Duel 4: Out of time!
I started to read the first riddle. "I can run, but I have no legs". What is that supposed to mean? Oh well. I look to the side of me and see 6 slabs with a letter on them. The letters were 'E,W,R,T,A'. What could it be? I rack my brains for an answer to no avail. 4 minutes left. What is it? A six- letter word that can run without legs. I start to rearrange the letters in my head to make a word that might be correct. Let's see. RAT, TAR, WAR. No use. I need something that uses all 6 letters. Then it struck me. If you turn on a tap, WATER starts to run! Two minutes left. I quickly check to see if the word fits. Perfect! I rearrange the tiles so WATER is spelt. They sink into place. The timer stops.
I sit down, trying to relax after that riddle. And then I realize that there are two more to complete. I pick myself up, take a deep breath, and move on to the next puzzle. I step onto the riddle square, and the second timer starts. "If yesterday was Wednesday's tomorrow, and tomorrow is Sunday's yesterday, what day is it today?" WHAT??? How am I supposed to figure this one out? Okay, clam down Yugi. You can do this. I look to the side of me, and once again, there are 6 tiles, only this time they are blank, and there is a hammer and chisel beside them. I guess that means I need to etch the word into the tiles. I think about it, trying not to rush myself, although it is very hard when there are only 3 ½ minutes until my almost certain demise. And then I think of something. Since the days of the week have different amounts of letters, I just need to narrow it down to the ones that have 6! Okay, lets start at the beginning. 'M.O.N.D.A.Y'. 6 letters. Good. 'T.U.E.S.D.A.Y'. 7 letters. Not good. 2 ½ minutes left. 'W.E.D.N.E.S.D.A.Y'. 9 LETTERS? No good. This is bad. Time is running out. 'T.H.U.R..S.D.A.Y' . Still nothing. Damn. 'F.R.I.D.A.Y'… 6 LETTERS! 1 minute left. 'S.A.T.U.R.D.A.Y' 8 letters. Nope. 'S.U.N.D.A.Y'. YES!! 6 Letters! Now to find the correct one. The day after Wednesday is Thursday, so that counts as 'Wednesday's tomorrow', and the day before Sunday is Saturday, so that means 'Sunday's yesterday'. So if I look at the day between Thursday and Saturday, I get… FRIDAY! 20 seconds left. I grab the hammer and chisel. I rush to the tiles and hammer in the word as fast as I could. 'F' 'R' 'I'. 10 seconds. 'D' 'A'. 5 seconds. I start to carve in the final letter, when the chisel gets stuck! 3 seconds. I pull and pull. 2 seconds. I give one final yank and out it comes. 1 ½ seconds. I grab the hammer and punch in the rest of the letter. ¼ seconds left. The timer stops and the tiles sink in. I collapse on the cold stone floor and rest.
Sweat was pouring down my whole body. I lie there, gazing at the black, empty space above me. And then I remember. Anzu. I push my drenched body back upright and walk slowly to the third and final riddle. I reach the question tile, but before I start the timer, I look at the answer tiles. There are seven tiles, each with a letter on them, except for one, which was blank. I did not know why, but guessed that the riddle would give me a clue. I step onto the tile, and I hear the sound of sand falling. The final Test has begun!
