The Ameruld League Competition

Tam

"Allrighty then,” Max agrees almost two seconds after I suggest we take shelter in the cave.
W walk over to the entrance, trying not to drag our feet in immense amount of mud lying around now as if it’s just been randomly dumped there.
Rain pours harder and harder around us.

The cave, though not exactly warm and bright is so much better then outside.
It’s actually kind of warm in here, the though makes me smile a little bit.

"Much better," I murmur to Max, just then noticing other contestants in the cave.
I smile, nod and try to untangle my hair or at least get some of the rain out of it.
Max starts to do the same and I have to try not to laugh by the way how he could almost pass as a girl when his hair is like this.
"We did it!" He grins, turning to me and looking a lot less exhausted then he did a moment ago.

I can’t say that I feel the same.
Then his eyes widen and he almost jumps straight back out of the cave as he spots the other contestants.
"Uh, hi," he says after a second and I turn back to look at the others, "Fun day, eh?"

The boy answers first, "Best day I've ever had. Really."
"How far behind is everyone else?" The girl whose name I think is Indie asks brushing a random strand of red hair out of her face.
"One team was just a little bit behind," I say, shrugging- not really knowing what else to say, "And the other had some trouble."
Max looks instantly nervous as I say this which makes me feel kinda bad.
Everything is silent for a moment and then the other boy starts to speak again.
"Well, I'm Riley," Says the boy, “And this is Indie."

"Max and Tam." Max says- introducing us both and for a moment I’m grateful that I don’t have to talk- the adrenaline I felt while climbing the mountain has completely faded and now I’m just tired.
I sit down, leaning against one of the cave walls and waiting for something to happen.
It’s silent for a moment and then Max asks, "So, how long have you two been in here?"

Indie shrugs, “Awhile."

Then my mind snaps back to the buildings I saw- or thought I saw- in the distance.


"Have you seen the houses?" I ask them, tilting my head in the direction I saw them in.

“Buildings?” Indie asks, pushing herself up from the ground and walking to the entrance of the cave to stare in the same direction I was, “do you think they’re buildings?”

All of us walk to the entrance of the cave, looking at the mysterious objects in the distant.

“I’d say that they most likely are,” someone says- I’m not sure who- and I find myself nodding.

“Do you think that’s where we’re supposed to go?” I ask.

Arrah Ark

"Yeah, I''m fine thanks. Come on lets get moving, it's not far to the top now," I started up with James following close behind me, it should only take about ten maybe fifteen minutes. Risking a galnce behind us I saw a huge ship edging ever closer to the mountain and a girl being pushed out to replace Amos' partner; Liz I think. Pulling my attention back to our team focusing on getting to the top before anything bad happened.

Amos Ark

Liz had sliped and fell pretty badly, creating a huge gash on her leg which was spewing blood everywhere. In response an airship appeared from behind the mountain pulling in as close as it could get without squwishing us into the mountain itself. The side doors opened and another girl was quickly pushed out while was Liz dragged on board. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the airship flew away again. I found myself starring after it, when the new girl spoke;
"Hi, my name's Kat," I launch into a brief explanation of what we were meant to be doing, I was still dazed by the sheer amount of blood that girl had lost. "Let's get going. Maybe we can catch up," She said.
"Not likely," I replied, "We're too far behind. Sorry, but I think we're going to lose on the first challenge..." I said as we started to climb. She seemed a fairly decent climber, slipping considrably less than Liz despite the wet and erroding terrain.

James
Nearly there I tell me as Arra and me push our way up the mountain feeling kinda relieved that the rain has calmed down. Arra turns back down the mountain after a while and gasps making me urn around as well to see what’s happening. Is the other team just catching up or is it something else... I glimpse a ship not un-similar to the one that carried us here picking up Liz- the girl working with Arra’s brother- who is pouring out blood from a wound of her leg... from what I can see. Another girl is practically thrown out of the ship before it leaves. I turn back to Arra and the mountain. Once again we begin to climb in silence. Soon enough we are at the top which is a rough and slippery as the rest of this mountain has been. After a minute I pull myself over the edge and watch Arra do the same feeling kind of proud and really relieved that we are finally here.
“Finally,” I laugh and turn to Arra, grinning.
She looks about as relived as I fell to finally be here...But it’s still raining.
“So what do you think we’re supposed to do now?” I ask her, looking around for some sign of shelter, “Find somewhere to wait out the rain or find the ‘camping ground’ that the scientist dude... um...” I think for a moment trying to remember what he said his name was before I remember it, “Aster mentioned earlier.”
She thinks for a second and I look around the area at the top of the mountain.
It’s nothing much to see, a few trees and rocked scattered around.
A few odd looking shapes in the distance... but not much else.

Kat

“Not likely,” he says as we watch another team reach the top, he continues to talk, “Sorry, but I think we're going to lose on the first challenge..."
We start to climb again anyway and are making regularly good progress, even with the rain pouring down around us.
“Oh well,” I say, “Maybe we can just hope to get a decent time- cause that’s what this ‘challenge is all about right? Time?”
He nods as we keep climbing, a ledge appears in front of us and I pull myself up onto it watching as he does the same and then peer up towards the top of the mountain.
We’re nearly there! Only another 15 metres...
I grab hold of my rope once again feeling energised and not all that tired... but then again I have only had to climb half of this mountain...
Soon the edge of the ledge comes into view and Amos easily lunges for it pulling himself up in only a few seconds.
I do the same, though not quite as gracefully as he did... oh well.
For a moment we just stand there at the top of the mountain, looking around while rain drenches us.
Then we start to look for shelter.

Indie
“Have you seen the houses?” the girl – Tam- asks, tilting her head into the direction of the odd shapes I saw in the distance earlier.
So they ‘were’ houses!
“Buildings?” I ask jumping to my feet and walking to the ‘door’ of the cave to get a better view, “do you think they’re buildings?”
A moment later the others- Riley and Tam’s partner Max walk over to the entrance as well and for a moment we all stand there squinting- trying to see what they are.

“I’d say that they most likely are,” Riley states and Tam starts nodding.
“Do you think that’s where we’re supposed to go?” she asks.
I stare for a moment longer trying to see clearly... It’s nothing short of impossible with the rain still going on.
I turn to Tam; answering her question as nobody else has said a word yet.
“Most probably,” I say, “that’s probably the ‘campsite’ that Marina mentioned earlier.”
“Do you want to head for there now,” says someone standing back in the cave a little way, “Or wait for the other contestants to get here first?”
I bite my lip, waiting for someone else to reply.

Max


Riley asks if we should go to the buildings now or wait for the other contestants. My eyebrows shoot up - no way do I want to wait forever before exploring those buildings! I am about three seconds from saying "Let's get outta here" when a faint motion catches my eye. Two shadowy outlines are moving towards us, their forms broken up by the rain.

"I see some contestants!" I shout. Heads all popping up at once, the other contestants turn from their studies of the building to watch the people approach. Who's out there isn't very important to me; Both figures are too tall to be the little girl, which means she was the injured one. Withdrawing from the others, I sit down on a rock and trace doodles in the dust. Please don't let the girl die. Please let her be okay. Please, please, please. I set my elbows on my knees and stare into space, getting lost in horrible imaginings about what happened to that girl.

"What's got you down in the dumps?" Indie breaks into my trip through the solar system. "Are you upset about coming in second?" There is a hint of a smile in her voice as she says this.

"It's the injured contestant," I sigh. "I'm pretty sure it's the twelve year old girl."

Indie is quiet a minute before replying. "At least she's off the island now."

"But she got hurt!" My voice rises slightly as I say this. "What if she's dead? And what if Tam gets hurt? That would just... I'd rather meet a hundred snakes than let that happen."

Indie just looks at me. I know she saw the whole snake incident: I have to look at the ceiling of the cave a moment to hide the fact that my face had gone bright red - that was a beautifully embarrassing moment.

"So you're worried about Tam?" She asks at last.

I nod, lowering my voice because if Tam hears of my concern she'll probably be enraged. "I don't know why they are letting fourteen-year-olds onto a strange uninhabited planet. It's ridiculously foolish."

Indie looks thoughtful. "Yeah, that doesn't make sense. Surely there were a lot of older girls who applied."

"Maybe it's first come, first serve." I shrug. "At any rate, I'll be watching over Tam like a... Like something very protective. The most important thing to me is that she doesn't get hurt like that other girl did."

Indie looks surprised at that, but she smiles. "That's pretty great of you, actually."

I smile back, then straighten up as the next pair of contestands arrive. They are shivering and soaked, their hair plastered to their faces. Running my hand through my own hair, I am relieved to find that it is back to its normally short, manly state. That's one good thing at least.

"The last team has made it over the top of the cliff," is the first thing the girl reports. Team? I thought one of them was injured? The boy explains that a new, late contestant was shoved out right onto the mountain. Probably a nine-year-old this time. All of thehe contestants - including me - sorround the sodden duo, making introductions and asking how the trip up the cliff went. The girl introduces herself as Arrah; the boy is James. After I shake both their hands and give them my name, I retreat to sit on my rock some more and wait for the final contestants

Indie

"I see some contestants!" Max yells, breaking my concentration on the buildings.
Everyone looks up into the direction that he’s pointing and I just barely see the outline of two figures approaching in the distance.
Slowly Max walks away towards the back of the cave looking really panicked and kinda sad. I take one more glimpse towards the coming contestants and then walk back to slump down on the ground beside Max.
"What's got you down in the dumps?" I ask watching his head whip up in surprise before I continue, "Are you upset about coming in second?"
He doesn’t smile just stares at me looking really sad and serious.
"It's the injured contestant," he says eventually, "I'm pretty sure it's the twelve year old girl.
"At least she's off the island now," I say, trying to convince myself as much as I am him that this means she’ll be okay.
"But she got hurt!"He says, his voice rising hysterically, "What if she's dead? And what if Tam gets hurt? That would just... I'd rather meet a hundred snakes than let that happen."

I watch him for a second, remembering the whole snake issue on the mountain.
He blushes and stares at the ceiling trying to hide his embarrassment- kinda failing- but I don’t say anything about it paying more attention about what else he said and finding it kind of... noble... that he’s worrying about them only after just meeting them.

"So you're worried about Tam?" I ask at last.

He nods, lowering his voice and looking worriedly up at Tam as if he doesn’t want her to know that he’s talking about her, “I don't know why they are letting fourteen-year-olds onto a strange uninhabited planet. It's ridiculously foolish."

That’s true. Especially after what could have happened to that other girl...

"Yeah,” I say, “that doesn't make sense. Surely there were a lot of older girls who applied."

"Maybe it's first come, first serve." He says shrugging and watching Tam with an almost brotherly expression, "At any rate, I'll be watching over Tam like a... Like something very protective. The most important thing to me is that she doesn't get hurt like that other girl did."

Wow...
I smile at him, "That's pretty great of you, actually."
He smiles back, looking a less panicked then he did before.
Then the other contestants arrive.
We both jump to our feet, walking back to join the others as two more soaking contestants enter the cave.
Just looking at them makes me feel cold and more than a little hesitant to go back into the rain.
From the corner of my eye I catch Max running a hand through his hair and looking a little triumphant and relieved.
I grin, shaking my head and turn my full focus back onto the other contestants.

"The last team has made it over the top of the cliff," The girl- Arrah- states.
What? Is that possible? Wasn’t one of them seriously hurt?
The boy- James- starts explaining what she meant.

“When the ship picked up Liz another contestant was shoved out onto the mountain,” he says, “they weren’t that far behind us before we reached the top.”
We all pile around them, walking deeper into the cave and away from the rain outside, introducing ourselves and asking them how they thought they went.

Only two more contestants to go now... I think to myself.

Only two more to go before we have to go back out there.

I really just hope that we don’t have to do another challenge after this...
Max finishes introducing himself and walks back to the rock a little bit away from the others.
“My name’s Indigo,” I tell them, “But most people just call me Indie.”
I get a nod at this and wait while the others introduce themselves.

Then Tam starts into an explanation about the ‘houses’ in the distance and I walk backwards a little sitting with my back against one of the cave walls waiting for the other contestants to arrive before we can leave and wondering how the rest of this competition will turn out.

Tam

Contestants!
Everyone turns to stare into the fog and rain outside, looking for these new ‘contestants’.
Only one more group now and we can finally leave this cave.
Someone shouts out towards the contestants and soon they come, dripping from the rain and covered in the mud from the mountain- just like we did.
James and Arrah.
“Where’s the other team,” I ask, wondering how far up they are and how soon we can go.
“They just made it over the edge a minute ago,” Arrah reports after a moment of trying to wring some of the water out of her hair.
Wait! Wasn’t someone in that team injured?
The boy, James, nods - as if reading my mind.
“The ship came along and picked up the little girl cause she was hurt and shoved this other girl out in her place.”
Everyone steps forward and introduces themselves .
A moment later Max withdraws from the crowd looking kinda melancholy and I wonder what’s up.
Indie walks back to talk to him and I decide to just stay where I am and maybe ask him about it later, besides I want to figure out what them houses are really like so as …Riley, talks to James and Arrah I walk back to the door and watch out in the distance.
There aren’t that many of them…


"But she got hurt!" I hear Max say loudly from back in the cave and turn back briefly, but then he lowers his voice again and I turn back towards the building.

That’s when I see to more outlines in the fog walking towards the cave.

Arrah Ark

Finally we were at the top, both James and I had relieved and semi-triumphant looks on our faces; yes, we'd come third but given the circumstances I think we'd done quite well. I was, however, worried about my brother but he'd be okay, he just had to be...
"Hey, there's a cave over there!" I said, trying to sound enthusiastic and not at all worried, pointing a blurred object in the rain not to far away, "Come on," I grabbed his hand and started to run, laughing slightly as we both slip and slide on the muddy earth. As we approach the mouth of the cave we slow and I let go of James' hand, glancing back I saw two more sopping wet and murky figures clamber over the edge of the platau. There are some brief introductions when we enter the dry and spacious cave, James and I give a brief report on what happened to Amos and Liz then James moved of with a guy called Riley to talk towards the back of the cave while a pretty girl, named Tam, and I stood by the enterence to the cave waiting for the final pair to arrive.

Amos Ark

"Finally..." I sighed, I didn't mean to sound quite so pessamistic but that's just how it came out. Kat and I had reached the summit in fairly good time after we'd really started moving, if anything it was a thrilling experience; I'd not been able to climb with someone so efficient as Kat in a long time. I could hear a noise but wasn't really paying too much attention as I was almost reminising about my old climbing days, then I realised it was Kat talking and decided it was probably a good idea to start listneing.
"Should we try and find somewhere dry?" She concluded, I nodded as if I been listening to everything she'd said.
"How about over there, I can see something but I'm not sure what..." I replied honestly, although it probably sounded comical. She looked over at me, yeah she'd probably taken as if I'd tried to be funny judging by the look on her face. As we approached the dark blob ahead of us I began to hear my name been called.
"Amos? Amos!" My sister came running out of the fog and collided with me mid-air as she lept at me, almost causing me to fall over backwards but luckily my balance is better than that. Kat laughed slightly at Arrah's display of affection, "Are you okay? I was really worried when I saw that ship, what happend to that girl; Liz?" Yes, my sister is a teenage girl but she didn't half know how to act like a worried mother combined with an over-excited child.

Spoiler

Well seeing as some people do want to start this up then we might continue on...
Since the whole mountain climbing thing is basically over we'll just start up from when the contestants reach the campsite and get more instructions.
If you have any questions about this then feel free to ask them on the DT or to PM me.

Marina

As the final timer is stopped I spin my chair over to press a red button at the bottom of my display screen.
Lights come on and the once almost invisible campsite is illuminated completely.
Then I turn to Aster.

“Aster, can you get Tanner’s attention and tell him to meet us and the contestants at the campsite? It shouldn’t take them too long to walk down there now that its light. Their bags should be already there… If the pilots managed to do their jobs properly.”
I look back to the screen where Tanner is still filming the contestants as they walk through the fading rain and over to the light and shelter of the campsite.
Not long now until they get there and we have to be there when they do.
I wait as Aster makes the call, assuming that Tanner will be at the campsite when we are for instructions and supplies.
“Let’s go.”

-Indie-

Suddenly a light comes on from the ‘houses and everyone piles over to the door just to peer out at then. Then everyone starts walking down the muddied path towards the lights. Everything begins to come into view.
There are two metal shed-like constructions, a tarp covering hat looks like it could be our suitcases, four differently shaped bags that look like they might be tents and two wooden tables- one at each end of the clearing.

Standing in the middle of this all are the three people we met before at the beginning.
The Scientist Aster, the Host Marina and the Grumbling Cameraman Tanner.
When they see everybody here they begin talking.