by K. Manna
And then Preston, the last to shoot his final bullet, made a clear-targeted shot. That last coin disappeared like nothing.
Way to go, Preston! You’re a rock star!
“Well done. Now please pick up your screens,” Sir Felix said.
The gun stands automatically slid to the left, giving the contestants more room for viewing.
“Now, you will see in the window that the pillared stands have been removed and a blue curtain has appeared at nine hundred feet. Behind the blue curtain, you will find several of the Zylo’s white-gold chalices stacked high atop a stand. I would like you to write down the number of chalices that you see. You will have thirty seconds to write down your answer. After thirty seconds, these chalices will sink beneath the table and a new set of eight chalices will appear. They will all contain a large emerald-green stone, except one, which will hold a large red ruby. You will have another thirty seconds to write down the chalice number that holds the large ruby. Chalices will be numbered from left to right, the first one on the left being number one, with the chalice to the right of it being number two and so on. Do you understand?”
Everyone nodded.
“The curtains will now rise. Listen for the sound of the whistle to begin,” Sir Felix said.
The blue-velvet curtains began to rise, and then came the loud sound of the whistle.
Even on the giant screen, I couldn’t make out what was on the stand until a close-up view appeared.
That’s insane! How can they possibly see those chalices, let alone count them?
A closer view appeared on our screen. I squinted, trying my hardest to count each individual chalice.
Hmm, I think I counted thirteen.
This time Alex’s blue name shot on the screen first with the number fifteen beside it. Max followed, also writing fifteen. Preston came in last, choosing fifteen, too.
All three of them chose fifteen glasses, so that must be right. Guess I can’t count.
The stacked chalices slowly moved downward, while eight more appeared in one straight line. Quickly written answers popped up on the screen, but Max had scribbled out his first answer and changed it to another number before time was up.
“Now, let us turn toward the rocky cliffs that stand in the distance off to our right,” Sir Felix said, as all three stations moved on a track at a ninety-degree angle to the right. “Use your eyes to follow the edge of the highest cliff, and you will find a beautiful statue that represents our royal family. Has anyone found it?” Sir Felix asked.
Preston raised his hand high in the air.
Sir Felix looked at him, smiling. “Very good, Preston. And what is it you see?”
“A l-l-lion,” Preston stuttered.
“And so it is! The royal lion. And around its neck is a large chain. At the sound of my whistle, please write down the number of chain links that you see hanging from the lion’s neck,” Sir Felix instructed.
The three pairs of amazing eyes all blinked.
WHOOT!
This one must have been difficult, even for them, because nobody was in any hurry to answer. My eyes were glued to the screen with amazement. How could these guys see so flippin’ far? To me, the statue just looked like a large rock sitting near the edge of a cliff.
Finally, Alex’s answer of eleven links popped up on the screen. Preston, surprisingly, answered next with the number eleven. The last to answer was Max, writing that there were ten links.
Wow, the challenges just keep getting harder and harder.
Max rubbed his eyes. “I’m starting to get a headache from all this squinting. That was a hard one.”
Sir Felix smiled. “You are doing swell, young man. You will be done soon enough. Hang in there.” Sir Felix walked in front of their stations now. “Your windows will be closing again. I hope none of you have a fear of heights. If you do, then you will find that answering quickly will suit you better during this event. At this time, you may want to grab the railing in front of you for steadiness as your station rises high into the air. Once it stops, your window will automatically open.
“As you know, we are on an island. And although it seems quite a distance for most of us, it is not so far for you three. When you look out over the water, you will see a yacht, one of the royal fleet. This boat displays some words. In this challenge, you are to copy down on your answer pad the words you see on the boat. Like an eye exam, you will find that the words become smaller the farther down you read.” Sir Felix clasped his hands together with excitement. “After you have neatly submitted your final answer, you will descend back to ground level. All right, let’s get to it! Hold on tight, gentlemen.”
Pressing a silver button on the ground with his foot, Sir Felix sent all three stations upward. Screen in hand, Max smiled excitedly. Alex looked like he was totally freaked out, fingers clenching the rail in front of him, his already pale knuckles turning even whiter. Preston continued to hold a straight face, looking at ease as his station rose above the land.
That would be a crazy but stunning sight to see from way up there.
Lottie’s voice broke through my thoughts. “I would totally poop my pants and have an anxiety attack if I were up there.”
“I know, your fear of heights. Hopefully, they won’t have you do anything like that,” I said.
Lottie looked at me with bulging eyes. “They better not. I would freak!”
Back on the screen, I watched the lifts slowly come to a stop high in the air. And I mean high, like way above the forest and cliffs, where they would have no problem seeing the ocean. A zoomed-in camera shot magnified the big royal yacht sitting still on the water. Most of the boat was painted white and silver with large, fancy blue lettering, like a written scroll, on the tilted white wall on the top deck. The letters became smaller and more difficult to read the farther down it read. Before I could read it, the camera zoomed back out.
Aw, now I can’t read a dang thing. What’s up with that? Change it back, whoever is messing with the camera. Jeez.
All three of the guys began to scribble onto their screens. The writing looked fairly neat since Sir Felix reminded them again about their handwriting. My eyes followed Alex’s swift writing: “How different life would be without eyesight. Be thankful for all that you … e … d.” He started to skip around, only writing bits and pieces here and there as the letters became smaller and harder to read. My gaze switched to Max’s writing, which looked pretty similar to Alex’s, but with more scribbles.
Oh, Preston finished first this time.
Preston’s window closed and his green machine descended back down to safe ground. The other two finalized their answers shortly after Preston and were brought back down.
Again, Sir Felix stood in front of all three stations with more instructions. “We have already come to the final round. I can’t believe it! How time flies. Speaking of flying, you will soon see in the air an aircraft about ten thousand feet away. The aircraft will carry a banner with a bold print of six digits to the right on the banner. You must write each digit in the order seen,” Sir Felix explained with his whistle in hand.
Whoot!
Suddenly, a cluster of bright-white streaks zoomed from land to sky. Shortly following, some kind of jet-like aircraft zoomed around the cluster of white, letting loose a bold-blue smoke. It was an awesome sight. The small white banner on the aircraft was barely visible through the cotton puffs of smoke and streaks.
It’s so dang tiny, and there’s so much smoke. What does it say?
A close-up view shifted onto the screen.
Oh, it’s a check. Holy shit, with a bunch of frickin’ money!
Six fancily written numbers were visible in the smaller box to the right. The camera zoomed out, giving a good view of the distance between the ground and the aircraft.
All three of the answers had scratches and scribbles. This
had been a difficult test for them. And I could see why.
People began to clap and cheer as the first portion of the Royals Rise came to an end.
Sir Felix spoke. “The royal family men will go over each test now and determine the results. I will announce the winner shortly.”
I hope Alex wins. He is so nice, and I know how badly he wants to win. Come on, Alex! I’m rooting for you! I’m your cheerleader at heart, man!
Not long after, Sir Felix appeared on the screen with a huge grin across his face. “We have a winner! This young man should be extremely proud of himself because he answered every single test correctly, except for one very difficult digit. The young man who has proven his exceptional vision is … Preston! Preston, come here, my boy.”
With gleaming, watery eyes and a shy smile, Preston approached Sir Felix.
Sir Felix wrapped his arm around Preston’s shoulders, reading from a card in his hand. “You shot both coins cleanly. You answered correctly that there were fifteen stacked chalices, and chalice number four held the ruby stone. Eleven chain links hung from the lion’s neck. The difficult words on the boat read ‘How different life would be without eyesight. Be thankful for all that you are and all that you can see. Your eyesight has brought you here, but only one of you will stay. Today may just be your lucky day.’ The amount of the bank check on the banner is two-hundred and sixteen thousand, five hundred eighty-nine dollars. You thought the number nine was a four, but that was your one and only mistake. You will receive a check for this amount, signed by the Zylo himself as a winning token.” Sir Felix beamed at Preston. “How do you feel right now?”
Preston gave a shy shrug. “G-g-good.”
“Swell, and very well done, Preston. We will continue on with our next event after a short break.” Sir Felix winked, the screen dimmed to black.
Who will go next? OMG, which group will it be? I hope it’s not mine! Well, I do want to get it over with, but I’m crazy scared. Okay, think positive thoughts now, Margo. All I can do is my best, and the rest will be left to the royals. I can do this. I will do this. Oh, I gotta tinkle.
My bladder really started feeling full with all of that anxious thinking. So much pressure, expectation, and excitement began to rise inside every cell in my body. Sir Felix quickly walked onto the patio, alone. Preston had obviously gone up to the high balcony to join the royals.
But where did Max and Alex go?
Sir Felix spoke loudly above all the chatter. “I call all healers. Maybree, Indee, and Margo, please come with me.”
Seriously, if I didn’t have total bladder control right now, I would totally pee myself. OMFG, I can’t believe this! Holy shitballs! I’m really next!
Right there and then, after hearing the sound of my name being called, jitters mania took over my nerves.
Chill, Margo. Just chill. Have fun and do your best. But above all, have fun.
To remind myself over and over again to do just that, I clenched my jade stone in my left pocket, sweaty palms growing even sweatier.
Lottie hugged me tight. “Good luck, big sista. No matter what happens, you are awesome and I love you. I will watch every second no matter how scared or weirded out I might get, okay?”
Giving Lottie a squeeze back, I whispered, “Thanks, Lottie, for everything. We will always be sisters no matter what.”
When I pulled away from our hug, Gage swarmed in for one, too, singing in my ear, “Go-Go, you’re a booger on my finger. I try to flick you off but you still linger, when will you finally unstick, ’cause I got more greenies to pick.”
Tears filled my eyes. “Oh, stop with your stupid song, Gage.” A muffled laugh crept out of my mouth as I sniffled into his shoulder. “So this is it, for reals now. I really hope we both win, Gage. If I don’t see you, good luck.”
“Same to you, Go-Go. You’re gonna rock this. Hurry up so I can watch you win!” Gage said with excitement.
Should I say, “I love you”? I want to look like a loving sister, but I feel weird. Nah, I’m not going to. That’s not how we do.
Someone pulled me back, saying, “Good luck, girl!”
My girl, Sasha.
Elise came toward me with her arms out for some hugging action. “Show us what you got, Go-Go. I hope that I see you up on the balcony, but I know you would rather see your bro up there instead of me.” A high-pitched laugh came from her mouth. “You might have to settle for me, though. I’m not giving up without a fight.”
“I know you won’t,” I said, pulling back from our hug. “If Gage doesn’t win, I hope that you do.”
Bree tugged on my arm. “Come on, Go-Go. We gotta go so I can kick your lil’ ass.”
Elise laughed.
“Whatever, Bree. Keep talking crap ’cause it’s on till the break of dawn,” I joked, waving good-bye to the others.
Indee, Bree, and I followed Sir Felix into the woods beyond the little wooden bridge. Cole, who is in the strength category with Sasha and who helped break bones before in practice, came along with us. We came upon an area where many tall, perfectly trimmed green bushes created a hedge maze. The maze was full of twists and turns. Finally, we emerged into a large open space within the thick wall of bushes. In the center of the space was a circle of marble.
Sir Felix stopped before us. “The Royal Zyon has asked for each of you to take your turn one at a time. Who would like to go fir …”
My hand shot up. “I will.”
I can’t stand the thought of sitting and waiting with nerves raging and an anxious, jittery bladder on top of it. I’m getting this over and done with ASAP.
“Aren’t you a mighty brave soul today,” Sir Felix said with a smile. “Maybree and Indee, please have a seat in those chairs off to the side. Each chair has a sensory-inhibiting helmet. Slide the helmet over your head. Margo and Cole, please come with me.”
Indee shrugged. “Why don’t we get to watch?”
Sir Felix turned back to look at Indee. “Now, why in the world would you want to take a chance of discouraging yourself? Take a seat and relax. Prepare for your turn because you will be up shortly. The Zylo often says that the unknown can be more useful than knowing. Ponder that. Anyway, surprises make for more fun.”
Sir Felix turned on his heels and walked toward the shiny marble slab that sat smack dab in the center of the clearing. As we walked closer, I realized Dr. Avery was seated in a chair with his silver case sitting at his feet. I knew the case held the high-tech device that would soon show my body parts being twisted, pulled, and cracked.
As soon as Dr. Avery saw us, he stood up, revealing his gap-toothed smile. He quickly brushed his comb-over back into its precarious position above his ear, the ear opposite the side from which the hair grew. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself.
How could someone so smart be so completely clueless?
Dr. Avery smiled. “Well, well, who do we have here? My dear Margo, I see.”
I returned a nervous smile. “Hi, Dr. Avery.” I looked back and forth between Dr. Avery and Sir Felix. “Let’s get this game started. I want to get this torture over with.”
“Here we have Margo Selks,” Sir Felix announced loudly as he walked over to the edge of the marble and pressed a silver button with his foot. I imagined he had just activated the big screen so now everyone could see my pain. “Once your hands come in contact with each injury, Margo, the clock will begin ticking.”
Nothing like more pressure to rile me up.
A rumbling noise came from the center of the marble circle, causing a portion of the circle to slowly open. A fancy gray-leather chair, the kind you might see in a dentist’s office, rose out of the opening; beside it was a silver cabinet with cupboards and drawers.
“Would you like to take a seat?” Dr. Avery asked nicely.
“Um, I guess,” I replied hesitantly.
Like I really have
a choice. Ah, I taste blood. Margo, chill out and quit biting your dang lip.
I made my way over to the chair, taking a seat with my feet still touching ground. Dr. Avery walked over to the cupboard, opened a drawer, and rummaged through it. A few moments later, he turned to me with a sharp-looking medical knife in his hand. Pulling out a stool on wheels, he took a seat beside me.
“Pick an arm, any arm,” Dr. Avery said with weapon in hand.
Lifting my right arm, Dr. Avery turned it over. My heart began to race even faster than it did before.
Come on, Margo, it’s not like you haven’t done this kind of thing before. Just chill the heck out. It will be over before you know it, remember? Oh, but all eyes are on me.
The jade stone in my left pocket heated against my left hand as I clenched it tightly. Not wanting to look, I looked off into the distance where gray clouds moved slowly through the sky and green bushes surrounded us. Then everything stilled at that very moment except for the sharp knife poking deeply into my flesh. Piercing pain pulsed through my inner arm just below my elbow as the knife dug deeper, dragging down into my skin. Just when I thought it might be over, the knife turned and cut through my arm at another angle, and then it turned a second time. I bit down hard on my lower lip.
Dammit! Stop!
Tears filled my eyes, but not enough to fall. When the dragging and pulling of my skin finally stopped, I looked down at the gruesome sight.
A big, ugly bloody “Z.”
Instantly, I pulled my sweaty left hand from out of my pocket, swooping over the bloody mess. Imagining fierce, bold-purple shades of energy glowing through cut skin, I clenched my eyes tightly, envisioning a glowing letter “Z” beaming bright purple back at me. Heat boiled up through my arm, making my left hand not only sweatier, but also roaring hot. Crazy sensations zipped back and forth throughout my body so flippin’ fast. My skin became even more painful as open flesh began to pull back together little by little.
When the familiar sensations began to lessen, my whole body relaxed and I slowly pulled my hand away.
Please be spotless, please.