The hunters began to circle again, but this time their formation was different. Tactical. They were separating us, cutting off escape routes, boxing River and Frost into kill zones.
Through both bonds, I felt Frost's resigned acceptance that he couldn't fight in his condition, River's manic desperation to find a way out that didn't exist.
We were going to die. Or worse.
The System pulsed urgently:
[CRITICAL: Lethal Threat Level]
[Current combat capabilities insufficient]
[Recommendation: FLEE]
[Scanning for escape routes...]
[WARNING: All ground routes blocked]
[Alternative detected: Water source 47 meters northeast]
[River's aquatic abilities may provide escape]
Water. Of course. River was an otter—he'd be fastest in his element.
"River," I said quietly. "Is there water nearby?"
His head tilted, confusion flickering through the bond. Then understanding. "Yeah. Stream about fifty meters that way. Connects to the river. But we'd have to break through their line, and with Frost wounded—"
"Can you carry him? In the water?"
"I mean, yeah, but—" His eyes widened. "You want to run?"
"I want to survive."
"I like this plan," River said. "It has the critical advantage of us not dying."
"You won't make it" Kael said, but there was something in his voice. Doubt? "Even if you reach the water, my hunters are faster on land. We'll cut you down before you're halfway there."
He was right. We'd never make it. Unless...
My eyes found the moss on the ground, still glowing faintly where bodies had disturbed it. The bioluminescent plants. The alien ecosystem. This wasn't Earth, which meant Earth rules didn't necessarily apply.
"River" I said. "That moss. The glowing stuff. Is it flammable?"
"What? I don't—" Then his grin returned, sharp and dangerous. "Oh. Oh, you're devious. I knew I liked you." He raised his voice. "Hey, Kael! You know what's funny about swamp moss?"
"River, don't—" Frost started.
River's stone blade struck another stone he'd palmed from his belt.
Sparks flew.
The moss ignited like gasoline.
Blue-green flames exploded outward in a circle around us, faster than should be possible, feeding on the moisture-laden plants with impossible hunger. The leopards scattered, snarling and cursing as fire blocked their paths.
"GO GO GO!" River was already moving, hauling Frost up with surprising strength. "This won't hold them long!"
I ran.
The Enhanced Agility made my legs feel like springs, each stride covering impossible distance. River moved beside me, half-carrying Frost, somehow managing to keep pace. Behind us, I heard Kael roaring orders, heard the hunters circling the flames, searching for a way through.
"There!" River pointed with his chin at a break in the trees where water glinted in the bioluminescent light. "The stream!"
We crashed through the underbrush. I heard the leopards behind us, closer than they should be, faster than we could maintain. My lungs burned. My legs screamed.
We weren't going to make it.
Then River grabbed my wrist and pulled.
We hit the water in a tangle of limbs. The cold shocked my system, stole my breath. I tried to surface but River's grip tightened, pulling me down, deeper. Through the bond I felt his certainty, trust me trust me trust me, and my body relaxed despite every instinct screaming to fight for air.
The Aquatic Breathing ability activated.
Water flowed into my lungs and somehow, impossibly, I could breathe.
River's thoughts blazed through the bond, not words exactly, but intentions, images. He was taking us downstream, fast, using the current. Away from the leopards who were land-based predators. Away from Kael's reach.
Through the murky water, I saw shapes splash in above us. The hunters, trying to follow. But River was in his element now, and we were gone before they could coordinate.
We travelled underwater for what felt like hours but was probably minutes. My new lungs worked without thought, pulling oxygen from the water itself. Frost was unconscious, from blood loss or oxygen deprivation, I couldn't tell through the bond's jumbled signals.
Finally, River surfaced in a calm eddy, dragging us both onto a sandy bank hidden beneath overhanging roots.
I coughed, water streaming from my mouth as my lungs switched back to air. "Is he—"
"Breathing," River confirmed, checking Frost's pulse. "Barely. He needs actual medical care, not just moss and hope."
I crawled to Frost's side, my Healing Sense flaring to life. Worse. Everything was worse. The flight had torn several wounds open. Internal bleeding had increased. He had maybe hours, not days.
"Kira." River's voice was unusually serious. "What you did back there. How you moved, how you knew about the moss, how you're breathing underwater on your first day here..." His amber eyes studied me with uncomfortable intensity. "You're not like other humans who've come to the Beastworld, are you?"
"I don't know," I said honestly. "I don't know anything about this place. I've been here less than two hours."
"Two hours and you've bonded twice, fought an alpha, and outsmarted a hunting party." He laughed, but it was strained. "Either you're the luckiest person alive, or something very weird is going on."
Through Frost's bond, I felt his consciousness stirring. Felt his awareness of our conversation. And felt his question, heavy with significance:
Tell him?
I didn't know what Frost meant. Tell River about the System? About the interface only I could see? About the game-like mechanics governing this nightmare world?
Before I could respond, Frost's eyes snapped open, wide with terror.
"Kira. River." His voice was barely a whisper. "We need to move. Now."
"We just escaped—"
"Not from the leopards." Frost tried to sit up and failed. "The stream. We're in Brown Bear territory. And someone's coming."
I heard it then. Heavy footfalls. Something massive moving through the forest with ground-shaking weight.
And a voice, deep and gentle and utterly terrifying in its calmness:
"Well, well. What do we have here? Trespassers in my healing grounds."
A shadow fell across our hiding spot.
I looked up, and up, and up.
The bear beastman had to be eight feet tall, powerfully built with dark brown fur and eyes like polished mahogany. He carried a staff wrapped with dried herbs and wore what looked like a healer's satchel across his massive chest.
His gaze travelled from me to River to Frost's bleeding form.
"Interesting," he rumbled. "A Human female, an exile, and a dying deserter." His eyes settled on me. "this reminds me of a joke, something about walking into a bar."
His massive hand moved to the knife at his belt.
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you all where you lie."
The System flashed urgently:
[CRITICAL: New Threat Detected]
[Terra – Brown Bear Tribe – Classification: UNKNOWN THREAT LEVEL]
[Analyzing...]
[Compatibility: 94%]
[WARNING: Decision in next 10 seconds will determine survival]
I met the bear's eyes, my mind racing, my bonded mates barely conscious, my body exhausted beyond measure.
And I had absolutely no idea what to say.