The Trials of Neo City [WINWIN • YUTA]

🖤 33. Legend 🖤

"Don't you dare breathe in that stuff!" Yuta yelled, running behind Shotaro and Sicheng. Their quick steps echoed off of the sewer walls and Yuta kept glancing upwards, afraid that the fumes would creep down into their shelter.

The blue gas was one thing to deal with, but the rabid rats that the Gamemakers sent after them? That made the event ten times harder.

And the rats were fast, scurrying after the trio and gnashing their disgusting yellow jaws, snapping at Yuta

Sicheng ducked into another tunnel, taking Shotaro with him. He expected Yuta to follow, but Yuta only ran forwards and clung to a ladder, climbing to the top. The rats followed him and ignored the other two, biting at Yuta's leg frantically.

Yuta struck any rat that got too close with his trident, but it didn't do much to their hardened, armored backs. They frenzied around Yuta, only nipping at his legs without getting tired.

"They can smell blood, they like it." Sicheng gasped, watching as the rats passed him and Shotaro without attacking. Instead, they continued to claw at Yuta, who'd climbed up the rungs of the ladder and sat on the top, head lightly scraping the top of the sewer.

Yuta touched his bloody leg softly and his eyes went wide in realization. Earlier, he'd gotten attacked because of a fresh cut on his hand, with only one rat finding him. This time, though, the wide cut along his leg attracted many of them... but didn't pay any mind to Sicheng and Shotaro.

"We need to get to high ground." Yuta yelled, prying another rat off of the ladder. He pointed to the manhole cover hurriedly and Sicheng lowered himself onto the ground so that Shotaro could use him as a step stool to open it.

With shaky hands, Shotaro twisted the opening and pushed it up. Sunlight flooded into the sewer and blinded them temporarily. Sicheng grabbed his own dagger, watching Shotaro crawl out of the sewer and offer his hand to Sicheng, who crawled after him.

Yuta stabbed another mutt, hurling himself off of the small ladder against the walls and throwing himself towards the surface. He crawled out and looked on, before realizing the rats were chasing him down and that the blue has had dispersed to another part of the arena.

The three ran as fast as they could as the pack caught up. They climbed up the fire escape of the nearest building, before climbing into the broken window and traveling up to the roof, scaling multiple flights of steep, dusty stairs that they'd prayed wouldn't collapse underneath them.

The rooftop was about seven or eight stories high, higher than the tallest tree Sicheng had ever climbed. If they fell, it'd mean death. The rats still pooled down below like ants, swarming them but never climbing up. Instead, they dispersed and found a new group of targets.

The Careers fought someone off down below. Another boy Sicheng doesn't remember meeting. Long black hair down to his shoulders and swift movements as he ducked away from Ten's knifes and Johnny's sickle. Jumping along the sides of buildings, avoiding projectiles and punches that Lucas swung his way.

Sicheng was breathless as he watched the boy fight them off. Nobody fought off all of the Careers like that, not even Yuta. This guy must have been the tribute Ten was screaming about finding, the guy who got a ten in training. He was swift and he evaded them masterfully. Sicheng doesn't remember the guy at training at all.

Lucas stepped forwards with glassy eyes, no longer swinging at the other tribute, but instead holding his hands out towards the rats. Ten himself had to pull Lucas away, screaming about how stupid Lucas is and how he shouldn't have breathed in the gas. Johnny and Yangyang tried to pry the rats off of themselves while looking for the mysterious tribute they'd been following earlier, who still managed to remain unscathed.