The horse pawed the loose shale and tossed his head. “I don't like the trail any more than you do,” the knight agreed as he patted his steed on the neck. He glanced back to the short train of armed and armored men that followed. “But it'll only be a few more hours.”

Her wings thrummed with every beat. Heat rose from the flames that ate the keep piece by piece and drove her higher.

“You sure you want to make that bet?” the shark asked. James stared at the cards in his hand -- he was completely sure he recognized the face on the Jack of Spades.

Thunder rattled the windows as rain pelted the slats. The haggard mariner gripped his harpoon. “They'll come up from the deep. The storm is callin 'em.”

The sonorous calls of the tiger filled the dark and humid night. The Captain, shot in hand, turned towards the bar's open window. “You hear that? He knows we will be hunting him tomorrow!”

Space folded in upon itself until the very fabric of nature couldn't handle the strain. He consulted the datafeed and smiled. "The singularity is stable," he announced.

Water hammered against the towering cliffs, and before that vicious spurs of rock rose from the water like demon claws. "Captain, we need to take her farther out," the first mate begged, but the captain didn't turn the wheel. "There's no safe harbor in sight!"

"You're right: its not in sight."