Twisted Wonderland 2

Final Stretch

"Sebek! Where are you?" Epel shouts, his voice echoing through the mountain terrain. He turns to the rest of the boys. "I don't see him, and I'm not hearin' a response."

The boys walk along the track, trying to find where Sebek might've gone.

"He must've gotten thrown off course when he hit you." Jade says. "It's too dark for us to surmise his whereabouts. And the wind is so loud, it's drowning out our voices."

"What do we do?" Epel asks worriedly.

Idia holds his arm. "Shouldn't we keep racing? Sebek won't need our help getting back on course. He's got, like, a pure stamina build."

Epel shakes his head. "But the final tally includes all of our finishing times. What if he has to drop out of the race?"

"Yes, but if we don't get moving soon, we'll never catch up to the Seven Swords." Jade argues. "There's a chance Sebek will recover on his own, but there's no chance we'll win if we search for him. I say we keep moving... unless we're willing to concede victory, which would change things."

Epel glances to the end of the track, taking a breath before looking back to the boys. "Look, guys... I think we should all look for Sebek together!"

"Wut. That would be extremely inefficient." Idia states.

Jade folds his arms in front of him, tilts his head. "You're such a kind soul, Epel."

"Actually, I have an idea." Epel stands a little taller. "And I think it's our only shot at winning!"

Idia shrugs. "Well, if you've got a plan, I'm down."

"Me too." Jade nods. "You were the most serious about winning, so if you're this insistent now, then you must have a sound idea."

Somewhere further away, Sebek lies trapped in a deep pit in the snow. His sled is smashed to bits from the fall.

"EPEL! Where are you?" Sebek shouts, his voice muffled by the snow.

Sebek grits his teeth. "No answer."

Letting out a groan, he kicks at the debris and snow at his feet. "How could this happen? I went careening off course when I slammed into Epel's sled... And now I've fallen into some deep pit in the woods. Thankfully I managed to break my fall by grabbing onto some ivy vines, but my sled got smashed to pieces."

Sebek picks up the squirrel plush. "At least I still have my squirshie but it's hardly useful on its own! I could climb out easily with a regular rope, but this ivy will snap if I tug too hard on it." He sighs. "If only my liege were here. He'd just fly down elegantly without even using a broom! I suppose calling for help is my only option."

Sebek takes a deep breath. "EPEL!"

A loud rumbling shakes the ground. Snow starts dropping into the pit.

"What in blazes?" Sebek exclaims. "Is it an avalanche? Oh no..."

"Sebek! Are you there?"

Sebek jolts up when he hears the voice. "Epel! I'm here!"

"Sebek! I hear you!" Epel rushes to the edge of the pit and spots Sebek. "There he is! He's stuck in a pit! Idia! Jade! Grab the rope from your sleds. We're pulling you up, Sebek!"

The boys throw down a rope and Sebek climbs out of the pit. As Sebek reaches the top, the others pull him out the rest of the way and make it a safe distance away from the pit.

Epel sighs in relief. "Boy, talk about the nick of time."

"The avalanche started when I called out for help." Sebek shakes his head. "What a surprise that was."