Chapter 29: The Task at Hand

~ The green glow from Väinämöinen's staff grew and spilled out around them, lighting a small clearing. In the middle, set on a low white base at least eight feet to a side, stood a marble pedestal holding a marble basin. As the light washed over it, a fire sprang up in the basin, further lighting the bower.

"Are you prepared to complete your task?" asked Väinämöinen. His voice was cold. Jaden looked at Takyle and Andrew.

"Yes, we're ready," he said, sounding confident. Väinämöinen raised his staff and tilted it towards the platform. At the base of the pedestal the air shimmered and two short lengths of rope materialized. Väinämöinen spoke.

"As you will have no doubt noticed, these two ropes are not the same diameter throughout, neither are they the same length. They both burn at constantly changing rates. The one thing that they do have in common is that they both will take exactly one half of an hour to burn. You will find your watches with the rest of your equipment, should you make it back there." Jaden and Andrew compulsively checked their wrists and, sure enough, their watches were gone.

"Alright," said Takyle. "What are we supposed to do?"

"You are to find a way to measure exactly 45 minutes. You have but one chance. Do not waste it." And after that parting message, with a swirl of his cloak, Väinämöinen disappeared.

"I wish he'd stop doing that!" said Andrew.

"Maybe if you asked him nicely next time you see him?" Jaden offered.

"Yes, 'Väinämöinen, old bean, I know that you're a wizard and all, and the whole beaming in and out of places must be incredibly handy, but slightly disconcerting to those around you, especially when you don't give them much chance to ask you things and whatnot before you go, so if you don't mind terribly-'" Takyle interrupted brusquely.

"You two need to stop dicking around, we've got something to do here."

"Yes ma'am," said Andrew in his best meek voice. Jaden snorted in a failed attempt not to laugh and Takyle shot them a glare. They both quickly sobered up. She stepped up on the platform and picked up one of the ropes.

"We're supposed to time 45 minutes, with two ropes that burn half an hour each, and a basin of fire..."

"We could let one burn half way..." Jaden began, but stopped himself when he remembered that neither of the ropes burned at a constant rate. Half way would mean nothing. Takyle sat down on the edge of the platform and stared at the ropes in front of her.

"Talk it out guys, what are you thinking?" she prompted. Andrew paced the clearing.

"The two of them if attached would give us one hour of burn time."

"And," joined in Jaden. "We need three quarters of the total time."

"Half of one is 15..." mused Takyle.

The three lapsed into silence.

"This can't be as hard as all that!" Andrew exclaimed.

"The answer is here..." said Takyle.

"We just have to see it." Jaden finished. ~

Chapter 28: Unexplainable Trust

~ "Väinämöinen?" asked Jaden.

"Yes, young one?"

"What exactly do you mean when you say to look beyond the senses?" he asked.

"I don't mean anything exactly when I say that."

Jaden thought about that for a long minute.

"Do you mean that you didn't mean anything by saying it or that it isn't something exact?" he asked.

"Which do you think?" responded Väinämöinen.

"The latter."

"Then you are correct."

Jaden thought that over.

"How does one touch what is beyond the senses Väinämöinen?"

"That is not something that I am able to tell you."

"Is it something that I have to discover for myself?" Jaden made air quotes around the last three words, even though no one could see him do it.

"Yes it is, young one. Close your eyes." Jaden stared at the glowing ball that indicated to him where Väinämöinen was. He must be insane.

"If I close my eyes, I'll lose him and never find my way out of these woods. Fat chance!" his mind scoffed at the wizard. He closed his eyes. He immediately stumbled into a tree branch, scraping his neck painfully.

"Reach out with your spirit, young one," Väinämöinen whispered into his ear. "Follow what you feel."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" he thought. And then he did it. He felt something. It was not definite. He thought that he was probably imagining it. A faint warmth. The diffuse glow of an aura. He moved towards it.

"Very good, young one," murmured Väinämöinen from far off to his right. He continued to walk towards the aura. Without expressly meaning to do it, he stepped to the side, around an obstacle. He reached out a hand as he passed and felt rough bark. He allowed his mind to drift, concentrated on nothing. His body seemed to move of its own accord. With his mind Jaden reached out and touched that which surrounded him. The forest, wild. Andrew, stable. Takyle, constrained passion. Väinämöinen, a closed and mysterious energy.

The wizard's voice broke in, tugging at him.

"We have reached our destination, young one."

With reluctance, Jaden slipped back into his own body, and opened his eyes. For a moment he blinked, once again blind in the darkness. He took a step forward, disappointed by the heaviness of his own limbs, once more bound to flesh and blood. ~

Chapter 27: Unsolicited Faith

~ Jaden hurried after the faint glow emanating from Väinämöinen's staff, blindly bumping into trees and stumbling over roots in his haste to keep up. Behind him he could hear the rustle of footsteps and Takyle and Andrew whispering to one another occasionally, and thus knew that he hadn't lost them. He clambered over a log and nearly fell into a small gully. He noticed that Väinämöinen didn't seem to be slowed at all by the many and varied woodland obstacles. Jaden disentangled his arm from what he dearly hoped was a vine just in time to miss catching a branch that swung back and hit him in the face.

"Väinämöinen?" he panted to their escort.

"Yes?" came the answer. Jaden jumped. It sounded as if Väinämöinen were speaking directly into his ear when he knew for a fact that the wizard was up ahead of him. That wasn't disconcerting at all.

"How can you see where we're going?" Jaden asked.

"One should not always trust their five baser senses, young one. Sometimes, one must look beyond." All the while that he was talking Väinämöinen's voice drifted around Jaden, sometimes seeming to come so close as to caress him. He shuddered involuntarily.

As they went deeper into the forest, to Jaden, the woods seemed to be getting thicker and thicker, pressing in on him.

"Perhaps it is your imagination," he advised himself.

"Are you frightened, young one?" Väinämöinen whispered in his ear. He felt his stomach tighten.

"Yes," Jaden said aloud. "I am. Do I have a reason not to be?"

"I will not be unfair. I will not hurt you needlessly, young one," said Väinämöinen. And, to Jaden's surprise, he believed him. Jaden turned his head to make sure that his companions were still there and heard Andrew quietly, reassuringly muttering vague curses and oaths behind him. ~

Chapter 26: Sleep Cycles

~ Jaden paced the dark room as quietly as he possibly could. Not that it mattered all that much; he could tell from their breathing that both Takyle and Andrew were fast asleep. He checked his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time. 12:39. In just a little while he could wake up Takyle and sleep more himself. He wondered just how long they had. The wizard had made that comment about "sleeping while they could". He yawned. He had no problems with the sleeping part.

Jaden's head whipped around when there was a deafening crash behind him. The door was still swinging on its hinges when Jaden had his dagger in his hand. In the doorway he could see a tall silhouette, visible against the night only because of the subtle differences in the shades of black. Jaden moved immediately to the center of the room, and was greatly relieved to feel Andrew and Takyle silently rise on either side of him. The bang must have woken them and, thankfully, they had their wits about them right away.

The silhouette moved forward and a ball of light exploded from it and tore through the air, separating and flying to the four walls and into the lights, surprisingly, without a sound. Väinämöinen stood for a moment staring at the three. Jaden took that opportunity to glance to his left and right. Takyle and Andrew were in poses similar to his; tense, half crouching, weapons at the ready.

"Oh good," said Väinämöinen. "You're already up then. Come along."

Andrew actually gaped.

"What the hell!" Takyle grabbed his arm.

"Just get your stuff Andrew," she advised.

"No need," threw in Väinämöinen. "You'll be coming back here. Or not. Either way you'll not be needing to carry your gear with you right now." Andrew shared a doubtful look with Jaden. Takyle spoke up.

"Just what are we going to do exactly, if I may be so bold as to ask?" Väinämöinen raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently you may. Now come along be fore I lose what little patience you've left me with!" With that the wizard spun around and marched out the door. Jaden look at Takyle and then silently followed, pausing only to replace his dagger in its sheath. He heard Andrew mutter behind him.

"Well that was the single most awful and effective wake-up call I've ever been a party too." ~

Chapter 25: In the Still of the Night

~ Jaden woke with a start, confused at the lack of surroundings. It took him a moment to realize that someone must have turned off the lights at some point, and that Andrew was shaking him gently by the shoulder.

"Jaden...Jay...Wake up."

"Ok, I'm awake," he moaned in response. He sat up groggily and rubbed his palms over his face. "I'm up. My turn?"

"Yeah." He heard Andrew unhooking his sleeping bag from his pack.

"No, no just use mine Andy," he offered.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll go back to sleep if I stay on it." He stood and pulled back his sleeve to look at his luminescent watch face. 10:o0. He circled the room, shaking his limbs in an attempt to rouse himself. He heard Takyle turn over and groan quietly in her sleep. Jaden cracked open the door and looked out. The clearing was black, the edge of the woods only slightly darker. Jaden listened hard for anything at all out of the ordinary. The woods were absolutely silent. He felt a shiver run down his spine and he closed the door. He felt his way over to the fireplace and sat down on the cool, stone hearth, leaning back against one of the mantle posts. He found the profound darkness hard to deal with, finally relenting and digging out his journal by the light of a tiny LED.

"Day 2:
Today I met a wizard. He is very arrogant, but kind of nice in a weird sort of way. He also seems shifty, like he wants to trap us, but I don't believe that he will be underhanded when he tries to do it. I have to think that this task will be a difficult one...Not that the last ordeal was easy!

"In my opinion we're doing fairly well so far. We appear to be making decent time, and no one has gotten seriously hurt. As long as we can keep dealing with the obstacles quickly, we should be good. I can't wait to get another update and see how we're doing compared to everyone else. I wonder if anybody more has died...Seems a tad extreme, but then, who am I to talk?

"This little white building is a bit spooky, the woods are absolutely quiet tonight, and that is just not normal. I wonder where Väinämöinen went to... ~

Chapter 24: Awaiting the Morn

~ Jaden leaned around the door and peered cautiously into the darkness within. His hand automatically went to the side to find the light switch and, to his surprise, there was actually one there. He flicked it on and the room was illuminated with low, white light, cast from four wall sconces. He poked his head a bit farther inside and discovered only one thing. The inside of the building looked exactly like the outside. Flat, white, nondescript. Empty. The interior was completely bare except for the lights and a square, white block hearth on the far wall.

Jaden hesitated and finally moved over the threshold, bending his head to go through the low doorway. He felt Andrew right behind him. He stepped all the way in, and looked around, waiting for something to happen. Maybe a snare. A trap. Some kind of surprise.

Nothing happened. He took another step. Andrew stepped in behind him.

"Huh...Well, nothin's happening," said Jaden.

"Aw hell, this is boring!" Andrew strode boldly past Jaden and into the center of the room. "It's just a big, white room with a short door and a fireplace!" Jaden slowly moved around the edges of the room while Takyle entered and made straight for the fireplace, feeling all around its edges for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. The three regrouped in the center of the room.

"So yeah," said Takyle. "Seems to be nothing here. Perhaps the good part is coming later?"

"The good part?" asked Jaden. "That's a very positive spin."

"Thanks, I do what I can," she replied. Andrew coughed.

"Ok, so what now guys?" he asked, with a hint of sarcasm decorating his voice.

"Well, the guy- What's his face-"

"Väinämöinen," interjected Jaden.

"Yes, him," continued Takyle. "He said we should sleep. Perhaps we should, taking rotations to guard."

Andrew nodded. Jaden was too tired to disagree, and couldn't think of a reason to anyway.

"You two go ahead, I'll take first watch," said Andrew. Silently Jaden and Takyle complied, pulling out their bags and unrolling them in the center of the room. Jaden lay down on top of his and linked his fingers on his stomach. He stared at the white ceiling, concentrated on the dull ache in his legs, closed his eyes, listened to Andrew's slow steps as he paced the room. Heard him finally sit on the floor between he and Takyle, listened to his quiet breathing.

Jaden's mind drifted and he slept. ~

Chapter 23: Quandary

~ As they followed Väinämöinen Andrew continued to check his compass. At one point he murmured to Takyle that, as far as he could tell, they were still headed towards the structure that they had spotted from the plain.

On and on they trudged. Andrew may have thought that they were going to the hillside building, but Jaden was positive that they must have passed it by now. And then, suddenly, the trees thinned and they step into a clearing with a small square building standing in the center.

It seemed to be constructed of some sort of flat, white stone and was perfectly cubical. It looked to Jaden like a giant building block set down in the middle of the forest. They followed Väinämöinen around the corner and found that the northern wall housed a door. Next to Väinämöinen it looked ludicrously short. The old man gestured to it impatiently.

"This is where you will sleep," he ordered brusquely. Andrew looked scandalized.

"Sleep? It's like...seven o'clock..." he protested. Väinämöinen cast a stern eye on him.

"Sleep while you can, or go without." And with that his form shimmered and dematerialized in front of their eyes. Jaden looked at his mates.

"Huh...Guess we should go inside then." He began reaching for the door latch when Takyle grabbed his hand and restrained him forcibly.

"Don't. What if it's a trap? I don't trust this guy in the slightest." Jaden shook his head.

"No, I think, judging from what I remember of Väinämöinen, he would prefer an intellectual snare, rather than a physical one," he said.

"Yeah," Andrew chimed in. "And whether or not to go inside this building couldn't be a battle of wits at all."

"Oh, so you guys just want to hang out out here then?" Jaden asked.

"No..." Andrew looked at Takyle. She sighed noisily.

"Let's just proceed with extreme caution," she said.

"Sure thing, no rushing in, got it," replied Jaden.

Once again he reached for the door latch. It was cold to the touch. He pushed against it and the white door slowly, silently swung inward. ~

Chapter 22: Conversational

~ Väinämöinen strode quickly up the hill, setting a blistering pace, his purple robes flowing out behind him. He looked positively mystical.

"But then, he's supposed to," thought Jaden. He took three jogging steps to keep up with Andrew. He and Takyle, both significantly shorter than Andrew, were used to compensating for his longer stride. Väinämöinen was even taller than Andrew though.

"Are you growing weary, young one?" Väinämöinen called back to Jaden without turning around.

"Uh, yes. Yes, a little bit. Sure," he answered. "If by "weary" you mean "ready to fall on my face in a dead blackout from exhaustion" then, yes, a little bit," he thought.

"Are you weak?" Väinämöinen called without slowing. Jaden turned to look at Takyle with a quizzically cynical expression. She shook her head in bafflement and returned a similar look.

"No, I'm not weak! At least not in general. Or were you talking about right now? I'll admit that I'm probably not at my apex right now, but I think that, relatively speaking I am far, far from weak. It's really a continuum when you think about it." Jaden stopped talking for a moment to catch his breath. A lot harder to do while you're making record time going up a hill.

"Are your companions weak?" demanded the wizard.

"No!" This time Jaden could speak with a lot more conviction without feeling arrogant. "No, they are not weak at all. The two strongest people that I know actually."

"Thanks!" commented Takyle. She grinned sideways at him.

"You're welcome. I only say it because it's true."

"That's very touching Jay," threw in Andrew.

The group skidded to a halt when they realized that just ahead Väinämöinen had stopped and whirled to face them. He glared at Andrew and Takyle.

"Excuse me! I was speaking!" he bellowed. Jaden felt a surge of righteous indignation.

"Actually!" he interrupted loudly, haughtily, and vehemently. "I was the one speaking, and these are my friends. I do not appreciate any of us being spoken down to, and particularly not them."

In his peripheral vision he could just see both of his companions staring at him with slack jaws, but he kept his own eyes firmly on Väinämöinen's. A task not to be taken lightly. The wizard glared down at him, boiling rage ill-concealed in his tight jawline and tense stance. An element in the back of Jaden's mind cautiously raised its hand.

"This whole confrontation thing might be a bad idea," it offered, helpfully.

"Thanks," Jaden responded, sarcastically. Then he realized that he'd said it aloud. Next he realized that it could actually work for the situation. And finally, he made sure he had an appropriately haughty and sarcastic look on his face to match it. Väinämöinen did not soften in the slightest. Jaden saw calculation going on behind his eyes, and abruptly he spun without another word and continued up the hill.

Jaden drew a deep breath. He looked at Andrew. Andrew stared back at him. A shiver ran through Jaden's body. Silently, he continued after Väinämöinen. The others trailed behind him. Before Väinämöinen had had his back to them Jaden had caught one more thing on his face.

Resolution. ~

Chapter 21: Hardly a Decision

~ Jaden coughed self consciously.

“Um...Hi...I'm Jaden. McAllister.” Väinämöinen stared at him. “I, um...What can I do for you today?” Väinämöinen smiled.

“I think, that you should really be asking what I can do for you, young one,” he said.

“Alright. What can you do for us?” asked Jaden.

"He's always one to please," muttered Andrew from behind him. Väinämöinen leaned forward on his staff.

“I can abstain from killing you where you stand.” Jaden nodded thoughtfully.

“That'd be nice. I think we can all agree that we'd like that. Right guys? We'd like that?” He looked back over his shoulder and his comrades nodded their agreement with vigor. “So...What now?”

"Now you complete a task for me or you die." Väinämöinen made it sound like they had some sort of choice in the matter. Jaden raised one finger.

"Could we have just one second?" He turned around and leaned in towards Andrew and Takyle. "Is this guy the challenge or are we supposed to do his task?" he whispered. Andrew shrugged, Takyle shook her head.

"I don't know. Is there even any way to tell? Maybe we should just go along with it." she said. Andrew seemed to mentally cast around himself for an alternative, but finally conceded.

"Let's keep a very close eye on him and pretend like we're just going along with it." Without really meaning to, Jaden started to smile. He turned back to Väinämöinen.

"Allright, what are we supposed to do?" Väinämöinen stared into his eyes for what felt to Jaden like a very, very long moment. He jerked his head toward the path and began walking.

"Follow me."

"Ok, you're the boss!" Jaden called. He paused for a moment for Andrew and Takyle to draw even with him before starting after Väinämöinen. He grinned at Andrew. Andrew shook his head.

"You're as subtle as a train wreck."

"Less nuanced though." Jaden added of himself.

"Way to pull that name out of your butt by the way. How do you do that?" asked Andrew

"I dunno, it just came to me is all. An epiphany if you will." Jaden shrugged. "Guess I just have grace under fire!"

"Oh yeah, definitely! Grace is the first word I think of when I imagine you under fire."

"Lords above!" Väinämöinen yelled back at them. "Don't you all ever stop talking?" ~

Chapter 20: A Turn for the Worse

~ The approach to the hill was long and tiring. Jaden discovered that walking through tall grass was far from effortless, the long strands reaching up to entangle and slow; previously unnoticed briers pulling at clothing and vainly trying to reach skin. By the time they reached the edge of the woods that marked the beginning of the foothills, it was nearing noon and all were ready for a break.

They made the concession of retiring under the trees for a few minutes while they ate an early and cold lunch. Jaden felt a little jumpy and anxious to be back on the move, and even though they didn't say it, Andrew and Takyle seemed to share in that sentiment. Again they set off, again moving silently. It was uphill going now, but in the darkness underneath the thick pines the ground was largely clear of undergrowth and walking was easier. Here it wasn't really necessary to rotate marching order so that no one person had to always break trail, but they continued to occasionally switch point position anyway, if only to give a bit of variety to the scenery.

Andrew continually, almost obsessively, checked his compass, making minor adjustments to their direction. Jaden passed the time with day dreaming in one half of his mind, while using the other to keep watch. Takyle marched silently, determinedly, focused. Jaden thought that they must have been hiking for hours now. He checked his watch and found that it was only a bit after 1. Damn.

Then, without a hint of a warning, Takyle, who was now in front, stopped in her tracks. Jaden bumped into her, and Andrew only just realized in time to keep from, in turn, lurching into him. Ahead of them a form was materializing. Jaden automatically unbuttoned the sheath strapped to his thigh and rested his hand on the hilt of his dagger. Both he and Andrew moved forward to stand on either side of Takyle.

The shape before them shimmered and turned solid. It was a man. A man wearing long violet robes and holding a tall wooden staff with what appeared to be a large, semi-translucent jade ball held to the end by a taloned foot. His white beard flowed down his chest, long enough to touch his waist. His eyes were glittering, piercing blue. It suddenly occurred to Jaden that he was experiencing being "trapped" in someone's gaze.

"Huh," he thought.

But seriously, the live-sim was capable of creating things so convincingly real that they would be able to persuade you into believing that you were the fake one. Why would the creators of this particular stage use talent like that to create a stereotypical wizard of all things? And in an environment as natural and untouched as this one on top of it.

"Must have been fantasy geeks."

The wizard raised his staff and spoke with a booming voice.

"Hark travelers! What brings you to this place?" Takyle looked back and forth at Andrew and Jaden, but getting no better ideas immediately, decided to go for honesty.

"We spotted a building on this hill, and have come to find it. Who are you?" The wizard narrowed his eyes at her.

"If you do not know who I am already, than you are unworthy to know."

A spark lit itself in Jaden's mind. A memory. A faded image in a book of Finnish myths. A wizard in violet robes, a copper knot hung around his neck, a jade staff held at his side, using his magical voice to sing an enemy to sleep. Jaden stared at the old man before him. Nearly hidden by his beard, Jaden caught the glint of copper lying against the side of wizard's throat beneath his ear, also hung with a fine bronze knot.

"Väinämöinen?" he asked in disbelief. The wizard smiled, just missing benevolence.

"Now here is a young man who is worthy of looking upon my face," he said. Takyle and Andrew stared at Jaden.

"How did you know that?" demanded Takyle in a whisper.

"Lucky coincidence," Jaden muttered back.

"Well use your lucky ass to find out what he wants!" tossed in Andrew.

"Uh, yeah...sure thing."

Jaden nervously cleared his throat and boldly stepped forward. ~

Chapter 19: On the Road Again

~ Jaden quickly gathered his dried clothes and repacked his belongings. He gulped down a cup of instant coffee that Andrew offered him and a chalky tasting protein bar.

“The breakfast of champions, ey?” said Andrew. Jaden rolled his eyes.

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Andrew kicked dirt over the now dead fire pit and hoisted his pack onto his back.

“You guys ready to go?” Jaden looked back and forth between he and Takyle.

“Where are we going exactly? Do we know what to do next?”

“Well,” said Takyle. “We really don't know for sure what we're supposed to do next. That com terminal turned back into a stump after we used it last night you know; but I did spot a building near the top of that hill.” She pointed to a hill far off to the South. Jaden squinted into the distance.

“And how exactly did you see that? I don't see a thing.” Takyle nodded.

“I saw some smoke rising this morning; you can locate it with binoculars..”

“Oh,” said Jaden. “Good going.” Andrew picked up Takyle's backpack and helped her put it on.
“Alright then,” she said. “I guess we're ready to be off...” Takyle looked around herself at the plain, splashed with golden morning light, fast growing busy with the waking birds. “Doesn't really feel like we're in much of a race anymore, not here anyway.”

“Yeah, you just feel that way because we're not in immanent danger...That we know of.” Andrew grinned wickedly.

“Thanks for that cheerful image Andy,” said Jaden. “That just does my soul good.”

The trio set off towards the South, walking single file through the tall grass. Andrew's joke in mind, Jaden kept an observant eye turned on his surroundings. He was determined not to be surprised again. Better to assume that everything in their environment was malicious. Ahead of him was Takyle, and in front of her, Andrew. They all walked in silence and Jaden noticed that neither of his companions were just staring at their feet either. Suddenly Andrew broke the silence.

“You know what I need? I need one of those things that you put one cup of coffee on. You know, one of those tiny hot pads to keep it warm at your desk.” Takyle turned around to shoot a look at Jaden.

“Yeah, because you spend so very much time at a desk,” she said with an ill-concealed laugh in her voice.

“I might some day. And when I do, I'm gonna get me one of those little cup warmers.” Jaden did laugh aloud.

“Andrew, if we win this thing, I will buy you a little cup warmer.” Andrew squared his shoulders and lengthened his stride.

“Well then let's pick up the pace, by golly!” ~

Chapter 18: Pulling it Together

~ True to Andrew's word Jaden did find a small rushing stream not far from their camp site. He took a good look around before approaching the bank, identifying the fastest route to the hills, should the water suddenly begin to rise. Setting down his kit, he knelt beside the creek and bent over the water. The rushing sound filled his ears and for a moment an artifact of his panic tried to take him over. Not without difficulty he fought it back down and swallowed the huge lump in his throat.

“Weakling!” he reprimanded himself. Andrew had no trouble getting back in the water. And almost dying a second time. He decided he needed to get over it.

Jaden scooped up a bit of the icy water in his cupped hands and splashed it over his face, rubbing it from his eyelids. He pulled off his shirt and took a bar of soap from his kit, working up a bit of a lather between his hands and rubbing them over his chest and up his arms. He shivered as a cool wind rushed past him. Up the bank from him he heard a rustle and spun toward it. He saw Takyle's black hair and relaxed.

“Jaden? You down here?” she called.

“Yeah, over here.” She turned toward his voice and he saw that her eyes were tightly shut.

“I'm not looking, just wanted to locate you.” She snickered quietly.

“I'm not naked, Takyle. I'm not a polar bear,” he said.

“Oh, well I will look then.” Takyle opened her eyes and walked over to him. Jaden carried on with his half-bath, fairly sure that he wasn't blushing. He rinsed the rest of the soap from his torso, getting only a little water on his pants, but still more than Andrew had on his. He pulled his black t-shirt back over his head and turned to Takyle, standing on the bank behind him.

“Ok. Your turn.” In response she raised an eyebrow and grinned.

“You never said it had to be reciprocal.” Jaden pulled out his razor and a small tube of shave gel.

“You're really going to renege on account of a technicality like that?” he asked.

“Yup!”

“Well...Ok then,” he replied. He quickly shaved and ran his fingers through his hair, anxious to get back to camp and put his warm, dry long-sleeved overshirt back on. A couple of feet upstream from him Takyle had begun to brush out her hair. She pulled it into a ponytail on the back of her head and smoothed down the sides with a bit of water. It gleamed blue in the morning sun. She washed her face and splashed water onto her arms, checking that under her fingernails were clean.

Jaden repacked his kit and stood.

“I'm going to head back to camp.” Takyle looked up.

“If you'll wait for just a second more, I'll be done.” She gave her face one more rinse and shoved her stuff back in her little bag, pulling out a little bottle of lotion as an afterthought and squeezing some on her hand. With the free hand she zipped up her bag and rose. As they walked back she rubbed it into her face, arms, and hands.

“Aloe. Keeps my skin from chapping.”

“That's...good to know,” said Jaden. There was a long silence before Takyle looked to Jaden again.

“You don't like me much,” she stated, calmly and assuredly. Jaden shot a quick look at her face. She seemed to just be making light conversation.

“I...I don't not like you, Takyle. You're just...my boss...” She nodded and they continued.

“Andrew's a pretty good guy,” she said.

“Yeah, yeah he is.”

They reached the top of the rise blocking their view of the camp and Andrew came into sight.

“Well it's about freaking time, guys! I mean hell, how long does it take you all to wash up? You'd think it was a difficult task or something!” he called up to them as he shoved his dried spare clothes into a sealable bag. Jaden and Takyle looked at one another. Takyle raised an eyebrow.

“Yup,” said Jaden. “He's a sweetheart alright!” ~

Chapter 17: Rise and Shine

~ Jaden woke up before the sun cleared the horizon, the eastern clouds splashed with hues of orange and pink. He lay there motionless for several minutes while birdsong drifted from the forests and out across the plain. A pair of swallows danced overhead.

"This is way too peaceful," he thought. He wondered why Andrew wasn't up poking around, he was always awake first. That was when he looked over and noticed that the sleeping bag across the now dead fire from him was empty. He sat up with a start.

"Andrew!"

"What?" Jaden turned around and there Andrew was, just sauntering towards him over the rise of a hill. Jaden's irritation flared.

"If you're going to go wandering about why don't you tell somebody for pete's sake! What if something happened? It's not out of the question, we are in a competition afterall!" Andrew remained maddeningly calm and happy.

"That's cute Jay, you were worried about me. You do care. Anyway, there's a little creek over that way." He pointed in the direction he'd just come from. "It's awfully cold, but not so bad that you can't clean up in it if you want." Jaden then noticed that Andrew was indeed freshly shaven, his hair neatly combed and slightly damp. He would think of personal hygiene at a time like this.

"A time like what?" Jaden asked himself.

"Shut up," he replied. He pulled himself up and grabbed his bag of "Pretty Boy Stuff", as he and Andrew called their hygiene kits, from his pack.

"I'm, uh, gonna go clean up then," Jaden informed. Andrew didn't look up from his digging in the coals for a bed of live embers.

"You have fun with that." Jaden started to walk away. "But not too much fun!" Andrew hollered after him. Jaden heard Takyle's muffled snap from deep within her sleeping bag.

"Quit yelling for crying out loud, what is wrong with you people?" ~

Chapter 16: When the Bough Breaks

~ Jaden squinted around himself for another dead branch to use for kindling. Here under the trees twilight had fallen fast and it was quickly becoming impossible to define solid objects from the normal lurking shadows of a pine forest. Tucking his hatchet into his belt Jaden gathered up his last armful of wood and headed back toward the plain where the others waited. He stepped out of the trees' cover and slowed to a halt. Below him was their camp, Andrew already had a fire started and something was simmering for their supper. Takyle sat on her sleeping bag, prodding the flaming logs with a stick. The scene was downright cozy, an island of light, but that was not what had halted Jaden.

Above him stretched an endless expanse of stars, jewels shimmering in the chill night. Out across the plain the moon, barely a thumbnail crescent, was just beginning to rise from behind one of the darkened hills in the distance. In the North a tiny splash of pink, overlain by a faint, twisting ribbon of green painted the horizon. A shadow of the Aurora Borealis.

Jaden set down the branches he was carrying and sat down beside them. He lay back in the grass and reveled in the sky, drinking it in, pulling it towards him, allowing his soul to expand to meet it, crossing the void, filling the space, turning, floating, alive...

A faint wind whispered through the grass, caressing his face, causing a shiver to run up his arms. Above him the pine boughs rustled in agreement.

"This is not real," his mind told him. "I do not care," he told his mind.

Below him he heard Andrew call his name. Realized that he could not be seen hidden in the darkness as he was, and that he'd been gone far longer than it should take to gather a few more pieces of wood. The spell was broken. He stood up and took one last look around, and then, almost regretfully, continued on down the slope to his teammates.

"Soup's on, Jay, you might want to hang up your wet clothes to dry first though," Andrew counseled, while using a spoon to poke at his simmering pot of...stew? Takyle spoke up to contradict him.

"I took the liberty of doing that for you, Jaden," she said.

"Um, thanks." He sat down with a sigh on top of his sleeping bag and accepted the steaming aluminum bowl that Andrew passed to him. He stirred the suspect looking contents for a moment and took a somewhat hesitant bite.

"Hey Andy, this isn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be. Thanks!" Andrew gave him an exaggerated glare across the fire.

"You love my cooking you little squirt, and it's a hell of a lot better than anything you can do!" Jaden shrugged and took another bite. What the man said was true.

The meal was finished in what Jaden would classify as companionable silence. When he was done he pulled out his journal and leaned close to the fire for light. Takyle scooted over to sit next to Andrew and when Jaden next glanced up she was leaning into him, his arm around her shoulders, as they silently gazed into the fire. Jaden quickly looked down again. A small, but instantaneous knot had formed in his belly.

Takyle and Andrew had grown increasingly close over the past few months and Jaden found their newfound intimacy to be intimidating. He wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but he was fairly sure that he was actually jealous. Afterall, Andrew was his best friend, why couldn't Takyle find somebody else? Somebody that Jaden didn't know... He wrote in his journal:

I know that Takyle has known him longer than I have, and thus has more claim on him than I do. That doesn't change the fact that I don't like it. ~

Chapter 15: The First Fallen

~ Dazzling.

Yup, that was definitely the word Jaden would use to describe this place. The meadow looked liked it had been taken straight out of a frigging fairy tale. He glanced behind him again to make sure that no wolves or trolls or anything were sneaking up on him. On his left Takyle cleared her throat.

"So uh...What now?" she asked. The three spun around as one when suddenly, off to their left, what was formerly a rotting stump on the edge of the forest morphed into a media station, complete with com screen and uplink ports. Andrew took a step backwards.

"This place is seriously giving me the creeps," he informed them. Jaden stared at him.

"This place is giving you the creeps? As in this sim we're in right now?" Andrew nodded. "So the dark echoing chamber with the huge chasm where we almost drew our last breaths in this world you were perfectly comfortable in, but this paradise-like rolling plain set amongst purple foothills has you scared?" Andrew punched him in the shoulder.

"I didn't say scared, jerk, I said creeped out. I expected something bad to happen to us in the last place."

"Hey guys," Takyle called to them from the media station. "You think you can knock off the ever so impressive manly banter for a few minutes and come over here?" Apparently she had turned the thing on. Green letter flashed on the screen.

Scroll down for message.

Takyle did.

Congratulations Team 6. You have made it to the first check point. Rest here for the night if you choose. Scroll down one page for a map showing where you have been and the progress of your competitors.

Takyle quickly scrolled down again and scanned the positions.

"Twelve teams are exactly where we are it seems. Five are back in that room, two of those seem to have injured parties, but are not stopping. One team is disqualified," she read off.

"Why?" asked Jaden.

"One of their members is dead...One team is not in the two places on this map. They must have already gone on to the next level. Which raises the question of whether or not we're going forward today? I personally find that I am quite worn out, and the sun is setting." She pointed at what was evidently supposed to be the Western sky, whose soft fluffy clouds were beginning to be tinged with pink.

Jaden nodded his agreement. "And it sure would be nice to be able to dry out our clothes."

"Alright then," said Andrew. "Seems as if we've made our decision. Jay if you'll start getting some wood laid up, I'll fix us something for dinner. Boss, do you want to try to make some sort of frame to hang our supplies that need drying on?"

Before parting ways to get started on their assigned tasks they each changed into their only suit of blissfully dry clothes, all carefully facing in a different direction while doing it. In his mind Jaden thanked Andrew for telling him to bag at least one set. It occurred to him that he should tell him that.

"Hey Andy-"

"No, you may not borrow my underwear to sleep with Jaden."

Nevermind. Jaden put his wet shoes back on and headed for the woods with his hatchet. ~