubt. She regarded Gabriel, his face twisted and pale, his eyes running with tears, his hands shaking at his sides. She felt the crushing burden of his words, the bitter, bitter reality of his sacrifice.
"Okay," she whispered, her voice a fractured, splintering one, hard, jerky gasps for breath. She clenched her fists around the rifle, her heart an icy, hollow drumbeat inside her. "Let's get this over."
They stepped through the portal, the world stretching and distorting around them, the air turning cold, the shadows creeping in around them like a monster. The trees towered above them, their gnarled branches reaching up to the sky, the color of blood, the air heavy with the scent of decay and corruption.
"Stay close," panted Gabriel, his breath in short, shallow gasps, his eyes darting from shadow to shadow. "The market's just ahead."
They moved as fast as they could, their steps muffled by the wet, thick leaves, their breathing in short, gasping gaps, their eyes bright and alert. The trees towered over them, their twisted branches clawing toward the scarlet sky, their shadows stretching out long and lean across the wet, muddy ground.
"Are you certain of this?" Lei breathed, his voice a broken, trembling thing, his fingers clenched around the icy metal of his gun. "Are you certain there is no other option?"
Gabriel did not reply, his gaze locked on the dark, twisted shadows in front of him, his breathing sharp, jagged gasps, his heart a wild, stumbling drum within his chest.
They reached the edge of the market, the air chillier, shadows deepening and thinning, the world seeping into a tangled, knotted darkness. Margo held the rifle tightly, breathing in harsh, ragged gulps, her heart cold and hollow pounding inside her chest.
They entered into the darkness, their breathing short and biting, their hearts wild and unchecked, their fingers twitching against the cold biting metal of their weapons. The air was colder, shadows fell, the world receding into a mangled, knotted darkness.
As they proceeded further into the market, shadows panted around them, air growing stiff, walls closing. They walked through vacant stalls, slats of wood cracked and splintered, air thick with the smell of rotting flesh and spilled blood. Footsteps rang on cold stone, breath in raw, shallow gasps, fingers tightening in cold, wet air.
"This is a maze," Vielle gasped, her breathing low and harsh, her eyes darting from darkness to darkness. "How do we ever reach the center in this?"
"We'll reach it," Gabriel gasped, his breathing a splintered, broken sound, his eyes black and empty. "We have to."
They rode on, gasping ragged shallow breaths, their hearts lurching wildly, their shaking fingers against cold metal on guns. The atmosphere became icy cold, the night lengthened the shadows, and the world darkened into convoluted black knotted horror.