Against All Odds

Neve [Installment 25]

Previously: Neve is finally free of the ravine. She’s now left to find her way out of the wilderness and back to the competition.

I’ve been walking for hours and nothing has changed. I have no idea if I’m even headed in the right direction.

Before me is nothing but vast green space. Land covered in long grass and weeds that go on for miles, butting up to the sky on the horizon. The openness allows the sun ample opportunity to relentlessly beat down on me. I can feel my skin slowly burning to a crisp. 

Behind me is nothing but the same. Only the occasional tree breaks up the monotony of the landscape.

The clouds hang effortlessly in the sky, floating along without a care in the world. The sweet sounds of the birds singing their little songs while the slight breeze plays with the leaves on the few trees out here lulls me into a sense of calmness and peace. Even the pretty flowers surrounding me lull me into a false sense of security. 

All attempting to cover up the dangerous vulnerability of being out in the open with no cover or place to hide if attacked. 

It’s too quiet. I miss the sounds of town - the crunch of wheels against gravel and dirt, the shouts of the vendors, the horses' feet clopping through town. Out here there is nothing but the occasional rustling leaves, chattering birds and my own thoughts. 

I’d much rather not be left alone with my thoughts, thank you very much.

There’s no distractions, which means I’m left to focus on just how tired and hungry I am. I am so done with nature. I just want to be back surrounded by people. Even if they’re mean and rude. At least then I’m not alone. 

The sun is beginning to dip down. I’ve spent a full day walking with seemingly no progress. My feet and legs are begging me to quit. Forcing myself to continue forward, I trudge along, focusing only on the five feet of ground in front of me, zoned in on just placing one foot in front of the other. The rhythm preoccupies me, allowing me a distraction from the emptiness I feel, both in my soul and my stomach. 

Right, left. 

Right, left. 

Right, left. 

Movement ahead breaks my focus. My head snaps up and I see color flitting between a line of trees up ahead. I halt, holding my breath, fearing it’s the creature or some other monster. Squinting it looks like a tiny sunbeam popping in and out of the trees. I can almost make out the shape of a small person. Wait, I squint harder, is that a bag slung across their body? Realization smacks me.

Tink!

I start running towards her, forgetting about my sore feet and legs. She disappears and I push myself faster to catch up to her. Running into the trees, my glance darts all over the place. My pulse increases and I bite my lower lip. About to give up, I catch a glimpse of her golden hair further ahead darting through the trees. 

As I gain on her I shout out her name. She glances back only to disappear again. A ball of light whizzes past me, nearly missing my arm. I peer down to see a trindle of smoke floating upwards and my shirt slightly singed. My eyes go wide. I glance in the direction it came from to catch a glimpse of a contestant from the Gentry class preparing to throw another zinger at me. His eyes narrow as he zeros in on me and prepares to release the globe of light. I seek cover and a way to defend myself. Seeing an enormous tree up ahead with a massive trunk several feet wide,  I sprint to it. Stumbling as my feet trip over roots peeking up out of the ground, I finally manage to take cover behind the enormous tree. Peeking around, I quickly flatten myself against the trunk as another globe of light whizzes past me. 

Taking a couple deep breaths, I try to calm the chaos in my mind and sort out a plan of escape. The tree vibrates as a ball of light strikes it dead center. Groaning follows as the branches around me shudder and bend in. Startled, I look around but there’s no one else present except my attacker and myself. Smoke emanates from a hole in the center of the tree. It didn’t go all the way through but it definitely made its mark.

I realize that I have no way to fight him. No weapons and only unreliable magic that is more likely to cause damage than help me in any way. My only option is to attempt to outrun him. Assuming that his presence means that I must be near the finish line, I decide to risk it.  

I close my eyes and take several deep breaths focusing on the sounds around me, hoping for some clue as to the direction I need to run. A faint roar in the distance grabs my attention. It sounds like a crowd of people. Another ball of light whizzes by, this one scorching the side of the tree. The branches above pull away and I hear a slight rumble above me. I glance up for the source of the sound but don’t see anything. 

Deciding to take the risk, I dart from behind the tree and head towards the noise. Balls of light whiz past me, each one getting closer and closer to hitting me. 

I dart from tree to tree in an attempt to evade harm. Heavy breathing fills my ears as I realize the Gentry is gaining on me. Crying out, I leap over a large root in the path, turning back just in time to see the root rise up out of the ground, clotheslining the contestant. His eyes grow wide in surprise, then roll back in his head as he slumps to the ground. I gasp covering my mouth with my hand. I stumble, hesitating in indecision on whether or not to help him. Before I can decide, branches reach down and pull him up. His body disappears in the canopy of the trees.

My decision made for me, I continue running.

As I draw near  the noise I can just make out crowds of people waiting in anticipation to see who survived. Their excitement ripples through the air. Off to my right two contestants are slightly ahead of me, another Gentry and a Maker. I  force myself to go faster. Abruptly, I feel myself lifted into the air. I glance down alarmed and see the ground,  instantaneously 10 feet below me and suddenly  rushing at me. My brain scrambles to process this change of events as I slam into the earth and my ankle twists at an unnatural angle. Another Gentry runs from behind and past me smirking, kicking up dirt and leaves as he passes. 

I stare at him through narrowed eyes, my nostrils flaring. I can feel my face reddening. As I rise to my feet to attack, the rage rippling through my veins dissipates as I grimace at the pain shooting up from my ankle. Determined not to give up after having made it this far, I suck in a breath, grit my teeth, and force myself to move forward. I look to my left at another contestant battered and bloodied. He stumbles through the woods in no apparent direction, his jaw slack. He trips over roots and rocks in the path, appearing to not even notice them, until one sends him sprawling to the ground.

I continue towards the exit refusing to give up. Another contestant comes at me but I duck and roll out of the way, before his spell can make contact. I grab a fallen branch as I struggle to my feet and sweep it under his. The branch connects and he lands on his back with a thud, a dust cloud of dirt rising from the impact. He lays stunned, the wind knocked out of him. 

I fight to increase my speed, tears pooling in the back of my eyes, the pain from my ankle increasing with every step. I shorten the branch used against the other contestant and make a crutch to relieve some of the pressure on my ankle.

I burst at a hobble into the light of the field leaving the woods behind me. Two contestants are ahead of me. Noticing that the ground was slick and we were on a decline, I spotted a large chunk of bark off to the side and an idea sparks. It was a long shot but worth trying. I hop onto the wood as if it were a sled and use the makeshift crutch as a pole to increase my speed. As the hill dips I gain speed and fly by the first contestant. Taken by surprise, she tries to jump out of the way but fails. The bark clips her and sends her hurtling off to the side. 

One down, one to go. I crouch down to gain more speed and concentrate on the contestant in front of me. She glances back and nearly stumbles as I close the gap. She quickly catches her footing and raises her hand towards me. 

Uh oh. The ground around me begins to rise and crumble. In spite of the possible consequences I attempt to summon magic to deflect the attack. Nothing happens. Desperate, I leap off the chunk of bark, curl into a ball and somersault my way down the hill praying I'll make it before the ground disintegrates beneath me. 

I make it to the bottom in a heap. And find myself at the bottom of what now was a ravine. Smaller than the last, but a ravine nonetheless. I smash my fist against the dirt. I hate ravines, my mind seethes.

I look around for inspiration. 

“You got a thing for ravines or something?”

I startled at the question. Standing above me along the edge of the ravine is Tink, her hip jutted out with one hand resting casually on it. The other absently stroked the strap of my bag. Before I can respond, she floats down and lands beside me. Sprinkling a bit of pixie dust above my head, she wraps her arm around my waist and we rise to the top of the ravine. She releases me as our feet find solid ground and darts away. Before she gets too far, she turns and tosses my bag at me. 

“You're gonna need this.” 

Stunned, I barely caught the bag. I close my eyes and hug it to my body in relief, incredibly grateful to have it back. When I open my eyes, she’s already gone.

Shaking it off, my mind focuses on the increase in the sound of people. I take off hobbling towards it, ready to be done with this damn competition.

Sooner than I anticipated I saw before me crowds of people yelling. I freeze, stunned at the sheer number of people present. I notice someone shouting at me and pointing at something behind me. I glance back to see a rock barrelling through the air towards me. I drop to the ground. The rock explodes upon impact beside me, sending shards of rock everywhere. I scramble to my feet and take off running to the finish line ahead of the final and only other contestant. I hobble  as fast as I can. I dare to glance back only to discover he’s gaining on me. Sucking in my breath I endure the pain in my ankle and use all my strength to pretend it doesn’t exist. I run full strides zoning in on the finish line blocking everything else out. All my energy and attention focused on getting to it and crossing it. My heart soars as I come within feet of the finish line. 

Suddenly I’m sprawled on the ground and skidding sideways, the other contestant’s face within inches of mine. He quickly scrambles to his feet, but I reach out and grab his ankle, yanking with all my might. He faceplants, spitting out dirt. I use him as leverage to pull myself up and drag myself over the  finish line, collapsing on the ground.