“That was the warning!”
Fair enough.
The course grows nastier the farther we move into it.
Collapsing platforms.
Energy barriers flickering on and off.
Drones that move faster with every passing minute.
Several couples fall behind us when the first heavy barricade swings across the corridor, forcing them into a longer route through the defense grid.
Tilda grabs my arm and pulls me toward a narrow maintenance walkway.
“This way.”
“That path looks illegal.”
“That path is efficient.”
Good enough.
We squeeze through the narrow corridor while two drones attempt to follow us inside.
Bad idea.
The space is too tight for them to maneuver properly.
I grab the first one mid-turn and smash it into the second.
Both machines drop like angry metallic birds.
“You’re enjoying this,” Tilda says.
“Little bit.”
We reach the final section of the course just as the remaining couples begin collapsing behind us.
The finish platform waits beyond a field of moving barriers that shift positions like sliding walls in a maze.
Tilda scans the pattern quickly.
“Wait for the third rotation.”
“Okay.”
“One…”
Metal walls grind sideways.
“Two…”
Energy fields crackle.
“Three—go!”
We sprint.
