Page 154 of Psycho Devils: Aran's Story 2

I exhaled with relief.

It was a race.

Easy enough.

Lothaire continued, “Anyone who remains on the lawn after five minutes will perish.”

I choked.

Well, if that wasn’t ominous.

Huge black numbers appeared, floating in the air above Lothaire: “5:00.” Five minutes.

“BEGIN!” Lothaire’s voice boomed from above.

There was no time to process what was happening. All of us bolted forward off the white line and—

Pain.

As soon as I stepped onto the lawn, I fell to my knees like I’d run into a wall.

I writhed.

Gagged and grabbed the sides of my face.

My neck burned like it had been set on fire and pumped with bullets. At the same time.

My eyes watered.

Muscles tensed.

Brain ached.

Bodies contorted on the ground around me.

Hyperventilating for what felt like an eternity, I saw a glimpse of the timer through my throbbing eyes. Four minutes, forty seconds.

My senses struggled to process just what was going on. I reached shaking hands forward but didn’t feel a physical barrier.

Somehow it hurt to move forward.

Around me blurry competitors tried to crawl.

Pain. Pain. Pain.

I blacked out for a second, then opened my eyes. Four minutes, ten seconds.

The worst pain was on the sides of my neck, and my stomach churned as I pushed my fingers against my skin. I pressed harder, and the pain lessened for a second.

My hands crawled upward to my ears. Something warm and sticky was pouring out of them.

Nausea, dizziness, muscles cramping.

It was too much.

Face pressed into the ground, I sobbed as once again I blacked out.

Consciousness returned in a tortured rush.

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