—Don't cry, it's no use anymore. Just take a deep breath and get ready to run with all your soul, kid!

Adam looked into the bearded man's eyes, his face had no expression, he didn't blink, he didn't seem to breathe, he just looked at him as if he were prey to hunt.

The bear noticed that the boy seemed a little calmer (or too scared) and added:

—This is not a battle of speeds, it is a battle of wits, if he catches you die and if you manage to run the next 10 corridors you live. But you can no longer stop, and you will have to follow my orders, if you doubt you will die, boy.

Adam didn't answer, he just wanted to escape from that look, he tried to listen, but the words that reached his ears now seemed like meaningless murmurs of how nervous he was. The bear looked at the sad state of the boy with concern and said hoarsely:

—You will do well, I know you can do well, you just have to be calm and everything will be fine. Now get ready: the race of your life is about to begin!

Adam didn't answer, but his breathing was getting easier. Finally, the shot came with the cry of the bear:

—Run, Adam!

Adam turned and ran with all his might down the halls, he ran and ran, the books around him seeming to distort from the speed he took. His legs burned as if they were burning inside, and the colors of many books created a colorful tunnel to infinity and beyond.

*Footsteps*, *Footsteps*, *Footsteps* Adam ran inside burning the fuel of his life to get out of this hellishly colorful tunnel alive.

The tunnel seemed to never end, and Adam ran and ran, he didn't know where he had to run, but from a distance he could see that there was another person watching, and he was getting closer to this person, it seemed that this person was his salvation.

Seeing the goal, Adam ran and ran faster and faster, he could already feel the bearded man smile on the back of his neck. Adam ignored him and ran towards the man in the distance becoming clearer, he did not seem to be dressed in robes, but rather he was wearing a formal suit and a top hat with gold glasses.

The man looked at him as if he were an exotic beast running from another exotic beast, he even seemed to be enjoying the scene. But Adam didn't care and kept running towards him, ignoring everything.

The man on his back was incredibly close to him; To the point that Adam felt the air hit his back that there were several swipe attempts to grab him from behind.

Adam was small and difficult to catch by the tall man's long hands, so for the time being the boy was able to escape and gain some ground on each failed attempt by the tall man.

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When Adam was close enough to the supposed goal, the bear that was swimming along the ground next to him shouted instructions:

—When I count to three: Jump, turn around and try to land with your back on the ground! Cover your head with one hand and look into the bearded man's eyes!

Adam listened and kept running, getting closer to the man in the top hat, who seemed to be standing on the door of a hexagon.

The tall man this time didn't throw more swipes, he seemed to want to be as close to the boy to prevent him from reaching the mysterious man in a suit, jumping at the right time to catch him.

It was then that the bear began to count down to the goal:

—One... Two... Three: Jump!

Adam heard the order and jumped. The man in the back also jumped to catch him and prevent him from entering the door. He reached out with his long hands and managed to catch Adam, the two of them falling to the ground and rolling past a man in a top hat.

But the man did nothing, he just looked at the strange scene with a smile.

Adam tried to get out of the tall man's grasp, but he couldn't.

The tall man seeing the child trapped in one of his hands. He used the other one to hit Adam's stomach violently causing the boy to vomit blood on the ground, Adam tried to kick them and looked at the man in the suit and shouted:

—Help! Please help!

But the man in a suit just stared at the scene with a smile on his face. The bear seemed to have disappeared when seeing that the man in a suit did not help.

Adam desperately tried to cover himself from the blows of the man above him, but it was impossible, and little by little he began to lose consciousness while his teeth flew out of his face. It seemed like looking at his face right now didn't stop him, but only made him even more excited to hit him.

When the bearded man saw that the boy could no longer resist, he began to drool, staining his untidy beard. Then the tall man's face began to split into two halves, showing a row of teeth on each side, and he rushed towards Adam trying to bite his head off.

Adam used the last of his strength to cover his face with his hands.

*Ahhhhhh* Adam screamed in desperation as one of his hands was ripped off by the creature's teeth.

As if that were a signal, the bear reappeared on the roof and yelled at Adam:

—Don't yell, idiot, just say you want to use the bathroom!

Adam heard the voice of the bear and while he was wallowing in pain and seeing the creature eat his hand, he shouted angrily:

—I want to go to the bathroom!

The smile of the man in the top hat stopped suddenly, and an angry face appeared on his face as he shouted:

—How dare a beast interrupt a man who seeks to satisfy his needs!

*Hush* The tall man's body compressed into the air as if sucked into a black hole and various bone-crunching noises were heard as all of his limbs compressed into one point. The tall man was squeezed until a large pool of black blood appeared on the ground.

Seeing that the fight was over, Adam continued to roll on the ground in pain as he tried to stop the bleeding from his missing hand with his white robes.

The bear swam towards Adam and dived into his skin until it reached the boy's leftover arm piece, with his sticker body covering the wound, and then it jumped from what was left of Adam's arm to the ground.

Adam looked at his arm surprised he no longer felt pain and there was no blood, a kind of transparent glue was seen on what remained of Adam's arm.

Seeing that he had lost his hand to Adam, he tried to cry, but was interrupted by the bear's words:

—You did it well. You can regenerate his arm in the water in the cave, so don't pay attention to it. We are still on dangerous ground, don't get distracted and listen to me.