Obstacle Courses Are Fun, Right?

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Maddy's PoV

Kyla and Tim were kind enough to lead us to the obstacle course along with Kathryn, Charlie, Madi, and Ginger. We were amassing quite the crowd.

How in the world am I going to find my way around this place? I wondered absently. The grounds are huge, and I got lost in my house for a few months.  My sense of direction could use some work; maybe Keanu would know how to help.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I felt myself jerk backwards. I looked up to see a very tall, very muscled man standing in front of me. The cameo pants and place muscle shirt didn't help my growing anxiety: this guy could squish us like bugs. He glared down at me with piercing blue eyes, his white buzz cut reflecting the sun painfully into my eyes. A jagged scar ran from his right temple to his jaw. I glanced behind me to see Keanu had grabbed my shoulder before I ran into the giant man.

The large man had an even larger voice and started booming at me, "Watch where you're going, kid!" He then walked to stand beside the wall with ropes hanging off of it, in front of the crowd.

"What's his problem?" I turned to face Sara who was glaring right back at the man. I could see the sassy comment forming in her head.

Griffin put a hand on her shoulder, calming her down. "Mr. Rin Draggerd. He's the obstacle course coach and supervisor."

"Half giant," Kathryn added. I nodded. At least that explained the height. Amber was biting her lip, holding in a height joke.

"Unfortunately, his bite is bigger than his bark," Charlie said. I glanced at Adhya and Amber who were visibly worried. Sara looked how I felt: scared, but ready to fight if it came to it. Madi and Ginger were shaking a little, and it was warm out, so I ruled out them being cold.

"I would advise calling him Sir and nothing else," Jared said. Yikes, that'd be a challenge for several in our group.

I flinched a little when Mr. Draggerd started yelling, "First group, line up!" Unfortunately we were closest to the front, so we started lining up. It was then I realized how large the wall was. It was at least 30 feet tall, and had 20 ropes hanging from it. Each rope had about three feet in between it and the rope next to it. I looked at the frightened and excited faces behind me. There were about 40 kids total.

Sara was looking surly, probably upset about the strict barking of orders. Adhya adjusted her ponytail, preparing for the worst. Kyla and Tim were stretching out. Keanu clenched his jaw.

"Today we time you in the obstacle course! This is not a team exercise," Mr. Draggerd was pacing behind us. "You will be competing for a top time. The top twenty times will move onto round two, then the top ten. The top five times will compete against the rest of the school, yes that means ages 10-23, as a team. Is that understood?"

The crowd behind me chorused in response, "Yes, sir!"

"Good!" Mr Draggerd exclaimed. "You may use any of your powers for this test. Remember the training you've had previously in my class. You are competing against your entire age group! As always, please don't die; I don't want paperwork." There were a few laughs, including a chuckle from me. "First group, get ready!" I clenched my fists. "On your mark!" Adrenaline surged through me. "GO!"

The earth shook before a chunk shot me up over the wall. I grabbed the rope and slid down to the muddy ground below and started running. Looking to my left, I saw Sara had the same idea. Her shirt was still smoking slightly. One other kid was soaking wet, but was already across the wall. I looked back to see Keanu, Charlie, and Kathryn were jumping off the wall. They propelled themselves forwards and landed closer to me than I expected. I picked up speed as they approached. I reached the mud pit seconds before Sara and made a bridge out of crystal. I ran across and waited for Sara and Kathryn to stand on the bridge; the moment they did, I allowed the crystals to fall, sending Kathryn and Sara into the mud.

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