"Stop him!" Chris yelled, scrambling to his feet, ignoring the screaming pain in his ribs and his pierced arm.
He ran after him, his heavy boots pounding the concrete.
But he was too slow.
The possessed Julien moved like a phantom, effortlessly clearing the factory gates and bursting out into the ruined, apocalyptic street.
The sky outside was bleeding a bright red just a few blocks down, the massive, swirling vortex of the newly formed Red Gate brimmed with chaotic energy.
Julien locked onto the target.
The concrete cracked under his feet as he leapt into the air, aiming to launch his hijacked body directly toward the open dimensional rift.
He was twenty feet in the air, soaring toward the gate.
Then, a sharp, whistling sound sliced through the wind.
SNAP.
A thick, heavily enchanted rope suddenly coiled tightly around Julien's neck like a hangman's noose.
