Fred looked at the wall of rats. An empty smile on his face. ~Great. Just great.~

“Rodrigo. Do you think there’s any other entryways? This one seems to be blocked.” Said Fred. Rodrigo shook his head.

“No. This is the only entryway I sensed.” Said Rodrgio. Fred put his hand on his chin. ~Considering that Amanda said Nathanial always entered this cave through the prison. This is probably some kind of escape route. Meaning that outside here there should be some way to remove the rats.~ Fred sucked in a breath.

“I’m going in.” Said Fred. Amanda and Rodrgio looked at Fred in horror.

“No you can’t do that. You’ll die.” Amanda's words fell on deaf ears as Fred jumped into the pit of rats.

The rats squirmed across Fred’s body as he crawled through them. ~EWEWEWEWEWEW~ Despite the visceral disgust that he felt for the rats he crawled. After all, It was no worse than dying.

Fred gasped for air. The tail of a rat was brushing his chin. They squeaked under his foot. He’d made it. Fred’s eyes darted around. He was near the roof of the cave, the moist stalactites stared down at him. ~I only have so long till the rats pull me back down. There has to be something. Something…..~ After many seconds of Fred frantically glancing, he found a statue. It was what looked like a much younger nathaniel. He had a sword in his right hand and a book in his left.

~Maybe the swords, a lever or something.~ Fred crawled through the rats. Grabbing them and pulling them aside. He was painfully aware that he was a giant in the never ending struggle for freedom that the rats engaged in. He didn’t want to die for his obstruction again. ~Move. Move.~ Fred felt the rats organising under him. It would only be a matter of time before they buried him like last time.

“Shit.” Fred jumped, just as the rats contoured to create a pitfall under him. Fred grabbed the blade of the sword with one hand. He swung in the air a bit before stopping. The sword began to fall. Pointing towards The rats. ~SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!~ With speed uncharacteristic of one with ordinary strength Fred scrambled up the sword and wrapped his legs around it.

The sword fell. With Fred holding on for dear life.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

*Fwoosh* The screams of rats and the sound of sizzling flesh echoed out in a cacophony. Fred’s ears trembled from the noise. Then they were gone. Nothing left but a large wave of rats running into the distance. ~He used fire to scare them away. Smart.~

Fred watched from the blade of the sword as Rodrigo and Amanda walked through the door.

“GUYS! A LITTLE HELP HERE!” Yelled Fred as he began to slip from the blade of the sword. His hands had gotten sweaty.

Rodrigo, recognizing the severity of the situation, ran over to the stone block holding up the statue. He put one arm over each side of the corner and tried to pull himself up. He didn’t have any luck. Rodrigo looked up at Fred with guilt on his face.

“I can’t climb that in my weakened state. All we can do is try and break the fall.” Said Rodrigo. Fred grit his teeth. A familiar image popping up behind his eyes. ~Don’t scream Fred. Don’t cry Fred. You might have forgotten some through all the deaths. But you still know that one truth.~

“Amanda! Get on Rodrigo's shoulders and catch me. I need as much stopping time as possible.” Amanda nodded. A fire of fear and confusion in her eyes. Rodrigo grabbed her and hefted her onto his shoulders. “Amanda When you catch me I want you to fall backwards. Have Rodrigo keep hold of you!” Amanda nodded once more.

Without further ado. Fred let go. For a moment it was like he was flying. The air flew by him as he fell. He was about a metre too the right of Amanda.~I don’t want to die.~ That was all he had the strength to think before the end.

………..

Or so he thought. Rodrigo jumped to the side just barely getting into place in time. Amanda caught him by the waist and bent back. Rodrigo held her ankles as she fell. But, then his hand slipped. They were two sweaty.

“OOOF!”

Amanda did an accidental suplex. Slamming Fred back first into the ground. Spit flew from his mouth while Amanda. Tumbled to the ground besides him.

“HAAAAA. HAAAAA.” Fred struggled to breath. All air had been pushed out of his lungs. But despite this painful sensation. There was a grin on his face. ~I did it. I did it. I’m alive.~

Fred laid there for the next few minutes. With Amanda and Rodrigo patiently chatting as they did so.

He sat up. “I’m alive.” Said Fred. He jumped to his feet. A world bending grin on his face “I’M ALIVE! YOU HEAR THAT GOD! I’M NOT A CORPSE AT THE MERCY OF THE MOON! I’M ALIVE!” Fred hooted and hollered to the sky.

“I don’t think this is a normal reaction to surviving a fall.” Said Amanda. Rodrigo grinned.

“Fred isn’t normal. In fact I'd say he’s a special kind of crazy.” Said Rodrigo. Amanda looked at Rodrigo in interest.

“Oh. What kind is that?” Asked Amanda.

“The kind that fights the world as a natural course of action.” Rodrigo got to his feet as Fred finished his last victory cry.

“Let’s go guys! I’m going to get those damn wish stones! YEAH!” Fred pumped his fist into the air. A grin still on his face.

……..

The rats had been stopped by a series of torches that had lit themselves it seemed. Fred grabbed a torch and pried it off the wall. They were practically welded onto it so it took thirty minutes and Rodrigo, Amanda and Fred’s combined body weight to pry it from the wall.

Now armed with a way to remove the rats. They continued onwards.