Just ten minutes. That was the promise.

Alarms blared overhead as Kai fled down a shaking corridor with a black box clutched to his chest. Blue carved runes ran across the box that glowed with an increasing intensity while Kai searched for someplace to hide. The sound of gunfire echoed through the hallways and explosions rattled the building, but that didn’t matter. All Kai needed to do was hold out for ten minutes and he would get out scot-free.

Two of the ten minutes had passed. It looked like Kai was going to make it. After all, he had one just one insignificant piece of the bigger structure. No one would bother chasing after him when the rest of the project was at stake. Three minutes passed. Elation rose up from Kai’s chest. It was possible, he was going to make it.

Of course, Kai knew that things rarely ever went according to plan.

As Kai turned a corner, a metal spike whizzed past his head and punctured the wall beyond. Not stopping for a second, Kai whirled around back the way he came, but not before catching a glimpse of his attacker. A man in robes surrounded on all sides by floating black spears. A mage. Not good.

Dozens of scenarios sprang through Kai’s mind, most of them ending with Kai being impaled. There was only one choice then. Four minutes had passed as Kai ducked into a hole blasted out of a wall.

The scene in front of him was pure carnage.

Bullets and grenades whistled past as fireballs and arcs of lightning were shot back in response. On one side masked intruders in kevlar armor aimed down their sights while on the other side mages brought out wands and staffs from under their robes. The entire scene was made all the more uncanny since the battlefield was taking place alongside rows upon rows of computers, wires, servers, LED lights and other modern day implements.

A flying spear took a chunk out of the wall from behind Kai. No time to think. Kai made himself look as small and harmless as possible as he dashed into the fray. “Ten minutes,” Kai reminded himself as he clutched the black box tighter. “Don’t have to escape, just have to hide for ten minutes.”

But where? Kai’s eyes scanned the battlefield as he rolled beneath an upturned desk. Neither the intruders nor the mages looked like they would appreciate the presence of a random stranger charging into their midst. The only alternative was to find cover in the middle of no man’s land. Kai ran forwards just as the desk he was under shattered into bits.

Seven minutes had passed. Kai put his back to a server covered in scorch marks. After crawling on his belly he was able to make it to a less active area on the other side of the crossfire. Only the occasional bullet or fireball zipped past Kai as looked down at the black box. It was glowing with a blistering fervor. Kai snuck a peak out from his hiding spot. Even if anyone did notice him they were too preoccupied with fighting each other to care about a non-combatant. Kai felt himself let out a breath he had been holding in.

It was then he locked eyes with the man encased in spears.

Kai could feel himself break out into a cold sweat. But that was fine, if the man with the black spears wanted to catch Kai then he had to go around the crossfire. By that time ten minutes would be up and Kai would win. Kai was safe for now.

Or so Kai thought.

The man surrounded by spears charged. Bullets ricocheted off his robes while a fireball blasted over him without so much as a scratch. A grenade sailed to his feet and without missing a beat the man pivoted into a crouching position as he ducked under his robe. The grenade exploded and the man surged forward in a whirlwind of spears.

“That’s so bullshit!” Kai exclaimed, already midway into a full sprint.

Eight minutes had passed. Surely this wasn’t how it was going to end, not while Kai was so close to the finish line. Kai could feel a commingled surge of rage, insulted pride and maliciousness emanate from behind him. Following his instincts Kai slid to the ground and immediately rolled beneath a row of servers. Two spears flew by as another salvo perforated the floor.

On the other side of the wall of servers, Kai didn’t expect the man to follow him through the gap he had rolled under. Which side was he going to come from, then? The left or the right? While trying to guess which way his pursuer was heading he almost didn’t notice the sound of scraping metal. It was too late by the time Kai ducked. Thin, metal spikes shot out of the walls. One of the spikes hit him in his chest and he felt the black box slip from his grasp. A larger spear tore a hole through the servers. The man in black robes stepped out from the hole and picked the black box up.

“Damnable rats,” the man said. Red, slitted eyes looked down at Kai gasping for breath. “You thought I wouldn’t notice your scurrying? Unlike the rest of those scavengers carting off whatever they can get their hands on, you went straight for the failsafe. Why?”

The man brought the black box up to his head. His eyes narrowed and his face scrunched up as though he had just smelled something rotten. The man turned his attention back to Kai.

“Who sent you? The Alerians? No, let me guess, the Teyrns. Always too jealous of their betters, sticking their noses where they don’t belong.”

Kai said nothing. Precious seconds ticked by.

“Staying silent are we? I can respect that.” A row of thin, metal spikes floated out from under the man’s black robes. “No, matter. We’ll just have to see how tight that tongue of yours is once I’m done gouging your eyes out.”

The man lifted his hand and the metal spikes pointed at Kai. Kai felt himself tense up, ready to spring out of the way once the hand fell down.

But, again, it was too late. The address had been dialed and the gate called.

The black box in the man’s hands lit up and a line tore through the air in front him. The line expanded as it ripped all notion of time and space apart into a halo of swirling lights. Metal scraps, bullet casings, spears, wires, broken glass and even the air surged towards the tear in space. The portal had finally come and it was time to go. The man in black robes tried to resist but found he could not do so without letting go of the black box. In the end, he disappeared into the swirling lights as Kai followed suit close behind. A few seconds passed and just as quickly as it had come the portal disappeared.

But the battle on Earth raged on long after the portal winked out of sight.