by K. Manna
Suddenly, Onnika screamed loudly with excitement. “There it is!”
She skipped around a large tree where she found a shrine of rocks stacked higher than she was tall, and a blue glow lighting a dark cubby hidden within the rocks. Onnika yanked the handle of the sword that stuck out from the center of the shrine and swung it high in the air.
She waved the sword in the air, smiling. “Woo-hoo! I found it!”
As she did this, a screen lit up on the flat wall of the shrine. Onnika became distracted by the two armored men battling it out with their swords.
The Zylo and the Zyon.
The camera cut from Onnika woo-hooing back to Sir Felix with Lottie standing beside him. “We will give Dr. Avery a minute to get Onnika quietly settled before Lottie begins.”
Lottie looked around nervously. “So I’m just listening for the sound of some swords banging it out, right?”
Sir Felix nodded. “Yes, if that’s what you call it. Listen very closely for two swords colliding together. And remember to remove the sword as soon as you find it. Time counts.”
WHOOT!
Lottie walked a few steps forward with her eyes shut, head tilting a little to the left and then to the right.
All I can hear are birds chirping. How the heck can she hear swords from so far away and through all of that noise?
Lottie jogged forward, turning into a full sprint through the woods. She wound through the maze of trees, jumped over large branches, and dodged large rocks on the ground. She ran faster and faster, faster than I had ever seen her run before.
“Come on. Come on!” I said, clenching the chair arms tightly.
Sasha put her hand on mine. “Don’t worry about it. Lottie’s got this.”
“I know she does,” I reminded myself.
Lottie continued through the woods when suddenly a branch whipped her smack in the face. Her head flew back and her hand swung up to brush the stupid branch out of the way.
Sasha laughed. “Sorry for laughing but, man, did that look funny.”
That damn branch didn’t stop Lottie; it only slowed her down for half a second. Then she was running again, full force, although probably being a little more watchful of branches catching her in the face.
I gave a little laugh now, but only because Lottie didn’t look affected or in pain. “Ha-ha. Yeah, it did.”
Lottie zigzagged through a patch of clustered trees and then began to slow down, making her way toward flowery bushes. Creeping around them, she almost bumped into yet another low branch from the tree beside the shrine of rocks. Lottie ignored that annoying branch and went right for her target.
She gripped the handle of the sword, pulling upward. “Yes! I found it! I found it!”
Again, the royal father and son lit up the screen while I stared.
My clammy hands started to relax. I wished that I could have been with her to tell her what an awesome job she had done.
Hopefully, I can give her a big bear hug soon after they name her the winner. Maybe I will even give her a congrats wedgie just for old time’s sake. Ha-ha.
I would wait and hope.
Sir Felix and Anton popped up on the screen next. I knew what he was expected to do, and I really didn’t care to watch. My main concerns were for Lottie and Onnika—for Lottie to win with flying colors and for Onnika not to win. My heart had pumped with joy after watching Lottie’s nerve-racked face turn to glowing happiness, and I didn’t want that to change.
The competitors were all in their enclosed stations.
“Your stations will be taking you up above the forest for the next test,” Sir Felix began.
“Holy shi–crap! Lottie is gonna freak!” I said loudly, trying to watch my language around all this royalness.
Sir Felix continued, “After your station has come to a stop above the forest, please turn to the screens in front of you. On your screens, you will see an image of a compass with eight points of direction. The light in the very center represents you, so all of you will be facing toward the north with the south behind you. After the sound of my whistle, you will listen closely for interchanging sounds at extremely high and low frequencies—which are not audible to the typical human ear. They will come from an aerial droid located above the clouds at approximately twelve thousand feet. You must draw on your screen in which direction you hear the droid moving. I will whistle when this test has finished.”
All three stations began to rise. The stations were positioned side by side with Lottie in the center. A view from within each closed station covered the screen. I watched as Lottie clenched tightly onto the bar in front of her and pressed her lips together nervously.
Oh, I feel so bad for you, Lottie. Poor Lottie. Hang in there. You can do this.
Shivers ran down my spine. At least she could be thankful that her station was completely enclosed with no view of the outside world. I hoped that helped her in some way.
When the capsules finally came to a complete stop high in the air, Sir Felix gave the big blow. The close-up view of each competitor holding their screen suddenly changed to a ridiculous sky view of a flying drone moving slowly above puffy white clouds. Then the view switched back to the competitors, all with heads bent over their screens. Lottie had drawn a shaky line starting at the SE (southeast) point and moving to the left of her screen to the SW point, and then the line dragged up diagonally to the NE point.
That’s nuts how they can detect the location of the drone. And look at the shape Lottie has drawn to replicate the path of the drone. Yep, the good old letter “Z,” of course.
With the answers being finalized, the three stations headed back toward earth. I knew Lottie felt so thankful in that descending moment.
A satellite view of a green-covered forest popped up on the big screen.
“This is the final round already! All three competitors have been placed on opposite sides of the forest for our next test. Anton, you will need to listen for the sound of a screeching monkey. Lottie, you will listen for an elephant’s trumpet. And last but not least, Onnika, you will listen for the laughing hyena. Each of you will need to focus on your given sound. Once you have found the small speaker that emits your animal sound, you may turn the speaker off, but keep it with you. Next, you will search for the one speaker that emits the lion’s roar. There is only one lion speaker. The winner of this round must have in their possession both the speaker of their particular animal and the lion speaker. Oh, and I should add that there will also be speakers emitting other animal sounds to make it more challenging. Are all of you ready?”
No, I’m not. I can’t watch this. It’s too much. Uh, but I have to.
My hands became even sweatier as I fumbled for my stone in my pocket.
This is it, Lottie. I hope and cheer for you, girlfriend.
Lottie nodded along with the others in response to Sir Felix’s question. She looked pumped and ready, but then I noticed her brow furrow, which it did when she was feeling nervous or unsure.
Sir Felix held the whistle up to his mouth.
WHOOT!
Lottie, Anton, and Onnika turned, looking into the forest, but they didn’t move right away this time. More than one sound carried through the forest, just as Sir Felix had explained, making it much more difficult for each of them to decide which direction to begin moving in.
Turning to Sasha, I whispered, “I can’t watch. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“Quit stressing. Just sit back and try to relax. This is the only time you will ever get to see this, ever,” Sasha reminded me.
“You’re right; I have to watch Lottie no matter what. I just want her to win so freakin’ bad. I can’t stand the thought of Onnika winning.”
Sasha sighed. “I know, but look at it this way. If by some chance Onnika does win, I will have to keep her in check for the rest of her life. And
if needed, I will give her the Sasha smackdown,” Sasha joked.
She made me laugh, exactly what I needed during this stressful moment.
Yes, Lottie, you can win this!
Lottie started to walk into the forest first. Oh, how thankful I was to see that. She darted off down a small slope. Next, Anton jogged off in another direction. Onnika’s face had frustration written all over it as she held her hand up, cupping her ear and moving her head back and forth in search of the laughing hyena.
They gave her the annoying laughing hyena because it is just like her. Annoying!
Then Onnika took off into the greenest part of the forest, pushing aside bushes that were in her way. Unaware of the sloping earth in front of her, she began to slide awkwardly and uncontrollably. With her hands reaching out for anything to anchor herself to, she grabbed a handful of small branches that helped slow her down and regain control of her feet.
“Ouch! That looks like it will leave a mark,” Sasha said.
My eyes scanned across the whole screen. “What? Who?”
“Anton. He bashed his elbow right into a tree,” Sasha pointed out.
I had been too busy watching Onnika that I missed what had happened to Anton and, more importantly, Lottie. With my eyes back on Lottie, I silently cheered her on.
You can do it, Lottie. Keep on going. You got this.
Lottie ran, jumped, and weaved along the wooded path in front of her. That girl ran like it was her job. After running for quite some time, she began to slow to a jog and then slowed even further to a brisk walk, searching around trees, bushes, and flower patches. Her breathing sounded much heavier with all the running. Then, right there on the ground beside a tree stump, lay the small silver speaker emitting trumpet-like sounds. Lottie scooped it up into her hand, turned it off, slipped it into her pocket, and then stood very still with her eyes closed. She slowly turned in circles, contemplating the direction of the lion’s roar. Then the camera zoomed out to a satellite view of the forest, showing that both Lottie and Anton had found their first sound source. Onnika’s light blinked not too far behind, as she was very close to finding her speaker.
By that time, Lottie’s and Anton’s lights slowly moved in more closely toward the large white light, blinking at about the same distance in front of both of them.
Dammit!
Both Lottie and Anton were so very close, and Onnika tagged along not too far behind. Another rush of anxiety came over me, hitting my every nerve. The stone that I clenched so tightly in my hand dug deep into my skin and hurt, but I didn’t care.
“I am so nervous that I have to pee already,” I whispered.
Sasha put her hand on mine again. “It’s your nerves going crazy on you. They will be done soon. Chill.”
Watching the three of them running for their dream and their future made my heart race. All I wanted to do was pick Lottie up like a little puzzle piece and move her green light right on top of the finishing white light.
But I can’t. She has to do this all on her own.
The screen alternated between satellite view and close-ups of the competitors. I saw Lottie slow down, listen more closely, and then make a decision. She must have seen or heard something that made her speed up again. Then I saw what it was …
Anton!
“Crap! Hurry, Lottie! Hurry!” I yelled, not caring who heard me.
Sasha shushed me.
Lottie and Anton scrambled around closely near each other, in search of the lion’s roar.
“Here comes Onnika, too,” Sasha said, squeezing my arm.
Lottie found a speaker.
Oh, good! She won!
It must not have been the right one because she tossed it aside. Onnika suddenly threw her body forward near Anton, reaching for something.
Anton threw speakers left and right, when suddenly he howled. “I got it! This is it!”
Onnika cried out, “Noo!”
Lottie’s face went completely pale, expressionless. Her dreams and hopes died that very instant. Hearing Anton yell those very words and seeing Lottie’s broken heart made my own heart ache even more.
How can this be? So close. She was so very close.
I turned to Sasha, feeling tears stinging my eyes. “Poor Lottie. She was so close.”
Sasha gave me a hug. “It will be all right, Go-Go. Lottie did her best, and she did awesome. If she doesn’t win, she can join the military if she wants to, or she can continue dating Cole from home.”
“I know.” I sniffed.
I waited impatiently for Sir Felix to announce the winner.
Who knows? Maybe by some odd chance Lottie will be chosen. Just maybe.
Sir Felix’s voice boomed through the speaker. “We have our winner! But first let me give you the rundown. There were eleven rings from the bell, which all of you chose correctly. The lyrics to the Famootan music were ‘The Royals Rise may be your dream come true but you must listen closely and completely the entire way through.’ Lottie and Anton won that portion with all lyrics being correct. Onnika and Anton tied time-wise in finding the fencing sound the quickest. All three of you chose the correct direction of the drone, which created the letter “Z.” Lottie came in first in finding her elephant sound the fastest, but in the end, Anton found the source of the lion’s roar before the others. All three contenders came close, but Anton came out on top. Anton, you have won!”
Anton dropped to the ground and threw his head back with a smile. Happy tears filled his eyes. “I can’t believe it! I can’t believe that I won! Oh, thank you! Thank you!”
“My brother better win. I won’t be able to stand watching him lose, too,” my voice quivered.
Sasha gave me a serious look. “Go-Go, your brother is so fast, probably faster than the others, and I’m not just saying that. I honestly, cross my heart, believe that he will win.”
I tried to smile. “I hope so. I really do.”
The Zyon looked back at me and gave a cute little smile and then a wink.
That makes me feel a little bit better. The Zyon is the only person who can make me feel better right now. I wish he would come over here and hold my hand and tell me all will be okay.
Sasha gave me a nudge with her elbow. “Did the Zyon seriously just wink at you? Go-Go, what is up with that? Are you not telling me something?”
I pretended not to know what she was talking about. “What? You are losing it, Sasha.”
Sasha sighed. “Fine. Be that way. I know what I saw and it was definitely a winky in your direction.”
I looked up at the screen. Thankfully, I had a good reason to change the subject. “Oh, look who’s on the screen. Your best bud.”
Ricky’s big cocky face appeared on the screen. The camera zoomed out showing Gage, Elise, and Sir Felix close by. As usual, Sonya was standing off to the side. Ricky flexed his biceps in front of the camera, winking, and then kissing each of them.
Sasha rolled her eyes. “Seriously, that boy needs to get a life. His bravado got old real fast. He wouldn’t be doing that if I were standing there.”
Through the speakers, we heard Sir Felix clear his throat. “Let us continue on with the last portion of the Royals Rise. Here we have our fantastic speedsters.” He gestured to each as he presented them. “We have Elise Dellaco, Gage Selks, and Roderick Becken. For our first test, each of you will be competing one at a time. When you hear the sound of the whistle, you will begin by climbing this thick roped netting up to the tree ledge and then pull yourself into an upright position onto the ledge. You then will grip the high rope above your head while pulling your legs up, and securely wrapping your feet around the rope. With as much speed as possible, you will pull yourself, head first, across this thirteen-hundred-foot line that connects to a tree far across the forest. Ring the bell above your head at the finish and the time clock will stop. Who would like to beg
in?”
Elise raised her hand quickly.
At the same time Ricky shouted, “Me!”
“Let Elise go. Ladies first, dude,” Gage said.
Ricky rolled his eyes while Elise smiled with satisfaction.
Aw, what a thoughtful brother I have. Such a nice guy … some of the time.
“All right then. Elise, you may grip the netting in front of you, but do not begin to climb until the whistle sounds,” Sir Felix explained, waving at Gage and Ricky to step back.
Elise gripped the ropes with her petite fingers and stood at the ready, slightly bending her legs. She had pulled her natural white-blond hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. Good thinking on her part because she would be moving fast and would surely be getting sweaty soon enough.
WHOOT!
With tremendous speed, Elise scrambled up the thick rope netting, reaching the high ledge within seconds. She followed Sir Felix’s instructions as she tightly gripped the rope and lifted her legs. Pulling swiftly with one hand over the other, Elise moved along the high rope that hung on the tallest of the trees.
At least she has her back turned toward the ground and her face to the sky. Looking down at the ground would be damn creepy.
Elise reached out to ring the bell as she neared the finish.
“Dang, she’s faster than I thought,” Sasha whispered.
“Yeah, she is.” I shrugged, worry setting in even deeper.
Ricky prepared himself next, big broad shoulders reaching for the roping in front of him. Then his head tilted back as he laughed at something that Gage had muttered, but I couldn’t quite make out what it was.
Sir Felix looked at Ricky with a slight nod of his head.
WHOOT!
Ricky’s arms and legs carried him up the netting in the blink of an eye, and in another blink, he already had himself positioned on the high rope where he speedily made his way across the long rope to the finish. It was hard to determine who moved faster—Ricky or Elise—but if I had to pick, it would have been Ricky by a hair.