Elverum's Peak (A Craig of the Creek Sadfic)

Sudden Tragedy

It was another eventful day for Craig and his friends at the creek. It had rained the previous night, making the whole area very muddy. Though for many of the creek kids, they saw this as an opportunity to play their new game, Mud Sled Racing. They all gathered a top of the highest and steepest hill in the creek. The first two contestants were JP, sledding on a trashcan lid, and Cannon Ball, using his best sports sled. They both stood a top of the hill, everyone else at the bottom, cheering them on.

"You got this JP!" yelled Craig.

JP looked down the hill nervously and tightened the strap on his helmet.

In between them stood Handlebarb with a red bandana in her right hand.

"Alright," she said. "All I want is a good, clean race. Well, maybe not clean, but still. So, no bumping, shoving, or knocking each other down. This'll be purely a test of speed. Understood?"

Cannonball in his usual stoic manner gave her the thumbs up.

"Uh, yeah," said JP, nervously also giving the thumbs up.

"Okay, then," said Barb, and she raised the bandana. "One. Two. Three!"

She threw down the bandana and the race began. Cannonball had already zoomed head of JP, going down the hill with such speed and composure, like an arrow soaring through the air. JP, on the other hand, wasn't too far behind, but struggled to maintain balance. He swerved this way and that, unable to find the perfect line.

"You're doing great!" cheered Craig.

Although JP appreciated those words, they didn't help much given his current situation. Suddenly, his sled slipped out from under him, and he tumbled down the rest of the way, coating himself in mud. By the time he got to the bottom, Cannonball had already arrived, looking as though he didn't even get a single drop of mud on him.

"And the winner is," announced Barb, "Cannonball!"

Everyone cheered as Craig rushed over to JP to help him up.

"Ugh," JP groaned, his faced covered in mud. "Did I win?"

"Uh, no," said Craig. "But you still did great. That's still better than how far most kids get in any race against Cannonball."

JP wiped the mud off his face with his sleeve and chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"And up next," Barb called from atop the hill, "Kelsey and Jason!"

Back on top of the hill, Kelsey and Jason readied themselves. Mortimor sat a top of Kelsey's head like usual. She sat on top of her old snow sled while Jason sat the back of Boris, who laid down on his stomach.

"Hey, that's not fair!" said Kelsey. "You can't use a person as a sled!"

Jason scoffed. "If I remember correctly, the rules say that anything can be used as a sled, given it has no means of propulsion other than gravity."

"Yeah!" said Boris.

"Oh, come on! We made this whole thing up twenty minutes ago!"

"He's right," said Barb. "As long as Boris isn't used for any fowl play, it's fair game."

Jason sneered at Kelsey, who growled in retaliation.

Barb raised the bandanna again. "One. Two. Three!"

She threw down the bandanna and both racers launched themselves down the hill. At first, Jason was in the lead. Boris' body gave him more weight, allowing them to be pulled down the hill more quickly. But Kelsey was more nimble and agile. Her skills with sledding during the winter looked like they were about to pay off here as well. She leaned forward, swerving passed tree roots that have been pushed above the ground. Meanwhile, Boris was bumping into everyone he and Jason came across.