Chapter 41
Amie
he following day was dedicated to training. The five of us all felt a littleT off and distracted and getting a day to work out was just what we needed. Both to work out some of the pent-up emotions we were dealing with, but also to ease us back into being a team. When we finished training in the afternoon, we all felt a lot better than we had done going into the training in the morning. We were ready to take on the game the next day.
After dinner we had another call with the pack back home and I felt relieved to see they had also settled into the news and seemed to be doing better. We went to bed early but when I got into my bed, I couldn’t relax. ‘Are you sleeping?’ Finlay mindlinked after half an hour.
‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘Liar, why aren’t you sleeping?’ ‘I could ask you the same,’ I countered. ‘But I asked you first.’ ‘Too many thoughts. Trying to figure out what the game will be, wondering if we need to be worried about sabotage and trying to figure out what kind of game we are playing tomorrow,’ I told him. ‘Those are big thoughts. Maybe put them to the side and deal with them tomorrow?’ he suggested. ‘Brilliant, why didn’t I think of that? This is why you are the Alpha.’ ‘Did you just sass your Alpha?’ he asked. The amusement in his mindlink
was clear. ‘I did.’
‘And you admit to it. I may need to reconsider if you are Beta material.’ ‘Stop saying stupid things and I won’t need to sass you. It’s just me doing my Beta duties to make you the best Alpha you could ever be,’ I told him. I could swear I heard him laughing through the wall.
“Go to sleep, Red. We need that brilliant mind of yours to be on point
tomorrow,’ he said. ‘I will if you will.’ ‘It’s a deal. See you tomorrow.’ Our short conversation worked to distract me from all my other thoughts, and I managed to go to sleep.
The next morning was worse than the morning of the first game. We all felt the burden of what was resting on our shoulders. We had breakfast and headed for the stadium. We took our usual seats and waited.
“Good morning and welcome to the second game,” the speaker’s voice said. “Today’s game will be about endurance. It is an obstacle course where not only speed and agility is tested, but also teamwork and strategy. All packs will start at the same time, follow the same course and face the same obstacles. But it is up to you to use the environment and anything you find within the staked out course to move forward. It is not allowed to attack other participants. It is allowed to make their progress harder. As in the first game, the goal is to get all members of your pack over the finish line. Points will be deducted if not all members make it to the end. Rule violators will be removed as soon as the violation is detected and will score a zero. We wish all of you the best of luck. You will now be escorted to the start of the
course. Wait for the horn to start.” ‘We can do this,’ Finlay mindlinked us. ‘We need to keep a steady pace. Don’t over do it at the start. It will probably not be a short race and we need to have energy to tackle the obstacles,’ Sam reminded us. We all nodded as we followed the rest of the packs to the start. I spotted Finlay’s brother and his team as they made sure to be at the front. I caught the scent of Elder and James, but it was gone as soon as I scented it, mixed in with all the unfamiliar scents. Everyone was guided to an open area in the forest. The course had been marked with a strong scent, making it clear what area was part of the track and which wasn’t. There was a loud signal and everyone set off. It was hard not to join in the panicked sprint many packs were making. My instinct was to keep up with them, not to let them get ahead of me. But I kept reminding myself we
needed to save our energy. Twenty minutes into the course, we saw the first obstacle. A ten feet tall wall stood in our way. ‘Boost me,’ Sam told us as we saw several packs struggling. Fortunately the wall was wide and allowed for several packs to try and get over it at the same time. Finlay and Ramses gave Sam a boost. He managed to get up to sit on the wall and Finlay and I gave Ramses a boost. Sam helped him up
and they both sat on the wall. ‘I can do this,’ Jake said. ‘Yes you can!’ I agreed. Me and Finlay boosted him and he reached Sam’s and Ramses’ hands on his first try. Finlay and I waited and watched as they helped him down on the other side of the wall. ‘You’re up next, Red,’ Finlay mindlinked. I nodded, backed up a little to get a running start and then set off. Finlay helped boost me and I flew up towards Sam’s and Ramses’ outstretched hands. It was not as hard as I thought to get up on the wall and I had no issues jumping down on the other side. I joined Jake, looking up, as Ramses came down on our side. Soon I could see Finlay’s head as Sam helped him get up on the wall. They both joined us and we gave each other a quick smile as we had handled the first obstacle with ease. There were packs who had issues with the obstacle.
Some had a member who had scaled the wall and then jumped down and now didn’t have the strength to jump back up to help their pack members.
Some had issues getting one of their members over the wall. We took a minute to gather ourselves and then we set off again. Many of the packs that had sprinted past us in the beginning were now behind us. We weren’t first, but we were gaining ground. Sam was leading the way followed by Ramses and Jake. Me and Finlay came up the rear. The forest's undergrowth was becoming difficult to go through. It was snarly and dense. Sticks and rocks were hiding in the green bushes covering the ground. It was impossible to keep up a high speed. It was equalising the field. And as positive as that was, it was also frustrating to have to move with care. We all saw the clearing start to show between the trees and the packs in front of us sprinted as they got through the dense vegetation. Sam was about to do the same when Ramses grabbed the back of his t-shirt. ‘Stop!’ he mindlinked us all. We stopped dead in our tracks. ‘Quicksand’ he added. We all watched as the flat floor of the clearing wobbled under the feet of those who had sprinted into it and they began to sink. Screams of surprise were heard as they understood their situation. We stood at the edge
of the clearing and watched, hesitant if we should help. The more the people trapped in the quicksand struggled against it, the faster they sank. It seemed they didn’t sink lower than their waist. But they seemed to be truly stuck. ‘Can we go around?’ I asked. We looked in both directions. ‘Not without going off the track,’ Sam said. ‘It’s too wide to jump across, can we swing over?’ Finlay asked. I had to giggle and the other looked at me like I was crazy. ‘Sorry, I just had an image of our Alpha playing Tarzan,’ I explained.
Even Jake snickered at the image I knew they all got. As we were trying to figure out a way over, one pack tried to braid some of the undergrowth together and swing over. The braids didn’t stand the weight and disintegrated halfway over. The pack ended up in the quicksand. ‘It’s just a non-newtonian fluid,’ Jake told us. ‘A what?’ I asked. ‘A fluid that changes viscosity under pressure,’ he explained. We all looked at him like he had spoken Chinese. “Like when you try to stir corn starch in water, it feels like a lump, until you stop stirring and it looks like a liquid again. Quicksand is a fluid that will act as a non-fluid when strong force, such as yanking, is applied to it. But if you move slowly it will act like a fluid. Which gives us two options to make it across.’ We all still stared at him. He rolled his eyes. ‘Either we get into it and move really, really slowly to the other side. If we do it slowly and carefully it will be like walking in water. Or we can run across it as fast as we can, stomping our feet down with each step, it should be like running on solid ground.’ ‘Ah,’ Finlay said. ‘Why go slow when we can go fast?’ Sam asked with a smirk. ‘Oh good. I should have said we only had one option,’ Jake grumbled. I smiled at him. ‘Let’s get some of this vegetation out of the way so we can get a running start,’ I suggested. As we cleared a path to the opening, some of the wolves stuck in the quicksand made it to the other side and some made their way over using long sticks they used to swing themselves over with. ‘I’ll go first,’ Sam offered. ‘Remember, the more force you put in your step, the better. And if you sink, move slowly to the other side,’ Jake told him.
‘I’m going to have so much fun with this,’ Sam said before he set off. He took off through the cleared space and when he hit the open area he started adding small jumps into his steps. It looked ridiculous and we could all hear him giggling as a madman as he sprinted across the quicksand. Everyone around us stopped what they were doing and looked at him. I joined in his giggling. He made it across without sinking. ‘Guys, you need to try it. It was amazing!’ he reported back. ‘We don’t have time to spare. Let’s do this,’ Finlay told us. We all started running and when we got to the quicksand, we mimicked Sam’s running style. It truly was amazing. I felt like a kid when I did a mix between bouncing and running. We were all laughing as we joined Sam on the other side. None of us had sunk, and as we set off, we could see others try as well. Most of them failed, as they didn’t understand the reason behind what we had done. But some were successful. We sprinted through the forest.
The ground was easier to run on, on this side of the quicksand and from being in the middle of the packs, we were now one of the top packs. Our path was blocked by a new obstacle. This time it was a deep and broad ravine. ‘No way we will jump over that,’ I told the others. As I said it, a member of another pack tried just that. We watched in stunned horror as his pack mates cheered him on as he took a running start and leaped. I almost thought he was going to make it, he was an excellent jumper. But then, as he got closer to the other side, his momentum seemed to halt and he waved his arms in an attempt to get closer. But his arch took him down into the ravine. All the wolves watching hurried to the edge and looked down. The drop was at least fifteen feet and the bottom of the ravine was covered in stones the size of closed fists, with some boulders scattered around. The wolf that had leaped was laying amongst the stones, he was moaning and moving his arms. One of his legs was at an unnatural angle, clearly broken. ‘Yeah, let’s not do that,’ Sam agreed. Another pack had found a fallen tree they were dragging out, trying to use it as a bridge. Jake was holding out a stick and moving it around in the air. ‘It won’t be enough, they are wasting their time and energy,’ he said. I didn’t even bother to ask him how he knew. ‘Should we look for something similar?’ Ramses asked. ‘It’s not optimal. A tree trunk that would span this ravine and be sturdy enough to hold our weight will be heavy. I don’t know how we would
manage to get the end of it across to the other side without it ending up in the ravine,’ Jake told us. ‘What about doing that pole thing they did over the quicksand?’ Sam asked. ‘Not a bad idea. We need to find some long and bendy tree and it should work,’ Jake agreed. ‘How long is long enough?’ Finlay asked. ‘Could you stand beside the ravine, Alpha?’ Jake asked. As Finlay stood next to the edge, Jake took out his stick and held it up. I was curious and stood behind him. He used the stick to measure the height needed for the pole we should use. When he marked a good height on the stick, he then compared it with Finlay. ‘About two and a half times your length, Alpha,’ he then said. ‘Let’s go then,’ Finlay said and we scattered out to find what we needed.
Other packs were on their own scavenger hunt. One pack had found a huge trunk they were pushing out over the edge, trying to counterweight the end dangling in the air. It looked to be a success until they had about a third of the way left. The end hanging free in the air got too heavy for them to keep it in the air and it became a heavy duty sew saw, lifting the pack in the air.
Fortunately, they let go of the log, leaving them in a heap at the edge of the ravine. The log slid down, wedging itself part way down the wall. I was happy we hadn’t tried that. ‘Got it,’ Ramses mindlinked us. He came walking with a small tree, its
trunk was thin and bendy. ‘Perfect,’ Finlay said. ‘We should look for a good place to use it. Best thing would be to find a place where we can wedge it between the rocks so it won’t slide,’ Jake said.
Ramses put the pole down and joined us to inspect the bottom of the ravine.
Not far from us, a pack had climbed into the ravine and was now trying to climb up the other side. The dirt was loose and they didn’t seem to find any grip but kept gliding back down. A little farther away, another pack had managed to get a log over the ravine. As the first member was halfway over, the log began to crumble and then snapped. ‘To dry. That’s why they were able to get it across, but it won’t hold their weight,’ Jake explained as we watched the man who had fallen into the ravine get up. He seemed unharmed.
‘I think this would be a good place,’ Sam said. We all looked down and saw the little pile of stones where we could wedge the pole. I turned around to get it. I saw one of the wolves from Finlay’s brother’s pack standing around the area where Ramses had put the pole. When he saw me looking, he walked away. ‘We are going to need a new pole,’ I told the others. They all looked at me. ‘Okay, let’s find a new one,’ Finlay said. When the others went on a new scavenger hunt, he looked at me. He didn’t even need to ask. ‘I saw someone from your brother’s team hanging around the other pole.
I didn’t think we should chance it,’ I told him. ‘Good call.’ The others didn’t take long to find another tree to make into a pole. ‘I will go first,’ Finlay told us. He walked up to the edge, placed the base of the pole into the pile of rocks, tested to make sure it was a good fit.
Then he bent the pole into a bow and leaped off the edge. I held my breath as I watched him go. The spring in the pole helped carry him to the other side. I let out the breath I was holding. ‘Works like a charm,’ he told us and sent the pole back to our side. One by one we all made it across. We saw other packs also making it. Finlay took the pole out of the ravine when we were all across and broke it. No need to leave it for anyone else to use. We ran along the course, trying to keep our eyes open for any more hidden obstacles, but also keeping a good pace. As we rounded a corner, we saw the finish line. To our surprise there was only one pack ahead of us. ‘Time to give it all we got,’ Sam urged us on. We saw our goal and we knew we didn’t need to hold back. This was the time to use all the rest of our energy. We wanted to keep the others behind us. As we ran, we made sure we stayed close together and we watched the pack before us to see if they got caught up in any surprises. They didn’t and crossed the finish line.
Not more than three minutes later, we crossed it as the second team. We all grinned like mad men and congratulated each other with hugs and pats on the back. We had made it through the second game and we did it as the second pack to cross the finish line, with all our members. All without injuries aside from some scrapes and bruises. It was worth celebrating. We were ushered to the side to keep the area clear for incoming packs. In the area we were shown to, Matilda and Rania were waiting with food and water. We happily accepted as we watched other packs finishing the race.
Some were carrying team members that had gotten hurt. Some were only
four or even three members. We saw Finlay’s brother and his team make it, one of his warriors had a bad limp and another had a black eye. My brother and James finished not long after, with all of their team members. By the look of them, they had ended up in the quicksand. It could explain why they were so late to finish. ‘Amazing work everyone, this was a true team effort. Now I think we all have earned a shower, a nap and then some of my aunt’s cooking,’ Finlay told us. We cheered at that. It was just what was needed. It was nice to call the pack at home and deliver the good news. We opted to do it as soon as we all got back to the cabin. Even a shower and a nap could wait. The mood in the cabin was at a high that evening.
