Round 86

The rising floodwaters lapped at their chins with insistent cold, the ancient subway tunnel groaning around them as the current grew stronger. Jeane signaled forward urgently, her wings beating hard against the pressure as she maintained balance on the precarious catwalk. The water was already past her mouth, and she knew they had mere seconds before it became impossible to coordinate movement.

Silra's fingers flew across her interface screens, the glow of the holographic displays illuminating her strained features in the gloom. "Halie, your shield is collapsing every other pulse," she called out, water sloshing dangerously close to her jawline. "If we don't move across that catwalk in fifteen seconds, you won't have enough magic left to maintain it during the crossing and we'll all drown before reaching solid ground." Her teal eyes fixed on their companion's face, reading exhaustion and rising panic despite the elf's attempts to hide it.

The water climbed relentlessly as they stood trapped between rising floodwaters and the ominous figures still stationed at the corridor end. Jeane knew they needed to act fast—either trust in Halie's dwindling magic or find another solution before the current grew too strong. But with the guardian entity still active and coordinating its forces, their options were rapidly diminishing.

Silra's screens flickered ominously as system strain reached critical levels, her hacking skills pushed to their limits by the corrupted security systems. She needed to complete this task quickly or risk losing their precious blind spot advantage entirely—an outcome that would leave them exposed and vulnerable in more ways than one. The water lapped higher still, forcing her to tilt her head back slightly to keep her face clear.

Time was running out, and with it, their chances of escaping this flooded hellscape alive.