The two motorbikes carrying the four of them shot out of the stadium without hesitation, engines screaming as they raced through the broken exit and onto the empty road beyond. None of them even considered slowing down. Whatever had been beneath that stadium—and whatever had eaten the massive mechanical serpent—was not something worth observing twice. On top of that, the shrinking barrier was still advancing somewhere behind them, silently erasing everything in its path. Staying still was no longer an option.
For a few seconds, the escape felt smooth.
Then everything went wrong.
Without warning, something clinging to the wheels began to expand.
The faint blue substance that had attached itself earlier suddenly spread like living gel, thickening and tightening around the spinning tires. In an instant, both bikes lost momentum. The wheels locked mid-motion, and the vehicles jerked violently as if something had grabbed them from below.
The sudden stop threw all four riders forward.
