Junijo raised both hands toward the anchor ring.
His fingers shook so hard the motion traveled into his wrists. He kept his eyes on the security feed, fixed on his father's boots inside Cell Four. Elias stayed beside him on one knee, feeding the blue anchor with the last threads Dots could scrape from his core.
The portal ring formed crooked.
It chewed into the tile rather than spinning cleanly. White dust spat from the floor. The anchor Elias had built kept one side of the ring from folding, but the other side warped toward the deadbolt as if the lock itself were trying to bite it closed.
On the screen, a matching ring opened under Goji's boots and filled the cell with broken color.
"Dad, step through before the tear closes," Junijo shouted.
Blood ran from his nose and dripped off his chin. The portal widened another inch, then began to fight him.
