Miraculous Games

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Four:

Adrien sat bolt upright in his bed. He was breathing hard, his forehead sweating. His clothes were soaked in sweat as well. Gripping his head, Adrien pulled his knees close to his chest and tried to calm down. As he did so, he attempted to pull himself back into the real world. There was no metal tongue, no slimy throat, and... and no Marinette.

Lifting his head, he glanced around the room. His windows were still blocked by his curtains, making the room darker than it should have been at... What time was it? Adrien glanced over at his alarm clock. In its green lettering, it read 4:37 pm. He let out a heavy sigh and dropped his hands. Why did he just lay in his bed and sleep for six hours when he could have been searching for Marinette. She had looked so distressed in his dreams that he couldn't-

His heart stopped. His whole body froze - breathing, heartbeat, everything - except for one, single thought: The Arena.

Then, it was like some had pressed play. He leaped out of bed, scooped up his shoes and t-shirt, and raced for the door. After a quick turn, the door flew open and Adrien emerged. He turned the corner, his socks sliding on the marble floor, and he almost ran into Nino, but he didn't care.

"Dude, what are you doing?"

Adrien ignored his question and just kept running - down the stairs, around another corner, and straight toward the front door. As he hit the landing, he threw on his t-shirt. Just as he was about to open the door, someone called to him.

"Adrien?"

Adrien turned and saw his mother standing outside of her office, giving him a worried look. He slipped on his shoes and ignored her, not even caring to tie the laces.

"Adrien, what is going on?" she asked again, stepping further into the entryway.

Adrien glanced up at her, his expression full of panic and urgency. "I'm going to the Arena."

Before he could let his mom react, he swung open the door and broke into a sprint. At full speed, he hit the front gate and shoved it open. He didn't wait for it to fully open, he dashed between the gap just big enough for him to fit through. And from there, he was off.

The city was busy like it usually was. The oddly dressed people wandered the streets, window shopping, walking to dinner, or on their way home from work. The sun was setting just behind the skyscrapers, casting its last remaining light on the metal structures.

Adrien didn't care about any of this. He just ran through the crowds, pushing and shoving his way through if he had to. A lot of people complained, but he ignored them. He knew where he needed to go, and he was going to get there as fast as he possibly could.

In his pocket, something vibrated. He didn't realize until that moment that he had fallen asleep with his phone in his pocket. As he waited for the pedestrian light to turn, he pulled it out and glanced down at the screen. It was full of notifications that he hadn't looked at since he had fallen asleep. He started at the bottom and scrolled up.

ALYA: LB isn't anywhere in our part of town. Sorry :(

ROSE: I am so sorry Adrien, but she wasn't in our part of town. We tried looking...

JULEKA: Mari = Gone

IVAN: No sign of her from Mylene and I. We're joining up with the others to see...

LILA: ladybugs gone

FELIX: Nothing.

CHLOE: lmao adrikins, ladybugs gone lol its OK srsly