Caught in Competition
Saiyan Princess
Flinching, Gene Starwind waited for excruciating pain to shoot up his leg. While walking through
a field on a space station, he had suddenly stepped awkwardly into an animal burrow and heard a snapping sound.
His first thought had been, My leg's broken! But the intense pain never came. Instead, he experienced the strange
combination of soreness and icy-hot stabs in his right ankle. Carefully, as not to upset his leg, he inched the rest
of his body towards the hole, and
examined the situation. To his surprise he could see that his foot was caught in a metal hunter's trap about two feet into the burrow.
"What the..." he mumbled, looking around.
His eyes landed on a sign that read, "Careful - Hunting Grounds."
Angrily, Gene cursed and smacked the hard, rocky dirt with his fist before turning back to his
imprisoned limb. He yanked his leg up in an attempt to free his foot, but the only result was a
yelp. The trap was very powerful and had no intentions of letting Gene have his foot back. The
young man's thick boot had prevented a very probable broken ankle. But somehow, the lack of
serious injury made the problem more frustrating. He knew his ankle would be bruised and cut
where the teeth had sliced through his boot, but it would certainly be usable...if freed.
"Maybe I can pry the trap open," muttered a very irritated Gene.
Unfortunately, there was no room for Gene's arms in the cramped tunnel. Reluctantly, Gene
realized that he would need to be rescued. He just hoped his rescuer wouldn't be Jim - not after
what had happened that morning.
"That stupid Antiamicus treasure! Why did I ever want to find that cursed pile of junk anyway?"
he yelled, followed by some colorful language. "Now Jim will find it, find me, and look like the
hero while I look like a complete idiot, choking on my own words. And he's nine years younger
than I am! No...no...what am I saying? I still have a chance at finding the Antiamicus treasure!
Maybe if I dig..." Gene trailed off, desperately digging at the ground around the burrow.
************
"A treasure?" cried Gene. "On this old cheap space station?"
"Yes," replied Suzuka calmly. "It's called the Antiamicus treasure. No one's ever found it.
Some say it was left by the Nayans; others, the Silgrians."
Both Gene and Jim had decided that they should give looking for the treasure a shot. After all,
they were going to be at the space station for a few days. Their cooperation ended there. Jim
had wanted to gather all the available information on Antiamicus before searching the unfamiliar area.
Gene had wanted to jump right in, despite Jim's warnings that the space station's rural sections had a
reputation as being unpredictable and dangerous.
"You'll get lost!" Jim pointed out. "There are rocky cliffs, wastelands, ancient ruins,
abandoned mines --"
"So what?" sighed Gene, arms crossed. "I'll be careful, that's all."
"Since when are you careful?" demanded Jim. "I bet you'll fall into an old mine and break both
your legs!"
"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I've gotten both of us out of plenty of tight
spots!"
"I know. You have the scars to prove it," replied Jim bitterly.
"What are you trying to say?" growled Gene angrily.
"Never mind," snapped the younger boy. "Go off and run around in circles looking for the stupid
treasure! I'll find it myself - my way."
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
************
Saiyan Princess
Flinching, Gene Starwind waited for excruciating pain to shoot up his leg. While walking through
a field on a space station, he had suddenly stepped awkwardly into an animal burrow and heard a snapping sound.
His first thought had been, My leg's broken! But the intense pain never came. Instead, he experienced the strange
combination of soreness and icy-hot stabs in his right ankle. Carefully, as not to upset his leg, he inched the rest
of his body towards the hole, and
examined the situation. To his surprise he could see that his foot was caught in a metal hunter's trap about two feet into the burrow.
"What the..." he mumbled, looking around.
His eyes landed on a sign that read, "Careful - Hunting Grounds."
Angrily, Gene cursed and smacked the hard, rocky dirt with his fist before turning back to his
imprisoned limb. He yanked his leg up in an attempt to free his foot, but the only result was a
yelp. The trap was very powerful and had no intentions of letting Gene have his foot back. The
young man's thick boot had prevented a very probable broken ankle. But somehow, the lack of
serious injury made the problem more frustrating. He knew his ankle would be bruised and cut
where the teeth had sliced through his boot, but it would certainly be usable...if freed.
"Maybe I can pry the trap open," muttered a very irritated Gene.
Unfortunately, there was no room for Gene's arms in the cramped tunnel. Reluctantly, Gene
realized that he would need to be rescued. He just hoped his rescuer wouldn't be Jim - not after
what had happened that morning.
"That stupid Antiamicus treasure! Why did I ever want to find that cursed pile of junk anyway?"
he yelled, followed by some colorful language. "Now Jim will find it, find me, and look like the
hero while I look like a complete idiot, choking on my own words. And he's nine years younger
than I am! No...no...what am I saying? I still have a chance at finding the Antiamicus treasure!
Maybe if I dig..." Gene trailed off, desperately digging at the ground around the burrow.
************
"A treasure?" cried Gene. "On this old cheap space station?"
"Yes," replied Suzuka calmly. "It's called the Antiamicus treasure. No one's ever found it.
Some say it was left by the Nayans; others, the Silgrians."
Both Gene and Jim had decided that they should give looking for the treasure a shot. After all,
they were going to be at the space station for a few days. Their cooperation ended there. Jim
had wanted to gather all the available information on Antiamicus before searching the unfamiliar area.
Gene had wanted to jump right in, despite Jim's warnings that the space station's rural sections had a
reputation as being unpredictable and dangerous.
"You'll get lost!" Jim pointed out. "There are rocky cliffs, wastelands, ancient ruins,
abandoned mines --"
"So what?" sighed Gene, arms crossed. "I'll be careful, that's all."
"Since when are you careful?" demanded Jim. "I bet you'll fall into an old mine and break both
your legs!"
"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I've gotten both of us out of plenty of tight
spots!"
"I know. You have the scars to prove it," replied Jim bitterly.
"What are you trying to say?" growled Gene angrily.
"Never mind," snapped the younger boy. "Go off and run around in circles looking for the stupid
treasure! I'll find it myself - my way."
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
************