~ "I guess we have a decision to make," said Takyle, looking back and forth between Andrew and Jaden. "Someone has to lead and set anchors. Andrew, of the three of us, you have the most experience rock climbing, with me next, but I'm worried about your stomach. I think that I should probably set."
Andrew looked at his hands.
"Ok, if you're comfortable doing that, Ta."
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."
"You know I don't mean it like that. It's going to be a long climb. I've done more than either of you. I just think that it would really blow to die falling from a cliff after we've gotten this far. I trust you to get us to the top safely. I wanted to make sure that you were confident. You know that there's no room for second guessing yourself when you're climbing," said Andrew. Takyle crossed her arms and looked him up and down.
" I don't know if you were back peddling there, but if you were you did a pretty decent job."
Andrew gazed back seriously. "I wasn't. Jaden, I suggest that you go behind Takyle, and I'll be last. That way if you get stuck I might be able to help." Jaden nodded absently, tugging at the straps of his harness, testing their security.
"Do you want me to check it?" asked Andrew.
"Um, yeah, if you don't mind." Andrew stepped over and ran his hands quickly over the connections on Jaden's harness.
"Now listen," he said quietly. "This is going to be a tough climb, harder because we're carrying full packs, but we've practiced together and you'll do fine. Just keep the basics in mind. I taught you everything you need to know for this. Takyle will pick a good route, no need to worry about that. Keep your ropes taut and don't forget to clip in."
Jaden nodded. "I'm ok. I enjoyed it before."
"That's the spirit." Andrew gave Jaden a pat on the shoulder and pulled his ropes out of his pack before putting it back on. "I think we're ready Ta. Be careful, huh?"
"You know it." Takyle pulled her pack on, checked her ropes once more, and dusted her fingers in the little pouch of chalk on her belt. She looked upwards for a moment, choosing her path, and then began scaling the wall. She was a fast and decisive climber.
"If you want the honest truth, I've got a bit more time in, but she's as good as I am. Maybe better," Andrew murmured to Jaden when she was over their heads.
"Thanks," Takyle called down.
"And she has very good hearing," Andrew added, conspiratorially.
When Takyle was approximately ten feet from the ground she paused to place an anchor in the rock and clip in before continuing on. Andrew tapped Jaden's shoulder.
"It's all you. I'll be ten behind."
Jaden dusted his fingers and stepped up to the cliff. He looked over his shoulder, glancing once more back at the woods. In the shadows between trees he was sure he could see a blacker darkness lurking, out of reach of the sunlight. He quickly turned back to the wall, pushed those thoughts out of his head, and started climbing. ~
Showing posts with label Chapters: 71-80. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chapters: 71-80. Show all posts
Friday, July 18, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Chapter 79: Moving Up in the World
~ As Team 6 made their way cautiously through the woods, Jaden's bruised leg settled into a dull, throbbing ache and his head began to hurt to match it. Ahead of him, Andrew slipped easily through the black trees, making very little noise, but Jaden couldn't escape the feeling of being watched. Every time he managed to calm his mind, a rustle of leaves or the soft crack of a twig would immediately return him to a heightened state of alarm. Shadows seemed to take form and move around him and he was unpleasantly reminded of lying in his darkened room as a small child. Trying to sleep, but unable to close his eyes on the malicious faces staring out at him from the wood paneling.
A soft breeze blew through the forest, bringing with it the faint scent of far off rain. Jaden noticed that the underbrush was growing steadily thicker and the huge deciduous trees were giving way to slightly smaller pines and scrub. As the darkness started to go gray and birds woke, relief began to slip over Jaden. They had lived through the night. It was going to be alright. The sun broke over an unseen horizon and the treetops overhead were painted golden in the morning air.
"Hey guys. Do you want to take a break for a few minutes for some food?" asked Takyle. "More importantly: Do you think it would be safe to?"
"Yeah, I think it'd be ok," said Jaden. He was in a decidedly more optimistic mood now that it was light out. If he hadn't been sore all over he might have even been able to convince himself, with considerable effort and a good bit of repression, that last night was a horrible dream.
"Let's just stay on our toes," suggested Andrew, setting his pack on the ground and kneeling next to it. "What do you two want to eat?"
"We have a choice?" asked Jaden incredulously.
"Well... Sorta. Powder or cake of powder... That's a choice. Technically."
Takyle sat down and leaned back against a tree, taking a long drink from her canteen.
"Hit me with a Cake o' Powder, Andy." She took another drink. "You know, I think the tasks are getting harder. I mean, sure the first ones were difficult, but not quite so life threatening." She fell silent for a moment, staring into the distance. "My parents didn't want me to do this."
"No kidding," said Andrew with a laugh. "Your parents didn't want you to take time off school and spend your money to be part of a race that you could quite easily be maimed or killed in? How very illogical of them." Takyle shot a quick look at him.
"Don't tell me that you're taking their side in this. Because you don't have much room to talk. You're in the race with me."
"Yes well, you're paying me. And I stand a chance to win more money than I've ever seen before. That's not bad motivation. And, you know, I like winning and international acclaim. At least, I know I like the first one. I'm not sure about the acclaim; I've never had a chance to find that out."
As his teammates continued their conversation, Jaden studied the surrounding forest. It was definitely thinning out, and the ground had been steadily sloping upwards for some time now, rather than rolling as it had before in the foothills. They were getting close. He could feel it.
Jaden finished the remains of his protein bar and stood. He noticed that before Andrew joined him, he swallowed two of the capsules that the medic had given him. He saw Jaden watching him and raised an eyebrow.
"Remind me to change this bandage tonight, will ya bud?"
"Yeah, sure... Are you... In much pain?"
"Not as much as I would have expected," said Andrew, and started off. Jaden shook his head and glanced at Takyle before following. She met his eye. They both knew Andrew. That was not an answer to the question.
After another hour of hiking they broke through a line of trees and were suddenly out of the forest. Jaden stopped in his tracks.
Just ahead of them was a sheer vertical granite wall. Apparently they had reached the mountain. Andrew stared up at it.
"Well, shit," he remarked calmly. Jaden silently nodded in agreement, tilting his head back to gaze, open-mouthed, straight up the towering rock face in front of them. The sun in the sky overhead glared down on them, washing out Jaden's sight and effectively hiding whether or not the granite cliff had an end.
It was several seconds before Takyle broke the silence.
"Ok well, break out your climbing harnesses, guys." ~
A soft breeze blew through the forest, bringing with it the faint scent of far off rain. Jaden noticed that the underbrush was growing steadily thicker and the huge deciduous trees were giving way to slightly smaller pines and scrub. As the darkness started to go gray and birds woke, relief began to slip over Jaden. They had lived through the night. It was going to be alright. The sun broke over an unseen horizon and the treetops overhead were painted golden in the morning air.
"Hey guys. Do you want to take a break for a few minutes for some food?" asked Takyle. "More importantly: Do you think it would be safe to?"
"Yeah, I think it'd be ok," said Jaden. He was in a decidedly more optimistic mood now that it was light out. If he hadn't been sore all over he might have even been able to convince himself, with considerable effort and a good bit of repression, that last night was a horrible dream.
"Let's just stay on our toes," suggested Andrew, setting his pack on the ground and kneeling next to it. "What do you two want to eat?"
"We have a choice?" asked Jaden incredulously.
"Well... Sorta. Powder or cake of powder... That's a choice. Technically."
Takyle sat down and leaned back against a tree, taking a long drink from her canteen.
"Hit me with a Cake o' Powder, Andy." She took another drink. "You know, I think the tasks are getting harder. I mean, sure the first ones were difficult, but not quite so life threatening." She fell silent for a moment, staring into the distance. "My parents didn't want me to do this."
"No kidding," said Andrew with a laugh. "Your parents didn't want you to take time off school and spend your money to be part of a race that you could quite easily be maimed or killed in? How very illogical of them." Takyle shot a quick look at him.
"Don't tell me that you're taking their side in this. Because you don't have much room to talk. You're in the race with me."
"Yes well, you're paying me. And I stand a chance to win more money than I've ever seen before. That's not bad motivation. And, you know, I like winning and international acclaim. At least, I know I like the first one. I'm not sure about the acclaim; I've never had a chance to find that out."
As his teammates continued their conversation, Jaden studied the surrounding forest. It was definitely thinning out, and the ground had been steadily sloping upwards for some time now, rather than rolling as it had before in the foothills. They were getting close. He could feel it.
Jaden finished the remains of his protein bar and stood. He noticed that before Andrew joined him, he swallowed two of the capsules that the medic had given him. He saw Jaden watching him and raised an eyebrow.
"Remind me to change this bandage tonight, will ya bud?"
"Yeah, sure... Are you... In much pain?"
"Not as much as I would have expected," said Andrew, and started off. Jaden shook his head and glanced at Takyle before following. She met his eye. They both knew Andrew. That was not an answer to the question.
After another hour of hiking they broke through a line of trees and were suddenly out of the forest. Jaden stopped in his tracks.
Just ahead of them was a sheer vertical granite wall. Apparently they had reached the mountain. Andrew stared up at it.
"Well, shit," he remarked calmly. Jaden silently nodded in agreement, tilting his head back to gaze, open-mouthed, straight up the towering rock face in front of them. The sun in the sky overhead glared down on them, washing out Jaden's sight and effectively hiding whether or not the granite cliff had an end.
It was several seconds before Takyle broke the silence.
"Ok well, break out your climbing harnesses, guys." ~
Friday, July 11, 2008
Chapter 78: Falling In
~ Jaden quickly mixed a salve and bandaged his burned hand by the light of his flashlight while Andrew packed their sleeping bags. Takyle sat down beside him and took a packet of antiseptic powder from his medkit.
"Burned bad?" she asked, ripping the corner of the pouch off with her teeth.
"I'll be ok." Jaden rolled up his pant leg and shone his light on the side of his calf. "Friggin' hell."
The place where the beast had stepped on his leg was a large bluish mass of bruising, painted over with blood from three lacerations.
"Damn..." Takyle leaned over to take a closer look. "Andrew, get me some water over here, would you?" she called.
"Sure Boss." Andrew came over with a canteen and knelt down in front of Jaden when he saw his leg. "Dude, what the hell? Scratches? Really? The word you used was "scratches"." Jaden shook his head.
"It's not as bad as it looks. It doesn't really even hurt yet."
"Yet being the key word there. Your shoulder is all bloody too. Take off your shirt," Andrew demanded as Takyle washed the blood from Jaden's leg and began bandaging the cuts. Jaden did as he was told, momentarily surprised by how much blood there actually was on his shirt.
"What happened here?" asked Andrew, cleaning off the deep puncture wounds.
"One of those things grabbed me and gave me a bit of a toss right across the clearing there."
"Hmm, well it ain't pretty. I'm betting that's going to be pretty sore. The good news is that you probably won't get any nasty diseases or anything, what with this being a sim," Andrew told him.
"Oh yes, that's delightful news... Andy, how is it that you don't have a scratch on you from this fight?" asked Jaden. Andrew shrugged.
"I'm lucky. Lift your arm." He carefully placed a gauze pad over the wound and wrapped a bandage around Jaden's shoulder, crossing it over his chest and under his arm to keep it in place.
"Ok, there you go. That ought to keep you together. Alright, Ta, let's see yours." Andrew quickly inspected the shallow gash on Takyle's upper arm and helped her wrap it before standing. "Let's get out of here. I'm not at all convinced that we've seen the last of those things."
Jaden closed up the medkit and stowed it away. He quickly pulled a clean shirt over his head and shouldered his pack as he came to his feet.
"If more of them come... Do you think we'll be able to win again?" asked Jaden. Andrew gave him a quick glance up and down.
"Well you might not, but I intend to," he said dryly. Takyle pulled her pack on and killed her flashlight, sticking it back into its pouch on her belt.
"Ok guys, listen up. I think we should probably try for stealth. Keep quiet, stay aware, keep your daggers handy and your hatchets unfolded and on your belts please."
"Sure thing Boss," Andrew replied. "I'll take point."
"Ok, let's go," said Takyle. "Oh and incidentally, good job with the fighting. So far we're all alive, and that's how I'd like to keep it." Jaden switched off his light and checked once more that he had his weapons.
"I can agree with that sentiment," he murmured in response. Andrew looked at his compass once and set off into the black trees with Takyle and Jaden just behind him. His soft voice drifted back through the chill night air.
"Oh, you people and your ridiculous hopes and dreams." ~
"Burned bad?" she asked, ripping the corner of the pouch off with her teeth.
"I'll be ok." Jaden rolled up his pant leg and shone his light on the side of his calf. "Friggin' hell."
The place where the beast had stepped on his leg was a large bluish mass of bruising, painted over with blood from three lacerations.
"Damn..." Takyle leaned over to take a closer look. "Andrew, get me some water over here, would you?" she called.
"Sure Boss." Andrew came over with a canteen and knelt down in front of Jaden when he saw his leg. "Dude, what the hell? Scratches? Really? The word you used was "scratches"." Jaden shook his head.
"It's not as bad as it looks. It doesn't really even hurt yet."
"Yet being the key word there. Your shoulder is all bloody too. Take off your shirt," Andrew demanded as Takyle washed the blood from Jaden's leg and began bandaging the cuts. Jaden did as he was told, momentarily surprised by how much blood there actually was on his shirt.
"What happened here?" asked Andrew, cleaning off the deep puncture wounds.
"One of those things grabbed me and gave me a bit of a toss right across the clearing there."
"Hmm, well it ain't pretty. I'm betting that's going to be pretty sore. The good news is that you probably won't get any nasty diseases or anything, what with this being a sim," Andrew told him.
"Oh yes, that's delightful news... Andy, how is it that you don't have a scratch on you from this fight?" asked Jaden. Andrew shrugged.
"I'm lucky. Lift your arm." He carefully placed a gauze pad over the wound and wrapped a bandage around Jaden's shoulder, crossing it over his chest and under his arm to keep it in place.
"Ok, there you go. That ought to keep you together. Alright, Ta, let's see yours." Andrew quickly inspected the shallow gash on Takyle's upper arm and helped her wrap it before standing. "Let's get out of here. I'm not at all convinced that we've seen the last of those things."
Jaden closed up the medkit and stowed it away. He quickly pulled a clean shirt over his head and shouldered his pack as he came to his feet.
"If more of them come... Do you think we'll be able to win again?" asked Jaden. Andrew gave him a quick glance up and down.
"Well you might not, but I intend to," he said dryly. Takyle pulled her pack on and killed her flashlight, sticking it back into its pouch on her belt.
"Ok guys, listen up. I think we should probably try for stealth. Keep quiet, stay aware, keep your daggers handy and your hatchets unfolded and on your belts please."
"Sure thing Boss," Andrew replied. "I'll take point."
"Ok, let's go," said Takyle. "Oh and incidentally, good job with the fighting. So far we're all alive, and that's how I'd like to keep it." Jaden switched off his light and checked once more that he had his weapons.
"I can agree with that sentiment," he murmured in response. Andrew looked at his compass once and set off into the black trees with Takyle and Jaden just behind him. His soft voice drifted back through the chill night air.
"Oh, you people and your ridiculous hopes and dreams." ~
Monday, July 7, 2008
Chapter 77: What It Takes
~ Jaden stared up into the beast's face and felt suddenly sick. It was flat; small nostrils placed high between the wide set eyes. The thing had a freakishly wide mouth with thin, transparent lips that didn't quite cover yellowed, serrated fangs. But it was its eyes that were the worst part.
The creature seemed to stare right through Jaden with those eyes. They were darker than the night. Blacker than anything that Jaden had ever seen before. Staring into the beast's eyes was like staring into the abyss of hell, and he couldn't look away. They were hypnotizing and horrifying. Nameless terror rose in Jaden's throat like bile.
The beast bent forward and snarled over him, its wounded arm hanging useless, blood and saliva dripping down onto Jaden's legs. He tried desperately to get his fingers to work, but it was no use.
"Guess you're going to die now, Jay... That kinda sucks."
"Oh, shut up."
Jaden slowly edged himself backwards, in an attempt to put at least a couple of feet between himself and the beast. Even a few more inches would be an improvement. It snarled again and stepped on his leg with a clawed foot, crushing it into the ground and pinning him in place, causing him to gasp as the talons dug into his flesh.
As feeling finally came flooding back into his arm in the form of a million tiny pinpricks of agony, Jaden realized that his shoulder was resting on something soft. It was his sleeping bag. The creature had thrown him all the way back into the center of the clearing.
The beast reached down to grab his other leg, presumably to either drag him away or rip it off. Jaden left off fumbling for his knife, trapped underneath his pinned leg, and threw his hand out to where he knew the fire had been. He thrust his fingers into the ashes and grabbed a handful of the still scorching coals underneath, flinging them up into the beast's face. Into those blackest eyes. The beast screeched and leap back, swiping at its face with the backs of its furry hands.
Jaden's action had been split second, but it had not been fast enough to avoid also burning his own hand. As he scrambled to his feet, he frantically scrubbed off the hot ashes that were still stuck to his palm. Before he had a chance to decide what exactly he was going to do next the creature sprang at him with a terrifying scream. It seemed the decision was made for him. Jaden tucked and rolled, thankfully coming out of it, once again, on his feet. He spun to face the beast, at last unsheathing his knife.
That was when he realized that his little avoidance maneuver had placed him with his back to the woods, and the beast with an open shot at Takyle and Andrew, still in the thick of their own battles. That was unacceptable. The beast ran at him, driving him still further from the center of the clearing. A glint on the ground caught his eye as he spun away a third time. His hatchet.
He scooped it up and, as the creature came at him for the fourth time, he stood his ground and without pause threw the small ax with all the force and precision that he could muster. The blade landed with a thunk in the beast's chest and it staggered backwards, momentarily stunned. The world paused for a moment as the creature stood there, wavering, and then to Jaden's astonishment it began stumbling forward again.
He sprinted around the slowed beast, and once again gained the center ground. As he stood there frozen, possibilities racing through his mind, something whizzed by his shoulder. A dagger buried itself to the hilt in the creature's throat and with a soft gurgle, the beast gently toppled to the earth. Jaden spun to find Andrew several paces behind him, arm still extended from the throw. At his feet, a third creature lay unmoving. A short distance away was another, Andrew's hatchet lodged in the thing's face. Its mouth was open, teeth stained with its own blood and bared in a hideous grimace.
Jaden's eyes darted to Takyle to find her just pulling her hatchet out of the abdomen of a beast that towered over her. She stepped back and watched it fall, writhing, its belly slit diagonally, entrails spilling over the ground, glistening with dark blood. She moved forward and with one more quick chop she severed its throat and slowly, gradually, the thing stopped struggling. She glanced around the clearing and, seeing no more enemy, called softly to Jaden and Andrew.
"Gather your weapons and regroup."
Jaden cautiously approached his former enemy, still not completely able to trust that it was at last dead, and dislodged his hatchet and Andrew's knife. He attempted not to look at either the beast's ghastly wounds, or its nightmare face, with limited success on both counts.
Back in the center of the bloodied clearing Takyle stood catching her breath.
"Are either of you hurt?" Andrew and Jaden shook their heads no.
"You seem to be limping there, Jay," noted Andrew.
"That thing tossed me a few yards and I just landed wrong. Bit numb; I'll be fine." Takyle nodded at him in the dark.
"Well let's pack up. There are five of those things dead, but at some point one that I wounded apparently drug itself off into the woods. Who knows; maybe it's going to get reinforcements. In any case I don't particularly like this spot that much anymore."
"I agree. We need to move," said Andrew, his voice grim.
"Ok, get your stuff." Takyle began to turn away.
"Hey Ta," said Jaden. "I kinda got a bit of a burn and a couple of, um, scratches. Do I have time to put something on those, or do you want to clear out ASAP?"
"No, do what you need to. One of those things clipped my arm, too. Suppose I ought to put some antisep on it." Jaden heard Andrew snicker in the dark as he turned away.
"I didn't get hurt at all, losers." Takyle shook her head.
"Yeah, go ahead and rub in your superiority there, Stab Wound Lad." ~
The creature seemed to stare right through Jaden with those eyes. They were darker than the night. Blacker than anything that Jaden had ever seen before. Staring into the beast's eyes was like staring into the abyss of hell, and he couldn't look away. They were hypnotizing and horrifying. Nameless terror rose in Jaden's throat like bile.
The beast bent forward and snarled over him, its wounded arm hanging useless, blood and saliva dripping down onto Jaden's legs. He tried desperately to get his fingers to work, but it was no use.
"Guess you're going to die now, Jay... That kinda sucks."
"Oh, shut up."
Jaden slowly edged himself backwards, in an attempt to put at least a couple of feet between himself and the beast. Even a few more inches would be an improvement. It snarled again and stepped on his leg with a clawed foot, crushing it into the ground and pinning him in place, causing him to gasp as the talons dug into his flesh.
As feeling finally came flooding back into his arm in the form of a million tiny pinpricks of agony, Jaden realized that his shoulder was resting on something soft. It was his sleeping bag. The creature had thrown him all the way back into the center of the clearing.
The beast reached down to grab his other leg, presumably to either drag him away or rip it off. Jaden left off fumbling for his knife, trapped underneath his pinned leg, and threw his hand out to where he knew the fire had been. He thrust his fingers into the ashes and grabbed a handful of the still scorching coals underneath, flinging them up into the beast's face. Into those blackest eyes. The beast screeched and leap back, swiping at its face with the backs of its furry hands.
Jaden's action had been split second, but it had not been fast enough to avoid also burning his own hand. As he scrambled to his feet, he frantically scrubbed off the hot ashes that were still stuck to his palm. Before he had a chance to decide what exactly he was going to do next the creature sprang at him with a terrifying scream. It seemed the decision was made for him. Jaden tucked and rolled, thankfully coming out of it, once again, on his feet. He spun to face the beast, at last unsheathing his knife.
That was when he realized that his little avoidance maneuver had placed him with his back to the woods, and the beast with an open shot at Takyle and Andrew, still in the thick of their own battles. That was unacceptable. The beast ran at him, driving him still further from the center of the clearing. A glint on the ground caught his eye as he spun away a third time. His hatchet.
He scooped it up and, as the creature came at him for the fourth time, he stood his ground and without pause threw the small ax with all the force and precision that he could muster. The blade landed with a thunk in the beast's chest and it staggered backwards, momentarily stunned. The world paused for a moment as the creature stood there, wavering, and then to Jaden's astonishment it began stumbling forward again.
He sprinted around the slowed beast, and once again gained the center ground. As he stood there frozen, possibilities racing through his mind, something whizzed by his shoulder. A dagger buried itself to the hilt in the creature's throat and with a soft gurgle, the beast gently toppled to the earth. Jaden spun to find Andrew several paces behind him, arm still extended from the throw. At his feet, a third creature lay unmoving. A short distance away was another, Andrew's hatchet lodged in the thing's face. Its mouth was open, teeth stained with its own blood and bared in a hideous grimace.
Jaden's eyes darted to Takyle to find her just pulling her hatchet out of the abdomen of a beast that towered over her. She stepped back and watched it fall, writhing, its belly slit diagonally, entrails spilling over the ground, glistening with dark blood. She moved forward and with one more quick chop she severed its throat and slowly, gradually, the thing stopped struggling. She glanced around the clearing and, seeing no more enemy, called softly to Jaden and Andrew.
"Gather your weapons and regroup."
Jaden cautiously approached his former enemy, still not completely able to trust that it was at last dead, and dislodged his hatchet and Andrew's knife. He attempted not to look at either the beast's ghastly wounds, or its nightmare face, with limited success on both counts.
Back in the center of the bloodied clearing Takyle stood catching her breath.
"Are either of you hurt?" Andrew and Jaden shook their heads no.
"You seem to be limping there, Jay," noted Andrew.
"That thing tossed me a few yards and I just landed wrong. Bit numb; I'll be fine." Takyle nodded at him in the dark.
"Well let's pack up. There are five of those things dead, but at some point one that I wounded apparently drug itself off into the woods. Who knows; maybe it's going to get reinforcements. In any case I don't particularly like this spot that much anymore."
"I agree. We need to move," said Andrew, his voice grim.
"Ok, get your stuff." Takyle began to turn away.
"Hey Ta," said Jaden. "I kinda got a bit of a burn and a couple of, um, scratches. Do I have time to put something on those, or do you want to clear out ASAP?"
"No, do what you need to. One of those things clipped my arm, too. Suppose I ought to put some antisep on it." Jaden heard Andrew snicker in the dark as he turned away.
"I didn't get hurt at all, losers." Takyle shook her head.
"Yeah, go ahead and rub in your superiority there, Stab Wound Lad." ~
Friday, July 4, 2008
Chapter 76: The Valley of the Shadow
~ "Alright guys," said Takyle. "It's been a long day, why don't we try to sleep for 6 or so hours and then we can move on?" Jaden nodded sleepily and pulled his boots back on to grab a few more pieces of firewood before sinking down on top of his sleeping bag and falling immediately into a deep sleep.
What seemed like only minutes later, Jaden was pulled abruptly from his dreams by a shrill scream. He jolted awake and lay perfectly still, his eyes searching the black trees around them. The woods were silent. He had just decided that he must have only dreamed it when another shriek tore through the forest.
The fire had all but burned out, but by the glimmer of light that it cast Jaden saw Andrew's hand move to his knife as he raised himself up. He reached over and tapped Takyle's shoe to rouse her.
"Are you awake Jaden?" he whispered.
"Yes."
"That's the second scream I've heard-" Just then another shriek cut him off. When it died he continued. "That's the third scream I've heard."
"Me too."
"What the hell is it?" asked Takyle. A fourth shriek coming from the other side of the clearing made Jaden jump.
"I don't know, but it doesn't sound human to me," answered Andrew grimly. "Jaden, put out the fire. Takyle, grab a couple of thick pieces of wood that we can use as weapons if we need them." Jaden pulled out his hatchet and loosened his knife in it's sheath while Andrew freed himself from his sleeping bag. Another horrifying scream reverberated off of the hills around them, this time seeming to come from atop the trees.
Andrew was right; it didn't sound exactly human. But it also didn't sound like any animal that Jaden had ever seen. He felt his heart race and a rush of adrenalin steadied his hands. Another scream answered the last one, closer this time, and Jaden was brutally reminded of some of the things he had read about. Demons and harpies, soulless nightmare beings, damned to tread the earth. He reminded himself firmly that these things are not real.
"In a live-sim, anything can be real," his mind answered, coldly. A second animalistic scream joined the first. Either the things were moving quickly, or there were a lot of them. Jaden stood in a triangle with Takyle and Andrew, scanning the line of trees and the deeper darkness between. He whipped his head around when he heard a twig snap and thought he saw movement to his left. There was nothing there. The screams continued, closer together now, and always moving.
"I don't much like being prey," mused the voice in Jaden's mind. He gripped his hatchet tighter, his eyes always moving, heartbeat pounding in his ears.
"Oh just come out and fight already," he murmured aloud.
"Guys, if we do have to engage...whatever this is, stay close. Don't get drawn away from camp by the fight," warned Takyle, hefting her club.
"Maybe they'll just move on and leave us alone," said Andrew.
"Doesn't sound like they're interested in moving on to me, Andy," Jaden whispered. "Sounds to me like they're circling for the kill."
"How very optimistic of you Jaden," said Takyle.
"Well you know me; I try to be a realist."
"Thought you were going to leave that to me."
"Yeah well, you can have the job back if we live through this." Jaden's eyes jerked to the right when he saw a branch move. At first he thought that there was nothing there, and then he saw a pair of eyes, glittering back at him in the faint moonlight. There was more movement beside it and another shadowed form came into view. He heard Takyle draw a deep breath and felt Andrew stiffen behind him, but didn't take the time to look and see what horrors each of them was facing. He knew that the time had come.
The beasts lumbered forward. Nightmare beings they were. Slightly taller than a man, and definitely broader; their shoulders tapered up to a thick, short neck that held a head twice the size of a human's. Two horns, curved like a ram's and thick as the breadth of Jaden's hand, curled out and down, shadowing their faces.
One of them tilted its head back and issued that wretched shriek and they broke into a run. Jaden heard screams coming from behind him as well and felt his mates move to defend. He roared a battle cry in response to the creatures' wail and took four strides forward to meet the beasts halfway.
The first of the two to meet him took a wide swipe with a clawed hand, and Jaden ducked low to avoid it, temporarily throwing himself off balance. He came up on the beast's right and swung his hatchet hard, burying it in the thing's shoulder. The creature roared and whirled at him, jerking the hatchet right out of Jaden's hand. Jaden danced back and watched with dismay as the beast grabbed the shaft of his hatchet and ripped it out of its own shoulder with a jerk, dropping it on the ground. It didn't seem to be that bothered by the wound. The second beast roared and lumbered around its compatriot with surprising agility to take up the fight.
Jaden shifted his makeshift club to his right hand and bolted forward again. The second beast took a swing at him that he successfully deflected with his club, but by the time he pulled the unwieldy thing back to strike, the beast's defenses were back up. The first creature was already on him again, though blood poured from its shoulder, reflecting wet and black in the moonlight.
Jaden ducked another swing from the second beast and drove his club straight up into its groin. From its reaction he could tell immediately that these things had the very same weakness as the one he'd found on Frank Hursey when he was seven and the older boy was trying to beat him up in the alley behind the school. Handy.
Jaden dodged right to avoid the first beast's clumsy left-handed grab and delivered a quick jab to where the thing's kidney would be if it were human. It didn't seem swayed at all, but did turn too sharply to follow him, overcompensating slightly. Jaden took the opportunity afforded him and grabbed its wounded arm, wrenching it around. He heard a sickening pop and the arm became unnaturally loose as the shoulder slipped out of joint. The beast bellowed in rage and whipped around, but by then Jaden had let go and dodged back again.
He glanced over to keep tabs on the second beast and was shocked to see that the creature was already trying to get back to its feet. So they were more resilient than Frank Hursey apparently. For a split second he considered throwing his dagger at the thing while it was relatively still, but just as quickly dismissed that idea. That was exactly what he needed; for his knife to be carried off, buried in the back of some hellish beast. He had no idea what kind of hit could possibly be fatal on these things.
Instead he ran at the first beast, then dodged around the thing at the very last possible moment. He continued at full speed, heading for the second creature on its knees. He raised his club over his head and brought it down with a jarring crash into the base of the beast's scull. The wood cracked, splintering into several pieces, and the beast fell forward. Jaden flipped the jagged piece of wood in his hands over and drove it with all his might into the creature's back. He felt the thing lurch and quiver and then go still. Jaden spun back to face the first beast, his hand reaching for his knife, but he was too late. A deafening roar filled his ears and pain shot up his neck as the creature, already caught up with him, clamped onto his shoulder with a clawed hand. Those things were quicker than he gave them credit for.
The beast lifted him easily off his feet with its one uninjured arm and heaved him away from the creature on the ground. Jaden landed hard on his side and for a moment, lay stunned. He struggled to get back to his feet and pull his knife and found that his right arm was dead numb and completely useless to him. From inches behind him he heard another shriek and rolled over to find the beast with the wounded arm standing over him. It roared again and as it raised its head to the moonlight Jaden finally caught a glimpse of the its face. And he dearly wished that he hadn't. ~
What seemed like only minutes later, Jaden was pulled abruptly from his dreams by a shrill scream. He jolted awake and lay perfectly still, his eyes searching the black trees around them. The woods were silent. He had just decided that he must have only dreamed it when another shriek tore through the forest.
The fire had all but burned out, but by the glimmer of light that it cast Jaden saw Andrew's hand move to his knife as he raised himself up. He reached over and tapped Takyle's shoe to rouse her.
"Are you awake Jaden?" he whispered.
"Yes."
"That's the second scream I've heard-" Just then another shriek cut him off. When it died he continued. "That's the third scream I've heard."
"Me too."
"What the hell is it?" asked Takyle. A fourth shriek coming from the other side of the clearing made Jaden jump.
"I don't know, but it doesn't sound human to me," answered Andrew grimly. "Jaden, put out the fire. Takyle, grab a couple of thick pieces of wood that we can use as weapons if we need them." Jaden pulled out his hatchet and loosened his knife in it's sheath while Andrew freed himself from his sleeping bag. Another horrifying scream reverberated off of the hills around them, this time seeming to come from atop the trees.
Andrew was right; it didn't sound exactly human. But it also didn't sound like any animal that Jaden had ever seen. He felt his heart race and a rush of adrenalin steadied his hands. Another scream answered the last one, closer this time, and Jaden was brutally reminded of some of the things he had read about. Demons and harpies, soulless nightmare beings, damned to tread the earth. He reminded himself firmly that these things are not real.
"In a live-sim, anything can be real," his mind answered, coldly. A second animalistic scream joined the first. Either the things were moving quickly, or there were a lot of them. Jaden stood in a triangle with Takyle and Andrew, scanning the line of trees and the deeper darkness between. He whipped his head around when he heard a twig snap and thought he saw movement to his left. There was nothing there. The screams continued, closer together now, and always moving.
"I don't much like being prey," mused the voice in Jaden's mind. He gripped his hatchet tighter, his eyes always moving, heartbeat pounding in his ears.
"Oh just come out and fight already," he murmured aloud.
"Guys, if we do have to engage...whatever this is, stay close. Don't get drawn away from camp by the fight," warned Takyle, hefting her club.
"Maybe they'll just move on and leave us alone," said Andrew.
"Doesn't sound like they're interested in moving on to me, Andy," Jaden whispered. "Sounds to me like they're circling for the kill."
"How very optimistic of you Jaden," said Takyle.
"Well you know me; I try to be a realist."
"Thought you were going to leave that to me."
"Yeah well, you can have the job back if we live through this." Jaden's eyes jerked to the right when he saw a branch move. At first he thought that there was nothing there, and then he saw a pair of eyes, glittering back at him in the faint moonlight. There was more movement beside it and another shadowed form came into view. He heard Takyle draw a deep breath and felt Andrew stiffen behind him, but didn't take the time to look and see what horrors each of them was facing. He knew that the time had come.
The beasts lumbered forward. Nightmare beings they were. Slightly taller than a man, and definitely broader; their shoulders tapered up to a thick, short neck that held a head twice the size of a human's. Two horns, curved like a ram's and thick as the breadth of Jaden's hand, curled out and down, shadowing their faces.
One of them tilted its head back and issued that wretched shriek and they broke into a run. Jaden heard screams coming from behind him as well and felt his mates move to defend. He roared a battle cry in response to the creatures' wail and took four strides forward to meet the beasts halfway.
The first of the two to meet him took a wide swipe with a clawed hand, and Jaden ducked low to avoid it, temporarily throwing himself off balance. He came up on the beast's right and swung his hatchet hard, burying it in the thing's shoulder. The creature roared and whirled at him, jerking the hatchet right out of Jaden's hand. Jaden danced back and watched with dismay as the beast grabbed the shaft of his hatchet and ripped it out of its own shoulder with a jerk, dropping it on the ground. It didn't seem to be that bothered by the wound. The second beast roared and lumbered around its compatriot with surprising agility to take up the fight.
Jaden shifted his makeshift club to his right hand and bolted forward again. The second beast took a swing at him that he successfully deflected with his club, but by the time he pulled the unwieldy thing back to strike, the beast's defenses were back up. The first creature was already on him again, though blood poured from its shoulder, reflecting wet and black in the moonlight.
Jaden ducked another swing from the second beast and drove his club straight up into its groin. From its reaction he could tell immediately that these things had the very same weakness as the one he'd found on Frank Hursey when he was seven and the older boy was trying to beat him up in the alley behind the school. Handy.
Jaden dodged right to avoid the first beast's clumsy left-handed grab and delivered a quick jab to where the thing's kidney would be if it were human. It didn't seem swayed at all, but did turn too sharply to follow him, overcompensating slightly. Jaden took the opportunity afforded him and grabbed its wounded arm, wrenching it around. He heard a sickening pop and the arm became unnaturally loose as the shoulder slipped out of joint. The beast bellowed in rage and whipped around, but by then Jaden had let go and dodged back again.
He glanced over to keep tabs on the second beast and was shocked to see that the creature was already trying to get back to its feet. So they were more resilient than Frank Hursey apparently. For a split second he considered throwing his dagger at the thing while it was relatively still, but just as quickly dismissed that idea. That was exactly what he needed; for his knife to be carried off, buried in the back of some hellish beast. He had no idea what kind of hit could possibly be fatal on these things.
Instead he ran at the first beast, then dodged around the thing at the very last possible moment. He continued at full speed, heading for the second creature on its knees. He raised his club over his head and brought it down with a jarring crash into the base of the beast's scull. The wood cracked, splintering into several pieces, and the beast fell forward. Jaden flipped the jagged piece of wood in his hands over and drove it with all his might into the creature's back. He felt the thing lurch and quiver and then go still. Jaden spun back to face the first beast, his hand reaching for his knife, but he was too late. A deafening roar filled his ears and pain shot up his neck as the creature, already caught up with him, clamped onto his shoulder with a clawed hand. Those things were quicker than he gave them credit for.
The beast lifted him easily off his feet with its one uninjured arm and heaved him away from the creature on the ground. Jaden landed hard on his side and for a moment, lay stunned. He struggled to get back to his feet and pull his knife and found that his right arm was dead numb and completely useless to him. From inches behind him he heard another shriek and rolled over to find the beast with the wounded arm standing over him. It roared again and as it raised its head to the moonlight Jaden finally caught a glimpse of the its face. And he dearly wished that he hadn't. ~
Monday, June 30, 2008
Chapter 75: Beautiful Irreality
~ Team 6 followed their escort down three hallways and up a flight of stairs before he stopped in front of a white door.
"Alright, here's your exit," he told them in a bored monotone. Takyle gave him a quick nod, and stepped through the door with Jaden and Andrew just behind her. As one, Team 6 stopped in their tracks just inside.
The doorway had deposited them right in the middle of a bunch of wooded foothills. Above the hills, shining silver and gold in the evening sun, towered huge mountains, capped with snow. The entire scene was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Whoa," said Andrew, in an awed voice.
"And you'll need this," said someone from behind them. They all jumped at the voice, having already forgotten about their escort. He was leaning through the door, which from this side looked like nothing except a frame, freestanding on the hillside. He was holding out a map. Takyle took it from him and he nodded and closed the door. It popped out of existence, leaving them alone in the shadow of the mountains. Takyle studied the map.
"Looks like we're going to climb the mountain, guys." She rolled it back up and stuck it through her belt. "Let's make time while we've still got daylight. Seems that we've got a bit of hiking to do before we even get to the mountain.
"Oh boy, more walking!" Jaden's mind cheered sarcastically.
"Endurance. This entire race is about endurance," he reminded himself and fell into step behind Andrew. As he plodded along through the forest, he allowed his mind to drift and enter what Andrew called his "meditation coma". Years ago Jaden had found that while he was doing a repetitive activity he could slip halfway into a trance-like state and hold himself there, whilst still remaining aware enough to carry on with what he had been doing. It wasn't the same as sleeping, but it was at least somewhat restful. At this point, Jaden was exhausted and it didn't seem like that was going to change any time soon. He'd take what he could get.
The team continued walking for a little over three hours, taking only two short breaks. When it was too dark to efficiently navigate through the woods, Takyle called a halt in a small glen.
"Why don't we make camp here, eat something, and sleep for a while?" she asked. Jaden stared at her. Did she really think that anybody was going to disagree with that? He dropped his pack onto the ground behind him and began to sink down. He stopped when he saw Andrew pull out his hatchet, presumably to gather firewood. Jaden pulled himself back up.
"No, Andy, I'll do it. You need to rest." He knew that Andrew must be in pain because instead of arguing, he handed over his hatchet with a grateful nod.
Jaden walked a short distance away and shone his flashlight around the woods bordering their little clearing looking for a fallen tree or large branches. He quickly located a few and Takyle joined him in hauling the wood back to where Andrew sat, mixing water with some kind of powder in a little tin pot. He looked up from what he was doing as they dropped the firewood in a pile to the side.
"Great. As soon as you guys get a fire going we can have..." He picked up the empty packet and read the label. "Dehydrated, nutrient infused, chicken flavored, extra calorie, complete protein carbohydrate meal."
"Oh yum, my favorite," said Takyle, dryly.
"Andrew, don't we have a little gas, camp burner?" asked Jaden.
"Why yes, yes we do. But I saw no reason to break that out when we were making a fire for warmth anyway."
"Yeah but, we're not actually building a fire. This is a sim. We just think we are."
"And so we'll actually be eating our slop, I mean, ehem, p.c. meal cold when we think it's hot. But since it doesn't actually have to be cooked it doesn't matter." Andrew smiled. "It's all in your brain," he said in his 'creepy voice'. Jaden shook his head and sat down by his pack.
"I don't want you guys to get the impression that I'm not enjoying myself in this race here," he said. "But I'll be honest with you, I'll be delighted when we're out of it."
"Oh you don't mean that!" Takyle said in a mock scandalized tone as she stood up and put her lighter back in her pack. "Day to day life will be so boring for you after all of this is over Jay."
"Yeah, maybe." He pulled off his boots and rubbed his feet. "But I think I'll be able to live with that."
Andrew suspended his little cooking pot over the fire that Takyle had started.
"I'll be happy to get back to school. I'm having a blast at this, but I do miss it," he mused. Takyle sat down on her unrolled sleeping bag and nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I guess I do too... Never thought I'd hear myself say that!" She smiled. "Guess maybe I'm growing up, guys."
"Uh oh, better watch out, pretty soon you'll be getting all "responsible" and stuff," warned Andrew.
"Nah, I wouldn't dare," she replied. For a while they sat in silence, staring into the hypnotic flames of their small campfire until Andrew stirred the now steaming gruel one last time and pulled the pot away from the flames.
"Get out your mess kits, folks. Soup's on." He grimaced as he spooned a portion of the meal onto the plate that Jaden held out. "I'll tell ya, the real world might be boring after this, but the food won't be! While you're eating this imagine that it's prime rib with a baked potato or... something... that's actually good..."
Takyle dug in her pack and tossed Jaden and Andrew each one of the apples that she'd taken from the dressing room.
"Here. At least this time we can have some real food for dessert anyway."
Andrew grinned. "Hey, awesome. Thanks."
"Thanks Ta." Jaden raised the apple to his nose and breathed in. He didn't think that as long as he lived, he would ever get tired of the smell of a fresh apple. Never, ever. ~
"Alright, here's your exit," he told them in a bored monotone. Takyle gave him a quick nod, and stepped through the door with Jaden and Andrew just behind her. As one, Team 6 stopped in their tracks just inside.
The doorway had deposited them right in the middle of a bunch of wooded foothills. Above the hills, shining silver and gold in the evening sun, towered huge mountains, capped with snow. The entire scene was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Whoa," said Andrew, in an awed voice.
"And you'll need this," said someone from behind them. They all jumped at the voice, having already forgotten about their escort. He was leaning through the door, which from this side looked like nothing except a frame, freestanding on the hillside. He was holding out a map. Takyle took it from him and he nodded and closed the door. It popped out of existence, leaving them alone in the shadow of the mountains. Takyle studied the map.
"Looks like we're going to climb the mountain, guys." She rolled it back up and stuck it through her belt. "Let's make time while we've still got daylight. Seems that we've got a bit of hiking to do before we even get to the mountain.
"Oh boy, more walking!" Jaden's mind cheered sarcastically.
"Endurance. This entire race is about endurance," he reminded himself and fell into step behind Andrew. As he plodded along through the forest, he allowed his mind to drift and enter what Andrew called his "meditation coma". Years ago Jaden had found that while he was doing a repetitive activity he could slip halfway into a trance-like state and hold himself there, whilst still remaining aware enough to carry on with what he had been doing. It wasn't the same as sleeping, but it was at least somewhat restful. At this point, Jaden was exhausted and it didn't seem like that was going to change any time soon. He'd take what he could get.
The team continued walking for a little over three hours, taking only two short breaks. When it was too dark to efficiently navigate through the woods, Takyle called a halt in a small glen.
"Why don't we make camp here, eat something, and sleep for a while?" she asked. Jaden stared at her. Did she really think that anybody was going to disagree with that? He dropped his pack onto the ground behind him and began to sink down. He stopped when he saw Andrew pull out his hatchet, presumably to gather firewood. Jaden pulled himself back up.
"No, Andy, I'll do it. You need to rest." He knew that Andrew must be in pain because instead of arguing, he handed over his hatchet with a grateful nod.
Jaden walked a short distance away and shone his flashlight around the woods bordering their little clearing looking for a fallen tree or large branches. He quickly located a few and Takyle joined him in hauling the wood back to where Andrew sat, mixing water with some kind of powder in a little tin pot. He looked up from what he was doing as they dropped the firewood in a pile to the side.
"Great. As soon as you guys get a fire going we can have..." He picked up the empty packet and read the label. "Dehydrated, nutrient infused, chicken flavored, extra calorie, complete protein carbohydrate meal."
"Oh yum, my favorite," said Takyle, dryly.
"Andrew, don't we have a little gas, camp burner?" asked Jaden.
"Why yes, yes we do. But I saw no reason to break that out when we were making a fire for warmth anyway."
"Yeah but, we're not actually building a fire. This is a sim. We just think we are."
"And so we'll actually be eating our slop, I mean, ehem, p.c. meal cold when we think it's hot. But since it doesn't actually have to be cooked it doesn't matter." Andrew smiled. "It's all in your brain," he said in his 'creepy voice'. Jaden shook his head and sat down by his pack.
"I don't want you guys to get the impression that I'm not enjoying myself in this race here," he said. "But I'll be honest with you, I'll be delighted when we're out of it."
"Oh you don't mean that!" Takyle said in a mock scandalized tone as she stood up and put her lighter back in her pack. "Day to day life will be so boring for you after all of this is over Jay."
"Yeah, maybe." He pulled off his boots and rubbed his feet. "But I think I'll be able to live with that."
Andrew suspended his little cooking pot over the fire that Takyle had started.
"I'll be happy to get back to school. I'm having a blast at this, but I do miss it," he mused. Takyle sat down on her unrolled sleeping bag and nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I guess I do too... Never thought I'd hear myself say that!" She smiled. "Guess maybe I'm growing up, guys."
"Uh oh, better watch out, pretty soon you'll be getting all "responsible" and stuff," warned Andrew.
"Nah, I wouldn't dare," she replied. For a while they sat in silence, staring into the hypnotic flames of their small campfire until Andrew stirred the now steaming gruel one last time and pulled the pot away from the flames.
"Get out your mess kits, folks. Soup's on." He grimaced as he spooned a portion of the meal onto the plate that Jaden held out. "I'll tell ya, the real world might be boring after this, but the food won't be! While you're eating this imagine that it's prime rib with a baked potato or... something... that's actually good..."
Takyle dug in her pack and tossed Jaden and Andrew each one of the apples that she'd taken from the dressing room.
"Here. At least this time we can have some real food for dessert anyway."
Andrew grinned. "Hey, awesome. Thanks."
"Thanks Ta." Jaden raised the apple to his nose and breathed in. He didn't think that as long as he lived, he would ever get tired of the smell of a fresh apple. Never, ever. ~
Friday, June 27, 2008
Chapter 74: A Definitive Victory
~ The surreality of Jaden's calm little world crumbled around him. As the make-up people swarmed onto the stage one last time to check the faces of their charges, Jaden looked around the room. His eyes trailed over the studio audience and he imagined that each and every one of them were staring back at him. An irrational fear began rising in his stomach, slipping up his throat, choking him. He quickly diverted his gaze to across the stage, and he once again felt the nervousness being infused with anger.
Cal was giving him such a look of belligerence that Jaden very nearly came out from behind their console to go give the man a piece of his mind. He thought better of it just in time though. Slitting a man's throat in front of a studio audience probably wouldn't be the smartest thing he could do, so he stayed where he was and settled for just glaring back.
The lady with the clipboard gave Elwin a countdown and they were suddenly back on the air.
"Hello again America!" gushed Elwin. "What a fantastic show we've had here today, with our two teams running neck and neck all this time, fighting til the very end! Now here we have scores that are exactly even and the ball is in Team 5's court for the tie breaker! It's still anyone's game. If Cal of Team 5 can't give a satisfactory answer for this last question, the points could easily be stolen by Jaden over there in Team 6. Are we ready to finish this, teams? Alright, let's play!
"Cal, for the win, what use does a monomer have in my day to day life?"
From the way that Cal smiled, Jaden instantly knew that he had the answer. If he was correct then there was nothing at all Jaden could do to save this.
"Well Elwin, monomers are the molecules that can bond together to form polymers. Of course you use polymers every single day in plastics, and even certain proteins in your body." Cal grinned at the host and the audience, knowing full well that he had just won the day for his team. Elwin tried for suspense.
"Well Team 5...Does our great audience here think that that sounds about right?" he asked the crowd. They cheered in response. Jaden felt sick.
"As the saying goes...the audience is always right! Congratulations Team 5, that is correct and that makes you the winners today!" The crowd roared. "Now let's take a look at what your special prize is going to be!" Elwin waved his hand one more time at the screen behind him.
"Your team has won a mini-vacation from this very taxing race! For 18 hours you'll be put up in the best accommodations right here in our facilities, with the finest foods and spa treatments provided by our sponsor, Maelow Spas and Resorts! Obviously, so as not to disadvantage you to the rest of the teams, when you re-enter the race you will get to skip the level above this one. Well done!" Elwin turned to the audience.
"Let's also give a big hand to our other contestants, Team 6. They played a great game. Thank you all for joining us here tonight for That Sounds About Right, and please continue to tune into the RBC network for more special EPIC Race updates and gameshow editions! I'm Elwin Longtwig, have a great night!"
Elwin bowed to the audience and then shook the hands of Team 5 as the theme music played and the cameras took their long roll-away shots for the credits. Jaden turned away in disgust and he caught sight of Takyle. She was keeping her face straight, but he could definitely see her eyes sparkling happily.
Joel came and escorted them off the stage and back to their dressing room.
"When you're packed up and ready to move on, just stick your head out into the hall and there will be someone to take you to the exit," he told them, before pulling the door shut behind himself and leaving them alone. Jaden immediately turned to Takyle and she broke into a grin.
"Why the hell are you so happy? We lost! To those douche bags!" He would have been yelling, had his teeth not been clenched.
"I'm happy because I would bet money that they're going to take that little break that they've won. And that means we have a very good chance of getting ahead of one more team that's in our way of winning." She smiled happily and began to peel a banana from the bunch on the coffee table.
"Yeah, and if you'd been listening you'd have heard that when they get done with their cute little break they get a free level and they'll be rested!"
"I did hear that. I don't really think that the next level will take us any 18 hours so we'll still be ahead, and rest is overrated anyway. Now let's move out." Takyle threw the banana peel away, and opening her pack, placed several apples and cookies in it.
Jaden shoved his spare uniform, freshly laundered thanks to Karen, into his pack. He silently went into the bathroom and after he'd rinsed his make-up away in the sink, inspected his eye once more in the mirror. It was still inflamed, but the swelling seemed to have gone down a tiny bit.
Andrew took his turn at the sink and then stood by the door until Takyle and Jaden was ready to go. As they pulled their packs on he cleared his throat quietly. Jaden and Takyle both looked up at him. It occurred to Jaden that he'd been completely silent since they'd exited the stage.
"We lost because of me. I'm... I'm sorry," Andrew told them quietly. For a moment they both just looked back at him.
"Meh, it was a gamble." Takyle gave a shrug. "That's what the game is about. We all bluffed at some point. Could have been any one of us. Don't give it a second thought." She headed for the door. "Now let's make good on this possible head start that we've been thrown while we still can."
Jaden went to follow Takyle out into the hall, but paused in front of Andrew. He didn't look like he 'wasn't giving it a second thought.' He looked more like he was kicking the crap out of himself for it.
"She's got a point, you know," Jaden said to him. "Somebody once told me that you can't ride a bicycle looking backwards. He was right." Andrew stared back at him.
"That was me. And at the time I was talking about an actual bicycle."
"Yes, but it applies here too. Of all the times I made mistakes that would have cost us the race when we were practicing, you always told me to just keep going and make the best of what I had."
A long moment passed as Andrew just gazed silently at Jaden. Or at least in his direction. Jaden could see Andrew's thoughts behind his eyes. Takyle stuck her head back in the room.
"Are you losers coming or not? We've got a race to finish here." Andrew finally broke from his reverie.
"Yeah, we're right behind you, Boss." As they followed her out into the hall Andrew patted Jaden's shoulder.
"Quite the pep talk there. Have you thought about going into motivational speaking career-wise?"
"Uh no, not until this moment. Think that's a possibility for me?"
"Yeah, I can kinda see you rocking that. And you wouldn't be working for The Man; that's always a plus."
"Oh yeah, totally. That's not really an option my high school counselor ever brought up to me, but I can see it. Jaden McAllister: Motivational Speaker and Etiquette Coach. It does have a ring to it, I have to admit," mused Jaden, his faced impressively contemplative.
"Is the etiquette thing just for kicks there?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Okay, yeah that's cool. Etiquette is hot. You could get a lot of chicks with that one. Lot of young men looking up to you as a hero-type," mused Andrew.
"Oh, sure! Definitely."
Up ahead Jaden saw Takyle shaking her head.
"You guys are insane," she said over her shoulder, but Jaden could hear her smile in her voice.
He hoped she was right about the head start thing. ~
Cal was giving him such a look of belligerence that Jaden very nearly came out from behind their console to go give the man a piece of his mind. He thought better of it just in time though. Slitting a man's throat in front of a studio audience probably wouldn't be the smartest thing he could do, so he stayed where he was and settled for just glaring back.
The lady with the clipboard gave Elwin a countdown and they were suddenly back on the air.
"Hello again America!" gushed Elwin. "What a fantastic show we've had here today, with our two teams running neck and neck all this time, fighting til the very end! Now here we have scores that are exactly even and the ball is in Team 5's court for the tie breaker! It's still anyone's game. If Cal of Team 5 can't give a satisfactory answer for this last question, the points could easily be stolen by Jaden over there in Team 6. Are we ready to finish this, teams? Alright, let's play!
"Cal, for the win, what use does a monomer have in my day to day life?"
From the way that Cal smiled, Jaden instantly knew that he had the answer. If he was correct then there was nothing at all Jaden could do to save this.
"Well Elwin, monomers are the molecules that can bond together to form polymers. Of course you use polymers every single day in plastics, and even certain proteins in your body." Cal grinned at the host and the audience, knowing full well that he had just won the day for his team. Elwin tried for suspense.
"Well Team 5...Does our great audience here think that that sounds about right?" he asked the crowd. They cheered in response. Jaden felt sick.
"As the saying goes...the audience is always right! Congratulations Team 5, that is correct and that makes you the winners today!" The crowd roared. "Now let's take a look at what your special prize is going to be!" Elwin waved his hand one more time at the screen behind him.
"Your team has won a mini-vacation from this very taxing race! For 18 hours you'll be put up in the best accommodations right here in our facilities, with the finest foods and spa treatments provided by our sponsor, Maelow Spas and Resorts! Obviously, so as not to disadvantage you to the rest of the teams, when you re-enter the race you will get to skip the level above this one. Well done!" Elwin turned to the audience.
"Let's also give a big hand to our other contestants, Team 6. They played a great game. Thank you all for joining us here tonight for That Sounds About Right, and please continue to tune into the RBC network for more special EPIC Race updates and gameshow editions! I'm Elwin Longtwig, have a great night!"
Elwin bowed to the audience and then shook the hands of Team 5 as the theme music played and the cameras took their long roll-away shots for the credits. Jaden turned away in disgust and he caught sight of Takyle. She was keeping her face straight, but he could definitely see her eyes sparkling happily.
Joel came and escorted them off the stage and back to their dressing room.
"When you're packed up and ready to move on, just stick your head out into the hall and there will be someone to take you to the exit," he told them, before pulling the door shut behind himself and leaving them alone. Jaden immediately turned to Takyle and she broke into a grin.
"Why the hell are you so happy? We lost! To those douche bags!" He would have been yelling, had his teeth not been clenched.
"I'm happy because I would bet money that they're going to take that little break that they've won. And that means we have a very good chance of getting ahead of one more team that's in our way of winning." She smiled happily and began to peel a banana from the bunch on the coffee table.
"Yeah, and if you'd been listening you'd have heard that when they get done with their cute little break they get a free level and they'll be rested!"
"I did hear that. I don't really think that the next level will take us any 18 hours so we'll still be ahead, and rest is overrated anyway. Now let's move out." Takyle threw the banana peel away, and opening her pack, placed several apples and cookies in it.
Jaden shoved his spare uniform, freshly laundered thanks to Karen, into his pack. He silently went into the bathroom and after he'd rinsed his make-up away in the sink, inspected his eye once more in the mirror. It was still inflamed, but the swelling seemed to have gone down a tiny bit.
Andrew took his turn at the sink and then stood by the door until Takyle and Jaden was ready to go. As they pulled their packs on he cleared his throat quietly. Jaden and Takyle both looked up at him. It occurred to Jaden that he'd been completely silent since they'd exited the stage.
"We lost because of me. I'm... I'm sorry," Andrew told them quietly. For a moment they both just looked back at him.
"Meh, it was a gamble." Takyle gave a shrug. "That's what the game is about. We all bluffed at some point. Could have been any one of us. Don't give it a second thought." She headed for the door. "Now let's make good on this possible head start that we've been thrown while we still can."
Jaden went to follow Takyle out into the hall, but paused in front of Andrew. He didn't look like he 'wasn't giving it a second thought.' He looked more like he was kicking the crap out of himself for it.
"She's got a point, you know," Jaden said to him. "Somebody once told me that you can't ride a bicycle looking backwards. He was right." Andrew stared back at him.
"That was me. And at the time I was talking about an actual bicycle."
"Yes, but it applies here too. Of all the times I made mistakes that would have cost us the race when we were practicing, you always told me to just keep going and make the best of what I had."
A long moment passed as Andrew just gazed silently at Jaden. Or at least in his direction. Jaden could see Andrew's thoughts behind his eyes. Takyle stuck her head back in the room.
"Are you losers coming or not? We've got a race to finish here." Andrew finally broke from his reverie.
"Yeah, we're right behind you, Boss." As they followed her out into the hall Andrew patted Jaden's shoulder.
"Quite the pep talk there. Have you thought about going into motivational speaking career-wise?"
"Uh no, not until this moment. Think that's a possibility for me?"
"Yeah, I can kinda see you rocking that. And you wouldn't be working for The Man; that's always a plus."
"Oh yeah, totally. That's not really an option my high school counselor ever brought up to me, but I can see it. Jaden McAllister: Motivational Speaker and Etiquette Coach. It does have a ring to it, I have to admit," mused Jaden, his faced impressively contemplative.
"Is the etiquette thing just for kicks there?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Okay, yeah that's cool. Etiquette is hot. You could get a lot of chicks with that one. Lot of young men looking up to you as a hero-type," mused Andrew.
"Oh, sure! Definitely."
Up ahead Jaden saw Takyle shaking her head.
"You guys are insane," she said over her shoulder, but Jaden could hear her smile in her voice.
He hoped she was right about the head start thing. ~
Monday, June 23, 2008
Chapter 73: Ineffective
~ At the first break for commercials Joel came rushing out on stage with the make-up lady in tow. He fussed with Ta's hair and then he waved a hand at Jaden's face.
"That bite thing is still way too visible. Do something about it!" he demanded of the girl next to him. Jaden immediately took a step back and warded off a brush with a raised hand.
"No. It is fine, Joel," he commanded firmly. "My eye is sore and I do not want anyone else messing with my face, understand?" Joel didn't have time to argue, as the clipboard lady was frantically waving him and the other crew members off of the stage.
"Welcome back!" chirruped Elwin to the camera, like some insanely happy cricket. "If you've just tuned in, you've arrived right on time for our shows' signature game: That Sounds About Right!
As Elwin went on to tell the audience all about the game and its rules, which happened to be almost exactly the same as the rules for Define It, Jaden caught himself tuning everything out and letting his mind drift.
"You should be paying attention," his mind admonished him. "This could be important."
"Eh, I've seen the show before. I know the rules."
"Still, you could be given valuable additional information."
"But I'm so tired. I just want to-"
"Jaden." He jumped at the sound of his name, and then he realized that Elwin was back in his podium and gesturing at the board. "The first round goes to you. For 20 points. Here's your question:
"While you are watching a lunar eclipse, a man leans over to you and says that the moon has now reached penultimate totality. What does he mean?"
For a moment Jaden considered trying the bluff again, but decided against it. Cal looked relatively smug after hearing this one. Jaden quickly ran through an explanation of totality and penultimate, all the while thinking that if he kept getting questions like these, winning would be easy. As Jaden had suspected, Cal agreed with his explanation and the score went to 50/20.
The game drug on and Jaden found himself becoming more and more detached. That fact wasn't exactly hurting his performance though. The fog that settled over him seemed to put a surreal, sharper edge on his focus and drown whatever anger and nervousness he had left in him.
"Vin, I'm looking for a quick egress. Tell me where I can find it."
"Takyle, for 20 points, please give an example of a tautological statement."
The scores hovered irritatingly close, Team 5 never quite pulling even, but coming dangerously close. After a round boringly devoid of bluffing, when it came to Andrew's turn he took a chance to widen the gap between scores.
"Andrew, please describe the effects of hysteresis."
"Hysteresis is a medical condition that affects only women. One of the effects is a softening of bones, and typically it causes yellowed skin and hormone imbalance. It usually only occurs in women who have already gone through menopause," Andrew explained.
Jaden looked over at Team 5 to catch Vin's response. He didn't know what hysteresis was himself, but he figured that if Andrew was bluffing, it was a pretty good one.
Vin didn't think so though. A grin spread over his face and he punched the red button in front of him.
"Ooh, we have a rejection!" exclaimed Elwin excitedly. "Vin, you are correct; Andrew's explanation was not satisfactory. You have a chance to steal those points if you can describe for us the effects of hysteresis."
"That I can Elwin," said Vin, smugly. "It's when an effect lags behind a cause. Like a piece of iron being magnetized. If you have a system with hysteresis, it means that you can't tell the output just by looking at the input of that moment, you have to see the input history to make a prediction. That is hysteresis."
"That is correct!" cheered Elwin. And just like that, the scores were even.
"This is just getting more and more exciting," Elwin gushed. "Both teams are doing extraordinarily well, and we have ourselves a tie coming up on the end of our show! Don't go away, we'll be right back after this short break!" ~
"That bite thing is still way too visible. Do something about it!" he demanded of the girl next to him. Jaden immediately took a step back and warded off a brush with a raised hand.
"No. It is fine, Joel," he commanded firmly. "My eye is sore and I do not want anyone else messing with my face, understand?" Joel didn't have time to argue, as the clipboard lady was frantically waving him and the other crew members off of the stage.
"Welcome back!" chirruped Elwin to the camera, like some insanely happy cricket. "If you've just tuned in, you've arrived right on time for our shows' signature game: That Sounds About Right!
As Elwin went on to tell the audience all about the game and its rules, which happened to be almost exactly the same as the rules for Define It, Jaden caught himself tuning everything out and letting his mind drift.
"You should be paying attention," his mind admonished him. "This could be important."
"Eh, I've seen the show before. I know the rules."
"Still, you could be given valuable additional information."
"But I'm so tired. I just want to-"
"Jaden." He jumped at the sound of his name, and then he realized that Elwin was back in his podium and gesturing at the board. "The first round goes to you. For 20 points. Here's your question:
"While you are watching a lunar eclipse, a man leans over to you and says that the moon has now reached penultimate totality. What does he mean?"
For a moment Jaden considered trying the bluff again, but decided against it. Cal looked relatively smug after hearing this one. Jaden quickly ran through an explanation of totality and penultimate, all the while thinking that if he kept getting questions like these, winning would be easy. As Jaden had suspected, Cal agreed with his explanation and the score went to 50/20.
The game drug on and Jaden found himself becoming more and more detached. That fact wasn't exactly hurting his performance though. The fog that settled over him seemed to put a surreal, sharper edge on his focus and drown whatever anger and nervousness he had left in him.
"Vin, I'm looking for a quick egress. Tell me where I can find it."
"Takyle, for 20 points, please give an example of a tautological statement."
The scores hovered irritatingly close, Team 5 never quite pulling even, but coming dangerously close. After a round boringly devoid of bluffing, when it came to Andrew's turn he took a chance to widen the gap between scores.
"Andrew, please describe the effects of hysteresis."
"Hysteresis is a medical condition that affects only women. One of the effects is a softening of bones, and typically it causes yellowed skin and hormone imbalance. It usually only occurs in women who have already gone through menopause," Andrew explained.
Jaden looked over at Team 5 to catch Vin's response. He didn't know what hysteresis was himself, but he figured that if Andrew was bluffing, it was a pretty good one.
Vin didn't think so though. A grin spread over his face and he punched the red button in front of him.
"Ooh, we have a rejection!" exclaimed Elwin excitedly. "Vin, you are correct; Andrew's explanation was not satisfactory. You have a chance to steal those points if you can describe for us the effects of hysteresis."
"That I can Elwin," said Vin, smugly. "It's when an effect lags behind a cause. Like a piece of iron being magnetized. If you have a system with hysteresis, it means that you can't tell the output just by looking at the input of that moment, you have to see the input history to make a prediction. That is hysteresis."
"That is correct!" cheered Elwin. And just like that, the scores were even.
"This is just getting more and more exciting," Elwin gushed. "Both teams are doing extraordinarily well, and we have ourselves a tie coming up on the end of our show! Don't go away, we'll be right back after this short break!" ~
Friday, June 20, 2008
Chapter 72: A Sure Thing
~ Elwin took his place behind the clear podium in the middle of the stage and gestured up at the board.
"Team 6, play starts with you. For ten points Takyle, you're word is... Reprobate." The word appeared in large, red letters on the screen. "Please define it."
Takyle cleared her throat and spoke with certainty. "Reprobate can be used in three ways. As a noun it means a person who is morally reprehensible. As a verb it means to condemn something or someone. As an adjective, like the noun, it describes something as being morally objectionable."
"Well that was very thorough. Team 5, time for you to judge. John, this one is for you to decide. If you reject the definition, press your red button, if you accept it, the green one," directed Elwin. John considered his options for just a moment and then pressed his green button.
"Team 5 has accepted Takyle's definition and that is... Correct! Team 6 has taken first blood with this ten points. Team 5 of course hasn't earned any points from this, but they've not lost any either. And now it is their turn, and they have a chance to get even.
"Team 5; Vin, your word to define is: Clandestine, also worth ten points." Vin cleared his throat.
"Uh, clandestine. It means like if something is under the table, or in secret."
"Well isn't he just terribly clever and articulate," thought Jaden to himself. Andrew accepted Vin's brief definition and Team 5 gained ten points. Jaden set his teeth and tuned out everything in the studio except for the host and the opposing team. He stared across the expanse of the stage at Cal, sizing him up.
The man's broken nose was swollen and red from the fight earlier that day and he looked nothing short of determined. Elwin gave Jaden his word: Dendrite. In the split second before Jaden opened his mouth to answer, he decided that Cal didn't seem the type that would know technical or anatomical terms that well.
"A dendrite is a kind of stone structure that you see in caves. That's what you call it when a stalactite from the ceiling meets a stalagmite on the floor and it makes kind of a pillar. It's a dendrite." Jaden nodded casually at Elwin, hoping to God that Andrew and Takyle had kept their wits about them and not given his bluff away with a glance or facial expression. He didn't dare look at them now.
Cal seemed to be caught. Jaden watched him closely. Inside he felt like cheering. It was immediately obvious that, even if he didn't believe the one Jaden had given, Cal wasn't sure of the correct definition himself. At this point he could call Jaden's bluff if he wanted to, but if he did that he'd have to give the true definition himself. Rock and a hard place.
Slowly Cal reached forward, closed his eyes, and pressed the green button on the console in front of him. Elwin gave a theatrical gasp and wince as a loud buzzer went off and red lights flashed.
"Oooh, I'm sorry Team 5, but you've been had! Congratulations Jaden, that did sound about right, and the score is now 30 to nothing!"
Now Jaden felt it was safe to look at his teammates while the crowd cheered. He grinned and Andrew returned it. He mouthed the words "well done" to Jaden before turning back to face the host. Elwin gave the real definition of dendrite for the edification of the audience, and the show went on.
One more round of Define It was played, so that each member of either team had a chance to both judge a definition and give one. Team 5 rallied, putting up a good fight, and in the end the score was 30 to 20 but still in favor of Team 6.
"That first game was nothing short of rousing!" exclaimed Elwin, with insufferable cheerfulness. Jaden gritted his teeth. Apparently Team 5 wasn't going to go down easily, but there were going down. He'd see to that. ~
"Team 6, play starts with you. For ten points Takyle, you're word is... Reprobate." The word appeared in large, red letters on the screen. "Please define it."
Takyle cleared her throat and spoke with certainty. "Reprobate can be used in three ways. As a noun it means a person who is morally reprehensible. As a verb it means to condemn something or someone. As an adjective, like the noun, it describes something as being morally objectionable."
"Well that was very thorough. Team 5, time for you to judge. John, this one is for you to decide. If you reject the definition, press your red button, if you accept it, the green one," directed Elwin. John considered his options for just a moment and then pressed his green button.
"Team 5 has accepted Takyle's definition and that is... Correct! Team 6 has taken first blood with this ten points. Team 5 of course hasn't earned any points from this, but they've not lost any either. And now it is their turn, and they have a chance to get even.
"Team 5; Vin, your word to define is: Clandestine, also worth ten points." Vin cleared his throat.
"Uh, clandestine. It means like if something is under the table, or in secret."
"Well isn't he just terribly clever and articulate," thought Jaden to himself. Andrew accepted Vin's brief definition and Team 5 gained ten points. Jaden set his teeth and tuned out everything in the studio except for the host and the opposing team. He stared across the expanse of the stage at Cal, sizing him up.
The man's broken nose was swollen and red from the fight earlier that day and he looked nothing short of determined. Elwin gave Jaden his word: Dendrite. In the split second before Jaden opened his mouth to answer, he decided that Cal didn't seem the type that would know technical or anatomical terms that well.
"A dendrite is a kind of stone structure that you see in caves. That's what you call it when a stalactite from the ceiling meets a stalagmite on the floor and it makes kind of a pillar. It's a dendrite." Jaden nodded casually at Elwin, hoping to God that Andrew and Takyle had kept their wits about them and not given his bluff away with a glance or facial expression. He didn't dare look at them now.
Cal seemed to be caught. Jaden watched him closely. Inside he felt like cheering. It was immediately obvious that, even if he didn't believe the one Jaden had given, Cal wasn't sure of the correct definition himself. At this point he could call Jaden's bluff if he wanted to, but if he did that he'd have to give the true definition himself. Rock and a hard place.
Slowly Cal reached forward, closed his eyes, and pressed the green button on the console in front of him. Elwin gave a theatrical gasp and wince as a loud buzzer went off and red lights flashed.
"Oooh, I'm sorry Team 5, but you've been had! Congratulations Jaden, that did sound about right, and the score is now 30 to nothing!"
Now Jaden felt it was safe to look at his teammates while the crowd cheered. He grinned and Andrew returned it. He mouthed the words "well done" to Jaden before turning back to face the host. Elwin gave the real definition of dendrite for the edification of the audience, and the show went on.
One more round of Define It was played, so that each member of either team had a chance to both judge a definition and give one. Team 5 rallied, putting up a good fight, and in the end the score was 30 to 20 but still in favor of Team 6.
"That first game was nothing short of rousing!" exclaimed Elwin, with insufferable cheerfulness. Jaden gritted his teeth. Apparently Team 5 wasn't going to go down easily, but there were going down. He'd see to that. ~
Monday, June 16, 2008
Chapter 71: Parameters
~ Elwin Longtwig swept back to the middle of the stage followed closely by the center camera.
“Alright then! Now that we've met our competing teams, let's take a look at where they fall on the map compared to their rivals in the race. Jimmy, can you pull up the map for me please?” Elwin gestured behind himself at a large flat square up high on the stage's back wall. Immediately a large but crude diagram of some of the race levels appeared on the screen.
“Now, as all of you know, the map we display here only shows the race stages up to this point. Obviously we don't want to give anything away about the future obstacles for the contesting teams.
"You'll also note that even though two teams seem to be on the same level, they could be facing quite different obstacles, depending on what paths they choose to take. There are many, many different ways to get through each level, some being faster or easier than others. What paths teams choose to take largely depends on their individual skills, and whether or not they even noticed other possible routes. That having been said, let's see how Teams 5 and 6 are doing.”
With that word, another version of the map appeared, identical except for this one had a bunch of little orange dots on it.
“Ok then, here we have Teams 5 and 6.” Elwin gestured to the map and two small labels appeared on the map with the team numbers pointing to two of the dots. “As you can see there are eight other teams on this level as well, four of them taking part in other shows as we speak, to be aired on this network! There are another five teams still in one stage or another of the previous level, and two teams that are not on this map because they have already moved on to the next level, which we're not showing here.
“It is my unfortunate duty to let our viewers know though that Team 10, who had a member get injured on the first level, dropped out of the race during the previous level. Also, even worse, Team 3 was disqualified from the race, as their leader was killed while attempting to overcome one of the race obstacles also in the previous level. The second team this year to have had such a fatal accident.
"Teams who have injured members, but are remaining in the race are Teams 18, 14, and Team 6, who we have here with us right now.
“Now that we've had our progress report, let's play That Sounds About Right, beginning with one of my favorite games: Define It! Let's review the rules of play:
“One player of one team will be given a word to define. They will either define it correctly, or make something up that is convincing enough to bluff their opposing team. Either way, their definition will either be rejected by the opposing team, or accepted by it. If the definition is rejected by the opposing team, that team will be given a chance to give a correct definition, taking the points for themselves. Should they call rejection on a definition that is already correct, they will lose as many points from their total as the first team gained for the answer.
“The only remaining possibility is if the opposing team should fail to reject a false definition, then as many points as the word was worth will be taken from their total score and given to the team with the bluff, plus the original point value for the word, giving the team with the bluff double rewards.
"Are we all clear on what's going to happen?” he asked, looking from one team to the other. “Yes? Alright, let's play!” ~
“Alright then! Now that we've met our competing teams, let's take a look at where they fall on the map compared to their rivals in the race. Jimmy, can you pull up the map for me please?” Elwin gestured behind himself at a large flat square up high on the stage's back wall. Immediately a large but crude diagram of some of the race levels appeared on the screen.
“Now, as all of you know, the map we display here only shows the race stages up to this point. Obviously we don't want to give anything away about the future obstacles for the contesting teams.
"You'll also note that even though two teams seem to be on the same level, they could be facing quite different obstacles, depending on what paths they choose to take. There are many, many different ways to get through each level, some being faster or easier than others. What paths teams choose to take largely depends on their individual skills, and whether or not they even noticed other possible routes. That having been said, let's see how Teams 5 and 6 are doing.”
With that word, another version of the map appeared, identical except for this one had a bunch of little orange dots on it.
“Ok then, here we have Teams 5 and 6.” Elwin gestured to the map and two small labels appeared on the map with the team numbers pointing to two of the dots. “As you can see there are eight other teams on this level as well, four of them taking part in other shows as we speak, to be aired on this network! There are another five teams still in one stage or another of the previous level, and two teams that are not on this map because they have already moved on to the next level, which we're not showing here.
“It is my unfortunate duty to let our viewers know though that Team 10, who had a member get injured on the first level, dropped out of the race during the previous level. Also, even worse, Team 3 was disqualified from the race, as their leader was killed while attempting to overcome one of the race obstacles also in the previous level. The second team this year to have had such a fatal accident.
"Teams who have injured members, but are remaining in the race are Teams 18, 14, and Team 6, who we have here with us right now.
“Now that we've had our progress report, let's play That Sounds About Right, beginning with one of my favorite games: Define It! Let's review the rules of play:
“One player of one team will be given a word to define. They will either define it correctly, or make something up that is convincing enough to bluff their opposing team. Either way, their definition will either be rejected by the opposing team, or accepted by it. If the definition is rejected by the opposing team, that team will be given a chance to give a correct definition, taking the points for themselves. Should they call rejection on a definition that is already correct, they will lose as many points from their total as the first team gained for the answer.
“The only remaining possibility is if the opposing team should fail to reject a false definition, then as many points as the word was worth will be taken from their total score and given to the team with the bluff, plus the original point value for the word, giving the team with the bluff double rewards.
"Are we all clear on what's going to happen?” he asked, looking from one team to the other. “Yes? Alright, let's play!” ~
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