"BEGIN!"
Ryan's body propelled forward.
His boots stamped into the mud.
Before he got far, a gauntlet grabbed his pauldron and yanked him back.
"Wait," Jared hissed.
Ryan stopped. His heart hammered in his ear. "What?"
"Listen first, then we react. Remember?" Jared said quietly. "We find out what they are doing before we act."
Ryan, red-faced beneath his helmet , stepped back into their formation.
They stood in silence, eyes and ears fixed on the dense fog ahead.
"Tap, Tap, Tap—Tap." The rain drummed against the top of Ryan's helmet.
The arena stayed in silence.
Then—
"Squelch."
Footsteps.
They were faint. Distant.
Multiple sets of boots squelching through mud, all advancing together.
They're coming.
"Hear that?" James whispered beside him.
"Yeah," Ryan breathed.
The footsteps grew louder. But their pace remained the same.
They weren't rushing. They moved at a steady speed.
"They're coming," Jeremy's voice came from the right. "Should we—"
