The air around us was thick with dust, ragged gasps, and the sharp scent of fear. The thunderous rumble of over a hundred Rabid Roosters behind us was like the accelerating drums of death.
"Someone has to do something!" yelled a contestant in GOTE Academy's olive green uniform, his face slick with sweat and grime. "We can't keep running like this! They're faster than us over distance!"
My mind raced. I glanced back, estimating the numbers. Roughly a hundred. Maybe more. But I also surveyed the group now clustered around me—thirty-one contestants, faces etched with panic, anger, and exhaustion, but also... potential.
Thirty-one Awakeners, mostly Rank A, some Rank B. That was not an insignificant force. Until now, they'd been fighting alone and scattered. But if they could cooperate...
"I have a plan," I said, my voice cutting clearly through the stomping feet and monster roars.
