Theo the Street Kid and the Extraordinary Competition

Chapter 29 - Another Betrayal

Theo quickly leapt out of the way.
A battle was about to take place and he didn't want to be caught up in it.
Theo hid behind some bushes as the cameraman man followed him.
He knew he should be looking for the Numbamosa Tree, but his eyes were glued to the conflict.
The cobra darted toward the frog, opened its mouth and swallowed it whole.
That's it? Theo thought. That was disappointing.
But the fight wasn't over yet.
The frog was still alive and kicking in the reptile's stomach.
Suddenly, the frog burst through the lizard with its dangerous poison, exploding its adversary.
With wide eyes, Theo watched as the frog's black poison oozed all over the snake, and then began to gobble the remains of the exploded cobra.
I'm gonna get outta here, Theo thought.
This was indeed the Garden of Treachery.
Terrified, he decided to sneak away before the poisonous frog noticed him.
He turned around only to find himself at the edge of a pond.
He still didn't know where he was going, but he was pretty sure swimming across a pond wasn't a good idea.
Close by, a family of flamingoes were fishing in the area. The father flamingo gave his son a little nudge, almost like the parent was cleaning its child. It seemed like an idyllic little scene, but Theo knew better.
As Mr. Sotia said, nothing was as it seemed in the Garden of Treachery.
Theo spotted a ripple in the water.
He didn't know what it was, but it couldn't be good.
Just then, he spied a pair of glowing yellow eyes peeking out of the water.
All of a sudden, a crocodile jumped out of the water and bit down hard on the neck of the father flamingo.
The other flamingoes scrambled for safety as the crocodile dragged the helpless victim into the water.
The ferocious reptile twisted and spun around and around, doing its best to drown the flamingo first. Because crocodiles couldn't swallow its meal whole, it had to kill it first, then eat and digest it piece by piece.
The pond became blood red as the crocodile started to dine.
On edge, Theo was about to hightail it out of there when he heard an argument across the huge pond.
Borm had Sovana cornered against the other end of the pond.
They were shouting and then screaming at each other.
Theo couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but he had an idea.
Borm was probably reaming Sovana out for making an alliance with Theo.
And then, to Theo's horror, Borm did something unexpected.
He pushed Sovana into the pond.
As soon as her body hit the water, a horde of crocodiles snapped at her, biting and tearing into her until she had been completely ripped to shreds.
Sovana was now dead.
Disgusted, Theo watched as the reptiles fought over her remains .
Sovana may have broken her word to him, but surely she didn't deserve to die in such a horrific way.
Standing behind Brom was Mr. Sotia, who clapped his hands in delight and gestured excitedly to the cameraman.
Across the pond, Borm looked up at Theo and then made a slitting motion across his throat with one finger, indicating that Theo was next.
Theo backed away and dashed off.
His cameraman followed.

***

Like many others in the Kingdom, Borm had been born into utter poverty in a remote village in the provinces. The seventh of twelve children, he lost his father when he abandoned the family when Borm was just five.
In dire straits and addicted to glue, his mother had no way of raising her twelve kids, so she sold some away to become child labourers and she took out her frustrations physically on the remaining ones.
Tired of being verbally, emotionally and physically abused by his mother, Borm ran away from home to the capital city.
At least he had freedom there.
But he quickly learned that no money meant no options and therefore, not much freedom.
Forced to squat at Wasted Tears at the Mountain of Garbage, Borm first encountered Theo several years earlier, when they squabbled over a bowl of spoiled rice.
Theo won the majority of their fights and Borm had hated him ever since.
Unlike Theo, Borm didn't have much compassion for others.
Maybe it was because the law of the streets dictated that in order for one person to win, the other person had to lose.
Maybe it was because surviving on the mean streets had turned him into such a cruel, heartless and unsympathetic young man - either willingly or not.
Maybe it was because he had been abused so much so often so young.
But whatever the reason, his heart was chock full of hatred.
He had stolen food from monks, bullied younger kids into giving him their money, set fire to houses so he could burglarize the surprised inhabitants in the confusion and once, even killed a six year-old girl for looking at him the wrong way.
His first murder had given him immense satisfaction and he had been lusting for another kill ever since.
He was happy that he had just killed Sovana. She had betrayed him and deserved to die.
He was looking forward to killing Theo next.
He didn't want only to win the competition.
He wanted Theo dead too.
Borm had spotted his old rival across the pond watching as Sovana was devoured by hungry crocodiles.
Then he had run away now.
As soon as Theo bolted, Borm chased after him.
He decided he would never let Theo go, not in a million years.
Borm followed Theo closely.
He followed him into a clearing in the forest, which was blanketed by thick fog.
Borm spotted a coconut on the ground and picked it up.
Then, he struck Theo on the head with it.