Stella

2

We had blindfolds on. Riding in a ship to a different planet for the next round. We finally got there after two days of travel. We took off our blindfolds when we got to our destination. We saw a huge tank filled with water. No doubt the mermaids planned this one.

"WELCOME TO THE SECOND ROUND!!!" shouted the anouncer. "This round, you will all have one hour to try and get out of the water. You will be tied to a boulder sitting at the bottom. With only your bare hands and your teamates, you will find a way to get out. Remember, don't kill your teammates. However, if your teamates are going to do nothing to get out, or you think they are going to save themselves, you may leave them behind."

I looked at the other teams. The mermaids are the only ones who look confident.

"The team with the least amount of team members will go first. So centaur, you're up" said the anouncer.

I found out a few days ago when we were boarding our ships that the centaur's name was Ace. Ace climbed atop a rising platform, and a guard wrapped a rope around his body. He let Ace jump in before throwing in the boulder. And with that, the round begun.

"Hey do you think the centaur will lose?" asked Holly.

"No he won't" I replied, watching Ace try to smash the boulder with his hoof.

"Why are you so sure?" asked Holly.

"These tests are designed for our knowledge of various degrees of danger. They are purposefully designed to test how well we work as a team, and on our own. Centaurs are know for their inability to work together, so I doubt he'll lose. Not yet" I explained. As soon as I finished, a bell sounded as Ace swam to the tope of the tank. A smashed boulder remained at the bottom.

"Told you" I said.

"Next, the mermaids!!!" shouted the anouncer. Almost immediately the mermaids jumped out of the water.

"That was quick!!! FAIRIES!!!"

I almost started to panic. If a fairy's wings get wet, they might never fly again. The fairies were thrown into the tank. Two boulders landed on the fairies legs. Only two fairies were able to make it out.

"That sucks. The fairies were my favourite" said Angelonia.

After the dead fairies were moved out, the giants were put in. That was useless because the giants weren't fully submerged and they just stepped on the boulders.

"This is so boring" I whispered to myself.

"How so?" I heard a voice from behind me ask. I turned around to see Ace standing behind me with a towel draped over his back.

"I just meant that most teams they throw in their have an advantage" I tried explaining. He just gave me a confused look.

"Forgive me. I must've thought you meant that since you were going last, there was nothing to do waiting for you imminent death" he said with a cocky grin.

"Is that a challenge?" I asked.

"Any time, any where" said Ace. I looked at his face and sighed.

"Bet you never thought you'd get killed by a human" was all I said before turning around. I must've missed alot because only three trolls survived.

"And I bet you never thought of telling your grandkids you lost a bet with a centaur" said Ace before he started trotting off. I smiled to myself. He is a nice guy.

"NEXT THE OGRES!!!" shouted the anouncer. As the ogres were thrown into the tank, I couldn't help but notice a bomb was taped to the side of the tank. Someone is cheating. As if on autopilot, I looked to the stand where the leaders sat. Nex Umbra was nowhere to be seen.

***

A few hours passed by since the death of the ogres. The anouncer and guards sent us back to our rooms to wait to be questioned.

"Who would do such a thing like that?" asked Holly.

"I want to go home" said Boo.

Someone opened the door to our room. The anouncer and two guards walked in.

"You each will be questioned privately, then will be escorted to the common room where the other teams wait" said the anouncer. "First, I will question Ruo." Ruo slowly stood up and walked with the anouncer to a different room. Not five minutes later, the anouncer returned and asked for Boo. Same as before, five minutes later, he asked for Angelonia.

"What do you think they're talking about?" asked Holly. I didn't answer. "I don't know about you, but waiting to be questioned feels like a very long walk through a forest."

"Holly" said the anouncer. She walked into the other room. All I could think about was Nex, and why he wasn't there when the bomb went off. Where could he have been?!? My thoughts were interupted by the anouncer calling my name. Holly was right. The walk to the other room took forever. But it was not the walk I was concerned about. What got my attention was who was in the middle of the room.

With no hesitation, the anouncer said "Stella, you know Nex Umbra, right?"