Chapter 11: Go!
Hey readers! I'd like to thank all of you for giving me so many reads, the first chapter has over 1,000! But don't worry, this story is far from over. Thanks to all the people who told me happy birthday yesterday, really appreciate it! Enjoy the chapter!
The whistle was blown, sending the gem children head first into the obstacle course. Garnet dashed over the starting line, and flew face first into sticky mud. The gem children leaped behind her and fell into a similar problem.
"First challenge, the mud march!" Coach bellowed, laughing at the struggling gems.
Obsidian charged forward, jumping off the heads of struggling gems. Suddenly, he tripped, and he toppled into the mud.
"Ughh! This is hopeless!" he snarled.
Every move Garnet made, caused her knees to sink in deeper into the mud.
"Hey Garnet, I have an idea," Red whispered, trudging towards his brother and teammate.
"What?" Greeny replied.
"Climb on my back,"
The green and red gem glanced at each other in disbelieve.
"Just trust me okay?" Red pleaded.
Garnet shrugged, and stretched her arms out towards Red, while Greeny climbed on his brother's shoulders.
"Okay Greeny, put Garnet on your shoulders," Red ordered.
The two gems obeyed.
"Lean forward Garnet,"
The red gem leaned forward, sinking her gems into the sticky, cold, mud.
"Hold on, are we creating a gem chain?" Greeny said.
"Yep," Red replied smiling.
"Good idea," Garnet complemented, as the boys climbed over her back.
"See this is what I'm talking about! Teamwork, and good ideas," Mr. Lemonite observed.
Now, the other teams began to copy their strategy. But, Garnet's team is the first one to reach the edge of course.
"Yes! We're done!" Green cheered, exhausted from the crawl.
"Oh, who said you were finished?" Coach said, leaning down to the gem team smiling.
Their mouths dropped to the floor.
"I have hidden a key with all three of your gem colors on them. Go to the fields, bring it to me, and then you are done for the day. You may use your weapons if you have too,"
The trio nodded and took off into the fields beyond the school.
"I wonder why he's going to let us use our weapons," Garnet thought out loud.
The boys shrugged.
The fields rolling in golden brown wheat, looked as an endless yellow ocean.
"This is going to take forever!" Greeny groaned.
"We'd better get looking, the others are catching up," Red observed while glancing over his shoulder.
In the grass, the gems could hear something moving, towards them.
"Guys hold still," Garnet said, holding out her arms.
Out of the grass, hopped giant grass snake, into Garnet's face. Only having a second to react, the red gem summonded her gauntlets, and snatched it in mid air. The snake wiggled and hissed in Garnet's grasp.
"Where did this come from?" The boys asked, poking their fingers at the slithering captive.
"I think over there..." Garnet said, pointing ahead with her free hand.
"In that cave looking place over there...?" Red asked.
"Think so, let's check it out," Garnet replied, knocking the wheat out of the way with her gauntlets.
Finally they reached the caves. It was dark moist, and the trio could occasionally hear the dripping of water. The boys crossed their arms, allowing the light from the gems on their lower ribs to illuminate the caves.
"This place is creepy..." Greeny said, leaning closer to his brother.
"Hey guys, I see something!" Red exclaimed as he hopped through the damp caves.
Further into the cave, Red could see something reflecting light. The gem quickly leaned down and picked up the object.
"I found the key-" the gem was dragged off screaming.
"RED!" Garnet and Greeny yelled, pulling out their weapons.
The chase was on. The gem duo picked up the pace, and quickly caught up to Red's captor. Strangely, Red, dangled in mid hair, surrounded by rocks.
"Red are you okay!?" Greeny yelled upward.
"I'm fine... My foot just hurts, get me down!" he replied, yanking out his twin sword.
Red was suddenly dropped to the floor, only to be floating above ground. As the two gems watched, it seemed like Red was being constricted.
"Ummm... Greeny?" Garnet said, glancing over at her teammate.
"Yeah Garnet...?"
" I think this is an invisible snake!" Garnet exclaimed stepping backwards.
"Should we get coach!?" Greeny asked, preparing to run.
"I don't think Red will make it if we do. It's up to us now Greeny," Garnet gulped.
Neither of the gem kids have ever fought anything besides play fighting with each other. They were in experienced, out sized, and no time to reach help. Garnet closed her eyes, and punch at the invisible coil around Red. The gem gasped, and fell to his knees, his body finally touching the ground.
"Thanks," Red wheezed.
"Don't thank me yet, I still need some help!" Garnet replied.
Red nodded, and grabbed his twin sword from his rib. Meanwhile, Greeny slashed relentlessly at the hissing noise. The invisible snake lunged his fangs at Greeny. The green gem dropped to his knees and covered his face. Garnet jumped in the way, and grabbed the snake's top two fangs. The red gem struggled against the pressure of the great beast, as it pushed her back against the wall. Out of nowhere the boys leap from the cave walls, and sink their swords into the back of the snake's head. The beast let out one final hiss, before it flung Garnet to the cave entrance. The snake retreated into a hole, out of sight. Tripping over rocks, Greeny sprinted to the entrance of the cave, while Garnet laid on the rocky floor.
"Garnet... Please...Get up!" Greeny wailed.
Garent slowly blinked at, stood to her feet.
"I'm... I'm fine..." Garnet gasped.
Red finally limped his way to the entrance rejoining his teammates.
"Seems like you got off easy Green," Red teased.
The gem smiled, and lifted his arms up so his brother could see his cuts and scrapes he recieved while fighting the snake face to face.
"You still have the key?" Garnet asked.
Red reached into his pocket, and pulled out a golden key, with two red and one green gem on the top.
"Alright let's go back..." Greeny concluded.
Once the gems reached the school, the sun had already set. Unfortunately for Green, he had to carry Garnet and Red on his shoulder.
"So you three found the key huh? Good job," Coach said leaning down to take the key back.
"What was up with that invisible snake, nearly killed us!" Red yelled.
"That was Slick, one of the old challenges for the competition, you all must have given him a workout," Mr. Lemonite chuckled.
Behind Garnet's team came the rest of the gem kids, looking just as torn and battered.
" Alright everyone, time to go home, we'll continue tomorrow,"
The gem kids groaned, and limped away into the darkness, on their ways home.
"Hey Garnet how was your day?" Mamma Coral asked, as Garnet stepped through the door.
The young gem was soaked head to toe because of the rain she encountered, while still being caked in mud. Some ribs were cracked, and Garnet's arm hung limp at her side.
"Crazy," she replied while she collapsed on the floor.
"Training is hard right, Garnet?"
" Why... Why do we do this Grandma?"
"Well sweetie, this tradition is as old as our kingdom itself. Once the team of three is presented on the final night, lady moon will descend on our kingdom, and shine the moon upon you. Imagine it Garnet, being royalty for one night only. After that, I really don't remember what happens..." the old mineral trailed off.
"Either way, complaining about it won't make the challenges any easier. Take it like a gem, okay sweetheart?"
"Okay Grandma, I will,"
