Empire

Chapter seven

  I look around me. There are a lot of small hills and the ground is very rocky. In the distance I can see a lake. There are a few trees but not many, and not much grass either.
  I sit down on a rock and take out my map. The place I need to go is marked and so is my location. I need to go south, I check the sun. It's still early and I can see it rising in the east. I put the map back in my back pack and put it on. I start walking down the hill in the direction of the lake which is south.
  I do have a bottle of water with me but it won't last long. Once I reach the bottom of the hill I start jogging. I have to be careful not to slip because of the rocks and being quiet is difficult. Right now it probably doesn't matter but I still want to be careful.
  When I get tired I start walking again and go back to running when I'm rested.
The lake was farther than I thought, it takes about half an hour to reach. When I get there I stop and take a drink and refill my bottle.
  I didn't have breakfast this morning so I eat a bit too.
  If I keep up this pace I will do well, but then again it's not even noon yet who knows what will happen. I set out again. The terrain is very hilly which slows me down. But thankfully the rocks aren't slippery. I don't see many animals other than birds, so it's a good thing I don't need to hunt.
  Sometime after lunch it starts sprinkling.
My backpack is water proof and so is my coat so I don't worry too much. But close to supper, by now it's raining harder, I see lightening. I look for shelter after that. The best thing I find is some big rocks propped in close together. They form an overhang that keeps the rain off.
There is just enough room for me to lay down without getting wet. There's also a crack in one of the rocks where I can put my backpack. I take off my coat so it can dry a bit, and eat a small supper. I also refill my water bottle with rain.
  I realize that there are no cameramen this time. I wonder how they're filming us.
  When I'm finished eating I take my sleeping bag out and lay it flat. I crawl in and realize how cold I was. Flair was right, I'm glad I took one. The ground is hard but I'm exhausted and fall asleep as soon as I'm warm.
  In the morning the rain has stopped. My sleeping bag is a bit damp but not too wet and I am dry. I roll up the sleeping bag and put it back in my backpack then eat breakfast and put my coat on. I don't know how far I traveled yesterday but I'm probably half way.
My muscles are a bit sore but I can put up with that.
  The landscape seems different from yesterday when there were still patches of snow on the ground. Now it's green and fresh and I think I see a forest in the distance. It's in the wrong direction though.
  I start out again, but jogging is not a good idea right now, the rocks are very slippery.
I find a stream around mid morning, it is heading south so I decide to follow it.    Eventually the stream bed deepens into a ravine. I stay at the top to avoid the stones and sand. There's almost a trail here and I make good time. The hills are getting bigger though. I see a lot of rock mounds, I wonder what they are for.
  This trail was probably made by animals but it serves me well. After awhile though it changes direction and I have to leave it.
  After lunch I see tracks, not animal tracks either. I don't recognize them but they're most likely one of the contestants'.
  Farther ahead I see who made the tracks. It's the boy from Great Britain, I can't remember his name.
  He's taken a slightly different route but we'll probably meet soon.
  Ten minutes later he sees me and walks over.
I'm walking up a hill and he's standing at the top. He offers his hand to help me up.
  "Sorry," he says "but I can't lose to you, Audrey already beat me." then he pushes me down the hill and runs away.
  I catch myself before I fall but twist my ankle in the process. It's not too bad, but it still hurts.  I have to tell myself to not get angry with him, that will only make things worse. I didn't know that anyone was that serious about this competition. The people watching will like it.   That's when I see something at the top of the hill. It looks like some sort of tiny helicopter with a camera on it. So that's how they're filming us. It's better than a cameraman. It was hard not to hurt them last week.
  I keep going but I'm slower than before.
In the distance I see a tall tower of some sort. I think that's the finish line.
  An hour later I reach it. There's a lot of people there who cheer when I walk in.
Indigo and her team find me and bring me to where I'm staying tonight.
  Flair's not there yet.
  I eat a little and then go to sleep.
  When I wake up Flair is just entering the room. I stand up and give her a hug.
  "You made it, good job!" I say.
  "Yes I did" she says "can I sleep now?"
  I laugh "Yes you can."
  She's asleep almost as soon as she lays down.
After awhile Flair wakes up, when she's finished eating something she turns the tv on.     I didn't even notice it was here.
  They're just announcing the placing of everyone.
  Tretan is in first place! The boy from Great Britain, his name is Edwin, is a few minutes ahead of me. I am in sixth place.
  Flair is fourteenth. That's pretty good considering that she's never really been out of the city.
  We spend the night here without seeing anyone and in the morning we board a train.
We meet Tretan and Grey on the train and sit with them.
  "Congratulations!" I tell Tretan "How where you so much faster then everyone?"
  "Thanks, and I just didn't sleep." he says laughing.
  Before the train starts Kimi and Quinn join us.
Kimi got tenth but Quinn had thirteenth. He doesn't seem too happy about it.
  "What did you get in your backpack?" He asks Flair.
  "Pretty much everything that Susan packed herself." she says.
  "Typical, of course Emorians are favoured." he grumbles.
  "Why what did you get?" Grey asks him.
  "A tent that took up almost the whole pack and a pot" says Quinn.
  That would slow you down a lot because you either don't eat or waste time hunting.
  It makes me extra glad that I chose to pack my own backpack.
  The train brings us to London and from there we take another plane to Denmark.
  This is one of the few countries I know well because Denmark is just above Germany.
A lot of Denmark is in the Viking era, which is a few centuries after my time.
  Flair and I stay in a longhouse but this time everyone from our team stays with us. I wonder if we'll be part of the same team the whole time.
  We end up staying up late around the fire again. It feels like we're back in Canada.
I go outside to collect some firewood. The air is so still. There are only two other houses close by and the contestants staying in them are already asleep.
  The door opens behind me. It's Amandi.
  "Hi." I say.
  He nods and says "Thank you." so quietly I barely hear him then stalks away.
  I smile, maybe he's not so hard after all.
Inside there are benches built into the wall with blankets that we can sleep on.
  The next challenge will begin tomorrow.
I fall asleep thinking about how close I am to home and yet there's no way I can get there.
  In the morning after getting dressed up, we gather in a clearing with everyone else. I'm almost getting used to having cameras on me all the time.
  An official gets our attention then says "The two people from Denmark, Christopher and Asta, will be the captains of this challenge. If they call your country please step forward."
  Christopher and Asta walk to the official. They appear to play some sort of game to see who picks first. Christopher wins.
  "Germany." he says. We're the first country to be picked, that's kind of cool.
  Asta says "Great Britain." I have to admit I'm glad we won't be on the same team.
  Christopher picks Canada and Asta picks Russia.
  In the end Christopher chooses Spain, Emor, which is a bit surprising, Japan, and Jamaica. Asta has Peru, Australia, India, and Saudi Arabia. That leaves just Nigeria left so Amandi comes to our team and Tayo goes to Asta's team.
  The two teams are separated and we go to a large building. The officials leave and Christopher is in charge. He stops and says "Hello everyone, I'm Christopher, but you can all call me Topher. Anyway I hope the times have been explained to all of you. What we will be doing today is a sport that is very popular with Asta's people. So I hope you can all ride." he looks twelve, because he's short, but I'm pretty sure that nobody here is younger than thirteen. He sounds mischievous and friendly with just the right amount of kindness.
  Inside the barn are fourteen horses.
  Oh no, if this challenge includes riding horses I will not do well. I have ridden once in my life, when I was ten. We where in Berlin to buy some things and there was a man with a horse. If you payed him two dollars you could ride his horse for five minutes. My dad asked how much it was but it was too expensive for us all to try. The man saw how disappointed we all where and he let us all go for free. It was fun but I was being led around and it was only five minutes. Hardly enough experience to make me a good rider.
  Now Christopher goes around the barn introducing everyone to their horse. He leads me to a cream coloured horse. Its tail is black and white and so is its mane and it has a black line down its back.
  "This one is for you Susan," he says, I notice that he knows everyone's names "she is a fjord. Her name is Mist, she's named after a Valkyrie from the old legends." then he goes to the next person leaving me alone with Mist.   She is truly beautiful, I reach out my hand to pet her nose. Her eyes seem to shine at me, encouraging me that everything will be fine.
  Her saddle and bridle are already on her.
I follow everyone else and lead her outside. Topher says "Today we will be hunting on horseback, so please mount your horses. We need to be at the start in forty minutes." then he mounts his horse and waits for everyone else to do the same.   Everybody seems completely comfortable on their horses except Flair, Grey, and me. I watch the others and try to copy them. I get on okay but don't know how to make her go. Marisol notices and rides over to help me. It's not very complicated and Topher gives us half an hour to practice. Once we've settled in we ride to the starting mark. Asta's team is there already.   We're given the option of hunting with dogs or falcons. Asta chooses a falcon and I hear someone whisper that she is a mediaeval princess. Topher chooses dogs. We are individually given the option of which weapons to use.
  I go for a spear as usual. Then each team sets out in a different direction. I'm slowly getting used to riding Mist, but I still don't think I could do any running or anything on her. She seems to know that I'm not entirely comfortable and walks very smoothly.
  "What are we hunting for?" I ask Topher.
  "Hares, foxes, boars, anything really. But a deer or stag would be best." he answers.
  We've been riding for half an hour before we spot something. Topher immediately goes after whatever it is, yelling orders at the dogs and at us.
  "Spain, Emor, and Japan follow me. Canada, Jamaica, Amandi circle around the left side. Germany go circle to the right."
  We obey and split up. Mist takes off running but seems to also be helping me stay on. She is fast and surefooted, so is Tretan's horse and we gain on the stag, for that's what it is, quickly. I think I know what he's aiming for, a gap in the rocks where he can get away. I yell at Tretan to follow me and try to get in front of it. I get to the crack in the rocks and slide off Mist. I hear crashing in the trees that are in front of me. It's almost here.
  Tretan dismounts as well and we both crouch down, waiting.
  The stag breaks through the tree line but doesn't see us. We stand up and it stops and turns looking for a way out. But by now it's surrounded by the rest of the team. Kimi kills it with an arrow.
  It has just dropped to the ground when another one of those tiny helicopters, Flair tells me later it's called a drone, appears and a voice says "Everyone must now return to the starting line."
  "What about the meat?" I ask.
  "Leave it here and it will be taken care of".
  I get back on Mist and we all start riding back. Almost everyone else is talking about the hunt but I let myself fall back and enjoy feeling alone. This place is beautiful. Every new country I've been to has been beautiful but I haven't had time to enjoy it. We just finish a challenge and then have to rush to the next place. So I'm glad for this opportunity to savour God's creation.