"Two elite teams of eighteen year olds are being formed from people around the world. One of males and one of females. Each team is made of members with different skills and different backgrounds, all extraordinarily talented. They will each be given a different set of clues that lead to one end goal: seven million dollars. The players will be hurt, tested physically and mentally, possibly even killed. This is The Race."
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Two days ago that awful announcement was sent out. I had gotten a letter directly after saying that I had been chosen to compete. People had called it life-changing for me. Saying, "Oh Harper, what a great opportunity! You will get to travel the world and win a million dollars!"
Apparently they chose to skip over the whole bit about me possibly dying. Right now, all I want to do is rip the announcement to shreds and glue the mouths of anyone who even talked about it shut.
But today was the day I would leave for somewhere in Europe. That was all we got to know about the location. I would get to meet my team. Together, we would receive minor training before getting our first clue, different from the opposite teams' as to make it fair. At the time, I was waiting in the airport with an escort for my plane to do all of that. Fun, right? I didn't think so.
"Now boarding flight 737. Now boarding flight 737," announced someone over the intercom. That is us.
The escort roughly yanked me up and practically dragged me to the plane. I huffed out a breath, but let him drag me along. He flashed our tickets at the lady in front of the door before 'leading me' to the first-class section of the plane. If I have to do this, I'll at least do it in style. The stewardess came around and I ordered a pre-made ice cream sundae.
After finishing my ice cream, I managed to doze off and my escort had to shake me awake when we finally landed. Another boy and I were led off the plane by our two escorts. He wasn't too tall or too small. He was average, like me. I was nothing special: I had brown hair, blue eyes. I was tiny. The only thing special about me was how I danced. Dancing was my thing. The one thing in my life I was good at and proud of. And, I was good at it, no doubt about that. I was considered one of the top four dancers worldwide. I wonder, would everyone have a career or hobby that made them perfect for some section of the team? If so, what was his?
I barely got a look at the runway before my escort jerked my arm and practically threw me over to a group of about thirteen other people my age. The force of his shove made me stumble and I fell on top of one of the boys. They couldn't get me off of them fast enough. I quickly recovered and walked to the group of girls. They must be my teammates.
"Hi! What's your name? My name is Aralee, I am from Italy! Where are you from? What do you think your special skill will be? I have no idea what mine will be. I am a singer. What about you?" I looked up in shock for a moment at the tall, curly haired girl from whom all these questions poured from.
"Whoa, uh, slow down," I said, getting up. After I brushed myself off, I responded, "my name is Harper, and I am from the USA. I have no idea what my skill is. And I dance."
"Cool! I would not have pegged you for a dancer! We should do a collaboration thing sometime! What do you-"
She was cut off abruptly by the sharp whistle that came from a little farther up the tarmac. People began stepping into a single file line, facing that general direction, so I followed suit. The person who must have whistled came closer and I could make out her features. She was a taller lady, with a short grey bob. She wore a black bodysuit-type thing and was accompanied by a huge, hulking, giant of a man.
"Now that everyone is here, we can begin. Everyone here on the tarmac has been chosen for your potential to master seven different capabilities. There are two teams as you already know: the males and the females. Each team is made of people from around the world. Each person will master one of the seven capabilities. You will have a team made of the distraction, a close distance combatant, a hacker, a burglar, a long range weapons master, a blades master, and a heavy lifter. Each of you have been picked to embody one of these particular capabilities.
"When we reach the training center, you will be trained in that capability before receiving your clues. My assistant, Mr. V, will be taking you there. You all will have a personal trainer. The male and female competitors will live and train in different facilities. Now that you have been informed of the procedures are there any questions?"
Everyone stayed silent for a moment, probably scared into submission by this woman who has apparently come to lay down the law and then leave. Everyone jumped when someone spoke up, a blond with blue eyes. It wouldn't surprise me if he was a surfer of some sort.
"Dude, like, um, exactly are we?"
"In Trieste, Italy, of course. Now that question time is out of the way, let The Race begin!" she declared over the sound of helicopter blades. We all ducked as a rope ladder sort of thing swung over our heads. She grabbed on and it pulled her up as it flew away, taking her with it. Very dramatic.
Mr. V gestured for us to follow him to a set of SUVs. He pointed for the boys to go in one and the girls in another. We all loaded up and the car started moving. I studied my teammates. One girl was model pretty, there was a curly blonde with long fingers, and there was Aralee of course. There was also one red-head, a round girl with pastel pink hair, and an Asian looking girl.
"Now then, I don't expect us to play a get to know you game but, I mean, if we are going to be relying on each other throughout this thing, we need to at least be friendly. How about everyone says their name, occupation, and where they're from?" There was a pause for a moment as everyone stared at this pink-haired girl with an English accent.
"Alright, fine. I'll start. My name is Maybelle, I am a chef and as you should be able to tell by my accent, I am from London."
"I am Aralee, I am a singer and I am from Italy! I'm so excited to meet and become friends with all of you."
"I guess I'll go next," the model-like girl spoke. "My name is Naomi, I am from Egypt and I am a model." Guessed it.
"I am Cami, from Canada. I'm a barista," spoke the red-haired and green-eyed girl.
"Lark, Russia, musician," said the blonde.
"Asia, Hong Kong, and I am a certified genius."
Can you be a certified genius as a job? Everyone looked at me and I froze before realizing I was the last one.
"Oh, uh, my name is Harper. I am from the U.S. and I am a dancer." A few people looked kinda surprised at my occupation.
"Aren't dancers supposed to be graceful, not fall on top of people as a first impression? I doubt that you are any good. Why in the world would they pick you?" Naomi asked with a smirk. Everyone stared, waiting to see how I would react.
"I am actually ranked fourth in the world for my ability. The world, Naomi. Is that something that you could claim? I apologize for being in the habit of falling when people throw me. My bad."
Naomi glared at my response.
Cami, the redhead, stifled a laugh, before clearing her throat. "Guys, we can't argue amongst one another. You read the announcement. People could die doing this. We need to work together to get this money and have each other's backs. And that goes for everyone. Okay?"
"Okay," we all chorused.
YOU ARE READING
The Race
Adventure[Completed] [Young/New Adult Action/Adventure] - - - What would you do if you were forced to participate in The Race, a competition where death is a possibility? If you refuse, you'll die. You have no choice but to try your best. You meet your te...
