Arc's Survival Fantasy (Moved to a new book)

The city was alive with the hum of activity, but beneath the bright lights and bustling streets, darkness lurked. Arc's heart pounded in his chest, his legs burning as he sprinted through the darkened alley. He glanced over his shoulder, but the figures behind him weren't just any pursuers—they were his debt collectors. And not the kind who'd just politely knock on your door and go "Hey, pay up," no, these were the kind who'd kick down your door and enter with baseball bats, breaking bones first and asking you to pay up afterwards.

With a stolen painting tucked under one arm—his latest "masterpiece" that was definitely not worth what he'd charged for it—he dodged a dumpster, then narrowly avoided a parked car. The only thing more dangerous than his potential captors was his own luck, and tonight it seemed like the universe had decided to double down on that misfortune.

"Crap," he muttered while looking ahead. The alley seemed to stretch on forever, and his escape route was looking more and more like a dead end than an exit. He could practically hear the debt collectors' sneering voices getting closer.

But then—wait, was that a scientist?

Aria, the struggling scientist who had been minding her own business earlier that evening, now found herself in the same alleyway, rushing away from the very same group of debtors. She looked like she had just emerged from an experiment gone wrong, her lab coat slightly singed, covered in shrapnel and her glasses barely hanging on her face. As luck would have it, said failed experiment was funded by the very same debtors chasing Arc, the chase had quickly developed into a 2 for 1 special.

"What are you doing here?" Arc shouted, dodging another trash can.

"Running away from the same idiots, apparently!" Aria shot back, narrowly avoiding a dumpster.

"Why does this always happen to me?" Arc groaned as he glanced behind, willfully ignorant of the obscene amount of money he'd borrowed. The figures were closing in fast, and there was only one way out. "You don't suppose they'd forget about the debts if we asked nicely do you?"

"Not particularly!" Aria snapped. "But hey, if we're going out, at least it'll be together, right?"

Arc shot her an incredulous look. "We're not going out. We're running—well, I'm running! You're… barely keeping up..."

Before either could continue bantering, a set of headlights suddenly flashed ahead of them, blinding in their intensity.

"Dang it," Aria muttered, but it was too late. The car came barreling down the alleyway at full speed, and in the blink of an eye, both of them were… well, roadkill.