The air was colder.

  Goosebumps crawled up her skin as she looked around the empty room.

  “You got the air one!” Jeru frowned as he moved around in front of her. “Not good.”

  Why? Penelope scanned the area.

  The biggest change was the area outside the barrier. Large, jagged walls blocked most of her view, leaving tunnels as the only way forward. There also wasn’t a single Demon in sight.

  “1,056 feet wide by 2,112 feet long.” Jeru motioned at the barrier. “Each square has four groups of Demons in them, which unfortunately allows them to mingle. And with the tunnels..." He shook his head. "That's a lot of places where you can be ambushed.” His face lit up. “Oh and this floor should have a really fun mechanic that you’ll get to see in...”

  Bradley ran through the portal with his shield up. “AHHH!!!!”

  WHOOSH…SCREECH

  Penelope covered her ears as a blast of wind whisted from the ceiling. The air crashed into the floor and spread outwards.

  “WHAT WAS THAT?” Bradley screamed even though the loud noise was over.

  “A floor mechanic.” Pepelope opened her mouth wide to pop her ears. How often does it do that?

  “Center of each square every ten minutes.” Jeru grumbled. “The deeper we go, the more the Demons are able to modify the floors.”

  Of course they can. Penelope stuck her wand in her belt and turned to her left. She’d cleared 1D through 1A first on the last floor, so 11D through 11A seemed like a good way to go. She pointed at the opening. “Bradley, put your stuff over there. That’s where we’ll start once everyone gets here.”

  “OKAY!” The blond man yelled as he picked up the roll of mole hide that he’d dropped.

  Kent came through the portal next with Whitney right behind him. The pair looked around, with the other woman hanging back closer to the portal.

  “This is so different…” Kent still had his sword out as he took in the floor. He turned to Penelope. “You sure we’re safe?”

  “This is a safe zone.” Penelope pointed at the barrier. “Once we kill all the monsters in that square, the barrier between here and there will drop, and it will get added to the safe zone.”

  Penelope looked over at Whitney, who was running her hand over the surface of the portal. “We can’t go back. The barrier is one way.” She watched the other woman caress the portal for a moment before continuing. “The only way back to the surface is to kill the floor bosses.”

  “Or let the timer run out.” Kent sheathed his sword without looking at them. “Like you did on the last floor.”

  “We…” Penelope took a deep breath. She didn’t know what to say and had a feeling that nothing she did say would make the situation any better.

  “What happens if we just ran straight there?” The black-haired man pointed straight ahead. “We just keep running through the barriers until we reach the boss?”

  “You saw what they did to the level ones.” Penelope turned away from the portal as she turned her thoughts inward. Jeru? What would happen if we ran through the barrier from one square into the next?

  “You can’t.” The blue Elf glared at the swordsman as he spoke in her mind. “The barriers can only be permeated from the safezone; otherwise, the demons would all congregate on the last column and wait for everyone there.”

  “Besides…” Penelope cleared her throat. “You can only go through a barrier from the safe zone.” Would have been nice to know when I was worried about getting knocked into another square.

  “It didn’t matter.” Jeru shrugged as Robert walked through the portal with Marlow.

  The two men looked around.

  “Still a safe zone?" Marlow blinked. “It looks bigger.”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “It’s twice as big.” Penelope pointed at where Bradley had dropped his things. “I told them to start stacking the stuff over there.”

  “Sounds like a good idea.” The Healer hooked the small crossbow in his hands on the ring on his belt. “It sure—”

  WHOOSH…SCREECH

  Everyone covered their ears as the jet of air whisted out of the ceiling.

  “What was that?!” Marlow raised his voice but wasn’t yelling like Bradley had.

  “A new floor mechanic.” Penelope rubbed her jaw as she popped it again. “Last one was about ten minutes ago.”

  “Great, one more thing to worry about.” Marlow grumbled. He looked at the passageways leading into the Dungeon. “We can’t see what monsters we’re going to be up against either!”

  “We’ll figure it out.” Penelope took a deep breath. “Now, we just need to wait until the next group comes in so we can tell them about the whistle and let them know everything is safe.” She looked at the pile of skins the others had brought. “You didn’t bring a tent, did you?”

  “Patrick didn’t want to send the first group through with anything heavy, so all we have is bedrolls.” Whitney rubbed her arms. “I don’t know how we’re going to sleep with that thing screaming every ten minutes.”

  “Maybe it doesn’t blast through the night.” Penelope tried to give the other woman some hope.

  “It does.” Jeru seemed a little too happy as he shattered that hope.

  Not helping. Penelope kept her face neutral even though she wanted to glare at the Elf. She didn’t need the others to think she was upset with them when she couldn’t direct her frustration at the proper source.

  “Why don’t we introduce ourselves while we wait?” Marlow sat down on the fur that he’d carried and motioned for everyone to join him. Once they’d all sat down, he began. “I’m Marlow Bloomer. I was a mechanic back on earth. It was just me and my son…” He swallowed and looked around at the group. “Anthony is sixteen, so I’m sure he’ll be fine until I can get back to him…” He covered his face with both his hands. “My boy will be twenty-one before we can get back.”

  “I have two kids. Molly and Zane.” Bradley reached over and clasped the other man on the shoulder. “They have their mother, Jessica Merrill, who’s the love of my life, to look after them. I’m sure there’s someone who will help look after your boy until we all get back.”

  “Thanks.” Marlow wiped the tears from his face and cleared his throat. “Sorry about that. I’ve been trying not to think about the family and friends we left behind. I’m sure everyone has someone that’s going to miss them.”

  “I’ve got a big family, but haven’t seen any of them in a few years.” Robert puffed out his chest. “They didn’t like my girlfriend and told me to choose them or her.” He spit to the side. “Turns out, she decided she’d rather have a thruple with a couple whose family didn’t hate her.” He shruggled. “But it’s all good. I’ve got my buddies from the quarry. No kids.” He winked at Whitney. “That I know of.”

  The blonde flinched and pulled her knees against her chest. “I’m Whitney Wilcox, forty-two.” She hugged her knees tighter. “I worked at the Fish Barn as a cook. No kids.”

  “If you’re looking for some..." Robert smirked. “I wouldn’t mind tryin’ to help you out.”

  “I’m not.” Whitney spoke fast. “I was adopted. I’m not risking putting someone else through that.”

  “That’s horrible!” Bradley offered her a sympathetic look. “I don’t know you well, but I think you’d make a great mom.”

  “No, that’s not…” Whitney closed her eyes and swallowed. “I get along great with my adopted parents, but I’ve lived my whole life having to wonder why my real parents didn’t want me.” She failed to suppress a shiver. “I just don’t want to risk putting someone else through that.”

  “It’s okay. I’m sure you’re a great aunt.” Bradley smiled.

  The blonde shook her head. “Only child.”

  “Well, you’re lovely all the same.” He looked over at the only man who hadn’t spoken. “Kent, was it? What do you do? Any family waiting back home for you?”

  “I’m Kent Shipley, Financial Planner.” The red-haired man eyed everyone. “I know what you’re thinking, but I grew up poor and threw everything I had into my education. That didn’t leave a lot of time for me to start a family. I spend most of my free time coding, so I don’t get out much.”

  “We know who’s buying the drinks when we get back!” Robert laughed and slapped his leg. He turned to Penelope. “So what about you, girlie? You looking for a big, strong man to keep you warm?”

  He’s twice my age! Penelope took a deep breath to suppress her discomfort at both his comment and having to speak in public. Earlier had been more of a life-or-death type situation, but now it felt personal. And that made her very uncomfortable.

  “I’m Penelope Flynn, twenty-two, and no, I don’t need a...”

  “Careful. Calling him a Neanderthal is only going to start a fight.”

  She coughed to cover up her pause. “As I was saying, I’m focused on clearing this death trap right now, so I don’t lose any more friends.” She stood up. “I’m going to walk the barrier and see if I can figure out what monsters we’re up against.”

  No one tried to stop, nor did anyone join her as she walked along the barrier.

  Was that really the best you could grab? Penelope chided her companion.

  “You try to grab six hundred people while you’re dying while you’re also importing a system and creating a time loop at the same time!” Jeru clicked his tongue. “If I took the wrong person and messed up the vector for Alex..." His voice trailed off. “The awakening killed a lot of people, and one thing that Alex always said was how he wished they could have saved more from dying when they first got their powers. I guess I just wanted to try to save some people that he regretted not being able to.”

  I just hope they were worth saving. Penelope eyed the group as they got up to greet the next round of people.

  “You and me both…” Jeru’s voice faded. “You and me both.”

  Rating, Review, Follow, Favorite, or Comment does wonders to boost my morale. If you want to help support my writing or check out advanced chapters, head over to my .

  Immersive Ink

  RR Writer's Guild