Witch of the Wild Woods

Chapter 15 - Outtasite

Chapter 15 - Outta Sight

Luna was unimpressed with the lack of challenge they encountered. It certainly didn't live up to the first, or second trial. Having marched to the small dive pool across from the girl's dormitory in record time, the team of councilors' physical strength had nearly left them. Most were beyond exhausted, sunburnt, and sore. A bevy of curses floated up through the air as nearly all collapsed on the burnt grass beside the pool. Despite the strenuous activity, they'd previously endured, Luna's irritation began to grow toward the thin coat of mud still stuck to her skin around her joints. If her mind were properly challenged, maybe a few pieces of dried mud could have been overlooked? Sadly, it wasn't.

    "Seriously, a crossword puzzle?" Nina grumbled under her breath leaning into Brandon's chest for support. Hastily drawn upon a peeling, sunburnt handball court wall beside the pool, was a chalk grid and a number of handwritten clues.

    Among the majority of councilors who'd mentally checked out hours ago, Julia's dark blue eyes lit up. Despite her stamina nearly being beaten out from her, she smiled; "Finally, something I've got a chance of solving."

    Truth be told, the word puzzles proved to be far less than challenging. Just as Lane had suspected. Based on Brad's reaction, there was little to no expectation that any of the team would successfully complete the Texas-Hold-'em Challenge. Luna's hypothesis about this team-building exercise meant to divide the councilors rather than bring them together was gaining more validation with every passing minute.

    Jordan's outright hostility toward Brad grew.

    Gracie and Zoe nearly came to blows over nonsense.

    Even Korri's ever-tightening grip on Cole's autonomy presented a visible scrounge of animosity among the councilors.

    None of these expanding microaggressions were more apparent than Brandon being intentionally isolated and subtly humiliated by Brad. Such thinly veiled harassment was especially grating on Lane's sense of honor and sportsmanship. He didn't fully understand their relationship if any had even existed previously between the two boys. Regardless, this challenge was presented as a competition of strength and mind. For a referee to deliberately degrade a competitor during a challenge was poor form, unacceptable. Lane should have followed Luna's example hours ago and kicked Brad right in his smug dick.

Instead, Lane restrained himself. He remembered the words of his father; "Action without knowledge or wisdom yields disastrous results."

Something larger was at play, something sinister. Lane just couldn't see it yet. he was too close to the action. He needed to collect more information, analyze the data to view the whole picture. That couldn't be done when they were wasting time with these petty challenges.

    "I got it!" Julia exclaimed. Her excitement was met by a weak, hollow cheer from half of the councilors still catching their breath, lying on the ground.

    Nina however appeared genuinely impressed offering an enthusiastic hug; "That hardly took you any time at all! You must get a lot of practice in?"

    Julia nodded, "Every Week, New York Times crossword. It's honestly, really fun--"

    "There you go again, being the show-off," Cole huffed, "Big brainy little sister, flapping her gums. We're all impressed. Thanks."

    Julia shrank a bit, apologetically shifting into a defensive posture. Lane took note that Korri did not pull on Cole's leash this time. She either wanted to remain outside of family squabbles or like the other councilors, acted on a compulsion to allow hostility to grow. Luna, however, had no intention of letting any seeds of discord plant themselves within Julia.