Acid???

Nod could see the path diverging a few leagues ahead, and he said to william.

"William turn left when I tell you to okay"

"What?"

"Just do it."

Ben on the other hand had begun to hear the rats as they chased them down, he looked back but without Horus but he couldn't see beyond the wall of darkness behind him.

While Ingrid couldn't see much in front of her either, they both followed the sound of the footsteps in front of them.

"There's a crossroads up ahead," Nod said.

"How soon?" William asked.

"Not for a little while."

Nod took his hand his eye and a system notice pooped up.

[-14 Minutes]

"Fourteen minutes? What's do you mean I've lost fourteen minutes."

"Damn it, that's what I wanted to warn you about, it's taking out of your life span, it's killing you."

"What?"

William and Ingrid scremed.

"Thats what that statue meant when he said they'll be costs, he knew we can't survive without using this things, so we have to pay with our life for every single ability we use.

"That blockhead!" William gritted his teeth in frustration. "Well we can't do anything about it, we just have to split the cost."

"Using Horus cost me twenty minutes, there's no telling how much those other abilities will take."

"It'll only cost me fourteen, so it's not standard,"

"Yeah you used it for less time than me so maybe it's probably measured by how long you use it."

"Time taxed," William said. "What's the girl's name again?"

"It's Ingrid you damn perv!"

"Well sugar, you and I will have to use Horus next to help us get through the tunnels, just until we're square with the guys."

"Maybe you're not as dumb as you look?" She said and William shook his head as they continued running.

William kept wondering what the tunnels were, were they a maze, a labyrinth of a kind or just a chaotic mass crisscrossing tunnels.

"Hey guys!" Ben cried, he had felt a gust of hot air brush against his back and with rumbling noise of the stampede at its highest, it could only mean one thing.

"They're very close, we've got to hurry!"

William placed his hand on his eye and quickly activated Horus, then he picked up more speed and Nod and Ingrid followed suit.

William scanned the walls for any clues he could find, then he saw a faded red arrow, the paint had almost been washed off.

'Nothing's random in this place,' William said to himself. He had his doubts but where did that get him the last time, blown to bits and remade again.

Willa was up against the crossroads and the arrow was at the right side of the tunnel.

"We're going left!" he said to them. "Follow my lead, put your hands on each other's back so we'll all know our way in the dark"

They did as he said.

William made the turn towards the right side and the instant he stepped on the path he saw the red arrow glow and the whole place lit up with small dim balls of light that floated overhead and trailed down into the ends of the path.

They could all clearly see as they ran down the path but they couldn't help but wonder if the lights were a good or a bad sign.

"Is this a good a bad sign," Nod asked voicing everyone's worry.

"Its a fifty, fifty chance," William replied. "How's your luck on a coin toss."

"Not good."

"Hurry up guys," Ben cried.

Ben touched Ingrid on the back to urge her forward but this only made her angry, he glanced back and saw the rats bursting out of the darkness they had left behind.

There was a healthy gap between him and them but he knew that won't be for long..

"Hurry up guys there's coming!"

"Is there anything in the guide that could protect us from them?" William asked.

"Let me check," Nod said. He pulled out his guide and quickly scanned through it then he just up and asked it for anything to protect them from the rats and the screen flickered and an option came up.

[ACTIVATE SHIELD]

[YES] [NO]

"It's the shield," Nod said. "We have to activate the shield."

"How do we use it?"

"You asked for it and activate it, I guess. "

as soon as Nod said the word a blue aura formed at the tip of his fingers and quickly covered his whole hand and soon his whole body was covered by it.

It was nothing like he had hoped for, he wanted something more practical like a force field to keep the rats from get to them but this was more like a protective aura.

"Guys it's personalized!"

"What!?" They all cried.

"To each their own I'm afraid," Nod replied and they all understood what he meant.

"It'll come at a cost," Ben said.

"Shit I almost forgot about that."

Ben quickly activated his own shield as he was the most in danger here. .

"What the hell?," the words spilled out of William as he saw something odd, it was a group of people in the distance, running towards them.

"Are they other players?" Ben asked.

"They have to be," Ingrid said. "Right?"

"We can't be so sure," Nod said. "We don't really know the game yet, they could be part of it."

Ben looked back and just like he had expected the gap between him and the rats was almost gone, he had expected it but still it came as a shock.

"Guys they're on us."

"Don't worry about it Ben, just keep running."

With the place lit up, William could easily see a diverging part up ahead, a path that would take them to the right.

If anything they had been running sideways ever since they made that turn, now they've got a chance to head forwards, if that was even the best part to take.

William covered his left eye and activated Horus. "What are you doing?" Nod asked. They were all running out of breath but knew a chance at rest won't be coming anytime soon.

"Checking to see if they're friendlies."

William's vision stretched down the tunnel and he saw a red haired girl amongst a couple other people. She had her left hand over her eye as she ran and she smiled like she knew he was them.

William had an eerie feeling about her, her face and her hair were beautiful but still the feeling remained.

He could see the blue aura surrounding them and that was all he needed to be certain they weren't threatening but still William looked at the people around her.

The girl waved at him and caught his attention again just as he was about to deactivate Horus. She pointed to her mouth and William felt awkward

"Damn it lady, this is not the time to get kinky."

She insistently pointed to her mouth and William realized she was trying to tell him something.

Horus responded to his intent and zoomed in on her face. Her face filled his vision which startled him but William kept running at a steady pace.

She kept mouthing the same words, over and over again.

William had little experience lip reading, he had learnt a bit of it for a job he did when he was only seventeen and since then he has had no real need for it.

Despite his shallow experience, he could still easily make out the Ahh sound by the way her red lips contorted. He looked as closely as he could trying to get the next sound.

It seemed like a C sound.

"Ahh see? Wait, the C finishes with a duh. Ahh see duh? …. Makes no sense." He watched her lip movements again and then it hit him.

"Acid!..... No it can be"

William saw her point towards her back.

What does she mean? William was hoping she just wanted to get high. What does she mean the acid is behind them?

Bang!

William slammed into a rock that stuck out from the floor of the tunnel. He tripped and fell and Nod, who was quite close to him couldn't react on time, he tripped on William and fell as well.

The rats were already so close, they were on Ben and Ingrid could smell their awful stench, it made her nauseous and the more nauseated she felt, the closer she knew they were.

Ingrid was light on her feet and flexible, she had been quite athletic before she died, so her reaction was swift, she jumped past her falling brother and took one last look at him but it was too late.

Ben followed behind her and got through safely, they kept on running. Ben was troubled but still he knew there was no way to help them without becoming rat food yourself, they were done for.