The next morning I wake up nervous. As I get ready for the teamwork round, I can't help squirming with nerves. The teamwork round is usually an obstacle course, but they change every year.

This is the second round. Round two of the five. Creativity, teamwork, strategy, fighting, survival.

This round two teams are getting eliminated. It's the only one were two teams leave.

The risks are high.

As we walk across the green grass to the stadium for the second time, I feel my hands shaking uncontrollably. The man leads us to the same bland, grey room as before, and we are handed our instructions.

This time, Anemos opens it.

"Snow Ferrets,
Welcome to the teamwork round! You will have to clear a series of obstacles to get to one end. You can't let anything touch you. It will be a race between you and the other teams, so try not to waste time. You have about five minutes to get ready then the doors will open, starting your time, so be ready. Good luck." Anemos finishes.

"Phew!" Nero exclaims in relief. I look at him curiously.

He shrugs, "At least we know what's coming, right? It's always an obstacle course."

Terro nods, "We just have to work together. Agreed?"

"Agreed." We chorus back. Just as we finish, the bell rings and the door opens. The light blinds me for a minute but when I am able to see again, I groan.

"It's a maze." Terro mutters.

An obstacle maze. Great.

Towering above us are huge grey slabs of metal so high I can barely see the tops. The path created by the slabs is only big enough for two people to stand side by side, their shoulders touching.

Ignis runs up, gesturing for us to follow her, "Come on! They're timing us, remember?"

We quickly follow her as she makes her way through the maze. We run for a long way, but not so long that we start panting.

"Wait!" Nero suddenly shouts, putting a hand up.

We stop.

"Do you smell that?" He asks, taking a deep breath through his nose. I do too and suddenly, it hits me. Water.

"Hang on." Nero remarks, putting his hands together in front of him and closing his eyes. We stare at him for a minute and when his eyes open again, they're full of panic, "A giant wave! We have to stop it!" He exclaims.

I feel my heart leap. I'm not a very good swimmer.

Everyone starts panicking.

"Calm. We have to stay calm. How do we stop this?" Terro says, taking charge.

"Well...." Anemos says, looking around at us. When his eyes pass over Neve, they light up. "Neve can stop it!" He states proudly.

Neve looks startled as we look at her. "M-m-me?" She asks. Anemos nods, "Yeah, but we have to hurry! You can just freeze the water."

Neve gulps. I understand. This is a lot of pressure.

"A-are you sure?" She asks, twisting her hair.

Anemos nods seriously, kneeling in front of her and looking into her nervous eyes, "This is to much water for Nero to part. He can help, but it's you who needs to stop it. We will help in any way we can too, okay?"

After a minute Neve takes a deep breath and nods.

"Okay."

Anemos smiles at her, "You can do it." He encourages her as he stands up.

"Okay, the water will be coming pretty fast, so we have to be ready. Get into a position on either side of Nero and Neve." Anemos orders, coming to stand beside Neve. I move next to him and seconds later we're ready.

"Bring it on." I hear Ignis growl to my left as the water appears, frothing and crashing down the path.

I feel my nerves almost burst as the overwhelming urge to run away from the terrifying water washes over me.

I could do it. I could dart away and leave them.

I glance at Neve and feel my heart melt. The girl is shaking like a leaf, her face pale and terrified. I can't leave her.

So I stay. I stay as the wave crashes nearer.

The world slows down as though I'm darting. And I might be, I don't know, but I try to think of what I can do to help. Electricity won't help....maybe I could dart, but where to? I feel my Shinju sparking furiously, waiting to be used. But how? I decide to wait and see if I could be more useful in a minute.

Nero frowns in concentration and pushes his arms in a wide half-circle around him as though swimming, and at his command the water stops. Well, half of it at least. Neve has her palms facing the remaining water, her eyes narrowed determinedly, and ice shoots out of her hands.

I watch in amazement as the ice seems to float through the air in slow motion, slamming into the water and freezing where it hit. I feel my eyes widen as the ice spreads all along the water, moving up it's roaring body, freezing it, but it's too close. The angry mass is going to cover us. We're going to drown.

The water is about ten feet away when I get an idea. Finally, I can be useful! Ignoring the roar of the water pounding in my ears I tap into my Shinju's electricity and run towards Neve first, watching the world slow down. I quickly pick the girl up and race away from the water, back the way we came, smiling as I see her face break into surprise very slowly as she sees me. I get a good distance away and drop her before running back.

It took about three minutes to me, but to them I know it took seconds. Just enough.

Next I grab Nero. Then Ignis. Then Anemos. Once I drop my surprised friends off I shoot back for Terro and Kin.

When I see them I gasp. The water is really close now, almost fully frozen, and Terro and Kin are running away from it, under a break at the top, their eyes wide and fearful. It's going to drown them. I shoot forward and grab both of their hands, watching in half-amusement as their eyes widen in shock, and race away with them, trying to beat the water, praying it will finish freezing in time.

We just make it. Just as the wave is about to lap at my feet, it freezes and I run as fast as I can, pulling the two boys behind me. Once we make it back to the others I collapse on the ground, gasping for air, my side aching.

Neve and Anemos race over and kneel down next to me, their faces worried.

"Oh my gosh! Blitz, are you okay?!?" Anemos exclaims.

I smile at him and nod, "Just out of breath." I explain.

Neve gives me a quick hug and Anemos helps me to my feet.

"Wow Blitz! That was so cool!" Nero shouts, running over and hugging me. I smile and roll my eyes at the boy.

"That was pretty sweet." Ignis says with a smile, fist bumping me.

"Thanks for.....well, you know." Kin says sheepishly. I nod, smiling.

"We have to keep moving." Terro says, moving along the path. "We have to get over the water. I'll do it."

As we walk back over to the frozen wave, I can't help wondering about the other teams. Did they get past it? Did they even get a wave? Or something else?

We reach the wave and Terro conjures a bunch of dirt, warping it into a bridge. It was too dry to climb so Anemos asks Nero to get it wet. Once he does, the wind boy asks Ignis to bake it. She does and we walk up the hard clay.

We get over the wave and keep walking in silence. I start to cough and Nero gives me a drink of water, asking if I'm okay.

"Yeah, I'm just tired is all." I say. My lungs burn from running and the water helps some, but it keeps getting worse as we move. Eventually my coughing fits get so bad we have to stop.

I sit down on the trimmed grass and lean against the wall, coughing. With each cough it seems to get worse.

"Oh my gosh Blitz! I don't think this is all from running." Anemos exclaims, kneeling down in front of me.

"No....me....neither....." I say though coughs. God, this hurts! What the heck? It's feels like my throat is being burned alive!

Wait.

Burned alive.

Wow. I am such an idiot.

Of course, smoke! I've never really been good against smoke.

Neve coughs a little and I look at her knowingly.

"Smoke." I cough, "I think it's smoke."

Anemos' eyes widen as it hits him. "Of course! You were running and out of breath so you inhale more smoke then us!" He smacks his forehead with his hand, "I'm such an idiot!" His eyes widen as another thought strikes him, "Oh my gosh! We have to move and put it out probably!"

Kin gasps, "I forgot we're being timed!"

I just groan. Seriously?!?! My throat feels like it just got drilled and we have to put out a fire!

"Come on, we have to move." Terro says. Neve helps me to my feet again and I try to take shallow breaths as we half walk half run down the maze. My lungs start to burn more and I know for sure it's smoke. Sure enough, minutes later we come to a large hole in the ground.

We peer over it and see a bunch of huge fires filling up the hole, smoke coming off them in billows. I cough and move away from the edge. Everyone follows except Anemos, who stays there for another minute before backing up also.

"Okay, team huddle!" Anemos exclaims, bending over with his arms out. We huddle and he continues, "Nero, obviously you will be a big part in this. Neve and Ignis, you can work together to melt ice and put it out while Terro throws dirt and sand over it, okay?" Anemos asks.

We all nod.

"And remember," He adds, "this is a race!"

We break and get to business. Nero immediately starts conjuring water and throwing it onto the fire. Neve creates ice above the fires and Ignis melts it, sending drops of water down into the fire, which makes the dreaded flames hiss and pop. Terro conjures dirt and warps it so it covers the fires.

One by one the flames go out, but I just sit against the wall, my body being racked with coughs. Each time I inhale it feels like I'm inhaling fire instead of smoke, and each time I cough it feels like a knife is being stabbed into my ribs while someone runs sandpaper up my throat.

Anemos and Kin, who couldn't find anything to do to help put out the fires, crouch down next to me and try to help. Anemos uses his wind to push the smoke away and give me some fresh air, which I take such deep breaths of I feel like a drowning man finally getting some air. Kin makes a metal barrier and tries to block the smoke, but soon she's coughing like an old man too.

I do feel the difference as the fire's are slowly put out. The pain doesn't stop, it just stays the same instead of increasing, which is good. Finally, after what feels like years, all the fires are put out and an exhausted Nero, Neve, Terro, and Ignis walk back to us before collapsing on the ground, panting hard.

Nero passes out water and we take a minute to rest before getting to our feet and plodding along again, Terro, Nero, and Ignis making another clay bridge to get across the hole, but I can tell it was hard.

We take step after step. My lungs still burn and my feet feel full of lead as I walk, staring at the ground. Even Nero's energy is running out. I try to do the thing I did in the hover car before, rubbing my hands together and creating sparks, and it helps a little but it doesn't get rid of the pain.

After walking for a while, we come across our next obstacle. A ravine.

I'm starting to think this stadium is a lot bigger than it looks.

We peer down the rift and see water at the bottom, jagged rocks poking out the sides of the rock all the way down.

I sigh. Why am I not surprised?

We back up and do a half-huddle, too tired to do much more. Jeez, I thought that the eggs I ate this morning would help with my energy! This is a lot more exhausting than the creativity round.

"Okay guys, how do you think we should get across?" Anemos asks us tiredly.

I just cough and look around at the faces surrounding me, wondering who could have an idea. Neve's the winner.

"We could....um.....we could do the same thing we did to get over the frozen wave?" She suggests quietly.

Anemos gives her a small smile, "Good idea. Terro, Nero, Ignis, you up for it?"

They nod and we break.

The three get into position and make the bridge. Easy peasy, right? All we have to do it cross it, right? Wrong.

We get a little less than half-way across the bridge and a loud crack sounds. Immediately we all freeze, our eyes widen, and our shoulders touching our ears. It must have looked really funny and if we weren't in a very dangerous situation, I might have laughed, but we are in a dangerous situation, so I don't laugh.

The people watching are probably having a great time. Good for them.

I look around for a camera but don't see any. They must be filming this, right? I mean come on, we're trapped on a bridge about to break over a giant ravine! How much more awesome do these people need?!

"Nobody move. We need to figure this out first." Anemos mutters through gritted teeth after we stand still for a minute, our bodies tense and our senses flaring. A cool breeze gently rolls over us and I shudder.

"Any bright ideas?" Terro growls.

Anemos doesn't answer. I look at the bridge again. Terro, Nero, and Ignis were a lot more exhausted than last time. I see a couple small cracks and gaps in the bridge, but it looks like it should have held us long enough to get across. If we were half-way there. But, of course, we have to be just before the half-way mark. Perfect.

"Guys?" Nero whispers.

"Yeah?" Anemos whispers eagerly, probably thinking he has an idea.

I start to get hopeful, too. If we don't get an idea soon this thing will certainly crack and we will fall to our deaths. I don't want to die.

"Crocodiles." He whimpers.

I look down and gulp. Crocodiles. Big, green, scaly crocodiles, climbing up the cracks and crevices in the rocks to get to us. Perfect.

"Why are they trying to attack us?!? I thought they only attack if provoked!" Ignis hisses as one crocodile loses it's footing and almost falls to it's death.

"They may have heard the crack." Anemos mutters, once again through gritted teeth. "Or they are robots programmed to get us."

"Great, just great!" Terro growls. "Any more brilliant observations Nero?!?"

Nero actually nods and I feel my heart sink. He points to a spot behind me and I slowly turn my head, dreading what I'm about to see. Of course, I had to be the one at the end of the line!

I once again feel my heart sink as I see what Nero is pointing at. A crocodile, standing behind me, it's large nostrils flaring. I gulp. The crocodile apparently can't see me, which is weird. You'd think it would be able to.

Either way I feel my eyes widen and my breathing quicken as I stare at the dangerous beast, fear squeezing my heart.

"Go across one by one." I hiss over my shoulder. "Slowly." I add as an afterthought.

I hear Nero, who's in the front, gulp. Next, I hear a shuffle of feet and then another loud crack. I wince, my eyes not leaving the crocodile who is now looking right at me. My heart beats a mile a minute and my fingertips tingle, urging me to use electricity to save my neck. And I might have to, but that could cause the bridge to break early or draw the other crocodile's attention, so I don't. I will my Shinju to stop sparking, but it doesn't and the crocodile notices.

I mutter something about crocodile's and their stupid eyes as the beast lumbers toward me. With each, heavy step it takes I wince, just waiting for the bridge to collapse under its added weight.

This is it. I'm going to die. Well, at least I can't say I didn't die an interesting death, right? Being eaten by a crocodile on a shaky bridge above a ravine in the Harmony Games? To bad I didn't get to say goodbye. Maybe I can say it to my teammates.....give me some peace. I open my mouth to say something when Kin shushes me.

"No. Blitz. No." She whispers. "I'm going to get us out of this. You're not going to die. I'm not as tired as you guys. I'll make a bridge."

I feel my heart lift. The scaly green monster takes another thundering step forward.

"Just do it fast!" I hiss over my shoulder, watching the crocodile make it's way over. Step. Step. Stop. Sniff. Step. Step.

Maybe it is too late. The crocodile is about ten feet away now. Maybe I should just jump off the bridge. It will be a quicker death and I might be able to spare some time, create a distraction, maybe even take the stupid scaly beast down with me.

I shoot a look over my shoulder. Ignis is glaring at the crocodile angrily. Nero is frozen, staring down the ravine in horror, watching more crocodiles I suppose. Neve looks like she's about to cry. Her shoulders are shaking and she's watching me, her eyes wide and wet. Terro and Anemos are watching Kin, who is positioned at the edge of the bridge, her palms out, her brow furrowed in concentration. I try to watch her as she makes the bridge, but the crocodile's footsteps command my attention.

I watch him. So slow, so precise. Why is this taking so long? I'm not even scared anymore, just exasperated. If I'm going to die, get it over with!

Suddenly, the bridge cracks again and it jerks. Ignis, who is standing in front of me, loses her balance.

The world slows down as I watch Ignis.

She falls backward in slow motion. Her arms make windmilles at her sides. Her eyes grow wide and full of fear. She watches me. The world slows and I do too. I try to grab her hand, but she falls.

She falls.

She falls.
*******************
Cliff hanger! 😉

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