The crowd loses its mind.
Screaming.
Cheering.
Confusion bleeding into panic.
“Oh my God,” Tilda breathes.
“That was not supposed to happen,” I say.
“You think?”
The beast’s tail whips across the nearest structure, tearing through a support column like it’s made of paper. The entire section of the arena collapses in a cascade of debris and dust.
Contestants scatter.
Vanna shouts something I can’t hear as she and Pajack sprint in the opposite direction. Zack grabs Dartha’s hand and pulls her toward higher ground.
The announcers are still talking.
They’re always talking.
“Unexpected development here, folks!” Lenny’s voice rings out, a little too excited for the situation.
Rick cuts in, sharper. “That containment breach was not part of the scheduled event—security needs to?—”
The feed crackles again.
The beast roars louder.
It moves faster than something that size should.
Massive claws dig into the arena floor as it surges forward, snapping its jaws at the nearest moving target.
A contestant barely dives out of the way.
The creature slams into a barrier instead, obliterating it in a shower of twisted metal.
“Tilda,” I say, grabbing her arm. “We need to move.”
“I’m aware!”
“Not toward the finish.”
She looks at me like I’ve just lost my mind.
“What?”
“That thing’s loose.”
“Yes, I see that.”
“This isn’t a challenge anymore.”
Another roar shakes the ground.
The beast pivots, its massive head swinging toward a cluster of contestants who are trying to regroup near the central platform.
