Battle of Fate 59

Sam 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 who 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. Jack 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. Rames 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.
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‘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.