The Decembers

Chapter 14

                                                                                        - Paisley-

    Looking at this course makes my stomach turn upside down. There was now only Kane and Avery left. Cyrus says that we should choose the person that makes it farther on the course. I didn't have a favorite competitor but so far Avery seems to be standing out, not only to me but to my brother as well. I will not lie, Kane would make a good protector, but I don't think he would care about taking a bullet for us or in this case a stab from a sword.

    Kane was going to be up first. Once again, he was acting cocky in front of everyone. "I plan to beat you little girl, Lu may not have won against you but, I will." Avery just looks at Kane and rolled her eyes. You can tell that trash talking was beneath her. Everyone gathers outside to watch the showdown. People were even making bets on who will win. A lot of the guards were betting that Kane was going to win. That is so typical of them to bet against a girl who they believe has no chance, well I hope she proves them all wrong.

    This was it. We were going to watch Kane trying to beat the first part of the course. He jumps on the first stick. There were four more sticks in front of him left. Already he was struggling to stand still on just one leg. The first part of this obstacle course was all about testing your balance.

    It took Kane awhile, but he was able to get to the second part of the course. Which was the fire wrecking balls. This one was all about being quick and controlling your speed. There were three wrecking balls. Kane was sweating, and it was not because he was nervous, it was the heat coming from the flames. Glad I am not on that course.

    Each wrecking ball was faster than the other as well when it came to the swinging. Kane was able to move past the first wrecking ball. Now he was between two swinging other ones. He took his armor and shirt off because the heat was too much for him. He was taking a while to move that the crowd started calling him out. They were calling him names like chicken, scary cat, and other names you do not want to be called.

    He finally moved with speed and had one more wrecking ball to past to move on to the third part of the course. I don't blame Kane for being scared. I mean after all these were huge wrecking balls that were on fire. I would not want to get hit by one of them. Kane watch very closely the speed of the wrecking ball and went for it. It was a good thing that he took his time because now he was on to the third part of the course.

    The rock climbing was about testing your knowledge and which rocks to trust. This whole course might just be rock climbing, but it was also a puzzle to figure out. You had to be very careful on which rock to choose to grab or else you could be grabbing the wrong one and can get yourself good with a deep cut in your hand. I don't know how my dad was able to do this whole thing. Especially part three of the obstacle course.

    Kane started climbing and I guess his plan was that if he went fast, that he would be able to get to the top without any blades coming out of the rock. So far it seems like his plan was working. Then out of nowhere just when he was close to the top, he grabbed a rock that shot out a blade. Kane got stab in his hand and because of that he lost his balanced and fell off the rock-climbing challenge. There were safety pillows on the ground in case anyone fell off. It was now Avery turn to do the obstacle course.

    Once Kane was able to be help and remove from the course, that's when Avery could start. I didn't know what to except from her, but she did such a great job at the other challenges that I knew she was going to do good with this one. I just don't know about finishing it though. All she had to do is make it farther then Kane did. The real question is will she be able to.

    She was ready to start the first part of the challenge. Avery jumps on the first stick and so far, her balance was great. She had no problem stepping on all the sticks with her small feet. Sure, she was shaking here and there but she made sure not to lose her balance. Avery was now on to the second part of the course.

    The heat too was getting to her. She did the same thing that Kane did and took of her armor off. All she had left on was her black tights and a tank top. It was smart for her and him to take off their Amor off, that way they had less weight to carry on them. Right after she remove her armor, she moved past all the wrecking balls at once.

    Everyone was truly amazed with her and how fast she was able to move past those wrecking balls. Too bad this round wasn't about time, instead it was about getting how much you can get done. Before she started the rock climbing, she gave Kane a wink. He just looks back at her with a shock expression. Avery was making this obstacle course looking too easy for her. Which was causing the guards that bet on Kane to win was starting to regret their choice.

    Avery begins climbing but she had done something completely different than Kane. Instead of grabbing the rocks to help her climb she was using the cracks to help her. I mean it had made sense, her fingers and feet were small enough to fit through the cracks. She was getting higher and higher. She even past Kane and now she was close to reaching the red button to finish the whole course. Avery could be one of the few people to finish this whole thing. The only problem now is, I think she ran out of cracks to slip her fingers through. Now all she had left were rocks. She grabbed a rock to touch the red button. I shut my eyes close, I couldn't bear to watch.

    I heard everyone scream with excitement. I open my eyes and saw that Avery had finish the whole obstacle course. I don't think no one had no idea that she was going to finish the whole thing, but she did. My brother and I look at each other knowing we both wanted her as our protector. Pierce and the rest of us congratulated her. I ask her how she did the whole course like it was nothing to her.

    "I would come in here and watch people do the course and study their mistakes and of course I had to study the obstacle course as well." My brother looks at her with big eyes. "You're amazing. My sister and I would be so honored to have you as our protector. By the way I am West, and this is my sister Paisley. "

    "Is West short for Wesley by any chance."

    "Yeah, it is. You are the first person to notice that, but everyone calls me West for short." Avery looks at West and smiles. You can so tell that my brother had a thing for her. Storm steps in and introduce himself to Avery. He was going to show her where she will be staying at. He was telling her that she was going to be staying with him and the other protectors at their campground station.

    "Don't worry ill bring her back to you guys, I just need to get her settle in."

    After Storm said that him and Avery were off. Pierce had to get going as well, saying he had other work to get done. Now it was just me, West, and Cyrus. We walk past Kane and did not say a word to him. We wanted to laugh but held it in. You can tell he was not to please with himself.

    Once we were outside, Cyrus was telling us that he was going to take us to get some lunch at one of his favorite bakery places. We were excited to try this bakery place that was called Sweat and Treats. He tells us that it is his favorite place to eat in the whole in tire kingdom. This was the first that someone was treating us to anything. The only other person who treated my brother and I was our mother. I really do think she would have like Rave.

    We arrive to the bakery and a man, 'and a woman was there serving customers. They both greeted Cyrus and told him to come in and to have a seat anywhere we would like and that they will be with us in a second. You can tell the men and women was husband and wife. They are probably the owners of this place. As we sat down. Cyrus starts to talk.

    "Now it's time I tell you both about the gifts you will receive in your later birthdays and trust me, the protector was just the first one from many gifts to come."