Glad to see we have a new reviewer! Welcome TheHungerGames19! Thank goodness because I was getting bummed at the lack of reception. But I know I have no one to blame but my trash self. Still, I have another update for you! :)
Also I gotta know...which team are you rooting for? Mission Team or Chasing Team?! *waves flags*
Before parting ways, Alistair and Libra had agreed to meet up outside the press box. Way up here was where the rich watched the football games. The seats were indoors, protected from the weather, with a full view of the stadium. Alistair stood at a huge window, gazing down at the field. It was devoid of life. Nothing but the time bomb, ticking away the seconds they had to live…
What is taking Libra so long? Alistair wondered, seized by a brief flame of frustration. He turned towards the elevator he'd taken to get here, but it did not appear to be in use. Perhaps she was caught already.
Just when Alistair was ready to give up on her, the pattering of feet reached his ears. A nearby door burst open and there was Libra, gasping for breath. Her hat was askew and her hair stuck out in every direction.
Alistair arched an eyebrow. "What happened to you?"
"I…took…the stairs…" Libra gasped, face flushed bright red. "Just…give me a…" She flopped over onto her back with a loud exhale.
"Why didn't you take the elevator?" Alistair pointed at said elevator.
Libra lifted her head and goggled at the elevator for a long moment. Then she uttered a groan that betrayed she hadn't known about it. "Just…go on without…me. I'll…catch up…" she muttered, still struggling to catch her breath.
Alistair went ahead without argument. He passed through several rooms, with rows of comfy chairs and long tables for buffets. He kept one eye on the stadium, looking for movement, but saw nothing. Eventually, he reached the door that led to the press box. "Authorized Personnel Only," a sign read. Alistair entered.
In front of a large window was an important-looking desk with a microphone on it. Next to the microphone was a strange silver tube with a glowing crease at the top. Alistair took a step towards it. Suddenly, the chair by the desk swiveled to face him.
There sat Monobear with his usual toothy grin and glowing red eye. "Well, well, look what the bear dragged in. Something I can help you with, Alistair?"
Alistair nodded towards the silver tube. "Is that a piece of the code?"
"Sure is. Why don't you come and get it?"
Alistair approached cautiously.
Monobear laughed at his suspicious expression. "Oh, come on! I wouldn't do anything to sabotage your team." He sat back in his chair, folding his arms over his protruding gut.
Alistair picked up the silver tube and opened it. A big blue one presented itself before his eyes. "What does it mean?" He calmly closed it.
"You know very well what it means, Mr. Illusionist," Monobear said, eye glimmering. "Don't play stupid with that big brain of yours."
Alistair's lip twitched with amusement. "Is that a compliment?"
"No, stupid. I don't give out compliments to chumps."
Before Alistair could retaliate, the door opened and in walked Libra, looking much more composed than earlier. Her eyes fell on the hint in Alistair's hand. "You found it!" she trilled.
"Not really. It was just lying out on the table," Alistair said modestly. "Anyways, our first hint is blue, number one."
"Blue number one," Libra repeated.
Suddenly, Monobear let out a squeal and started squeezing his cheeks. "Aw, you brought your girlfriend! How sweet."
Alistair opened his mouth to deny Monobear, but Libra beat him to it. "We're just friends," she said flatly. She seemed to be wrestling with glaring at Monobear or glaring at her feet. As if looking the little bear directly in the face might land her in hot water.
Monobear's enthusiasm faded and he let his paws drop. "Eh, you're right. If anything, your relationship is lukewarm. Now Reeta and Blake—that ship is HOT HOT HOT! I can't wait for it to sink!"
"What is a ship?" Alistair asked, but his question went unheard as Libra spoke over him.
"Don't talk about us like we're just fictional characters in a story," she scoffed.
Monobear's eyes narrowed. "Oh, that's rich coming from you."
The dangerous note in his voice made Libra flinch.
Monobear chuckled. "That's what I thought! Not so brave without that camera glued to your eye, now are you?" Seeming much more relaxed, Monobear stretched, then leaned against the desk to rest his elbows. "Anyways, it sure was smart of you two to come straight to the press box. At this rate, the Mission Team will win for sure!"
Alistair's eyes flashed perceptively. Suddenly, he was at Libra's side, grabbing her arm. "We need to go!"
"Why? What's wrong?" Libra gasped, panic shooting through her.
"Monobear just broadcast our location to the entire stadium. Bastard!" Alistair hissed.
Monobear sat up in his seat, taking his elbow off the button it had been resting on. "Oops! Clumsy me!" he sang, and then dissolved into a fit of laughter. The sound faded behind the two students as they put the press box behind them, hurrying through the boxes to reach the exit.
"Wait! Let's hide," Libra said, once again struggling to breathe. "They're going to come in through that door. We can sneak out behind them!"
"Or we can try to get ahead of them while we still have the chance," Alistair returned. "We don't know how near they are."
"Yes we do!" Libra burst out, just as the door handle ahead of them turned. She dove for cover, throwing herself down behind a row of seats. Alistair darted to the buffet table. A second later, Blake and Reeta entered, bells jangling.
Libra could feel her heart struggling to escape her chest. The suspense was killing her. She silently wished Blake and Reeta would hurry along and leave this room behind. But then Reeta just had to go and say—
"Let's hide and ambush them!"
"Nice! Good idea," Blake agreed instantly.
Libra rolled her eyes and bit back a furious sigh. Please don't let them check here… Unfortunately, Reeta had the same taste in hiding places as Libra did. Reeta's face appeared between the chairs and Libra found herself staring up at it, frozen like a scared rabbit.
Reeta's mouth popped open in surprise. "Looks like there's already someone hiding—AHH!"
Libra leaped to her feet and shoved past Reeta, nearly knocking her over. She clambered towards the door, looking for Alistair in the corner of her eye. But he remained concealed. She didn't blame him. She would have done the same. Besides, that was the least of her problems right now—Blake was coming after her.
She ran as fast as she could go, straight for the elevators. She'd had a headstart. Blake had stopped to make sure Reeta was okay before pursuing her. But she was already out of breath. Her lungs burned as she pumped her legs. This time I'm taking the elevator!
Libra punched the button and the doors opened immediately. She jumped in and began jamming the 'close doors' button. "Come on, come on!"
Blake was running straight at her. And he was fast. Terrifyingly fast.
Libra was whimpering now. "Come on!" she screamed, pressing the button with all her might. All the while, elevator music provided a relaxing background track.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the doors began to close. Blake was twenty feet away, closing in fast. He reached out to stop the doors from closing. Libra could only stare in horror.
One inch.
Blake missed his ride by one inch. The door closed and he couldn't stop his momentum. He slammed into it.
The elevator shuddered at the impact. Libra held her breath, heart beating furiously. Blake was probably pressing the button now, but it was too late. The elevator was descending down to the ground floor.
"YES!" Libra shouted, hopping about with glee. "Thank God!"
She used the rest of the ride to recover her energy, thinking about where to go next. But she never would get to decide. Just as the doors opened to the ground floor, there was a black-and-white blur. Something heavy slammed down onto her shoulders with a joyful squeal.
"Gustav!" Libra choked out as she hit the floor.
"Oh, I knew it would be you, Lumey! I just knew it!" Gustav laughed. "As soon as I saw that the elevator was in motion, I thought…hey! Where're you going?!"
Libra squirmed out from beneath Gustav and stumbled to her feet. She began to run, but ran straight into Noah.
"Whoa, there!" Noah said, grabbing at her hands. Gustav bounded after her. She was trapped.
Once again, Libra flopped onto her back and lay there pathetically.
"Oh, come on. Get up," Noah growled, keeping hold of her hands. He yanked on them, trying to get her into a sitting position so they could remove her nametag. "Gustav, get it!"
Libra fought with all her might, trying to keep her back glued to the ground, but she couldn't match the strength of two boys. They easily wrestled her into a position where they could get at her nametag.
"Sorry, Lumey!" Gustav said.
"Nooo!" Libra cried out. The sound of the nametag being ripped off filled her ears. Then all of the fight went out of her and she collapsed.
Gustav held onto her, tears in his eyes. "I broke her!" he wailed.
"Lumey—I mean, Libra, out! Libra, out!" Monobear's voice crackled on the loudspeaker. "Please report to Monobear Jail or face the consequences."
Libra just stayed where she was, limp as a wet rag.
Noah cast a critical eye on her. "Well? Aren't you going?"
"I'll get there eventually," Libra muttered. "I'm tired."
"Okay…"
Still, Libra didn't move. The corner of her lip pushed up in a smirk. "Maybe I'll look for another hint while I make my way there."
"I see how it is," Noah said, seeming to swell with irritation. "You need an escort. Let's go." Noah grabbed her arm and jerked it.
"Hey! Rude," Libra complained as the two dragged her back to her feet.
"Gustav, go back to hunting Teresa," Noah said, ignoring Libra. "I'll take care of this one."
Don't talk about me as if I'm not here, Libra nearly argued, but bit her lip. She was in disgrace enough. At least she was distracting one of them. Despite being out the game, she could still be of some use to her team. She just hoped the rest of the teammates could use that to their advantage.
"Good. Someone else got Libra. Let's keep checking around here."
Blake turned to Reeta, confusion written across his face. "Why?"
"Didn't you hear Monobear? He said there were two in the press box with him. Let's go back in and look around." Reeta led the way back to the rich seats. Blake followed. "By the way, how is your shoulder?"
"It's fine," Blake grunted. He rolled the shoulder he had slammed into the elevator, producing a loud crack! The two reentered the press box, but little did they know, Alistair had already taken the opportunity to escape. He had headed outside and was now among the many bleachers of the stadium. From this vantage point, he spotted Teresa further down, standing at the entrance to one of the tunnels.
He waved at her until she spotted him, then the two made their way towards each other, keeping a careful eye out for the enemy team.
"Did you find a hint?" Teresa asked, as soon as the two met up.
Alistair nodded and they traded information.
"Just one more hint and we can win this," Teresa said determinedly. "But we've got less than half an hour. Where else do you think Monobear's hidden one?"
Alistair scanned the stadium. "I don't know. Are there any other vital locations within this stadium?"
"He could have hidden one on the field. Or in the bleachers," Teresa murmured.
"If that's the case, we're better start searching. There are a lot of bleachers here."
"Wait! Let's split up. If someone comes after us, one can serve as a distraction while the other escapes." She looked at Alistair intently.
Somehow, he could sense what she was getting at. He sighed. "Let me guess. I'm the distraction?"
"Good luck." Without another word, Teresa turned and headed off.
Well, I may be the distraction, but that doesn't mean I can't search too, Alistair thought, getting down to business.
Robin had found nothing.
He hadn't been brave enough to venture off and go looking for pieces of the code. The most he could do was walk a few steps, then he would duck into the nearest hiding place, convinced he had heard the sound of bells. He'd stay there for a few minutes, holding his breath. Then when nothing happened, he would move on, peering cautiously around every corner.
He was convinced Blake was going to materialize in front of him and snap him like a toothpick. And Monobear probably didn't offer a medical plan for his students. Worst Dean ever.
Then it came. The sound of bells—for real this time.
There was nowhere to hide. Nowhere except a tiny stand for popsicles, with no popsicles to be found. At least that meant the cooler was empty. Robin pried the lid off and crammed his skinny body inside. Then he did his best to put the lid back in place, but it still rested slightly askew on top. He could clearly hear the sound of bells drawing closer. They were accompanied by a familiar voice.
It was Libra. "Like I care," she was saying to her captor. "I still found a piece of the code so I did my job. If everyone else pulls their weight, you're going to lose."
Noah's voice responded, too quiet to hear his words. He sounded annoyed, though. But that wasn't what was important. Libra found a piece of code! He had to get it from her, as soon as she was safe to approach.
He stayed inside the cooler for a long time, until long after the sound of voices had faded. His legs fell asleep and grew tingly. Only when he couldn't bear it anymore and he was absolutely sure no one was around, did he leave his hiding place. Then he carefully made his way back to the field.
For a few seconds, he hesitated in the shadows of the tunnel, squinting his eyes at Monobear Jail. Libra and Charlie sat among the heap of Monobear plushies. Charlie was ripping the ears off them while Libra made herself comfortable.
Keeping low to, Robin ran as fast as he could across open ground. When he reached the bars of the cage, he ducked. But Libra had spotted him.
"Did they catch you too?" she sighed.
"No. Not yet, anyways," Robin said quickly. He had just spotted Kirby hanging out by the explosive device at center field. And she was looking this way. "Don't look at me. Pretend I'm not here."
Libra and Charlie immediately faced away, returning their attention to the stuffed Monobears. "These aren't going to be very much protection if that bomb goes off," Charlie said in a forced light voice. "Too bad I won't be alive to see all these get blown to smithereens."
Libra didn't say anything.
"No one's getting blown to smithereens!" Robin whispered. He wished he could believe his own words. "Libra, I heard you found a piece of the code. What was it?"
Libra quickly told Robin what she and Alistair had found. Charlie followed up with his piece of information too. Robin was filled with determination.
"So cut the red wire first, then the blue?"
"NO! Blue first, then red!" Libra and Charlie burst out together.
"Okay, okay, got it. Sheesh," Robin muttered, not hiding his aggravation.
"Don't give us that look, our life is in your hands," Charlie griped.
Libra cast a scared glance towards the bomb. "Only fifteen minutes left," she said in a small voice.
"Okay," Robin said. "I'm going to look around a little more, then I'm going to go hang out by the bomb and hope someone comes back with another piece of information."
Charlie nodded. "Good luck."
Luck can't help us now, Robin responded silently. He turned away and headed back for the tunnel, running low to the ground.
Kirby just watched him go. She knew she couldn't catch him from here. Besides…they would never win with her guarding the bomb. She turned her eyes towards the sky, sighing.
Clouds were moving in. A single raindrop fell and bounced off her cheek.
"There! Outside! There are two of them!"
Reeta jumped when she heard Blake's shouts. Sure enough, there were two shapes moving throughout the many bleachers of the stadium. Their red-and-white striped shirts unmistakably marked them as the Mission Team.
"Should we stop searching?" Reeta asked. They hadn't finished scouring the area around the press box. But Blake still shook his head.
"Nah. We should go after the ones we can see!" He began jogging away and Reeta had no choice but to follow. Once outside, they spotted another member of their team was already in pursuit of Alistair.
"Hey! About time!" Grant shouted to them, sounding out of breath. "Help me out—ARRGH!" Grant suddenly slipped on the stairs. He had been going too fast and landed on the side of his foot. He could feel something pop in his ankle. Pain shot up his leg and he gripped a railing so he didn't go tumbling down the rest of the steps. A stream of expletives pierced the air, barely audible from where Blake and Reeta stood.
"Well, I guess it's up to us," Reeta said, wincing.
Blake didn't respond. His eye was tracking Alistair as he sprinted across the bleachers, getting further away by the second. "Reeta, go long. I'll get behind him." Then he began galloping down the bleachers, his feet booming as they struck metal.
"Huh? What does that even mean?" Reeta called after him. He was too far away to reply. So she just shrugged and started running parallel to Alistair. Both were so focused on catching him, they didn't notice Teresa slip away into the nearest tunnel. But Grant did.
"Wait! Get her!" he shouted, pointing to where she had disappeared. His words went ignored. "Oh, gently caress it…" He put his foot down, testing his weight on it, but pain roiled in his ankle. It was unusable. "Dammit!" Why does this always happen to me?!
His friends' lives and his own lives rested in his hands, but now there was nothing he could do about it.
Nothing. He'd found nothing. And now Robin was back on the field, hovering near the bomb. There were less than ten minutes left. Kirby stood nearby, watching him carefully.
Frustration exploded within Robin. "That's cheating! You can't—" he faltered at the hurt look on Kirby's face. "I-I mean…" He took a step closer, as if to apologize.
"Don't come any closer," Kirby warned. "I'll rip your nametag off."
From the look on her face, Robin could tell she didn't want to. He summoned what energy he had left to try and turn on the charm. "Oh, come now," he said, wringing his hands. "Is it really in your best interests to do such a thing? What if your team is unable to capture the rest of mine? If you fail to do so and we fail to disarm the bomb because you wouldn't let us near it, then it will go off and we'll all be dead."
He could see Kirby's resolve fall away. "…You're right," she said quietly.
"I know. So let me over there. If the rest of my team is captured, I'll let you capture me as well. If not, let me try to disarm the bomb." He slumped his shoulders, trying to appear somewhat piteous. "Please," he added as an afterthought.
Kirby lowered her eyes. "I don't want anyone to die," she said sadly. "The more lives we can save, the better."
"Mhm." Robin gave a solemn nod.
"But you had better stick to your word," Kirby said, lifting her eyes back up to his. Distrust burned in their depths.
Robin lifted his right hand. "I swear it. We'll do whatever it takes to keep this bomb from going off."
Kirby suddenly looked very tired. "Then you'd better come hide over here before someone sees you. Here. Crouch here." She guided him to a gap in the large device. As she did so, she placed a hand on his back.
A shiver ran up Robin's spine and his heart skipped a beat. He half-expected her to rip off his nametag, but she didn't. He told himself he was just feeling this way because being in such close proximity to a bomb was nerve-wracking.
"Nine more minutes…" Kirby murmured, looking into the distance.
Robin looked up at her curiously. "Kirby…despite everything that's happened…how are you still…you?" He'd blurted it out before he could stop himself. And now he felt like an idiot for it.
But Kirby didn't judge him. In fact, she seemed to sag at his words. "That's the thing," she said, her voice almost apathetic. A tear trembled at the corner of her eye. "I'm not."
In an effort to escape the Chasing Team, Teresa had run all the way to some unexplored corner of the stadium. The entire time, she whipped her head all around, terrified that someone might try to sneak up on her blind side. She was breathing so fast and loud she was uncertain if she would be able to hear her pursuer's bells.
Then she had stumbled upon the museum. It was a rather small one, tucked behind glass doors. It contained all sorts of memorabilia from St. Fortuna's football team. Portraits hung on the walls and signed balls stood proudly inside cases. There was one ball that was signed sloppily by Monobear. Teresa rolled her eyes and passed it by.
Then she saw it. Another piece of the code. It was in a closed glass case.
There was no time to waste. Seeing nothing else around to help her claim the hint, Teresa removed her shoe. I hope no one hears this.
She gave the glass a few solid thwacks with the heel and it crumbled under the blows. Then she snatched up the hint and opened it. A bright yellow '4' greeted her.
Blue. Red. Green. Yellow. That's it! That's the code! Teresa thought, fighting back a smile. Now she just had to get back to the field and snip the wires in this order. And they were outta here! She could finally go home!
Jingle.
Teresa whipped around with a gasp. There stood Gustav on one foot, grinning widely. He clutched the bell in his hand to muffle the sound so he could get close to her.
There was nowhere to run.
Gustav's smile stretched a little wider. "Hiya!"
"Less than five minutes," Kirby said, her voice quavering furiously. Robin could see her hands shaking too. "Wh-What will we do if no one else gets out or no other hints are found…?"
"I don't know," Robin said flatly.
Kirby stared at the explosive device, the timer, and then the colorful wires running between the two. "What will we do…?" she repeated in a soft voice, tears shining in her eyes.
"Alistair, out! Alistair, out!"
"Wha-? Ally, no!" Gustav gasped.
It was just the distraction Teresa needed. She threw the code at Gustav's head. He dodged in the most dramatic fashion, doing a cartwheel and then an unnecessary front flip.
"That was mean!" He burst out when he was back on his feet.
But Teresa was already off and running. Her heart raced alongside her. Gustav's bell rang in her ears and he followed in pursuit. She hoped she was faster than him. Because there was no way she was losing this game. Her life depended on it.
She would die before she lost this game.
Just hang on! I'm almost there!
"There's less than three minutes now," Kirby said, on the verge of tears. Her chest was beginning to heave as she fought to keep from hyperventilating. "We'll have to guess."
"Fine," Robin said, getting to his feet. He grabbed a pair of pliers Monobear had left and lifted it to the first one. What's first? Red? No, blue. He snipped the first wire.
Kirby uttered a small cry. "God, please help us…!"
Robin didn't reply. He cut the red wire second. Two minutes left. Now there was just a fifty-fifty chance. If he chose the wrong one, they were as good as dead. His hands began to shake, twice as hard as Kirby's.
The rain was falling steadier now. His stomach roiled with dread. What would death by an explosion be like? Would it be quick?
"Robin?" A warm hand touched his own. Robin looked into Kirby's eyes, expecting to see his panic reflected there. Instead, they were deep pools of calmness. Rain streaked down her face, mixing with her tears. She tried to smile through them, offering him encouragement.
"I…" Robin tried to swallow the knot in his throat. "I can't do it." His voice cracked. He felt pathetic.
But Kirby once again did not judge him. She squeezed his hand in an attempt to comfort him. "Have faith." Her voice sounded as ragged as his own, but it contained something his didn't. Hope.
Robin laughed bitterly. "Faith in what?!" He glanced at the timer. One minute left. And Teresa, who had the last hint they needed, was nowhere in site.
"God…won't let it end like this…" Her voice faltered. The wall of strength she'd built in this passing moment seemed to crumble just a bit.
The rain was so cold. But in the distance, there was a shaft of sunlight trying to break through the thick clouds. Then it was blotted out.
Thirty seconds.
Robin felt the sting of the rain. The warmth of Kirby's hand. Then, with a shuddering sigh, he faced the final two wires.
"I hope you're right." Famous last words.
Twenty seconds.
He fixed the pliers around his chosen wire, praying that it was the correct choice. If not, he had just killed them all.
Fifteen seconds.
Teresa had reached the field. She could see Robin by the device. He was cutting the wires. But he doesn't know the entire code! "No!" she screamed. "Stop!" But the rain muffled her voice.
She was too late.
Robin cut the yellow wire.