Endless

Chapter 3

It is now nightfall and I can barely shut my eyes. The creeping fear of being in too deep of a sleep and rolling off the edge of the base haunts me. While the others sleep, I am lying awake and restless. A deluge of thoughts take over my hyper-active brain. My thoughts wash out any sense of my surroundings and indulge me completely in the past.

My reflections are wrapping me up entirely until a high-pitched scream pulls me back to reality. I jerk up, rubbing my eyes. I whip around to try to spot the origin of the scream. Nothing. The colour regains itself in my vision and I can properly see now. I look around and spot two blues on my teams' side of the base gazing over the edge. My breathing deepens.

I slowly stand up and quietly approach them. I gain the courage to confront them. I spit, "What are you doing on our side?" The two blues spin around in shock. I can view them clearly now. One is a girl, who looks rather fierce and bold. The other is a boy who is equally as intimidating.

The girl snaps, "Taking care of unfinished business." Her darting eyes meet mine for a moment. Her threatening stare makes me uncomfortable. The girl saunters off, and the boy looks at me menacingly before following behind her.

By then, most of the red team is on their feet. A low chatter surrounds me, and my teammates question me about what went on. I don't have answers for them. Suddenly, someone calls out alarmingly, "Where's Andy?" My breath stops and I feel like my insides are being squeezed. Not Andy. Please not Andy.

Everyone wearing a red jersey breaks out into panic. Suddenly, the low chatter erupts into cries and yells. The blue team is opposing us, standing in a perfectly straight line. The boy in the middle simply chuckles, "You know what they say. An eye for an eye. Or in this case, a team member for a team member. C'mon guys, we've got a competition to win."

With that, all the blues begin the next level with cocky grins. The cries and exclamations of pain from the red team only increases after that. Some reds throwing hateful words and others are red in the cheeks from infuriation. Me? I stand there, unable to absorb the scene around me. My stomach turns over. I was awake. I could've stopped the blues from rolling Andy off the edge if only I wasn't so engaged in myself and my thoughts. This is my fault.

Brooklyn approaches me with a sour, twisted expression. She says, "They rolled her right off the edge." Brooklyn slowly shakes her head disapprovingly. I sigh uneasily and line up behind Brooklyn in our specific order to start completing the next level.

Andy was a spunky girl. I mean, from what I saw. I always watched her from afar because I barely knew her. She always had an idea ready to share. Her short, light-coloured hair was often tied back into a messy, small bun. Andy had that personality that made you want to be her best friend. Her bubbly compliments and her signature bounce to her step tied it all together. I wished I knew her personally. But it's too late now.

It's my turn to attempt level one-hundred and eighty-three. Before I step forward, I have to evaluate it and decide the safest move I can make. Level one-hundred and eighty-three merely featured two slim beams beside each other. I have subconsciously seen Lucia take the left beam when she went. So, I decide to follow in her footsteps.

I carefully place my foot on the narrow beam. My arms are at my sides, somewhat helping me keep my balance. I swallow deeply, trying to calm my nerves. I lift my left foot and place it directly in front of my right. My breaths come out short and shaky as I inch along the beam. I tilt my head and glance below me. The sky underneath me feels like it's sucking me into it. I begin to lose balance and and I feel weak and wobbly. My body begins to quiver and my heart rate increases by one thousand.

I clench my fists as I feel myself swaying and leaning to the back. I desperately try to regain my balance but my sudden movements only increase my unsteadiness. A cry erupts from inside me, "Help!" I am close to tumbling backward now. I am flailing my arms and flapping them uncontrollably. The outburst of shouts and screams from my teammates behind me deafen me. In fact, they make me more petrified.

However just then, my balance finds its way back to me. I am still leaning backward, but now that I have regained my stability I slowly pull myself back up. I stand calmly and am back to my original posture, so I continue. Although my heart is still pounding through my rib cage, I take jerky steps forward hoping to finish this level as soon as possible.

An uproar of cheers and joyful shouts arouse me. I cautiously turn my head back to face my teammates on the base behind me. I muster up a fake smile. I face around to the front and I push forward. I wipe the unexpected bead of sweat off my forehead as I trudge along the beam. I focus on the base ahead. Almost there. I'm almost there.

And then I'm there.