Rafie: Woot! Chapter 12 is finally out! Forgive me for the wait!
I wandered through the maze, in search of the exit. So far, I've gone through a room filled with snakes, a room with a rickety bridge, and a room that was in total darkness (I think I bumped into a wall a few dozen times).
Finally, I found myself facing a bottomless ditch. On the other side was a statue of a girl, her hands around a door. "That must be the exit..." I thought aloud. The only thing that held the two ledges together was a thick piece of rope. I took my boomerang and positioned it on the rope. I held the laptop, tightly around my arm and my other hand held onto the boomerang. I jumped, letting the boomerang carry me through the ditch. I landed on the other side safely.
"Congratulations." said the statue. It was the examiner's voice. "Beyond this door is the goal."
The door before me opened and I stepped into a room full of candidates.
"Number 406, Valenia, is the tenth to arrive. Total time is twelve hours and five minutes." said a voice.
I scanned the room, searching for Leorio, Kurapika, Killua, and Gon. They were nowhere in sight. Just then, I noticed that throughout this phase, my collar didn't shock me even once. I sat down and opened the laptop.
Feldar's face appeared on the screen. "Hey, Valenia,"
"I've finished the third phase, Feldar." I said happily.
"You're doing well, girl! Oh, and the Master's gone out on a business trip. He just forgot to bring this with him." Feldar raised a strange-looking device with a single button on it. "This is what he uses to activate your collar. And I snagged it from him before he left with it."
"Thanks so much, Feldar." I said.
"No problem, Val. Now you should get some rest." and his face disappeared from the screen.
I sat on the ground, bored out of my mind. "Where are you guys?"
72 hours seemed like a million decades. In scientific notation, that was 1 multiplied by 10 to the power of 7. I'm doing math… I must be REALLY bored.
I was too worried about my friends to sleep. And too afraid of the fact that if I fall asleep, someone might have the guts to slit my throat while I'm in dreamland.
Ten hours have passed since I arrived. Fifty hours remain. I was playing with my boomerang, throwing it and watching it curve back. The other candidates watched me as I threw it again and again. I suppose they were just as bored as I was. I threw my boomerang again. It curved later than usual and Hisoka, number 44, the card master, caught it. A cold chill ran up my spine. "Umm… can I have it back please?" Hisoka smiled and threw the boomerang. I caught it and sighed, thankful that he didn't aim it at my throat. Like last time... I shuddered. But, seeing how powerful Hisoka is, the way he killed that man by burying a card in his head, he probably could've made that card cut through my collar and kill me altogether. And yet, for some reason, he didn't. Why in the world would he do that?
I must have been daydreaming for a while because when I checked my watch, ten hours were remaining before the third phase of the exam was over. There was still no sign of the boys. I was really worried now. If only I could barge my way through these doors and find them. Heh, I'd probably get myself disqualified. The only thing I could do was wait patiently.
I checked my watch again. One minute until the third phase would come to a close. I was about to give up hope when one of the doors opened. Out came Kurapika, Gon, Killua, Leorio and Tonpa.
"You guys made it!" I screamed, running towards them. I hugged Gon tightly. "I thought you guys were goners."
"It'll take more than that to stop us." said Leorio.
"Says the guy who cost us fifty hours," Tonpa retorted.
"Don't worry. I won't tell Valenia about you touching that prisoner." Killua whispered to Leorio.
"Shut up!"
A loud horn sounded and the gate to the outside opened, revealing the rising sun.
"We've made it." I said, relieved. I stared at the sun and smiled.
Hisoka: You passed the test. So, I won't kill you. It's as simple as that.
Valenia: You scare me, Hisoka.
Hisoka: I'll take that as a compliment, dear.
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