Swirling fog dense as milk in a glass whirled all around. The invisible yet omnipresent crowd was making itself known with hushed tones adding to the tension building anticipation. Once again the muffled shattering and subdued pinging of pebbles being pulverized into dust by the immense and unseen weights rolling over them filled Josh’s ears. It was clear that there was more than one source by the overlapping fractures. All sources seemed to be coming from directly in front of them.

  But this time there was no mystery as to what was causing it. Nope. It’s definitely death by old-god steam roller…

  The forty-four year old lawyer couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the factual insanity that large parts of his life were now filled with. He nodded to Sen at his side, ~Do you get the feeling that they are more coordinated this time?~

  Sen’s white eyes bobbed up and down in agreement as they stared out of his blank face. ~From the sounds, two of the three remaining crush rollers have formed a battle line immediately between us and the direction of Safety. The third is…~ Sen futily swept his squinting eyes over the impenetrable alabaster banks trying to locate the missing team. ~Silent. They will most likely lie in wait for an opportune time to strike.~

  Josh narrowed his eyes stared straight ahead as well. He just as uselessly tried to cut through the blank obscurement with the force of his will. No luck here either. Which was a bit of a problem. From their last fight, he knew that their opponents could see farther through the concrete vapor than the twenty or so feet that he could–

  Sen’s slightly nervous voice interrupted Josh’s thoughts. ~Be alert brother! They can strike at any moment! I have no idea how you will be able to avoid eight Essence tethers launched simultaneously from two vehicles– Perhaps, if I take point, they will target me first. I can possibly dodge most of them, knowing the direction they will be coming from–~

  Both of their heads jerked up a the sounds of crunching stone drawing suddenly nearer and accompanied by the dual hues of red and golden/orange that illiminated the roiling white with the glow of the Aura circuits in the advancing crush rollers.

  Sen’s body tensed, obviously about to to spring toward them–

  ~Get behind me, brother~ Josh ordered in an authoritarian tone that surprised Sen as much as his outstretched had grabbing the short monk’s monk’s kasaya and pulling himself to the front. ~I got this, Sen– And it’s ok to be afraid. I’d be chirping like a baby chick in the slaughterhouse too, if I didn’t know what I know–~

  ~Baby chick?! Afraid?! I’m not– Wait! What do you know that I do not??~ Sen cut him off with an overly hot denial that only convinced Josh he was definitely feeling the very reasonable fear of being noosed and dragged for immediate pulverization.

  A devil’s smile spread over Josh’s lips. ~The explanation is going to have to wait. We’re going to be busy now. Just keep you eye out behind us. More than likely the last one will come from there when we least expect it.~ Josh looked over at his brother and smiled sincerely. ~...At leaast that’s what every bully I’ve ever known would do.~

  Josh felt Sen’s agreement come through their Bond. But that was all he had time for. As had been happening all too often to the middle age’d preschooler’s dad from the suburbs, of late, at that moment everything started happening all at once, at the speed of light. Then it accelerated from there.

  Yululululululululu!

  ~Our friends are back!~ Josh sent along the bond as four lances from the fire Aura crusher pierced through the blended golden/orange and red neon glow. The first four were only slightly ahead of the next four lances that crackled with earth Aura. The flying spears filled the damp air with the overwhelming feeling of intense burning and inescapable crushing power as they neared.

  ~Sen! Leap over these eight Essence tethers and get infront of me, now!~

  Hearing the unmistakable tone of command in Josh’s voice again, Sen must have not felt any option but to do as he was bid. Josh saw the end of his 720 degree summersault cresting from above as the landed in a three-point crouch just to the right of the incoming Essence vectors.

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  Tightly controlled concern shaded Sen’s Bond-speak. ~Joshua! The last team is attacking from behind right now–~

  ~Good!~

  All eight of the front coming crush roller attacks had been targeted on Josh. They were dead on the money and slammed into his body as he held his arms upraised and legs spread in the shape of an ‘X’.

  Searing instantly started on Josh’s right side accompanied by rock-splintering pressure on the left. He was now snared by a fire and earth leash on each of his lower legs, another two that were much too close to his groin for civility, one each on both of his upper arms, and an orange/gold band squeezing the breath from his longs around his upper abdomen. Joining the party, last but not least, was a burning noose around his neck that was starting to boil the spit in the back of his throat.

  Pain stormed across Josh’s face as four more snares, unseen, but radiating confusion and fatigue impacted from behind. One in the upper right thigh, two wrapped around his lumbar spine and abdomen, and one more around the back of his throat.

  Perfect!

  Grinding his teeth under the immense strain, Josh cut through the moutning claustrophobic fear of being a trapped animal about to be dragged to a very ugly end. He sent his last Bond-speak message to Sen, ~Now do what the Titans said, and run to Safety!~

  Sen must have considered objecting because he remained in place for a instant before his enhanced legs kicked sand up as he sped over the crest of a nearby hill. In less than a second he had disapearing into spinning whirlpools of fog like the Roadrunner after drinking a case of Redbull. Whatever his brother’s counter argument might have been, Josh hadn’t heard it already having shifted the focus of his five divided consciousness to the task of keeping the three opposing teams from stopping Sen’s getaway.

  Josh lifted his head and grinned at the eight glowing lines now being pulled taught in front of him. With two rollers pulling forward and one pulling from the back it made sense that the roller behind him would be getting dragged along with him. Which was good. He wanted them all close. Still the added pressure of the vehicle's weight made the snares from behind that much more uncomfortable. Stop your whining, He chided himself, you’re just dragging a supersized Flintstone mobile anchored to the ground with four ancient deities inside of it.

  The crowd’s reaction was more subdued than Josh had expected as well. Here he was trussed like a holiday turkey about to be roasted, and all they did was continue on in a senseless hubbub of overlapping discussions. There was definitely no frank cheering or booing as the sickeningly sick scent of burnt skin, charred fat, roasting muscle filled his nostrils with a stink that was going to take a week to go away.

  The earth Aura tethers on the right side of his body were no joy either. They were doing incredible impressions of tightening vices over his arms, legs, and groin. Though they were painful, they weren’t overly worrisome. Josh knew from hard experiences that even if the squeezing amputated his limbs and other portions of his anatomy, it would all grow back. He internally blanched about the laissez- faire way he could disregard his own castration…maybe I am a little more worried about that clamp than I thought i was…Still, it was the tightening tourniquet around his diaphragm that was more worrisome. Squeezing his ribs like a boa constrictor on steroids, it was clear to him that in a few seconds the pressure was going to compress his heart and stop his body’s blood flow. At a point soon after that, not as fast as a normal human’s for sure, but likely in less than a minute, he would lose consciousness. He and Sen still needed O2 after all. At least they would until they completed their Tetrahedral core advancement.

  On top of all of this, the mind Aura tethers restraining him from behind were clouding his thoughts and slowing down his reaction time more than gulping four gin and tonics in thirty minutes. Not that he had ever done that. No. Not even at his ex-father-in-laws BBQ’s where their favorite pastimes were talking smack about Joshy behind his back as well as just enough in front of his face so that he knew they were doing it–

  Keep it together Josh!

  He blinked several times rapidly while shaking his head to clear it. The blurred edge lines of everthing infront of him came into sharper focus. He realized with a snap of cold sweat and tingling shivers running down his spine that he had taken several more than just ‘one step’ down the steepening black tunnel that led to ‘Lala Land.’

  No matter what happens here, I need to get Sen enough of a head start to make it to Safety. Passing out isn’t going to do it!

  Sen getting to Safety was the ultimate goal. But at this point would probably buy more time by moving on to step three of his hastily constructed, and all too misguided-in-the-extreme plan.

  But…So far so good, said the man who who jumped off the eighty story building as he passed the fortieth floor. Still, it couldn’t be argued that his plan wasn’t working. Step one, catching as many of the nooses as possible. Check. He had them all. Admittedly, they were a lot more painfull than anticipated. Step two, having Sen run for the endzone had also gone off swimmingly. Their ties of loyalty to each other were strong and wide. It had clearly taken even Sen’s finely honed battle-mind a second to overcome his knee-jerk reaction of staying at Josh’s side in the face of absolute futility. Though, in the end, he had gone.

  The front wheels of the two crush rollers, finally broke into sight. Though they were still far enough away to be ethereally floating in cloudy color pools of their Aura circuit’s glow. Josh could just barely tell that the big front wheel was rapidly pinning up dust as they waited in place to flatten him into soggy red matzoi. Ok…time for step three.

  With a grunt he coiled the free Essence in his meridians and got ready to expand the three attunement shield he had woven over his body. The Earth, Mind and Space/Time sock he was wearing like a second skin would need to push away all twelve snares simultaneously. Can it do that?? Never having done this before, Josh wasn’t sure. The last time he had fought the tether he had done it by externalizing the three-Aura weave. Not using it as a body condom for unwanted cultivational contact. If it didn’t work, saving his bacon was going to be up to Sen getting to Safety…However far away that is. Judging by the rate he was being pulled to the two front crush rollers, Josh had 20 to 30 seconds for Sen to get there before it was crunch time…literally. Focusing his will, Josh summoned his Intent and PUSHED.

  Crap! Stop! Stop!! STOP!!! Josh yelled inside his own mind.