The Ameruld League Competition

Max Barkat



I look around, hoping this Tam girl will just find me. Meanwhile, I take in what is going on around me, trying to memorize everyone's name as they introduce themselves to their teammates.
I hear a thud and turn around to see one of the smaller girls get bowled over. I am about to go help her up when she pops right back up and walks over to me.
"Are you Max Barkat?" she asks, and when I nod she continues. "Oh good, I was wondering how long I would have to look around for. I'm Tam. Tameka Ravens."
I don't reply for a second, turning and watching the other contestants leave. I'm glad I got one of the younger girls. Maybe I could watch over her somehow. Chill out, Bark! I think to myself. I don't think she'll appreciate you being all worried about her. After all, if she got into this competition she must be able to handle it.
Tam clears her throat, jarring me out of my distraction.
"We should probably get going," she says, watching the people walking.
"Oh yes!" I say. "Do pardon me. I'm a bit of an airhead sometimes. Max Barkat, at your service." I give a dramatic bow, and she gives me a half smile, half oh-dear kind of look.
"We better get going," she says again.
We start walking, but two of the other teams are already ahead of us.
"Hey," I turn to Tameka. "Do you think we should run a little ways? I'm not very fast, but even if we jog slowly we should be able to overtake those other people."

Tam Raven

Already two teams are ahead of us.
I look back to Max only to see him staring off into space.
I clear my throat and try to get his attention.
Finally he seems to refocus and stares at me.
"Oh yes!" he says dramatically "Do pardon me. I'm a bit of an airhead sometimes. Max Barkat, at your service." Then he bows and despite this being such an important competition I can’t help smiling.
“We probably should get going,” I say, watching the two teams get even further ahead.
He nods, and we start walking.
We aren’t that far behind.
“Hey,” he says to me while we walk, “Do you think we should run a little? I’m not very fast, but even if we jog slowly we should be able to overtake those other people."
I think about it for a second, his words are logical, so I nod and we start jogging.
A minute later we have caught up to the other teams, and then we are ahead.
Then we reach the end of the clearing and I stop dead in my tracks.
In front of us is a massive field full of grass that towers over me and Max.
Into the grass there are four paths.
I turn to Max- “Any idea which one we should take?”

Liz Shann-

I walk off the ship to see three people waiting for us. There was a woman and two men. I stood at the back of the crowd and listened as they each spoke.


"Here's your teams. Liz Shann and Amos Ark." Marina called out. I stood trying to figure out who Amos was. A boy with light blonde hair stepped forward,"Uh... Hi? I'm Amos, are you Liz Shann?" I nodded, a bit shy. He nodded too then said," Okay... So... Shall we get going?"

"Um. Ok. Which direction, I mean like which way up? Should we wait until we're at the base of the mountain or..? Sorry, I ramble when I'm nervous." I blushed. Amos smiled," It's okay. Let's figure it out on the way there. It looks to be about a mile to the base."

We set out at a slow, steady pace. I knew he was going slow for me, so I sped up the pace. We reached the base of the mountain in no time. "What now?" I asked.

Max Barkat

Finally - my lungs are screaming - We arrive at a huge field of grass about eight feet tall. Ten feet tall. A million feet tall.
"Any idea which we should take?" Tam asks me, pointing to one of the four paths. I don't answer her as I am doubled over and trying to bring my respitory system back to life.
"Uhhhh," I pant.
She smirks at me. "Looks like you got beat by a girl."
"Hey..." I straighten up, still breathing hard. "That's not-... Well... I guess... You did win."
She seems satisfied and waits until I am somewhat able to talk. I look up at the four trails. How were we supposed to know which to take? One trail looks like it was made by a small animal; I wouldn't be able to walk through it without my shoulders brushing against the grass. The others are wider, though still barely wide enough to travel through. Something about the thinnest trail interests me, though I'm not sure why.
"Maybe we should try the thinnest trail," I say. Tam looks at me for an explanation but I have none. I just shrug and quickly add "What do you think? We are a team."

Spoiler

Okay I'm gonna slow down on the posting now. Overenthusiam, Luna. Overenthusiasm.

Tam Raven
Max stops next to the paths and just stares up at the long grass.
He doesn’t answer my question because he is too busy panting for breath.
Beaten by a girl, I think and smile to myself.
“Uhhhh,” he finally manages to gasp out and I smirk at hi.
“Looks like you got beaten by a girl,” I tease him- and it’s true.
“Hey...” he defends, trying to straighten up, "That's not-... Well... I guess... You did win."
I grin and wait as patiently as I can for him to catch his breath.
Then he glances at the four pathways looking confused, his gaze keeps coming back to the small narrow looking one.
So much that I study it too; it looks like it was made by a flock of small animals- It will probably lead to water.
That could be useful... maybe.
I glance at the other paths- the second one is wider and looks faintly like people have been walking it, which is kind of the same as the third.
The fourth looks like it was made by some sort of large animal.
"Maybe we should try the thinnest trail," Max says interrupting my thoughts.
I look at him for an explanation but he just shrugs and asks “What do you think? We are a team.”
I think about it.
Then I tell him my thoughts on the paths and what made them.
As soon as I finish I hear a sound in the distance.
The other team is catching up.

Arrah Ark

"Let's go" He said, I grinned turning on my heal and started walking toward the glowing mountain top. He quickly caught up and was walking directly by my side.
"So," I said, "Which way do you think'll be quickest? Find a path around or try and climb straight up?" It appeared that there was a small woodland area between the landing site and the mountain. In my periphral vision I saw James shrug.
"I don't know, shall we just see what happens?" I smiled and nodded,
"Sounds like a plan," I said. We all had rucksacks but our suitcases were been transported to the campsite ahead of us, and I really wished that I'd kept a hold of my coat. There was a bit of a chill rising in the air and I was only wearing a tank top and my all time favourite baggy pants, like the genious that I am.
"Hey... um... Out of curiosity, who was that guy you were with? It's just that you looked similar..." He sounded really awkward, as if he were trying make sure that we weren't walking in silence. I smiled and looked over at him.
"He's my brother, Amos," It'd be interesting to see how he faired on this, " Do you have any siblings?" I asked.


Amos Ark

"What now?" She asked, looking up at the mountain.
"How's your climbing ability?" Was my reply, I knew that I was alright at climbing but it was a hole nother thing if she could. It wasn't a shear climb, there was a gradient of a sort but not overly so. I looked down at her, Liz was still staring up at the mountain. "We can always find away 'round if you want," I said, "Or I could teach you to climb?" I waited patiently for her reply; I didn't really care about winning too much.
"Let's go this way, now'll be as good a time as any to learn how to climb,"
"Okay then, try to stick close to me if you can," I started up the slope then realised something, "Hang on a second," I said pulling the rope out of my rucksack and tying one end around my waist then offering the other to Liz. She looked at it rather skeptically, "Just in case either of us slips or falls," I said simply as she eventually took it.

Indigo 'Indie' Kamironn

Riley nods, “Yeah, I’m Riley,” and I almost breathe a sigh in relief.
Then I notice that everyone else has started walking in the direction of the mountain. A few people are even running. “We should probably get going,” I say and we start walking towards the mountain.
“How long do you think it will take to get to the top?” I ask, trying to make a decent calculation of how far this ‘hike’ actually goes for.
Riley shrugs, “Maybe a few hours?” he says but it sounds vaguely like a question.
I shrug and look ahead to see where the other groups’ are- we were the last to get started but I’m happy to see that another group is not that far away.
Then we come upon a field of massively long grass- another group walks off into one looking confident and I pause wondering whether to follow them or to explore another path.
There is a small narrow path to the left- which looked like people have already been that way, the path the people just went and to others.
My gaze just seems to keep coming back to the last path.
Riley seems to notice after a while. “That path?” he asks and I find myself nodding. “Yeah, I guess- If that’s okay with you?” I find myself asking.
He nods. “Okay, it doesn’t look so dangerous.”
Soon we are walking up that path- one at a time (as it is too narrow for us to walk side by side.).
“Do you think were nearly at the mountain?,” I ask and almost fall over my own feet.

Riley Gardner

"Do you think we're nearly at the mountain?" Indie asked, tripping over something.

"I don't know," I said, exasperated. I was starting to get really irritated with this field thing. It was like one of those corn mazes, but more annoying, because the tall grass blew in the wind and tickled your face.

"Here," I began. "Get up on my shoulders and try to find the beacon." I crouched down, and Indie planted her feet on my shoulders. I stood up, teetering sideways a little.

"Careful!" Indie shouted, grabbing my hair for balance.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," I grumbled, setting my feet. My scalp was going to be sore later.

"It's right over there," Indie reported, pointing. I groaned. That meant the path led straight sideways from the mountain. Indie climbed down from my shoulders, giving my hair another tug. "What now?" she asked. "Should we keep going?"

"Forget this," I muttered. I took out my knife and started slashing at the grass. "Let's make our own path," I said. "It'll be quicker than trying to find the right ones."

Indie and I pushed the grass aside, much of it getting trampled underfoot as we started forward toward the mountain. After just a few minutes of slogging through the field, I saw the bare rock face through the long grass. "Almost there," I said to myself. "Almost there."

Max Barkat


I listen to what Tam has to say. It seems to make sense. If the widest path was made by a large animal, then it might not be wise to choose it. And how could paths two and three be made by humans? Perhaps the makes of this competition wanted to trick us.

"They're coming!" Tam hisses in my ear. I turn around. I can't see any other competitors yet, but I know they're coming.

"Come on," I say, walking onto the thinnest trail. It ends up being even thinner than I expected. I basically just push my way through, grass strands whipping my face and tugging on my jacket sleeves as if trying to pull me in. Tam just strolls in my wake; obviously her smaller size makes it a much more comfortable hike.

Eventually we come across a small pond. So this must be the watering hole.

"Guess you were right," I say to Tam. She just nods, looking at it. We skirt around the pond and keep going.

I suddenly notice that we haven't said a single thing to each other since entering the field. I feel intensely awkward now.

"So Tam," I say to break the silence. "Back in my town, everyone thought it would be cool to have corn mazes in their own backyards. So you'll walk past a house and you can see corn peeking over the fence. It's the stupidest thing ever. Who wants a half-acre sized corn maze?"

"That would get old quick," she replies.

"Well it wasn't real corn. It was a simulation and it came preprogrammed with like ten different types of mazes. You can also make your own maze. You know what I'm talking about?"

"Mhmm," Tam says a bit absentmindedly, then adds, "Did you not have one then?"

"No," I say, quieter. "We couldn't afford it."

"Oh."

We walk on in silence for a few minutes. The track suddenly veers to the side and seems to halve itsself. I freeze, frightened for one fleeting moment that this is a dead end. Then I look up and see the bare rock looming right in front of us. How did we miss that?

"we made it," Tam cheers. We follow the trail, more pushing grass out of the way than walking. Finally the grass ends abruptly and we stumble out. There is a small hole in the cliff; probably a fox den. That must be the reason for the random trail.

Tam and I look around. "What now?" she wonders aloud.

Tam Raven
"Come on," he says as others approach and we start walking onto the thinnest trail. It gets smaller and smaller as we walk along, which doesn’t bother me much but as I turn back to Max, who is trying to avoid every piece of grass I realise that it probably does bother him.
Soon we come to a small pond- the water I knew would have been here before.
The water is dark and doesn’t look very healthy.
I try not to think what could be in there and walk as far as I can around it.

"Guess you were right," Max says as we walk around and I smile to myself but keep walking.

"So Tam," he says to me as we start walking back on the track again.
"Back in my town, everyone thought it would be cool to have corn mazes in their own backyards. So you'll walk past a house and you can see corn peeking over the fence. It's the stupidest thing ever. Who wants a half-acre sized corn maze?"

I think about it for a second, “That would get old quick.”

"Well it wasn't real corn. It was a simulation and it came pre-programmed with like ten different types of mazes. You can also make your own maze. You know what I'm talking about?"

"Mhmm," I say and think what I t would be like to have my own maze. I would probably be better at this activity if I did.

"Did you not have one then?"

"No," he says quietly "We couldn't afford it."

"Oh,” I say, just then realising then that everybody in this competition is in around about the same position as me.
I nod, thinking that it does make sense.

We walk on in silence for a few minutes. The track suddenly veers to the side and seems to halve itself.
Max freezes and I walk straight past him to see what it is.

The mountain looms in front of us.

"we made it," I say and grin.
We follow the trail, more pushing grass out of the way than walking. Finally the grass ends abruptly and we stumble out. There is a small hole in the cliff; probably a fox den. That must be the reason for the random trail.

“What now?” I ask unconsciously, looking around the mountain.

There is a small path leading around the edge of the mountain in similar conditions as we have just passed and I find myself shaking my head.
Then I notice all of the ropes and harnesses hanging on the mountain not far away and I try not to gulp.

Indie

"I don't know," he says, sounding really annoyed.
We walk in silence for a moment and then he stops, turns to me and says “Here, get up on my shoulders and try to find the beacon,” then he crouches down.
I step up onto his shoulders and he stands up, wobbling sideways for a movement.
I’m almost knocked to the ground and I end up grabbing his hair (of all things.) for balance and shouting “Careful!”
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," he grumbles, and instantly I feel kind of bad.
Then I focus, trying to find the mountain.


"Its right over there," I tell him, pointing in the direction that I saw it.
He groans and I shake my head.
We’ve been going the wrong way.
That meant the path led straight sideways from the mountain.
I climb down from his shoulders, accidently giving his hair another tug. "What now?" I ask.
"Should we keep going?"

"Forget this," He mutters looking focused, taking out his knife and slashing at the grass.
"Let's make our own path," he says. "It'll be quicker than trying to find the right ones."

Riley pushes the grass aside and we walk on through.
Much of it getting trampled under our feet as we started forward toward the mountain and I smile thinking of how if anyone else comes this way are going to be really confused by the two paths.
After a few minutes of walking through this new path I saw the bare rock face through the long grass. "Almost there," Riley mutters “Almost there."
“Hey,” I say to him, feeling somewhat apologetic, “I’m sorry for... almost tearing you hair out back there.”
He just nods and I see the hint of a smile, “its okay.”
Then we reach the mountain and I try not to sigh.
Finally.

James Levent

James.
“Do you have any siblings?” Arra asks as we walk along the track leading towards the mountain. “Nope,” I answer while trying to determine how far up the mountain is,” I always used to wish I did, though, now I’m just kind of used to the fact.” “It doesn’t look so far up,” I note, “It probably wouldn’t take that long.”
I look towards the small- almost nonexistent- path leading around the mountain, then back to Arra.
The mountain might take a good part of an hour to climb. “What do you think? Would you rather climb or go around?” I ask.
Other teams are close behind us and there are a few people staring up at the mountain a little bit away.
I wonder what everyone else will do, and then I look at the watch on my wrist.
It has already been an hour and a half, it doesn’t seem like it.
“So?” I ask, having absolutely no idea of what we’re going to do myself but deciding that it is both of our decision anyway, “What do you want to do?”

Max Barkat



I frown when Tam points out the tiny trail to me.The grass trail wasn't so bad, but this... I imagine myself tumbling off the rock face and falling to my death. It seems just wide enought for someone small, and small is not a word I would use to describe myself.
I hear a rustling of leave and I whip around to see another team emerge. The boy, the short one who had asked about the critters, comes out holding this knife. I wonder where he got it. There is something about him that unnerves me. I can't put my finger on it, so I just push the thought out of my head. Don't make judgements, Max. You don't know that boy at all. A girl follows him into the open, looking greatly relieved at being freed from the maze.
I turn back to Tam. She is watching the other team with crossed arms. I look back up at the mountain. Tam is tiny; how could she possibly climb this?
"Oh great," we mutter simultaniously as the third team appears, closely followed by the team with the other small girl.
"All right, Tam," I say. "Decision time. Do you think you can climb this?"
"Hmm," she looks at the sheer cliff thoughtfully. I wait for a further answer but all I see is a small flash of doubt flicker across her face.
"Either you go above me and if you slip your fall might be broken by my face." That gets a small laugh out of her.
"Are you sure that trail is too skinny for you?" She shoots a glance at the trail. There is no way.
"Positive," I say. "Maybe we can split up?"
Her eyes widen. "I'm not sure if that's allowed."
"Well, if it's not we can get in trouble and if it is, then yay."
She nods firmly. She has obviously made a decision and I'm not going to ask what it is. Tam waits while I struggle with the harness - dang thing is a challenge in itself - and clip it to the rope dangling off the mountain. I turn back to her, waiting to see if she heads up the trail or starts getting into her own harness.

Tam Raven

I point out the small trail to him, knowing that he won’t go for it and about two seconds later- seeing the look on his face- I know I’m right.
There is rustling of grass behind us and both max and I spin around to see what it is. A boy who I recognise as another contestant emerges closely followed by a girl who looks about as relieved as I feel to get out of that grassy maze.
Their appearance makes me feel nervous; soon I will either be walking alone though a tiny path or climbing a massive mountain.
I cross my arms trying not to think about the climbing part... or the falling part. Get a grip I mentally yell at myself, I can do it if I have to.
Soon more people are emerging from the grass and suddenly Max is talking. I force myself to focus on the words.
“All right Tam,” he says seriously, “decision time. Do you think you can climb this?”
I look towards the mountain and try to keep the doubt from my eyes, but I know he see’s anyway.
"Both you go above me and if you slip your fall might be broken by my face," he says in an obvious attempt to make me feel better and for a second it works.
"Are you sure that trail is too skinny for you?" I ask, hoping that maybe, just maybe he has changed his mind about it.
"Positive," he says, "Maybe we can split up?"
"I'm not sure if that's allowed," I ask, kind of doubting it.
"Well, if it's not we can get in trouble and if it is, then Yay."
I nod, thinking about what I will do, and then I sigh, realizing that the mountain will get me to the campsite for sure whereas the path might not.
I turn back to Max and watch him struggle into a harness and clip it to the rope.
I shake my head, knowing that although I may not like heights (oh who am I kidding? The scare the hell outta me.) In the next hour I will be climbing the tallest cliff I’ve ever seen.
I reach for the harness- how on earth does this thing work?

(I'll post will Amos next time thebookworm posts as Liz)

Arrah

"What do you want to do?" He asked,
"Let's have a go at climbing, probably be quickly this way too. I'm not that bad at climbing either, what about you?" I relpied, he simply shrugged in response. "It looks like there's a ledge up there," I said pointing up at an outcropping of rocks, "Lets try to get up there as a target, have a break then carry on. Hows that sound?" I asked.
"Sounds good," He said, then a smile spread across his face, "Race ya'?" I smiled back.
"Sure, although we are meant to be working together,"
"Don't worry I'll come back and get you if you fall," He'd already started climbing but I quickly caught up.
"I think it'll be me going back for you," I smiled and gently nudged him with my elbow.