One.
Two.
“Go!”
We dash through.
The wind from the next gate brushes my back as it swings down behind us.
Bron laughs.
“That one tried.”
“Don’t celebrate yet.”
We push forward along the narrow route.
The enclosure wall hums beside us, vibrating with the suppressed power of whatever’s inside.
A low growl rumbles through the structure.
I feel it in my ribs.
“Does that thing know we’re here?” Bron asks.
“Probably.”
“That’s comforting.”
Ahead of us the terrain rises sharply toward the final stage platform.
But between us and that platform?—
A massive reinforced gate.
Behind it the proto-beast shifts again, its enormous silhouette pacing restlessly.
The announcer’s voice echoes through the arena.
“Contestants approaching the final stage!”
The crowd roars.
Bron slows slightly beside me.
“Looks like we made it.”
“Almost.”
I study the final stretch carefully.
Traps.
Moving barriers.
And the containment gate holding back the largest predator I’ve ever seen.
Bron glances down at me.
