aircannonsinc 40
40
"Okay then. I'll wait until you are very free. You must teach me. You won't break your promise, Lava." Maggie intertwined her pinky finger with Lavana's.
The latter felt a headache coming. What if Thora decides to just sleep on the day that Maggie was to come to ask for her guidance?
The winner of the game had emerged. It was team A. The team members thanked the slim warrior profusely. Turns out the older man was stronger than the slim warrior, just good at hiding it.
"Alright. The winning team is team A," Mel said and the audience applauded.
"It wasn't an easy thing to get to this stage. We're proud of all who participated.
The teams who did not win will get 20 dollars each. Those who won will get these." Four pack members headed to the members of team A and gave them 4 golden jugs.
"That is your reward," Mel said.
The purpose of these games is not just for fun. The first game tests your flexibility. The second tests your adaptability and strength. This third game is to test your level of trust, your adaptability, how flexible your body is, your determined will and your resolution to persevere despite the odds. You don't give in easily. Those from the other 3 teams, please come forward." said Mel. The 12 who did not win walked towards Mel. He handed them an envelope each. Without being told, they knew it was more than 20 dollars that he'd said.
Then Mel handed them 20 dollars again each.
They thanked him sincerely before heading back to the audience amidst applause.
Rolandro was now holding the mic and cleared his throat to get the attention of the audience.
"Blood Stars, there are a few more games to go. The 4th one is..." he paused, taking in the eager looks of the audience before flashing a smile at them, winking at Carmelia.
"The 4th one is... the brick walk game. It is quite a simple game. Very easy. Where are the darlings that are taking part?" he asked.
Mel and 9 others stood at the designated spot.
"Nice. You're all available and in good shape. Good!" Rolandro nodded his head.
A wheelbarrow was brought over by a female pack member with midnight ruby hair (that was tied into two ponytails). It contained many red bricks.
The female pack member left and quickly returned with a long wooden stick. She placed it horizontally on the field.
Then she retreated after waving at the audience and Rolandro.
"Thank you, Audrey," he said and she nodded before retreating to a corner.
"Alright. Now the materials are here- these good-looking bricks. I bet you all must the itching to get hold of them. But not so fast. You guys need to stretch your bodies before you get to touch them. Mel, please don't drool. Your mate might misunderstand." Rolandro said, causing the audience to laugh. Mel looked confused.
"Me? Drool? Over bricks? Are you kidding me?" Mel asked in shock.
"Oh, buddy. Don't show that much zeal. Reserve it for the... you know."
"You!" Mel was left speechless. This Rolandro had to annoy him like this. He snuck a glance at his mate, Regina and saw her with Carmelia chewing on figs. She winked at him and he quickly turned away in Rolandro's direction. If looks could kill, then he'd have done that many times over. He mouthed the words: "You are toast!" to Rolandro, who pretended not to see it. He just smiled in a provocative manner.
"Aww! He's such a shy boy. I'll make him cast that shyness out tonight." Regina whispered to Carmelia, who then chuckled.
"Sure you will. I trust you, my dear."
"So I need you guys to first stretch your hands sideways."
The participants did as he asked.
"Good. Then legs at ease. Flap your hands and roll your hips at the same time."
Mel seemed unwilling but a glare from Regina was all it took to do it.
"Great job. Now pretend to be running but let it be in slow motion. Don't pack up the dust." Rolandro said.
After they did that for two minutes, he told them to go get the bricks of their choice.
"The minimum number of bricks you can take is 3. The maximum number of bricks you are allowed to take is 10. But if you feel you can handle 25. No problem. We'll forgive you and even cheer for you." said Rolandro. There were some who took 3, some took 4 or 5. Mel took 6.
"What a pity. No one even attempted to take ten for himself. It's truly a pity." Rolandro feigned sadness.
"Alright, get into your chosen positions and arrange your bricks in a straight line. You lot are to walk around the fire once. The last person will be eliminated immediately. Are you ready?" he asked.
The participants yelled: "Yes!"
"Let the race begin." Rolandro declared.
And so the race began.
The participants were bent on moving the free brick(s) that was behind them forward and stepping on those same brick(s) before bringing the brick(s) they were standing on earlier forward. That's how they did it. Each of them was in a squatting position.
They had to go round the fire once but this was an arduous task to do. Mel was surprisingly ahead of them despite having to deal with 6 bricks. This invited a lot of cheers from the audience.
"Hey, Beatrix. You think I should try this sometime?”Lavana asked Beatrix, who had suddenly come over to her side.
“Big sis, what are you saying? What if your bones break in the process? Though you will heal, the process will hurt.” replied Beatrix.
“So I need to fatten this body and get stronger. You support that notion too?”
“Big sis, you really need to get fat. I mean...”
“Eish!" Lavana placed her finger over the little babe's lips, making her stop talking. "Don’t talk anymore. Let’s just spectate, alright!” Lavana said in defeat.
Minutes later.
One of the participants, a female handling 3 bricks, who ended up being the last to finish going around the fire, got excluded. Now there were nine of them left.
"Congrats on passing the first level. The second level is this way. You must form a team of three. Three teams. The one in the middle of each team must have his or her hands occupied. By that I mean the other partners will hold the middle person's hand on each side. Now one of their own hands will be free. At this point, cooperation, endurance, patience and teamwork are very much needed. You must not ditch concentration at any moment.
Whenever the partners on the sides bend, the middle teammate must do the same. That teammate will not be facing the direction his partners are facing. Now, when the team of three bends down, the partners on both sides are in charge of transferring the free brick ahead of them. Each team will get three bricks. The teammates will stand on two bricks and the third one is the free one to move around.
If one member makes a mistake, that team is eliminated. Begin!" Rolandro suddenly said and the participants each formed three teams consisting of 3 members before collecting three bricks. 2 of the teams were having some issues balancing on the two bricks they were mandated to step on. How much they wished the bricks were four!