Anya's voice echoed throughout the arena. Positioned somewhere high in the stands, having just witnessed Katarina's invisible ambush, she began running down the seats, dodging the seated crowd.
At that same instant, with a deafening, thunderous CRASH, the wall on the side of the arena opposite the Stonscur's previous impact exploded inward. Stone and pulverized rock scattered through the air. Jumping through the newly created, smoking hole, silhouetted against the dark exterior night and the falling debris, was Meko.
He didn't hesitate. Leveraging his profound expertise of his element, Meko slammed his fists into the ground of the debris-strewn entrance. With a roar of effort, he instantly commanded the arena floor to rise. The dirt and rock directly beneath him churned and thrust upwards, forming a series of rapidly ascending earthen pillars. They appeared like colossal, jagged steps shooting toward Katarina.
The crowd, which had been ready to cheer the girl's demise, was silenced by the explosion, then erupted into a fresh, confused roar of surprise and excitement at the sudden, unexpected entry of a new fighter.
The Stonscur Bear realized its meal was about to be snatched away. It lunged, its massive, granite-tipped paws swiping at the cascading earthen staircase. Meko sprinted up the rising pillars, moving with astonishing speed, narrowly dodging the swipes of the enraged beast. As he reached the final, highest pillar, he pushed off with a powerful jump, reaching his hands out toward his falling companion. In a heroic rescue, Meko caught Katarina mid-air just as her limp body crossed feet above the Stonscur's gaping, barbed maw.
Doren, who had followed Meko into the arena entrance, stood frozen amidst the debris of the exploded wall. His eyes were wide with terrified fascination, watching Meko move the very ground beneath their feet.
Meko secured Katarina to his chest, twisting his body to land safely on a lower pillar, his eyes never leaving the snarling, maddened, fifteen-foot-tall monster that was already preparing to destroy the very ground Meko had just created.
Meko didn't waste a moment admiring the rescue. He gently set Katarina's feet onto the flat plateau of the pillar he had just created. "Stay still," he commanded, his voice tight. Without waiting for her to fully recover, Meko immediately launched himself downward toward the massive, snarling Stonscur Bear.
He aimed for the creature's defense. Meko aimed his boots directly at the Stonscur's hardened, shelled exterior. He struck the creature's lower back with a powerful impact, bouncing violently off the dense, stone-like armor.
In that second of contact, as his feet recoiled, Meko exerted his entire will. He drove his elemental power through the point of contact, treating the creature's armor not as armor, but as a single, massive piece of external rock connected to the earth.
He pushed his feet down as hard as he could, using his element to create a localized, artificial tremor that ripped through the stone-plated shell. This shockwave hit the creature's skeletal structure, not just its hide.
The attack was successful. The Stonscur Bear let out a roaring shriek of pain and disorientation. The shock and force instantly threw the creature's massive weight forward with incredible, uncontrollable momentum. The Stonscur stumbled, failing to brace itself, and crashed heavily onto its face and stone-armored chest, sending up a massive cloud of dust and once again shaking the entire arena.
Meko landed beside Katarina from him recoiling off the creature's back. Katarina was still unsteady on the earthen platform.
"Now we run," Meko snapped, grabbing her arm. "That only buys us seconds."
The earthen pillar that had served as their platform was already beginning to tremble as the dazed Stonscur Bear beneath it struggled to regain its footing.
"Now!" Meko yelled.
They both leaped down. Katarina landed with a light grace. Meko, however, didn't bother with a gentle landing. He let himself fall with a deliberate, forceful thud onto the dirt, adding a final, small seismic shock to the floor to keep the creature off balance for a crucial extra moment.
The two immediately broke into a sprint, heading straight for the massive, jagged hole Meko had blown in the arena wall. The forceful, unauthorized entry and the spectacular defiance had finally mobilized the arena security. From the opposite side of the stadium, where the main access tunnel lay, a group of heavily armed, helmeted arena guards were rushing toward them, moving with speed and aggression.
"Trouble coming!" Meko shouted, glancing over his shoulder. He shoved Katarina ahead of him toward the shattered entrance. Just as the chase intensified, a fleeting glimpse of motion confirmed their final companion's safety. Anya, having climbed expertly through the pandemonium of the crowd, had successfully made her way out of the stands. She was already disappearing through crowd, having secured the escape route.
Doren, who was still standing in shock near the perimeter of the hole, snapped out of his trance as the armed guards started closing the distance. Meko and Katarina burst toward him, the roar of the recovering Stonscur Bear at their backs, and the shout of the approaching guards echoing ahead.
"Doren, move! We are leaving!" Meko commanded as he reached the hole, shielding Katarina with his body.
The three fugitives burst through the massive hole Meko had created. Meko supported the unsteady Katarina, with Doren running fiercely alongside them. Katarina no longer has the adrenaline in her to keep her body moving. They venture further into the chaotic, unlit service tunnels and back halls of the arena complex.
The halls were long and winding, rough stone corridors used for transporting beasts and equipment. Their footsteps echoed loudly on the slick, cold floor. Behind them, the massive, enraged roar of the Stonscur Bear quickly diminished, replaced by a new sound.
The clear, sharp clanking sound of armor smacking together could now be heard close behind them, confirming the swift pursuit of the arena guards. The echoing stone amplified the threat, making it sound as though the guards were only meters away.
"Stay left on the next turn!" Meko barked, relying on instinct and his brief observation of the arena's structure. He adjusted his grip on Katarina, whose feet were finding their footing but whose strength was clearly diminished.
"Anya is ahead, she knows the exit route!" Doren yelled, pushing past Meko momentarily to check the next corner.
The clanking was growing louder, mixing with the sharp, aggressive shouts of the guards. They were closing fast. Doren suddenly skidded to a stop, locating the left turn Meko had called out. Just as he started to pivot, a flash of steel erupted from the shadows. It was the swing of a sword, wielded by a guard who had been waiting in ambush.
The blade swung horizontally, aiming squarely for Doren's head. Instinctively, Doren dropped his center of gravity, falling to his knees to slide under the slicing steel. The whoosh of the blade passing inches above him was terrifyingly close. He scrambled to his footing, turning to face the guard. The guard was a heavy-set man clad in the same dark, clanking arena armor as the rest of the pursuing forces.
The guard was faster than Doren anticipated. He swung again, this time a brutal vertical chop. Doren threw himself to the side, pressing one hand flat against the cold stone wall as he dodged the blow. In that instant, feeling the solid stone beneath his palm, Doren acted without thinking. He channeled his power into the stone. A section of the wall beside the guard bulged outward and then violently shot out, forming a sudden, crude earthen pillar.
The pillar struck the guard hard in the chest and side, making a sickening thud as the armor crumpled. The guard was lifted off his feet and slammed back against the opposite wall before dropping heavily to the ground, his sword skittering away.
"Watch out!" Katarina shouted weakly from behind them.
Before Doren could fully process his successful, desperate attack, a searing bolt of heat flashed down the corridor. A concentrated fireball shot past their heads, impacting the stone wall where the guard had been seconds ago. It exploded harmlessly against the stone, but the blast radius was close enough to Meko that the heat singed a small portion of his hair and made him recoil.
Meko didn't turn to look at the fiery threat. He shoved Doren hard toward the left turn. "Stop playing and go, Doren!" Meko commanded, his voice tight and urgent. "You found your footing! Now use it and run! We don't stop for a fight!"
The air in the corridor was searing hot from the residual heat of the fireball. Doren, Meko, and Katarina dashed through the small, smoking embers scattered on the floor. Just as they rounded the corner, a powerful "whoosh" of air slammed into them.
The shockwave knocked all three to the ground. Meko, protecting Katarina, grunted as he hit the cold stone. He instantly scrambled, pulling the still-shaken Katarina roughly to her feet.
Doren stumbled upright a second later. He didn't wait for Meko's command. He quickly placed a hand flat on the stone floor, his memory flashing back to Meko's defensive tactics. Focusing his power, he exerted his will over the Earth beneath the hallway.
With a deep, resonant rumble, the stone and dirt of the floor thrusted upward, tearing itself from the foundation. The wall blocked their path with a sudden, jagged, monolithic slab of raw earth and stone that completely sealed off the corridor. The pursuing guards were instantly shut out, their shouts and curses muffled by the new, solid barrier.
Doren turned and caught up to Meko and Katarina, a breathless, exhilarated laugh escaping him. It wasn't triumph but a disbelieving joy of having overcome certain death, of harnessing the power that had always terrified him, and of finally being useful.
"That was… that was incredible, Doren!" Meko gasped, dragging Katarina but shooting a look of astonished pride at the young elementalist. "Now, stay ahead of us. We need to find Anya."
They continued their frantic run down the winding, debris-strewn corridor, the sound of their pursuers momentarily replaced by the panicked beat of their own hearts and strained breathing.
The trio skidded around a blind corner, their frantic momentum carrying them into a new section of the arena's backstage area. The corridor was momentarily clear, but then they heard a new set of voices.
"Get off of me!" Anya could be heard yelling, her voice laced with panic.
"You're not supposed to be back here, ma'am!" replied a professional, non-threatening male voice. "It's dangerous! I'm just trying to escort you to safety."
A moment later, a sharp, terrified scream tore through the air, and an intense orange glow suddenly cascaded onto the stone walls around the corner.
Meko, Doren, and the unsteady Katarina rounded the corner to find Anya, her back to them, facing off against a single security guard. The guard was dressed in a simple, non-armored brown uniform, not the heavy, aggressive gear of the combat patrols. He had only been attempting to guide her away from the dangerous back halls.
Anya had been using her Fire element to intimidate him. The guard, however, looked past Anya and his eyes landed on the three new arrivals bursting toward them.
"You three stop!" he yelled, realizing he had stumbled upon the source of the chaos from the main arena.
As his attention was momentarily drawn away from Anya, his eyes flicking from Meko's intense gaze back to her, he paid the price for his distraction. Anya, fueled by pure adrenaline, misinterpreted his shifting attention as a prelude to an attack.
He was met with a fiery fist to the cheek. Anya's hand, glowing with focused fire, connected with a sharp crack. He stumbled back, his eyes widening in pain and confusion. As he started to fix his gaze back on Anya, a second, more powerful punch connected squarely with his nose.
With a final, ringing clank as his boots hit the stone floor, the well-meaning guard collapsed backward, unconscious, leaving a faint smell of burnt flesh and singed cloth in the air. Anya turned, breathing hard, her hands still pulsing with fiery energy. She saw her three companions and her face instantly softened with relief, then immediately hardened with realization.
"We need to go, now," she gasped, pointing down the corridor. "The exit is this way!"
The four companions burst out of the maze of arena service halls and into an empty, side street bathed in the soft, fading light of the moon. They didn't stop running until they had put several blocks and the echoing sounds of pursuit firmly behind them. Finally, Meko signaled a halt, pulling them into the deep shadow of an abandoned market stall.
They all leaned against the rough wood, huffing through sheer exhaustion. Meko was nursing a singed ear while Doren was trembling from the raw, uncontrolled power he had just unleashed. Katarina was barely upright, her body strained by the dark cell, the chains, and the ensuing battle.
Meko turned to Katarina, his relief overriding his exhaustion. With a deep sigh that finally let go of the terror of the arena, he gently clasped her in a hug.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Meko said, his voice thick with genuine emotion, holding her tightly for just a moment.
Katarina offered no response. Her weight suddenly went slack against his chest. She had pushed past her limit. Meko pulled back slightly to look at her, realizing her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow. She had passed out.
Meko immediately looked at his companions, his face serious but calm. "Doren, help me get her on my back."
Doren rushed forward, and together they carefully maneuvered Katarina onto Meko's shoulders. Doren then efficiently secured her in place, using a length of tough, thick string to ensure she wouldn't slip during their frantic travel.
Meko adjusted the weight of the unconscious woman. He looked down the empty road toward the direction of the Central Timber Yard.
"Let's get back to our stash and get out of here," Meko stated, his voice now flat and decisive. "We just blew up an arena wall and assaulted some guards. We won't be welcomed much longer. And we have a long, dangerous way ahead of us. No delays, no detours. We're heading south to Shifton Island."