Grunting filtered through the labyrinth, along with the pitter-patter of hooves. Fuzzy pink pigs scampered down the tunnel, their ears perked and alert, fangs peeking from their mouths. There were so many of them, too many to count, and just as the sheer perplexity of the moment dissipated, a squeal rang from the pack, and the pigs broke into a sprint.
“Mother of God, run!” Caesar screamed.
The men bolted down the tunnel, fleeing from the pint-sized army as if escaping the clutches of hell. The pigs gained on them, their eyes lit with lunacy, and Tobias wasn’t entirely sure if he should fear for his life or laugh at his circumstances. A sting shot through his thigh; the pigs weren’t his only hurtle to mount, his body an equal obstacle. With gritted teeth, he pushed forward, his ears ringing with squeals, snorts, and the gripes of his competition.
“This can’t be happening.” Flynn spoke between gasping breaths. “This can’t fucking be happening!”
Stone platforms appeared in the distance, jutting from the floor like raised stepping stones the perfect height to avoid the pigs’ snapping jaws. Tobias’s leg was throbbing and ready to give, but he surged ahead, leaping onto the first platform.
Pandemonium ensued; the men hopped between platforms while the pigs circled and gnashed their teeth, the look of it utterly asinine. Pain burst through Tobias’s thigh as soon as he jumped to the next platform, but he persisted, each leap the slightest bit more stable, more secure.
Until his busted leg collapsed, and he toppled toward the swell of pigs.
A hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him back onto his column. Orion stood like a statue on his platform, nodding at the pigs below. “This is some strange fuckery, is it not?”
A wail tore through the tunnel. Beau and Neil clung to one another, fighting to stay atop the same column and shrieking as pigs nipped their heels. Each man had been reduced to a fool; Garrick clawed his way up an especially tall column, kicking at the pigs beneath him, while Bjorne effortlessly waded through the sea of swine, untroubled as they chomped into his legs.
Red streaked the pigs’ backs. Paint?
“Look!” Raphael pointed at a wooden fence not far away. “Keep going!”
Tobias barreled ahead, consumed by the burning of his leg and the confusion of his thoughts. Raphael scrambled over the fence, followed by Bjorne, who stopped mid-straddle to shake a pig from his ankle. Blinding himself to the surrounding hysteria, Tobias moved faster, nearly falling flat on his face once or twice before throwing himself over the barrier.
Stillness. Tobias grabbed hold of his knees, struggling to catch his breath while the last few men tumbled over the fence. The barrier shook as the pigs rammed against it, but he relaxed himself, taking in the stillness.
Beau dusted his pants off. “That wasn’t so bad.”
“Speak for yourself,” Caesar grumbled, glaring at his bloody hand.
“I’m just saying, it really could’ve been much worse.” Beau forced a laugh. “I mean, the whole thing was silly, if anything. Just silly.”
Tobias ignored him. A second series of platforms loomed in the distance—and not far in front of them, on the floor, were bright red words.
IT’S NOT OVER
The barrier exploded behind him as the pigs collectively plowed through it.
“Oh hell, not again!” Caesar cried.
Tobias tore ahead as the pigs charged after him, filling the tunnel with a fiendish mass of pink. Soon the columns were within reach, and he threw himself onto the nearest one, surrounded by a familiar chaos. The men squealed much like the pigs themselves, their faces lit with the fear of God. Caesar clung to his waistband as a pig tugged at his pant leg, pulling the fabric down past his ass, while Beau shoved every man out of his path, sending Raphael collapsing into Garrick, who toppled into Flynn.
A glimmer of hope appeared in the distance: a grid fence.
Another barrier.
Caesar barreled past, forcing Neil aside, then Zander, who tumbled into Tobias’s chest.
The two men tottered from platform to platform, a tangled mess of limbs, and Tobias stabilized himself just as Zander plummeted toward the pigs. Instinctually, he grabbed Zander’s arms and yanked him upright, only for the Lord to slam into him, their bodies pressed tightly together.
Oh, for the love of…
“Apologies for all the trouble.” Zander’s cheeks reddened. “But that was rather impressive. I’m surprised we didn’t fall. You’re quite nimble,