Page 41 of Tapeworld Induction

“Now let’s get the hell out of here!”

As they sprinted away from the chorus of howls behind them, he was surprised to find that she matched his speed easily.

Everything was forest and dirt footpath.

“Can they hurt us in here?” she asked between breaths, her pace now faster than Isaak’s. She had to keep slowing down to match his comparatively slower run.

His chest heaved with each hard breath, head shaking. “I don’t fucking know. I’ve never fought in the Tapeworld.” Except for that security guard you killed. No, no, I don’t know that’s what happened. Astrid said he was just a bot.

But Astrid was hardly trustworthy.

He dodged a branch. They were deep in the forest now, and they were both starting to flag a little, so he risked slowing down and glancing behind him. There was something strange about the trees here, but he couldn’t work out what. “Wait a minute,” he called to Dylan.

She immediately slowed down and looked back at him. Her dress caught on a branch, fabric pierced by the end of a pointy twig.

“Your dress is stuck.” He moved closer to her, hand ready to pull the fabric out.

With one swift tug, she pulled the fabric from the twig, and it ripped a gash in the dress, exposing most of her thigh. “It’s okay, I’ve got it.”

He tensed up, the sight stopping him in his tracks. A note of desire surged in him, mixed with the fear of what was hunting them. Maybe this woman was everything he longed for. But the wounds of his recent romantic entanglements had left him cold, wary of jumping into something again. And who was to say that she would be into him that way? He resisted giving any hint of his reaction. It wasn’t the place and it certainly wasn’t the time.

“Can’t you unsummon them?” Fear stuck to her voice like wet paint.

“If I could wish them away, I would. But that’s not how it works.”

Another chorus of howls reached them through the forest, sounding closer now.

The wolves were closing the distance. But maybe they were hidden well enough…

He tensed up, tracing a circular shape in the air with one hand. He took a deep breath and waited.

“What’s that?” She drew a tight smile across her lips, taking a step back. “You summoning something?”

He nodded. “A tape-tube to get us out of here. But…” He frowned. Tried again.

And again.

Nothing happened. The portal wouldn’t open.

“Fuck. Counter-measures?”

“Counter-measures?”

“It’s not working…”

“Isaak, whatever is out there is getting closer and closer!”

“It’s not working!”

“Isaak…” Dylan’s voice was strained, and she was visibly agitated.

Worry gnawed his gut like a shark feasting on an unwary swimmer. No choice but to keep running and get the hell out of there. “Just run and don’t stop!” he told her, setting off at a sprint again.

“And then what?” Dylan followed suit, the dress hiking up her legs, exposing more of her thighs. “I still don’t even know why you summoned me here in the first place!”

Fear and attraction coiled in his mind. “I’ll think of something. Keep moving!” Truth was he had no fucking clue what to do next. Not yet, anyway. But he was Dylan’s line to safety, and he had to do something.

More trees and branches and leaves rushed past. The sun had fully set now, darkness becoming apparent as they ran.