‘A prehistoric gelatin dick with a frown,’he tells me before he takes off as soon as the forcefield drops.
Before I can ask what he means, I spot the prehistoric dick close to where I died, and sure enough, he is a blob with only a long-hanging nose and a frown. Hell, he makes an Arte demon look like an elegant unicorn. Sure enough, his nose swings from side to side, and objects slide into his gelatin appendage before flying through the air. Nothing is spared: rocks, branches, knives, and even grass are slung around. Now that I know where and what it is, I think I know how to take it out.I can’t have him coming up on me again, I think as I head off in its direction.
A horn goes off, signaling a flag has been taken, and I look to the enemy’s hut but still see the red flag glowing brightly. Wait. That can’t be right. I jerk to a stuttering halt as I look around and catch the blue streaks of our flag coming out of the hut and off the small ledge with a horde of monsters.
Welp, that’s not good.Making a beeline for the battleground, I put on a burst of speed and call out to Lynx to redirect him to take out the horde instead of grabbing the enemy’s flag. He skids, crashing into a bush before bursting out with a ferocious roar in his manticore form. For as big as that sucker is, I’m surprised at how fast he can move.
As I run to join the fray, I finally catch sight of Reaper.I wondered where he was hiding.His fiery coat weaves through the crowd as if he’s playing tag and trying to catch up to the flag carrier. He’s small and quick enough that the enemies don’t even see him coming until it’s too late, as his flaming tail takes out a few people in his path.
A mud ball sails in front of my face, pulling my attention back to my situation, and I instinctively bring up my shield, blocking the blob from more attacks. Ignoring him, I run toward the converging pack of monsters. JP sends a few water arrows into the group and takes out a few of the protectors but not the flag carrier.
‘Okay, inner she-devil. If there were any time for you to work your badassery, now would be the time,’I poke at the inner voice that seems to show up at weird times, and I feel a shudder throughout my body.
‘Now we get to play,’the voice purrs before I feel the tension in my shoulders relax right as I reach the first target. The knowledge of his weaknesses comes to me as easily as picturing the back of my hand—like his bad left knee with how he runs and has a slight limp. And his right shoulder is lower than his other, showing a past injury.
So I go for the fastest takedown since he’s blocking the flag carrier.
I kick out, hitting his left kneecap, and quickly block his weapon as he spins, crashing to the ground. Easily sidesteppinghim, I move into his place and cut out the enemy in front of me with my glaive, leaving the flag carrier left in front of me.
Before I can make my move, he darts to the right and across the bridge toward their hut. Fuck! Doubling down, I throw myself into blocking, kicking, and trying to catch up with the carrier. Lynx, Knots, Reaper, JP, and I are in berserk mode, but we’re not making any progress. My heart sinks as I catch sight of the flag carrier crossing over the threshold of the hut, then freezes in his steps before his body crumbles to the floor. Ryker steps out from the doorway and wipes his knife while simultaneously touching our flag, sending it back to base. A horn blasts out, calling the play, and a flash in the sky highlights the end of the game and the scoreboard.
‘Congratulations. You’ve won your first game, but let’s see if you survive the last. All you must do is make it to your safe house in time.’
A chill runs down my back as Beleth cackles, and my world goes black.
CHAPTER 33
Level Six-Zombies be Comin’
Zeke
“What is that?” Knox growls. We’re standing in an empty hallway with no entrance or escape for as far as I can see. There are no lights on the ceiling, and I’m not even sure there are ceilings, but the hallway is wide enough for Moni, Chester, Knox, Levi, and myself to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in comfort.
My guess from the voice we had just heard welcoming us to the level would be death.
“A thousand deaths?” I shrug as a glowing white ball appears floating in front of us, blocking our way.
“It’s like a mini sun except it’s not hot,” Moni says in confusion. “I wonder…” she mumbles, zipping forward.
“Wait!” we yell in unison.
Pop!
My eyes water as the bright light flashes, blinding me.
“MONI!” Chester screams in agony.
“What? What’s wrong? I can’t see,” I yell out, furiously blinking my eyes and trying to shield myself from the painful light.
“She’s gone!” Chester wails. “I can’t feel her.”
I stumble at his words for a moment. “W…what?”
What does he mean he can’t feel her? Oh shit…the mate bond.
“Moni?” Knox calls out, fear tinting his voice.
My stomach clenches when there’s no answer, and the brightness in the room slowly fades away, leaving scattered strips of the ball scattered all over the ground, but no Moni.
