CHERUB: Fitting in
Finally! Another update.
On the other side of the lake, bright orange buoys marked the checkpoint, a small wooden hut on the lakeside, soothing my worries. Melanie expertly maneuvered the little boat close to the docking bay. I sprang out easily, heading inside. On a table in the middle of the little hut were five envelopes. I picked out the one for Melanie and I, knowing that it would contain the next leg of the survival course. All that came out was a small slip of paper with Large's sprawling handwriting on it.
Did you think it was going to be that easy? Try again. You will find your mission statement at the foot of one of the buoys. Happy diving!
I ground my teeth as Melanie jogged inside, her eyes scanning the note in my hand. She looked at me and said two words:
"You're diving." With a roll of my eyes, I strode back out onto the jetty and jumped into the water.
The water was murky, algae and other bits of plant drifting through the water. Eerie silence surrounded me as I kicked downwards, eyes darting around, looking for the ropes. Finding one, I quickly surfaced for air. The jetty seemed a lot further away. Melanie was shouting for me to get on with it. Taking another lungful of air, I dove back under the surface. There, on the lake bed, half hidden under a large rock, was a bright yellow box. I locked my shoulder under the rock, heaving, trying to free the box. My mind yelled at me to surface, to get more air, but I ignored it. I wasn't going back up until I had freed the mission statement. The rock shifted a little, sending up clouds of sand into the water, obscuring my vision. The rock shifted a little more, allowing the box to slip out and start floating up to the surface. My lungs were screaming at me. I had to get to the surface.
The jungle air never tasted sweeter as I broke the surface, gulping down the much needed oxygen. With the box under one arm, I swam back to the jetty, clambering out of the water. Melanie set about prising open the box while I wrung out my hair.
"Ok, we've got another twelve kilometers to go before sunset." Melanie said, folding up the instructions and tucking them inside her backpack.
"Let's go."
The river was calm as we set off again. The journey didn't seem to be going to hard. I stretched out my tired limbs on the deck of the boat, taking a brief catnap in the sun. Or at least, I would have. A quiet beep made my ear twitch. I opened my eyes, looking around, tracing the sound. The engine…
"Melanie! Bomb on board!" I yelled, grabbing the pack. We had milliseconds to jump from the boat. I landed in the river just as our craft exploded. I swam to the edge, coughing in the smoke from the wreckage. I couldn't see Melanie. I scanned the waters, leaping in as I saw my training partner swimming feebly towards the shore. I pulled her arm around my shoulders, dragging her to the shore. Her skin had erupted into serious burns. Her eyes were half closed. I locked gazes with her. She nodded. I flipped the catch on the emergency bracelet, and sent out the call for help.
Within ten minutes, a helicopter landed nearby. Large jumped out, heading towards Melanie and I. He took one glance at Melanie.
"Sorry, Shadow, end of the road." He said, bundling the girl onto a stretcher.
"I can go on without her," I protested.
"It's too dangerous." Large replied, shaking his head. He reached out to take my wrist. I dodged out of the way.
"I don't care, I'm going on!" I yelled, grabbing the pack and running into the jungle before Large could follow me. I wasn't going to stop on the 99th day!
