The Race

016 | Cami

The only way to get to the final clue was skydiving. The island had about one hundred and twenty people living on it, and out of those, one had the clue. Once we got the clue we could fly back, hand it in, win The Race, and this nightmare would be over.

"Hopefully we can get the clue before the boys even show up," I said.

"Yeah," Harper said solemnly, looking out of the plane window.

I looked out the window. "Guys, we can't do this."

"Do what?" Harper asked unenthusiastically.

"We can't let Naomi's death stop us. Call me stony-hearted..." I took a breath. "But we need to win, for her."

"She told us not to forget her," Maybelle said. "That was her dying wish."

"I remember my dad, but I don't think about him all the time," I said.

"Cami is right," Aralee said. "We can do this. We can't let Naomi die and then not even try to win. And I know we can win if we try."

I smiled. It was nice to have Aralee smiling again.

"I agree," Lark said.

"Me too," Asia whispered.

"Yeah," Harper said.

Maybelle smiled. "I was proven wrong. I agree with you, Cami."

"Alright, it's time to dive," the pilot said.

A few minutes later, I was free falling. It was glorious, electrifying, and scary. I loved it and hated it, but mostly... I loved it.

We floated down to the island. It was beautiful. I didn't remember the name of it. But it had beautiful pink sand and warm beach waves.

"How are we going to do this?" I asked after we landed, slinging my duffel bag over my shoulder.

"Split up?" Asia suggested. "Statistically speaking, that would be the most efficient way."

"It sounds good to me," I said. Everyone else nodded. "We need a few maps and then I'll mark off which houses we should hit."

We walked up the market square. We found a stand selling maps. They were cheap and we bought one for each one of us. Asia took a marker from someone's cart and handed it to me.

"Okay, who here likes to hike?" I asked.

"Me," Aralee and Harper said at the same time.

"Okay, you two will cover the homes that are farther away," I said, opening the marker cap. "But it's not that far, don't worry. Maybelle, I'll mark you for the ones close to here. Lark, you'll go the east and I'll go west. Asia will cover the center."

"Sounds good," Lark said, taking her map. We all stood up and walked in the direction of the houses marked on our maps.

I headed west. I marked a good amount of houses for myself, but not too many that the others would finish too quickly.

I knocked on the first door only to realize I had no clue what to ask. The door opened to a young girl, about my age, with chocolate brown skin and light brown eyes.

"Hello! Can I help you?" she asked.

"Thank goodness. You speak English," I said thankfully.

The girl nodded, confused. "Most of us speak English..."

"Awesome. So, um, do you by any chance have a clue that you're supposed to give members of The Race?"

"Er, no. Sorry."

"That's alright. Sorry for bothering you."

"It's fine." She closed the door and I let out a sigh. This was going to be very awkward and very boring.

But... being bored was better than being dead.

As the sun set, I finished the last house marked on my map. I walked back to where we started to meet up with the girls. Maybelle, Lark, and Asia were already there waiting for me. I could also see Harper in the distance.

"Any luck?" I asked. No one said yes.

"Some people were not home," Asia said. "They must have been at work or school or something else."

Harper arrived a moment later. Aralee was the last to come. Neither of them got the clue.

"Okay, mark off the houses that had people inside," I said.

"Wait," Asia said. "What if the people inside were family members of the person with the clue and just did not know it? We cannot really mark them off."

"You're right. Ugh. Why is this so hard? It seemed so easy..."

Harper snorted. "Welcome to The Race."

I chuckled. "Yeah..."

"We need a plan," Maybelle said. "But I'm tired."

"Me too," Aralee said with a yawn. "I'm sure we can figure it out tomorrow."

"Yeah, it's not like the boys will come here anytime soon," Harper said.

"Probably," I said. "But where will we sleep?"

"We still have money," Asia said. "I saw a bed and breakfast place we could stay at."

"Okay, let's go."

In the morning, we came up with a plan. We would go everywhere, not just the houses, and look for the person with the clue. It would be time consuming, but if we split up and move fast, we could do it.

Honestly, we just needed to do it before the boys got here. I knew that if they got to us, they would sabotage us.

As I walked around, I began to grow tired. I needed to have food. The day's breakfast was the first real meal I've had since I started The Race. It left me wanting more.

I found a chilli cart and asked for a small bowl. The woman working the cart gave it to me and I paid.

"Are you alright?" she asked, just as I was about to leave.

"I'm okay."

"Are you sure? You look tired and hungry. Are you sure you don't want to stop and look at my cart for a little while?"

"I don't think looking at your cart will make me any less tired and it'll probably just make me more hungry. But I guess that'll be good for your business. Plus, I'm in a rush."

"Okay, but remember: I am always at the market on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"I'll remember that." I rushed off. That woman was weird. Why would I want to look at her cart? Unless... Unless... As I replayed the conversation in my head, the answer got more and more clear.

"OH MY GOSH!" I screamed. I rushed back to the cart. "I'VE MADE A HUGE MISTAKE!"