The room contained two queen-sized beds and three wardrobes, looking perfectly pristine upon the group's entrance—save for the tiny sheet of paper with Ted's writing scrawled on it on the bed covers. But aside from that, everything seemed perfectly, undoubtedly in order.
Then again, there was the painfully shrill scream of Natalie Kabra, who, in fact, was turning red in the face in fury at that exact moment.
"WIIIIIZAAAAAAAARD!!!" she raged, tearing at the superstar's shirt with the animosity of a stampeding bull. "I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU HAD THIS COVERED! I THOUGHT WE HAD AGREED THAT I WOULD HAVE A SEPARATE, QUEEN-SIZED BEDROOM WHILE THE REST OF YOU HOOLIGANS ROT IN THIS HEN-HOUSE!"
"Whoa, Nat, calm down!" Jonah spoke, stunned at the sudden tirade. "This lil' stunt's just gonna last for one day! It'll be over with before you could say—"
"I DON'T CARE!" Natalie screeched. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT WHATEVER LUDICROUS CONSOLATION YOU TRY TO REASSURE ME WITH!" Her voice began to grow hoarse as her shouting grew louder. She angrily jabbed a finger at his chest, eyes burning with infinite hatred. "I HAVE SPENT PRECIOUS MINUTES STANDING UP IN SOME—PEASANT'S SHOES—WATCHING SOME STUPID GAME WHEN I COULD BE BACK HOME DOING COUNTLESS OTHER THINGS THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BENEFIT MY TIME! SO DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME THAT AFTER DEGRADING MYSELF TO THE LOWEST OF THE LOW THAT I WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE TO SLEEP—MOREOVER STAY IN THE SAME ROOM AS YOU MISCREANTS—LIKE THE FILTHY, ROTTEN LITTLE PIGS THAT YOU ALL—"
"And I say that's enough, little sister." Spoke Ian, grabbing Natalie by the collar and dragging her to a remote corner in the room. Natalie tore at the air, looking at Jonah in a way a killer would confront his victim. "Seriously, you are forgetting your poise." Ian continued, undoubtedly annoyed to his limits.
"Heh, I don't care if I have to share a room with you losers," Hamilton said wearily, heading towards the nearest bed in a zombie-like manner. "Just give me five… twelve hours… of slee—"
And before he could finish his sentence, Hamilton flopped onto the soft bed and fell asleep instantly.
"Hey!" Jonah protested, temporarily forgetting that he almost had his eyes ripped out a minute ago. "That there is my spot!"
"Leave it to rest, Jonah," Amy chided, with a newfound confidence found within herself after the game. "He deserves the bed. After all, he's been driving us for hours without sleep!"
"Oh, and so you're saying that you and your brother also deserve the bed?" Jonah retorted, snapping towards Amy. "Just because the both of you have been leading the race ever since it started? Huh?"
"Hey, don't you dare talk to my sister like that!" Dan yelled, instinctively going in front of her. He could feel her going tense at Jonah's accusation.
"Would the both of you just quit it?!" came the voice of Madison, whose face was contorted in a scowl. "It's the middle of the night!"
"Look, Jonah," Amy spoke, with her voice slightly shaking. "Hamilton's had a rough night. We still got the Starling Triplets to worry about, and not to mention that we've got eleven-year-olds on deck."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" came Dan's protest.
Amy waved the comment aside. "I know it's hard to settle past conflicts. But right now, we're working as a team. You, me, Hamilton, the triplets and…" she paused for a moment. "… Kabra are the eldest ones here. We're supposed to cooperate, not fight each other."
"So what's this gotta do with me?" Jonah spoke defiantly.
"We've gotta plan our moves right this time, not just to win the race, but to make sure everyone gets out of this faux race alive." Amy spoke in all seriousness. This was a first for Amy Cahill. "Now, if you want to get out alive, you'd best be pulling your weight."
"Alright, alright! Fine. I get what you mean," Jonah spoke, still heated up. "What's your proposition then?"
"We have two families of three in our team," Amy explained, pointing at the beds. "And both of them have a member in some sort of condition. So the Holts and the Starlings will stay on the beds, while the rest of us will have to sleep on the floor. Anyway, the floor is carpeted so it shouldn't be much of a problem."
"You have got to be kidding me!" Dan protested. "Amy, you're letting people who tried to kill us—I repeat, kill us—live the comfortable life while we're back to being the underdogs and—"
"Dan, shush!" Amy warned.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Natalie piped up, with nails biting into the white bed linens. "DO YOU REALLY EXPECT THAT I'D SLEEP ON SOME CHEAP RUG CLAIMING TO BE OF PERSIAN DESCENT?! I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THIS ONE!"
"Natalie, please." Ian spoke in disgust, holding her down. "I'll handle this one. Amy," he spoke, and Amy lost focus for a while. It was when Dan nudged her in the ribs that she regained focus and kept her ground.
Ian continued, walking towards her effortlessly. "You must be misinformed. If you haven't forgotten, Natalie and I are Lucians. Natural-born leaders." He spoke, stopping an inch away from her. Her body turned hot once more, yet with Dan's prodding, she stood her ground.
"You don't need to stress yourself on subjects like these, love. Things like these should be in the hands of those more capable, don't you agree?" he spoke, combing two fingers through her hair. At once she slapped his hand at the gesture—with a force strong enough to force him to retract it in pain. Dan beamed a proud smile, hissing a victorious Yes!
"Go Amy," he whispered.
"Even natural born leaders have their biases," she spoke firmly, ending her sentence in time to stop the forming stutter in her mouth.
And so it came to be that the two families of three would sleep on the beds, while the others made themselves comfortable on the floor. [This was also instigated with the help of the Holt twins, Madison and Reagan.]
Jonah leaned at the side of the Starlings' bed as he bobbed his head to the music booming through his earphones, while the now-present Starlings stayed close to each other—with Ned and Ted keeping a close eye on Sinead as usual. Earlier they had taken her to a doctor who conveniently had his quarters in the hotel for checking, and they were informed that she would need to recuperate for a few days.
Meanwhile, Ian and Natalie placed their territory at the corner farthest away from the others—with both siblings fast asleep. After having drugged Natalie to sleep with some mild poison he found stashed in her bag, Ian refused to mingle with the others until he finally fell prey to sleep's heavy toll. The momentarily isolation may have been out of a battered ego, yet nevertheless, the boy took the reason for it with him into the depths of Dreamland.
Amy found herself wide awake after standing up to the other older Cahills, the excitement of it all still rushing through her veins. Her cheeks were slightly flushed at the embarrassment that was beginning to make itself known, with various accusations at herself being thrown all throughout the corners of her mind. How could she be so impulsive? How could she be so… stupid?
Looking at the others, she noticed how they were minding their own business—even Dan was busy scouring the room for items he could collect, although she specifically instructed him not to. They were people of different views, different lives, different branches—and as Natalie would say, it would be simply ludicrous to think that she could actually stand up to them all.
Well, except for Dan, but he was her brother. He didn't count.
Still leaning on the balcony of the room, she gripped the railing tightly as if to punish herself. I won't fall asleep, she told herself as she looked at the moon. For a moment, she didn't want to face the world, to face reality—all she wanted was to stare at the moon, as if she could disappear if she did, as if it could punish her for those nonexistent mistakes she blamed herself for in her mind.
I. Won't. Sleep.
It had probably been an hour and a half before she began to feel drowsy. Dan had fallen asleep long past, and her grip on the railing was starting to fail her. Thirty more minutes had passed before she kneeled near the railing, still gripping the railing with fierce determination.
I. Won't. Sleep.
Fifteen more minutes had passed, and she began to yawn uncontrollably. The last thing she saw before she finally fell asleep was still the moon, its glow no longer harsh—but loving, like the last person who loved her.
Grace.
"SHE'S GONE!"
The mere volume of the voice was enough for Amy to jolt out of her deep [and not to mention wonderful] sleep. In the process, she hit her head on one of the ceramic moldings that decorated the railing; accidentally making her fall over her pajama bottoms.
"Ow," she muttered, looking back at the window leading to the balcony. She could see the others rushing about, tearing through the bed linens and pillows. Confused, she slid back the window and went over to where all the ruckus was.
"Holt, aren't sure you didn't just misplace her?" came Jonah, flinging the pillows onto the floor. "I mean, y'all are forgetful at times…"
"Shut up, Wizard," Hamilton spoke, opening the wardrobes. "I don't have time for your wisecracks!"
"Ugh, being woken up at two in the morning for this rubbish?" Natalie spoke sleepily, daintily tossing some pillows aside as she rubbed her eyes. "How absurd."
"Wh-what's going on here?" Amy spoke in confusion, attracting Dan's attention. He momentarily paused from turning over one of the mattresses.
"Oh, hey Amy." He spoke casually, still preoccupied by what he was doing. "Didn't see you this morning. Where'd ya sleep?"
Amy rubbed her eyes, yawning. "At the balcony."
This attracted everyone's attention, which momentarily distracted them from what the bedroom raid. Everyone looked at her in surprise, and everything was so quiet that you could hear a cricket chirping.
"You slept at the balcony?" came the astonished inquiry of Hamilton Holt.
Amy blushed at all the attention she was receiving. "Oh, d-don't mind me! J-Just continue what you g-guys were doing!"
And, like clockwork, everyone resumed to raiding the room.
"Ohh, darnit!" Madison cursed as she threw an abused pillow to the ground. "We can't find her anywhere! She must've run away again, the little mouse!"
"This ain't Milwaukee, Maddie!" Hamilton spoke, raiding the drawers. "And she doesn't know anything about Las Vegas, either. Doubt she'd be running around some place she hasn't been to before." He continued, pulling out one of the drawers. In it contained articles of pink undergarments.
He tilted the drawer at Natalie. "Um, is this yours?"
Natalie's sleepy expression turned into one of red-faced embarrassment as she snatched the drawer from Hamilton's hands. "Don't do that again." She muttered disdainfully.
Madison threw down some covers angrily. "Well, she always runs away, that's for sure."
"Wha-what's happening?" Amy inquired in concern. "Who's missing?"
"Reagan Holt," Ian spoke without hesitation, turning over some picture frames. "And we've been searching for her since morning."
"I told you, SHE RAN AWAY." Madison spoke spitefully. "She always runs away when she doesn't like something. Hmph. Probably got all pressured and didn't want to continue the hunt anymo—"
I didn't run away, you idiot.
At the voice, everyone turned to see where the source was. Yet, to their surprise, the voice seemed to have come from the most unthinkable of all sources: Ian Kabra's pocket.
"Eew," Dan spoke, wincing in disgust.
Casually, Ian took the sleek blue BlackBerry from his pocket as he shot a disgusted look at Dan. "Oh, please. Don't make such outrageous conclusions. " he spoke coolly, facing the screen at the others. A clear picture of Reagan Holt lit the screen dimly, yet it was clear enough nevertheless. Her face turned from a look of displeasure to one of relief.
Oh, thank God… you guys finally picked up! she spoke, a small smile etching across her face. Everyone looked amazed, especially big brother Hamilton.
"Reagan, what the heck are you doing there?!" he spoke in astonishment.
Well if you're worrying about my welfare, I'm just peachy, thank you very much. she spoke sarcastically, clearly annoyed about their lack of concern for her safety. She looked at the others dryly. Anyway, for those who were wondering: I'm here because it involves the next challenge.
"Challenge?" Amy spoke in bewilderment.
Bingo. I'm currently at some location I can't disclose, but what I can say is that you need to find me in time to get to the next clue.
"Find you?" Madison spoke.
Uh-huh. Find me. For this challenge, one person from each team is abducted and taken to a remote area, where the remaining members have to employ various tactics in order to locate the member's whereabouts. All this needs to be done within a specified time limit, or else the clue is lost.
"Whoopdee-doo. Reagan's took to speakin' fancy." Madison mocked. Reagan scowled.
Hey, I heard that! F-Y-I, the dude made me say it!
"Shush! You're not supposed to say that!" came a hoarse voice from behind her. Everyone leaned in closer to the screen.
"Who was that?" Dan spoke, with Reagan looking at the side in reproach. She seemed to be looking at someone who didn't appear on the screen.
A-Ah, th-that was no one. Anyway, you guys only have three days to retrieve me.
"Three days, huh?" Natalie spoke with a smug smile. "Perhaps we should just leave her there. I, for one, would consider that just heavenly."
Reagan scowled. Aw, shut up Ice Queen.
"Okay, so we gotta rescue you from… wherever you're at, in three days. Uh, ahem," Jonah spoke, looking at the group. "Aaaaand… that's where we have a problem."
"Now what exactly gave you that predicament, Janus?" Ian spoke dryly, looking at Jonah.
"Ding-dong, Lucy," Jonah spoke as he wagged his finger in a derogative manner. "Sinead Starling's still recovering from hypothermia, which preeetty much eats up our time to save Reagan. And we can't leave 'em Starling triplets alone here in Vegas, since them Blue Team might catch up with 'em and do Heaven-knows-what. Someone's gotta stay with 'em."
"Then what?" Ian retorted. "Are you saying we should split up into two groups to satisfy both needs?"
"And… PING! The Lucian's got it!"
At that statement, everyone looked at each other for a viable candidate. The Holts gave each other uneasy stares, and Dan and Amy refuted the thought in an instant. The Kabra siblings then looked at each other thoughtfully, then looked back.
"Then I'll stay with the Starlings." Ian spoke, folding his arms. Although the others didn't give a second thought to his decision, Amy tried to fight a growing uneasiness inside of her. As much as she despised the Kabra boy, the idea of him staying with the Starlings caused her an unnecessary twinge of discomfort.
Stop being concerned about him, she told herself angrily.
"Very noble of you, cuz." Jonah spoke smugly, smacking him at the back endearingly. This seemed to cause him minor discomfort, since he wrapped an arm around his chest shortly after Jonah hit him.
"And I'll stay with this group," spoke Natalie, flipping her hair. "Since it's obvious to me that you'll be needing a first-class Lucian."
Dan made a choking gesture, to which Natalie caught with a reprimanding glare.
"Oh, don't be hypocritical. You'll be needing a Lucian in the next set of challenges, if you haven't forgotten." Natalie spoke coldly.
"You'll be needing this, Lucy," Jonah spoke, handing Ian something that seemed like a beeper. "Contact us if the little miss's doin' fine and I'll send in the jet."
"Erm, thanks," Ian replied curtly. Exchanging the device with his BlackBerry, he gave Jonah a final warning glance. "Oh, and please—do not call me Lucy."
Jonah just laughed it off. "Whatever, Lucy."
Ian groaned in repulsion.
"C'mon guys," Hamilton spoke, gesturing at the door. "The minivan's just outside the entrance and we can't keep sissy waiting!"
Hurry up, guys! Reagan spoke. I need to go to the bathroom really, really badly!
"Back to peasant clothes and horrid transportation." Natalie lamented. "Can't I make a last-minute decision to switch sides with Ian?"
"You're too young, Nat." Jonah spoke as they went outside the doorway in a single file. Natalie just groaned in response. "Well, we'd best be on our way! To infinity, and…wherever the heck we need to go."
"Seatbelts, guys," Hamilton spoke as he put the key into ignition. "This is gonna be a bumpy ride."
In an instant, the engine roared to life and the van gunned down one of the streets in abandon—with the others being thrown back into their seats in the process. Hamilton then turned on the radio, with a tune blaring through the speakers like wildfire.
YOU BETTER RUN, YOU BETTER DO WHAT YOU CAN
DON'T WANNA SEE NO BLOOD, DON'T BE A MACHO MAN...
YOU WANNA BE TOUGH, BETTER DO WHAT YOU CAN
SO BEAT IT...
BUT YOU WANNA BE BAD...
JUST BEAT IIIIT…
[BEAT IT!]
BEAT IIIIT…
[BEAT IT!]
NO ONE WANTS TO BE DEFEATED!
SHOWIN' HOW FUNKY
STRONG IS YOUR FIGHT
IT DOESN'T MATTER
WHO'S WRONG OR RIGHT
JUST BEAT IT...
"Whoa, Tomas," Jonah spoke from the passenger seat. "First Lady Gaga and now Michael Jackson? Dang, you've got some messed-up soundtrack."
"Shut up!"
Meanwhile, with the Blue Team…
YOU EEN-SOLENT, UNGRATEFUL FOOLS! HOW DARE YOU EVEN CONSIDER LEAVING ME HERE FOR EVEN AN EEN-STANT! came the harsh voice of Irina Spasky through the speakers of Vikram Kabra's BlackBerry. Isabel Kabra just chuckled.
"Oh Cousin Irina… it's nothing personal, really. It's just that you were partially responsible for the ruining of my custom-made Gucci dress, that's all." Isabel spoke sweetly.
My fault?! How am I supposed to be responsible for the rogue bomb in the sewer?! It's your stoo-peed agents' job to plant the cherry bombs! They are the ones responsible!
"Nevertheless, Irina," Vikram spoke evilly. "You failed to inform us earlier about the bomb in the first place, considering that you're the only person in the team who has state-of-the-art bomb-finding technology."
The device was faulty, Vikram! You should know that! You were the one who gave it to me!
As the scene was being played, Cora, Alistair and the Holts were sipping tea comfortably at the backyard of their villa as they played Mahjong. Taking a quick glance at the Lucians, Alistair sighed before taking another sip.
"It seems as if they're at it again. My word," Alistair spoke, looking at Cora Wizard. "It's quite fortunate that we were able to get through the last challenge with those hoodlums. They never do stop fighting, do they?" he continued, placing his tile. Cora shook her head.
"I guess it's a Lucian thing, Mr. Oh. It's probably something the other branches are better off not knowing, for once. Oh, Mary-Todd, it's your turn."
"Thank you, dear." Mary-Todd spoke cheerfully, carefully placing her tile onto the board. "Oh, dear… I guess we'll be a little bit delayed again, won't we?"
"Eh, whatever." Eisenhower spoke, placing his tile. "'S long as we don't have to get involved in their stupid little arguments, everything's fine by me. Your turn, Ekat."
"Aha! Riichi again, Holt. I win the game." Alistair spoke triumphantly.
"D'aww!"
To say the least, it seemed as if the Blue Team would be quite unproductive for a while—that is, until Isabel Kabra finally buys herself a new dress that would replace the old one. And even if their chances of winning would be at stake, the other branches seemed to be perfectly fine with that.
Which, to say, was the oddest thing.
Author's note: Well, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting and procrastination by Dorkus Authorus, The Great Cahill Race has finally seen the light of day. Gah, I've been the worst updater-er ever, haven't I? [Don't deny it.] But, to shine more light to your day, I'm already working on the next chapter, so you guys can expect an update after this one. :) I've got a LOT to make up for... and I thank you guys for putting up with my miserable antics. Actually, I also have YOU guys to thank, since thanks to your words of encouragement, I was able to stand up on my own two feet and gathered the strength to continue this story.
A million thanks to you all. :D
