Devin’s rather sensible suggestion jumpstarted Nick’s survival instincts, drawing him fully back into the fight once more. As the potion’s magic erased the final traces of fugue from his mind, he sprang to his feet, pivoted on his toes, and began sprinting back toward the others.
He could hear the fallen beast roaring in fury, the crowd screaming in anticipation of his imminent demise. Feel the ground rumbling beneath his boots as the mutant came running back in his direction. Nick shut out each of these distractions, placing all his concentration into moving his body away from the lethal threat before it was too late.
He remembered two steps in, not to lead the rhino back toward his party. To draw it out along one side of their formation, where the others could start hitting it from range without the constant threat of the creature changing targets without warning.
He didn’t have time to look over his shoulder. To plan, process, or hesitate. Instead, he just kept on sprinting for everything he was worth, following the contour of the arena’s wall about twenty feet out.
It was terrifying running away from that monster without being able to watch it coming. With every step he took, Nick was afraid that its horns would come punching through his back and out the other side. That its slavering jaws closing around his waist would be the last sensation of his life, punctuated by the sound of its teeth snapping shut.
Fleeing from an enemy whose position he couldn’t track made an already horrifying situation that much worse. But then Nick realized that although he hadn’t known them for long, he trusted his team to watch his back, except for maybe Bret.
He tuned out the cries of the crowd, listening for the directions of his allies instead. “Nick, jump left!” three of his teammates called out at once, their voices blending together.
He flung his body to one side as fast as he could without tapping into his stamina again. Half a heartbeat later, he was shoved by a cushion of wind as the rhino went screaming through the space he’d just vacated like an incarnation of the end of days, eviscerating the air where he’d stood a fraction of a moment prior.
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Nick came to a staggering stop, wincing as he put weight onto his injured leg, turning to track his opponent’s position. It took considerably less time for the rhino to recover from its charge the second time around. Veronica is right, it’s still getting used to its new body. It’s learning how to fine tune its control.
He realized that there were several new missiles embedded in the mutant’s grotesque muscle-hide. It seemed that his efforts had borne fruit, although he was worried that these attacks weren’t doing nearly enough damage. Not that he had much choice other than to keep on running and hope for the best.
Nick shook his head to clear his mind, preparing himself for round three, although he was already exhausted again despite the unexpected pick-me-up provided by Veronica’s mysterious potion, which had to be some manner of high-end consumable she’d found in her tutorial. But this time, instead of returning its baleful gaze to Nick, the fallen beast locked its eyes upon Sarah’s form.
The corrupted rhino advanced with deliberate intent, its gaze never wavering from Sarah, even when a cluster of arrows went plunging into its back. It seemed utterly disinterested in Nick now that it had chosen new prey.
It took him a second to adjust to the reality that the fiendish quadruped was no longer running him down. Then he remembered what his new role was supposed to be. Given a moment to catch his breath, Nick took in great, heaving pants, trying to blink away the black spots dancing across his vision.
He forced his brain into high gear, pushing through the adrenaline and exhaustion evoked by the epic battle. Hit the big bastard from range while I recover my stamina. Call out when it charges or changes targets and be ready to run again if it locks its gaze upon me.
Nick hobbled over to the nearest javelin, which were now strewn across the arena floor instead of in piles. As he bent down to scoop up the weapon, Kenji’s voice registered within his ears. Nick was immensely relieved to know that the competent strategist was directing the team. That he only had to focus on his own role and let someone else’s brain handle the heavy lifting for once. “Someone draw its focus off Sarah. She can’t evade or outmaneuver the beast like Nick. Everyone else, maintain a dispersal pattern with Sophia and me in the middle, so you can benefit from our auras.”
When Nick looked into the distance to take stock of the situation, he saw Sarah running before the beast as fast as she could, fear and determination clear in her eyes. Her motions were deliberate and controlled, although she was pale, and her hands were shaking. Despite her best efforts and the others’ attempts to distract it, the rhino was rapidly closing the distance.
Knowing that every second was precious, Nick hefted his javelin over his shoulder and took aim. He stepped forward while letting the weapon fly, putting the full power of his body behind it.