Dedicated to MajenBeos02, Babyalex34, Cvstina
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March 20, 2016, 12:59 pm, Itzal's POV
"It said, 'The more there is, the less you see. What am I?'" Camile says, having taken over the keeping of the riddles. 'The rules to win are less complicated than they look, but they are extensive in what you are not allowed to do. For instance, we leave all electronics in our cars. If we do not, they are taken and put in lockers. This is to prevent cheating by using the internet or calling a friend for help.'
'Teams in the hunt have teamed up before, but it rarely ends nicely. The hunt gets cutthroat in the end. It also gets more and more difficult the longer it goes on. The backpacks get heavier, the running is mostly up sloping hills, there is a chilly breeze, and the riddles get more complicated.'
"And I told you the answer is darkness," Victor says, and Leonard growls wordlessly. On the map, three possible locations fit the answer 'darkness': the dense forest on the southwest side of the map, the red X's rocky hills, and the location we voted on, the cave in the north. So far, this is our fifth riddle, and we have not made a mistake yet.'
We stop running when we reach the slippery rocks. Our third riddle brought us to the other end of this rocky plain, with the clue telling us it was something 'up high.' Up high turned out to be a tree holding each team's chest in a net over a moving body of waist-deep water. We were not first to the scene, but we moved into first place when the Russian Quartet tried to get their chest and ended up sending their teammate and the chest into the water with a massive splash. We learned from their mistake, and instead of trying to scoot down the branch to retrieve the chest, we made Leonard's hand walk the branch like monkey bars, toss the chest to Camile one-handed, and then hand walk back.
"Careful," Camile says, catching my arm when I nearly twist my ankle on the slick rock closest to the cave.
"I did the last one," Camile says, and they all look at me. I sigh, drop my backpack, and look into the pitch-black cave.
"Is there a flashlight in the bag?" I say, and the three go down on their knees and start looking through their bags. Leonard's hands stop digging first, and he pulls out a box of matches. I take it from him, swipe the match across the box, and enter the cave with the tiniest flame for light.
"Do you see anything?" Victor calls.
"Negative. I am going to go deeper." I tell them.
"Be careful," Camile says, and I frown in surprise and hear echoed surprise behind me.
"I mean, yeah, be careful. Violet would want that." Victor says, trying to clarify that he is only doing what Violet would want, and Leonard readily agrees. Camile grunts as if they are annoying, and I shake my head. Then my light blows out, and I quickly grab and light another one. I get twenty feet into the cave, and then my foot hits something solid. I bring the light lower and spot a chest with a red stripe. Then, I quickly move the light to the left and work my way down until I find our green one. I grab the key with my left hand and then blow out the match to switch hands. Once a match is relit with my left, I open the chest with my right. Without trying to read the riddle inside the cave, I quickly exit the cave and join the others.
"Whatcha got?" Leonard says, and I hold it out for him as I blow out the match and make sure none of the other matches are lit. Leonard holds out his hands for the matches as he unravels the riddle, but I quickly realize I am giving matches to a pyromaniac and drop them in my pack instead.
YOU ARE READING
Singing Robin (Part 2)
General FictionThis is the Second Book after Wilting Violets We have new names, roles, and rules. Pieces of an old puzzle but not a board to fit them on, and we are working differently than before. For the first time, the Monsters that sit below our skin are allow...
