race against time

“Sister Bernadette initially opposes risking their lives on behalf of such an "unnatural" creature, but eventually comes around as our heroines race against time to get the dying selkie back to the sea where she belongs.”

The Warslayer

“I traveled with awful velocity for my errand was a race against time with death.”

A Princess of Mars

“Now, we're in a race against time and a powerful demon lord named Shadow Wing.”

Changeling

“As so often happens in battle, the soldiers 'aims were interwoven with a race against time as well as the enemy, each leader at every level trying to achieve mastery over the opposition before the march of events overtook the demands of the moment and imposed the need to re-plan and act on revised lines.”

First Clash