The man behind Ben had tripped and fell, his head hit Ben on the him causing him to trip as well
"Keep running!" the red head screamed.
Ben quickly got up and was about to run off when he felt a grip on his hip, he glanced back and saw the man's hand holding on to his waistband.
It was the same man that had been unwelcoming to him and Ingrid.
Even through the dim light Ben could tell due to his years of experience, that the man had a concussion.
He was clear he was dizzy and wouldn't run well until his head had settled. Ben heard the roaring stream and without giving it a second thought he hit the man's hand away breaking the grip he had on him.
The man gasped and cried for help as he crawled forwards to grab Ben again but he was already gone.
The rest of the group had a significant gap between him and them but Ben ran as fast as he could.
In the dim light he could see them run past the force field that was holding back the surging streaming of acid.
'It could fail at any moment,' Ben thought and as he got to it, he turned and saw the stream rushing at him, the force field had died at the exact moment he was in front of it.
Lucky for Ben he had his shield on or else the direct impact would have killed him and even more lucky for him, the acid had two paths to flow into.
The acid pushed him against the wall of the tunnel, he felt his lungs flattened like pancakes and knew he was pinned against the wall.
He was losing more time than he could count as not only was his shield protecting him from being dissolved but it was also stopping the immense pressure from crushing him.
Ben couldn't think, his fear crippled him, more and more damage notices filled his vision and then not only could he not move he could not see as well.
[TIME LOSS TOTALLED ( - 3 hours) ]
'How could I lose so much in such a short time. Please I've got to move, I don't want to die here'.
As he had hoped the tunnel filled to the brim with the acid and the pressure around him lessened leaving him free to move.
He was short of breath and beyond exhausted but still he swam, though he was slow but at least he was moving.
Then his consciousness began to fade, the pressure had taken more from him than he thought.
××[GUIDE RECOMMENDS]××
[Purchase BOOSTER]
[YES] [NO]
As his mind dimmed, he saw the notice fill his vision, his senses were dull and he stared at it from moment to moment, not knowing what it meant or even what it was anymore.
His body was moving on its own swimming but with his fading consciousness he wasn't getting very far and was in the danger of passing out at any moment.
Ben had lived an unremarkable life, so he wasn't too stoked when he started having flashbacks
So many moments spent alone, not content but deeply longing, passing time on vain entertainment and pleasure.
Ben was a doctor but he didn't stand out, he had a generic name and an even generic face, even his patients had a hard time telling him apart.
He had saved many lives but had managed to destroy his own with the aid of a very fine dame but he hated her now and his blood boiled as he saw her face again so much so it reawakened his senses.
Like waking up from a violent nightmare he jolted awake and the options were still there.
[PURCHASE BOOSTER?]
[YES] [NO]
Ben read through it as the currents pushed him away. [Yes!] He screamed and almost instantly he felt a surge of energy.
He began swimming forwards as fast as he could, then he activated Horus on both eyes and it X-rayed the place and could see the rest of the party still catching their breath in a tunnel not too far from him.
His resolve grew and without knowing it his intent increased the rate of his booster use and he swam faster than he'd ever imagined he could.
Suddenly he felt a tight grip around his ankles and then something pulled him back dragging away from his goal and deeper into the stream.
*******
William was a frugal monster, in fact the general consensus was that gamblers and thieves were heavy spenders,it was just the way the business was.
Unlike in other businesses where the less profit they made would only encourage them to improve and do better business, for the gambler and the thief, too much money meant they were out of the job entirely.
So they usually spend and do away with all their money as quickly as they could to keep their business going.
William on the other hand derived more meaningful means of doing away with his money, one of his usual ways was to send some to the orphanage he grew up in, of course he would use aliases.
If the nuns knew it was from him they would rather turn him in than keep the money, afterall it was the right thing to do.
His other way was to ride around the city on a bike and give as much as he could to beggars without raising eyebrows and also taking hookers out for lunch.
For a man who priced himself a great taker, he sure did give a lot.
He grew even more frugal when he met her and since he was out of that life, to the dismay of hookers and orphans everywhere, he grew far more cautious of the little things had left.
Every moment he was losing a second or two just by being alive, plus the shield was taking its own toll on his lifespan.
The booster had taken a couple hours too, so he resolved to save time, to make it by his own strength. The only problem was he was slowing down then the old man burst out laughing.
"How could I be so foolish," the old man said, he unhooked his hand from william.
"What are you doing old man!"
"Don't worry, the old man said."
"Willam was too tired to feel worried, he couldn't even feel his legs."
"The water pressure will get us there, it's take us to the exit."
"You think so?" William said, barely able to keep himself standing
"My boy I can't be wrong about these thing, it's elementary physics"
"Elementary huh?" William repeated then dropped to his knees and felt even more worried. "What are you talking about!"
Don't worry, the old man touched him on the shoulder, you've done enough just let it propell us.
Willam glanced back and the stream of acid was mere feet from them.
"It's cause and effect," the old man said.
The stream hit them with a vicious impact and sent them flying forwards. William could see the light getting closer and closer to them but soon system notices filled his vision.
William felt a the pressure behind him, he remembered the old man word,
'It may all be elementary after all,' he thought as more notices poured in, he felt success but suddenly he hit a wall and stopped dead in his tracks.