Episode 13 - Minecrap (Part 1)
SUMMARY
The final 5 do their best to maneuver through the underground caves in hopes of finding the exit to freedom. But careful! Much trouble is lurking down there and the dark should be the least of everyone's worries…
AUTHOR'S NOTES
This challenge was inspired by Disventure Camp Season 1 Episode 11 – "Lights out". The only modification is that everybody has a working flashlight this time.
Aug 5 2024
7:37 am
"I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE! GIVE ME BACK MY IDOL OR ELSE I'LL TELL EVERYONE THAT YOU TWO ARE BLACKMAILING ME!"
Next to the lake, Damien was pacing back and forth with jittery hands, absolutely dreading what he had to do in a few minutes when Emma woke up. He had been putting it off for as long as he could, begging Julia and MK for mercy every single day but still they had not budged. They only reminded him that he had to accuse Emma of being a thief before the next challenge started which meant it was going to have to be today. This was going to be the morning Emma and Damien most likely stopped being friends…
An annoyed fish poked its head out of the water and shook a fist, clearly disturbed by this morning ruckus.
Julia scoffed as she dismissed his protests with a casual wave of her hand. "Oooo we're so scared… guess what? We'll just tell everybody you voted off Raj. And then Wayne will hate you… and Emma too… though by now I'm sure she's pieced it all together that you were the final vote," she said smoothly, unafraid of Damien's empty threat.
Damien shot her a dirty look. Julia curled her lip.
"So, remember the plan. You go and accuse Emma of stealing your idol, understood?" MK whispered savagely as she pointed a threatening finger at the nervous wreck that was Damien. He sighed. It really looked like there was no way out of this. Why did he agree to it?
"A – And then I get my idol back?" he chuckled weakly.
Julia and MK looked at each other playfully before they turned to him and tauntingly said "Maybe!" together.
MK + Julia confessional (Julia): *shakes head* He's not getting it back.
MK + Julia confessional (MK): *rolls eyes* Pfft. Not in a million years!
Damien's jaw dropped. "MAYBE? WHAT DO YOU MEAN MAYBE? I ONLY AGREED TO THIS SO THAT I CAN GET MY IDOL BACK BY THE END OF TODAY!" This was ridiculous to him. If he was going to break his friendship with Emma and not get his idol back, he would take a double L.
"If you do a convincing enough job, you can get it back. But if you have bad acting, forget about it!" Julia winked.
"I hope you have some of Nichelle's acting talent Damien," MK snorted. "Otherwise, you're not getting it back and we'll tell everyone you voted Raj out to save your own skin so you'll definitely be the next to go."
"Unless you win immunity which you won't. Especially since I'm overdue for another win anyways. You just got lucky last time..." Julia drawled as she casually played with her nails. Julia had absolutely loathed already losing two immunity challenges to Emma and Damien. She vowed to make sure she never lost to them ever again.
MK punched her hand into her fist. "So let's go through the plan one more time. You accuse Emma of stealing your idol all day today and hopefully cause her a lot of psychological distress and anguish. Then we'll give it back to you just before the elimination ceremony. OK? If you do everything correctly, you can get it back tonight."
Damien stared at them suspiciously. By this point, it was obvious to him they were not fibbing and that they were not going to show him the slightest sign of empathy.
Damien fell to his knees. "OK… OK…. " he mumbled in a low voice as he sagged his shoulders and stared at the ground miserably.
Julia patted his shoulder mockingly and bent down until she was right next to his face.
"Are you nervous? Don't be. You have us! And it's only Emma, she's about as scary as a golden retriever!" Julia smiled.
Damien backed up, revolted. Why was she saying this so casually? As if it was easy to ruin friendships for no reason?
"I mean… Emma and I are friends… I'd feel horrible doing this to her…"
Julia sneered. "Aww, well that's too bad. Looks like you're going to have to decide between her or your idol. Personally, I'd go with the idol…"
"That immunity idol is worth more than being in the friendzone… didn't Priya teach you that?" MK said in a snarky fashion.
Damien scowled. "Alright… I'll do it. But I need it back tonight!" He felt he had repeated this a hundred times over the past two days but it was only because he wanted to be absolutely sure. Granted, it was not guaranteed that they would keep their promise but still… he had to take a chance.
"Yeah, yeah relax. You'll get it, but remember only IF we're satisfied with your performance," MK hissed urgently.
"Oh and believe us Damien, if you try and double-cross us just know it won't end well for you," Julia narrowed her eyes threateningly. She had already warned him of this before but felt it was worth repeating to let the message really sink in.
Suddenly Damien noticed MK and Julia's eyes were staring at something behind him. Well, more like someone. And Damien knew exactly who it was. It was time.
Damien gulped and turned around to head to the dining hall where Emma was now heading towards. He stared at the back of her head with her little flower bobbing innocently and took a deep breath before following her.
As he walked along the path, with his eyes fixated on her, he heard the intimidating crunch-crunch noise behind him and he knew Julia and MK were following him as well. Perhaps to keep a close eye on him and make sure he was really carrying out their plan...
Damien confessional: *sits slouched* Yeah… I am really not in a good situation. How am I gonna get out of this?!
In what seemed to be too soon, Emma pulled open the door and entered the dining hall. Damien waited for a minute before doing the same. As he closed the door, he caught Julia and MK laying low in a bush near an open window and he knew they would be eavesdropping.
"Drama in 3…2…1!" Julia said cheerily as she shut her eyes in glee waiting to hear the yelling and accusations –
"DAMIEN WHAT HAPPENED?! DID YOU VOTE FOR RAJ? BECAUSE IT WASN'T ME. RAJ WOULDN'T VOTE FOR HIMSELF AND WAYNE WOULD NEVER VOTE FOR RAJ. WHY DID YOU CHANGE YOUR VOTE?" they heard Emma's shrill voice pierce through the window.
MK and Julia giggled and took a small peek. There was Emma, hands on her hips in the middle of the hall and Damien with his head hung in shame. He did not respond.
"Damien, talk to me!" Emma pleaded. "Why did you vote for Raj? Was it Julia and MK? When you went to talk trash to them? Did they tric –"
Damien put his hand up and cut her off sharply. "No, they did not. It has nothing to do with them. And by the way, I didn't vote for Raj. It must've been either you or Wayne because I swear it wasn't me."
Emma stared hardly at Damien. Why was he lying to her? She had seen his handwriting! What he was saying did not make any sense. "B – but that's impossible!" she spluttered. "I know it wasn't me! How can it be Wayne unless….his handwriting was just so illegible his MK somehow looked like a Raj? I know it's bad but I don't think it's THAT bad…" she broke off.
Damien's heart was pounding. The conversation was already going rough with her being suspicious of last elimination's votes but it was about to take a nosedive with his next words. He was going to have to go straight for it and hope it would be painful but quick.
"Forget about the votes. I'm missing my immunity idol as well," he stated simply.
"WHAT?! How is that possible?" Emma blubbered. What was going on? So many things were going wrong!
Damien took a shaky breath before committing.
"N – now Emma. Look. The only two people who knew I had the immunity idol were you and Raj. Raj found it with me at Jade Mountain when we went to Boney Island but since he's gone and I highly doubt he would have any reason to take an immunity idol with him off the island, that leaves you as the only other person who could've taken it," he said loudly so that his voice would clearly reach the windows.
Though Julia and MK were as silent as a mouse, he was certain that they were still there listening very carefully. Damien tried to ignore Emma's hurt expression by pretending she was a juicy strip of bacon but it was rather hard.
"WHAT!? ME?!" she shook her head in disbelief. "HOW COULD IT BE ME?! YOU WOULDN'T EVEN TELL ME WHERE YOU HID IT!" Emma was extremely upset. First, Damien had not trusted her enough to show his hiding spot and now he was accusing her of a crime she did not commit.
"B – but it doesn't change the fact that you m – might've done some snooping around and gone looking for it now that you knew I had it. T – tell me where did you hide it? I need it back!" Damien said, regretting this rash decision more and more with each word.
Emma, please just roll with it. I DON'T have time to explain… he thought desperately but unfortunately Emma (to no surprise) did not understand what was going on.
"DUDE MAYBE TRY TAKING OFF YOUR HAT AND OPENING YOUR EARS. I DON'T HAVE IT."
"I trusted you Emma! And you go behind my back and TAKE MY IDOL?" Damien raised his voice slightly. "TELL ME THE TRUTH!"
Emma jumped back frightened. "It wasn't me! Why are you accusing me?" She whimpered.
Damien scrunched up his face so that he looked rather unpleasant. "Mark my words. I will get my idol back," he whispered dangerously.
THUD!
Emma stomped her foot on the ground. "Fine then!" she blubbered half-crying, half-shouting. "If you want to keep believing I stole your idol, you're free to do so! But don't expect me to just sit here and listen to your false accusations! BYE DAMIEN! I thought we were friends but I guess NOT!" She turned and ran out of the cabin sobbing. She didn't even take her breakfast with her.
Damien stared glumly at the window where to his fury, he saw Julia and MK laughing and giving him sarcastic thumbs-ups.
MK + Julia confessional (Julia): *claps slowly* Wow… that performance was a 10!
MK + MK confessional (MK): *giggles* Easy! Now time for the next part of our plan!
Damien confessional: *sighs* Yup, I feel horrible. I don't know how much longer I can keep letting Julia and MK blackmail me like this. I know they're just using me but… if I don't do what they say, I'm going next for sure…
MK turned to Julia and rubbed her hands in delight. "Now… our next mission… Wayne."
Julia winked. "Let me take care of Wayne," she said as she got up and swiftly left.
Wayne was lying miserably on his bed, throwing up a ball into the air and catching it each time it fell back down. He had drawn Raj's face on it but this was just a coping mechanism. This crumpled up ball version of Raj could not replace the real thing.
Suddenly, Wayne heard the door to his cabin creak as it slowly opened and closed. Somebody was coming in. He glanced down from the top bunk where he was currently lying.
Immediately, he sat up.
"Jules?" he said, stunned.
Julia smiled as she strode over, hopped up to the top bunk and sat herself next to him. She blinked at the aluminum foil Raj.
Julia confessional: What's with the Raj ball? Is this what boys do? Kind of cute.
"Miss him?" she pointed at the Raj ball that Wayne was throwing between his hands.
"Go away," Wayne growled. If Julia had come all the way here to gloat, he did not want to hear it.
Julia gave a little laugh. "Why are you being so hostile Wayne?"
Wayne scowled. "Don't pretend to be stupid. You know what you did. You voted for Raj. I'm not an idiot. If Rajie got three votes, two of them weren't me and him and I know you wouldn't vote for MK so it was you!"
Julia raised an eyebrow. "What did you expect me to do? Vote for my bestie? That would be like asking you to vote for Raj."
Though he had been slightly mad at her, he nodded at this remark. Could he really stay mad at her for longer than two minutes? It was really hard especially when they were this close to each other and he could see his reflection in her eyes. Perhaps she could see her reflection in his eyes too…
"You two are really getting along huh?" Wayne said in a low voice. "What are you guys going to do? Play dirty the whole time?"
"Whatever it takes to win. You understand right?" Julia playfully took the Raj ball away from him.
"Not really," Wayne grunted, snatching the ball back.
"Relax. You have nothing to worry about. We're gunning for Emma and Damien today. They're the only duo left besides me and MK." Julia winked.
Wayne snorted. "Yeah right. I don't trust you." It was taking everything he had to talk back to Julia like this. However a desperate part of him also couldn't help but wonder if Julia was intentionally protecting him… choosing to knock out others while keeping him safe.
Julia looked at Wayne, slightly stung by his words. "Believe whatever you want. I'm not lying to you. I don't want to see you get hurt," she said softly.
Wayne did his best not to look too happy. He forced himself to put on a frown but did not say anything. Julia, who also did not have much to say after this, just stared at the window.
The two continued to sit in silence for a few minutes but they did not move away from each other. Though neither of them said it out loud, clearly they enjoyed being in the other's company.
Suddenly Chris' voice came through the speakers –
"Alrighty final 5… challenge time! Meet me at the mines!"
Julia got up and headed for the door. And though Wayne really wanted to walk with her to today's play area and exchange small-talk, he forced himself to remain on his bed alone for another minute before heading off.
Julia confessional: OK so that didn't go quite as planned but… as long as we manage to keep Damien and Emma apart, MK and I should be alright.
10:13 am
The final five gathered around the entrance to the underground mines. Chris was waiting for them eagerly with Emily and Chef, each of them wearing safari-styled clothes.
"G'morning everyone! Hope you're all doing well?" Chris said cheerfully.
Wayne looked depressed, Emma looked furious and Damien looked ashamed. In fact, only Julia and MK had smiles on their faces. Chris chuckled. What had happened? Whatever it was, there was certainly lots of tension and emotion in the air… and he liked that!
"Eh-hem," he cleared his throat to continue. "No Total Drama season would be complete without at least one trip to the underground mines. Soon, the five of you will be entering this elevator where you will be lowered to the deep, dark mines below! Your task is to find the exit and get out as soon as possible. First one to reach sunlight wins immunity.
"To make sure you're not completely lost, we've placed friendly little signposts throughout the caves. They contain orange arrows which point you in the direction of the exit…"
"Hey, that doesn't sound too bad… we get flashlights too right?" Damien asked, relieved that there would be guidance.
Chris nodded. "Yup. You will all be equipped with a bag which contains flashlights and batteries." He stopped momentarily to let out a little laugh. "Besides it's not the darkness you should be worried about… there may or may not be a surprise waiting for you down there…" he grinned evilly.
Wayne and Damien gulped and exchanged nervous glances.
"You'll also be equipped with emergency badges. Just press the button and one of us will come down to pick you up. It's required to wear this. Arms out. Now," Emily barked.
Everyone quickly stuck out an arm of their choice.
Emily routinely wrapped the emergency device around each arm until they all felt it squeezing snugly against their skin.
Wayne rubbed his arm in irritation. "Do we have to wear this? It's literally strangling me!" he complained, doing his best to loosen the tight hold of the emergency badge. He was not having much luck as Emily had put it on so tight it was almost as if she had superglued it.
Emily put her hands on her hips. "I'll put it to you like this. In the event you're about to die from the thing below, or you somehow get lost or you find yourself buried under a giant pile of rocks, this handy button will save your life. Press it and we'll immediately come help. Don't… and you're practically dead. And you know what they say? Dead campers tell no tales."
Wayne gulped and nodded. "OK!" he said slightly nervously for only one thing had caught his attention. Emily's mention of the thing waiting below.
Wayne confessional: *shivers and looks wide-eyed to his sides* T – t – thing?!
"Ready? Hop on in then!" Chris motioned them all to step inside of the elevator shaft he had just opened. One by one they all jumped inside. It was rather spacious and they all fit comfortably. Wayne whistled as he looked over the edge to where they would be heading down towards. Nothing but darkness. And then, without warning –
"Good luck everyone! Try not to die! SEE YA MAYBE!" Chris hollered as he pushed the button to send them down.
"WHOOOOOAAAA!" they all screamed as the elevator began descending rapidly. It was extremely noisy. They could hear the whipping rope along the pulley system as they felt the cold rush of air blowing across their face. Wayne, Damien and MK all held on tightly to their hats. For a minute, there was nothing but violent shaking. The floor kept making a strange creaking noise as if it would give way at any moment.
And then –
Everything suddenly became quiet as the elevator started going down at a slower, more relaxed pace.
Damien breathed a sigh of relief as he clutched his chest. "Man how much longer?" he wheezed. How far down were they going to go?
Now that things had settled down, Julia looked over at Emma. "Soooo Emma… you look awful… is something wrong?" she asked sarcastically.
"Leave me alone Julia," Emma said in a low voice.
"Don't wanna leave your anger bottled up like that Emma. Talk to us!" MK taunted. She and Julia smirked at Emma who was avoiding their eyes and instead staring at her shoes.
"STOP!" Emma said furiously, balling her hands into fists.
"You know I still don't understand… who was that third vote for Raj?" Wayne said slowly. He figured he may as well bring it up while they were all together because he had a funny feeling they would be splitting up soon. In his head, he already had a sneaking suspicion of who it had been. He had only asked this because he figured it would be a good way to deflect the conversation away from Emma who looked distressed at the moment.
At these words, Julia and MK gave a look to Damien who understood what he had to do.
Hating himself very much he said, "W – Well it must've been Emma. She's used to taking things away from others. L – like my immunity id –"
"FOR THE LAST TIME I DIDN'T TAKE YOUR STUPID IMMUNITY IDOL!" Emma exploded. "AND I DIDN'T VOTE FOR RAJ EITHER!" Gosh! Was he going to accuse her all day? Why couldn't he see she was telling the truth?
"Omg! Emma calm down… whatever is waiting for us down there will hear us if you keep screaming like that. Shhhh," Julia whispered as she brought a mocking finger to her own lips.
Emma's eye twitched as she gave a little sniffle. Why was everyone bothering her today?
Wayne stepped in between everybody and raised his hands up. "OK everyone chill! Sterling, MK, Damien, just leave Emma alone. She's clearly not feeling too good – "
"WELL THEY OBVIOUSLY DON'T CARE. Damien's been accusing me ALL morning of stealing his idol when I DON'T HAVE IT! AND THOSE TWO" – she pointed a sharp finger to Julia and MK – "ARE JUST BEING ANNOYING BULLIES AS USUAL!"
Wayne blinked. "Really? I mean… WAIT A MINUTE… DAMIEN YOU HAD THE IDOL? I thought Julia said she had it in the ice baths challenge?" He stared at Julia quizzically, wondering what was going on.
Wayne confessional: *scratches head* So who really has the idol now? Damien or Jules? Or… Emma? This is so confusing! Aww I'm kinda bummed I'm not involved. I mean, it sounds like this idol is just getting tossed between everybody's hands except for mine! Like they're all playing hot potato with it… Hopefully it's my turn next!
"Had being the key word… not much use now…" Damien muttered.
"OK…. Anyways why would Emma take it? HELLO? We have a literal pickpocket here!" Wayne pointed incredulously at MK, the obvious thief! If somebody really did steal Damien's idol who else but MK? Did no one else think as logically as him?
"Well I don't have it," MK said putting her hands up innocently.
Wayne snorted. "Riiiightt…." he said sarcastically, crossing his arms. "That's what all thieves say!"
MK confessional: *shrugs* Well I'm not exactly wrong. I don't have it. Julia does.
Finally, after another minute of silent, awkward elevator travel they heard the elevator slowing down to a stop. With a loud THUD! the elevator finally ceased moving and they all stepped out amidst a dirty, thick cloud of dust. All of the campers gave coughs.
After the dust had settled, their eyes adjusted as faint light fell on a giant creature which had been waiting for them in the shadows. With its razor sharp pincers and stinger, it clicked angrily as it began edging closer towards the frightened campers. It was the stuff of nightmares being stuck down here in the dark with it.
CLINK! CLINK!
"AHHH!" they all screamed as the giant scorpion began eyeing them hungrily, wondering who it should go for first. Such fresh meat and so many options! His fellow arachnid brothers would be feasting well today.
All of them took off.
Wayne sprinted left while Damien, Julia and MK went right. Emma who had been standing in the very centre of the group, had started her way left with Wayne but suddenly she felt a claw wrap itself around her skirt and drag her down to the filthy muddy floor.
Emma landed on her front. Dirt immediately smeared her face.
"AHH!" she yelped as the scorpion made its way on top of her. She attempted to kick it off of her but its skin was extremely durable and she had no effect on it.
For a brief moment, Damien turned around for as much as he was pretending to accuse Emma of stealing his idol, he couldn't help but wish to help her at a time like this. She was about to be eaten by a scorpion! He began making his way over but then two pairs of arms seized him tightly and aggressively pulled him away.
Damien stared flabbergasted at his arms which were now locked with Julia and MK's arms on either side.
"Hey! I know I'm supposed to accuse her of stealing my idol and all but surely I can help her with a scorp – ?" he began weakly.
"Nice try but you're not helping her," Julia said casually without even looking at him.
"Not a chance! Follow us!" MK grinned.
Damien sighed as he let himself be dragged away by these two along the cold, dark tunnel. Damien turned around and gave Emma one last sad look. Their eyes briefly met but in the end he turned around the corner and disappeared from her view. Emma sighed angrily as she wrestled with the scorpion who was still putting up a good fight.
Emma confessional: Ugh I can't believe he didn't even try to help me! And WHAT WAS HE DOING? RUNNING OFF WITH JULIA AND MK? *crosses arms and frowns* Whatever! I guess Damien found new friends!
Emma clenched her teeth as the scorpion made its way to her face, clicking intimidatingly. Emma's breathing became raspy as she stared at the scorpion who was easily overpowering her. So this was where she would die… Should she press the button already? Give up immunity five minutes into the challenge? Would someone come over and save her in time?
For a moment, Emma thought she had accidentally pressed the button and that someone had magically teleported to save her for she no longer felt the weight of the scorpion. But then she saw it was actually Wayne and that he had just kicked the scorpion in its underbelly. The scorpion crashed into a wall shrieking.
CRASH!
Wayne bent down, extended a friendly hand and smiled.
"Thanks Wayne!" Emma said as she took his hand and picked herself up. She dusted her skirt off and gave an uncertain glance at the scorpion who was still lying on the ground defeated.
"No problem! Let's go!" Wayne said enthusiastically, pointing towards a tunnel straight ahead. Emma nodded and the two took off, neither looking back. As she ran, Emma was glad she had at least one ally who was looking out for her.
"Emma? You good?" Wayne looked at her quizzically as they continued running.
Emma put on a brave smile though deep inside she was hurting at the thought of Damien abandoning her. "Oh! Y – y – yeah! I'm feeling great!" she said. "Let's move!" She raised a determined fist into the air as the two set off side by side.
Wayne nodded but he was not fooled. Emma was doing her best to smile but she could not hide the sadness in her eyes. Feeling it would be better if he did not say anything, the duo turned around a corner and darted to a tunnel off to the side.
"Julia, flashlights," MK instructed as light in the tunnels gradually became dimmer and dimmer. By this point, they were far from the entrance and the temperature seemed to have dropped at least ten degrees. Julia nodded as she reached into their bag and took out a flashlight with a shaky hand. Julia tried to ignore this shivering feeling inside of her. Was she cold or was she scared?
Julia crouched down and pointed the flashlight along the floor, revealing large wooden railroad tracks. MK smiled. This was great news! If there were tracks, there must be a train of some sort nearby. If not a train, at least some mode of transportation to get them out of here sooner.
The trio walked in silence, following the beam from Julia's flashlight.
Damien looked to his sides. Large creepy skeletons and piles of bones.
"Wonder how that thing died…" he whimpered, trembling.
"Are you seriously scared of everything?" Julia hissed, doing her best to remain concentrated on the railroad tracks.
"See those BONES?! How are you not just a little bit spooked?! That means there's something else down here because scorpions don't even have bones! Just a large, tough exoskeleton which is VERY different from our – "
"Ooo mine carts!" Julia pointed excitedly. In front of them there were three mine carts lined up perfectly, connected to each other with railway couplings.
"It's perfect," MK rubbed her hands. "Julia, you can go in the first one. I'll take the rear and Damien can be sandwiched in the middle. That way, he can't escape."
Julia nodded as this was exactly what she had been thinking as well. They could not give Damien the slightest chance to escape and run off to Emma. She turned off her flashlight. There would be no need for it because they were currently standing in an illuminated cavern with crystal-blue light everywhere. It provided a nice, relaxing ambience.
"Hop in," MK prodded Damien's back.
"OUCH! Sheesh! No pushing!" he muttered. As he got into his cart, he stared around in awe. "HOLD UP!" he gasped open-mouthed. Was he really seeing things correctly?
"What?" MK grunted as she got into the cart behind him.
"UP THERE… AND OVER THERE TOO!" Damien said fascinated, pointing towards the ceiling and the high-rise walls of the cavern. It was here… there… everywhere!
"Nice try… oldest trick in the book," MK rolled her eyes but when she heard Julia gasp in amazement, she frowned and took a peek up.
MK's jaw dropped. Large blue crystals littered the cavern walls, floors and ceilings.
"SAPPHIRES?!" Julia said through shallow breathing.
"Not sapphires," MK corrected her. "Lapis lazuli, my gamer."
"What?" Julia gave a small laugh as she looked at MK.
"It's lapis lazuli," MK repeated.
"How do you know that?" Julia asked though by this point she knew better than to doubt MK's observational skills.
"Minecraft," MK replied, smirking.
MK confessional: *points proudly to herself* I'm a gamer. I know games.
"Should we take some?" Julia whispered greedily, opening her bag.
"Well… these babies aren't worth too much in real life… but I guess they'd be nice to have… Who knows? Could come in handy against the scorpions. Just chuck one of these into their eyes and BOOM!" MK cackled.
As Julia and MK began to place piles of lapis into their bags, they heard the sudden quick shuffling of feet behind them which brought them both back to their senses.
"HEY!" they both yelled at Damien who was sprinting away like a madman.
"HAHAHAA!" Damien stuck his tongue out as he began to head back towards the tunnel they had just come from. "I AIN'T STICKING WITH YOU TWO FOOLS ANY LONGER! GOOD LUCK! HOPE Y'ALL MEET AN ANGRY NEST OF SCORPIONS SOO – AHHHH!" he halted in his tracks.
A giant scorpion was now blocking his path. Damien backed up slowly. It was time to switch up.
He turned his head slightly while doing his best to maintain eye contact with the scorpion. "Uhhh… guys?" he called behind him. "I know I wished ill on you earlier… but a little help wouldn't be so bad!" he said through shallowed breathing.
Julia and MK did not respond. Upon seeing the scorpion, they picked up their last few pieces of lapis and dived into the carts. Damien sighed. He had no choice but to run back to them.
At once, the scorpion lunged and Damien took off screaming loudly. His screams reverberated along the cavern walls as he made his way back to Julia and MK. He was almost at the carts. But how would they start moving?
He would not be strong enough to push the carts with enough force to move it along the tracks. He especially wouldn't be able to do it when there was a giant killer scorpion behind him. Though Damien was not looking back, he could certainly hear it's horrible clicking. He picked up the pace, doing his best to widen the gap between him and the scorpion's pincers.
Damien confessional: *snaps fingers* The only thing strong enough to kick-start those carts is –
Damien yelped as he dived into the middle cart. A brief moment of panic but then –
WHAM!
The scorpion collided with MK's rear cart which pushed them downwards along a hill. It had provided them with the necessary force to get going. They were moving now. Fast.
"SO LONG SUCKER!" MK taunted at the angry scorpion as they whooshed downwards, disappearing from its view.
By this point Julia, Damien and MK could not do much so they let themselves be guided by the tracks. They did not know where this ended or where they were going. They could only hope it was taking them somewhere near the exit. As the path became rocky and shaky, they all gripped their carts tightly.
For a minute, the ride seemed like smooth sailing but then –
Julia gasped. A fork in the path was coming up. She would have to nudge their carts in the direction of either left or right.
"GUYS! THE PATH SPLITS!" she screamed from the front, doing her best to make herself heard above the whoosh of icy air. They were moving so fast.
"JUST PICK ONE. IT'S FINE!" MK yelled from the back.
Julia nodded. She settled for the one on the right and it seemed everything was going to be fine but then –
The rear cart uncoupled and began to detach itself, splitting from the main group. While the first two carts headed right, MK's cart ended up on the left path.
"What the – ?" MK's heart skipped a beat as she stared awestruck at Damien and Julia on the other side.
Julia looked over incredulously. "MK!" she called, reaching out her hand for no reason. It's not like MK would be able to grab it from where she was. They were too far away from each other now.
"Don't worry about me. Stick to Damien like a magnet!" MK hollered as a giant stalactite popped up, preventing them from seeing each other. Julia nodded as she heard MK's cart disappearing. It was going further and further away. She really was gone… for now. Julia's heart sunk. Hope she'll be alright she thought miserably.
"K it's just you and me," Julia said unenthusiastically. "HEY!"
Damien had attempted to leap out of his cart and make for another hasty exit. He had his leg halfway over but Julia had seized his other leg so that he hung rather stupidly in mid-air. Damien turned, horrified.
"Nice try but you're not going anywhere!" Julia spat.
Damien gulped as he obediently put his leg back in. He did not have much of a choice.
Finally, the carts came to a stop and they hopped out back onto the filthy floors of the caves. Where they were, they did not know but it seemed this was where the tracks ended. Damien hoped they were near the exit.
Julia squeezed Damien's wrist tightly as they walked silently through another tunnel. Damien attempted numerous times to wiggle out of his jacket sleeve and make a run for it but each time he tried, Julia only tightened her grip. It was like she was trying to cut off the blood circulation to his arms. Any tighter and he might just pass out…
Suddenly they stopped. In front of them lay a giant scorpion snoozing. They heard the faint, chilling snore as its enormous belly rose and sank. Its tail was brushing along the floor back and forth, back and forth…
Julia stared transfixed as she slowly backed away, keeping her eyes on the large beast. She had been so focused on the scorpion she didn't even feel Damien's fingers slipping through a hole in her bag.
Damien confessional: I ain't gonna let her drag me around like this all day *laughs*
Damien smiled with glee as he slowly pulled out the flashlight. His heart was pounding. He had a split second to act and catch Julia off guard.
CLICK!
With the flashlight now pointed directly at the sleeping scorpion it immediately woke up, clicking its pincers angrily at the disturbance.
"Wha – ? HEY!" Julia's eyes rounded in fear as Damien viciously tore his arm away from her grip and he threw the flashlight at her feet. Damien, wasting no time, sprinted away as Julia swore. Now she was in trouble. The scorpion clearly thought she was the source of light. In a desperate attempt, without a second thought, Julia kicked the flashlight away to the side to get the scorpion to follow it but – too late. It had chosen her.
"AHHHH!" Julia screamed as the scorpion pounced. She rolled over to the side, just narrowly dodging its razor sharp pincers. Though it was large and looked somewhat sluggish, it was extremely quick and agile. Julia could do nothing but dodge and avoid as it repeatedly attempted to strike her with its tail and pincers.
Julia confessional: *rolls eyes* Right… so scorpions seem to get twice as mad if you disturb their beauty sleep… guess we have that in common
Damien laughed to the ceiling as he heard Julia struggling with the scorpion. He had laid a brilliant trap! "HAHAAHAH! WOOOOOOOO!" he cackled to the ceiling. Now it was time to find the exit…. And hopefully, he could find Emma too now that he had broken free of Julia and MK's grasp.
Julia's breathing turned shallow as she raised her bag to use as a shield, putting some distance between her and the scorpion. By this point, her energy was almost completely drained so she couldn't move around much longer. She stared angrily at the scorpion, preparing herself to use her bag as a weapon but then she heard a little delightful jingle. The lapis! she thought in relief. Knew those would come in handy.
Julia's eyes glinted ambitiously as she opened her bag and pulled out some lapis lazuli rocks. She tossed it between her hands in anticipation, ready to strike the next time the scorpion moved closer to her.
"Come on… what's wrong? Are you scared?" Julia taunted her arachnid opponent. She had gained a new confidence, even a slight cockiness now that she had a weapon. They circled each other slowly, neither taking their eye off of the other. Julia narrowed her eyes, squinting in concentration as she stared fearlessly into the hollow black irises of the monster in front of her. In a sudden motion –
The scorpion lunged once again but this time Julia was ready. She swiftly took two steps back and pulled her arm behind her like a pitcher ready to launch her lapis. Without hesitation, she flung it directly into the scorpion's right eye.
SMACK!
The scorpion withered in pain as it flung its tail around randomly at Julia's head. Julia swiftly ducked then chucked another piece of lapis at the left eye. Another direct hit.
The scorpion barely had time to recover before Julia kicked its head with as much force as she could.
THOINK!
The scorpion cried out in pain as it hissed angrily but deep down it knew it could no longer pursue this crazy lady and her blue rocks. With a final hiss of fury, it scurried away to the darkness.
Julia smiled to herself as she did her best to catch her breath. That had been a close one. Thanks for the tip MK.
"That's right buttknuckle!" Julia cried triumphantly tossing another rock in her hands in case it came back for more. "I win! Go back to your little hiding hole and stay there! No one wants to see you or your ugly stinger!"
Once she was sure it had gone, Julia stared at the walls as her brow furrowed in concentration. She had lost Damien… this was not good. She needed to find him before he got to Emma. Praying that Damien had not yet crossed paths with Emma, she turned and sprinted as fast as she could along the path she had seen Damien run. It was time to find him and never let go.
"Hey… thanks for helping me back there!" Emma panted as she ran alongside Wayne. She felt she could not let Damien's betrayal bother her all day. She had to focus on the challenge and her new ally, Wayne.
Wayne smiled. Now that Raj was gone, Emma's vibrant, upbeat personality reminiscent of a golden retriever, was certainly welcome. "NO problemo! You would've done the same for me!" he said, giving her a hearty thumbs-up. Emma and Wayne ducked as they entered a new tunnel, Wayne in the lead.
Suddenly, Wayne skidded to a stop and held out his hand. Emma came to a halt as well. Why was he stopping? And then as she slowly peered around the corner, she saw it.
The unmistakable shadow of a scorpion along the cavern wall. Though it was only a shadow, they were still afraid. Should they sprint past the shadow and hope the scorpion would not notice them? Or should they turn back? Emma trembled as she saw the creature thrash its tail along the floor agitated. The force at which it struck caused some of the debris overhead to fall to the floor. It was making a great deal of noise. Emma had made up her mind.
Emma confessional: TOTALLY not staying here!
"SHHH! Let's turn arou – " she whispered hastily to Wayne, keeping a fearful eye on the shadow. Wayne, however had different plans.
"Emma, wait!" he seized her arm as she began to slowly spin around and run back the direction they had come from. She turned around to Wayne, startled. Why did Wayne want to hang around here? Couldn't he see the angry scorpion's shadow?
"Yeah? What is it?" she asked curiously, looking over her shoulder although this time she was not looking for scorpions. Instead, she found herself still believing Damien would come around and that he would magically pop up. Stop it! she scolded herself. Damien doesn't want to be your friend anymore so get over it!
Wayne narrowed his eyes at the shadow. "I have an idea," he said softly. Wayne did not want to run away. Not when they had the element of surprise. They had seen the scorpion, but it hadn't seen them! Therefore, it did not know what exactly was lurking these caves.
Wayne confessional: Taking a page out of Axel's book when she scared those piranhas *winks*
At once, to Emma's absolute horror, Wayne stood up on his legs, opened his mouth as wide as possible, and began to growl like a hungry grizzly bear as he clawed the air menacingly.
"GRRRR! ROAAAAARRRRRRR! I'M A BEAAAARRRR!"
Emma yelped but quickly put her hands to cover her mouth. What was he thinking?
"This isn't going to work!" she hissed. No way giant scorpions would actually think they were real bears.
"Come on mama bear! Roar with me!" Wayne guffawed. He beat his chest. "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
"What?!" Emma laughed nervously. This was insane. She had just seen the scorpion's shadow tense up and freeze. It was not moving anymore. Instead, it was listening closely to the noise in the caves.
"Emma, just do it!"
Emma sighed. Why not? After all, it was worth trying. The scorpion's shadow was not advancing towards them. Maybe they really could successfully scare it away. She just had to trust Wayne.
Feeling very foolish and already envisioning the faces of her peers when they saw what she was about to do, she stood up proudly on her legs, raised her hands like Wayne and roared as loud as she could. Using her entire diaphragm, she managed to project a sound which surprised even her.
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Emma screamed, doing her best not to laugh. Suddenly the cave was filled with Wayne and Emma's roaring, which echoed powerfully. To their delight, they saw the shadow of the scorpion scurry away, frightened.
A few more seconds of roaring to make sure it really had gone before Emma and Wayne collapsed to the floor, gasping for air. At once, they hugged each other and laughed.
Emma confessional: Wow, that was pretty funny! That was even funnier than the time I played dead. *laughs*
Wayne confessional: *laughs* Emma's pretty cool. That roar was sick!
MK swore as she snooped around, laying low as she hopped from stalagmite to stalagmite. MK felt she had recently been getting flustered and losing focus on the big picture – winning the game.
She had even forgotten to bring with her a map of the underground caves because she had been so focused on blackmailing Damien and ruining his friendship with Emma.
As MK stared at the creepy tunnels, a sense of helplessness consumed her. That map sure would've been handy now. She probably would have been at the exit already. MK vowed to never forget any of her advantages again. How could she have forgotten it?
MK would be lying if she said she was not at least slightly afraid right now. She was all alone in the dark without any guidance except the tiny flashlight she was holding in her hand. And worst of all, no Julia to help her. MK had never foreseen a situation where the mine carts would split up but she vividly remembered the pure shock and terror on Julia's face when it had happened. Wondering if she could even wrestle a scorpion on her own, MK prayed somehow that her and Julia would be reunited and that there was some path which connected the left and right sides of the caves.
Suddenly MK paused. She had smelled it before she saw it. This foul, pungent odor that had begun stinking up the air. MK pinched her nose. "UGH! What is that smell?!" she moaned. Though her brain was telling her to turn around, her feet kept moving in the direction of the smell. As it got stronger and stronger, MK began pinching her nose tighter and tighter.
As she peered her head out from behind a stalagmite, MK heard the familiar clicking of pincers and the rustling of its venomous tail. And… what was it doing? No!
"GROSS!" MK choked as she saw the white creamy excrement slowly exit the scorpion and fall to the cavern floor. What a horrible day to have eyes! MK decided she had had enough and immediately turned around, desperate to get as far away from here as possible.
MK confessional: And that is why curiosity killed the cat
Continuing to pinch her nose, she glided her hand smoothly along the cave walls to keep her going for she felt she was going to pass out. Gagging and spluttering through half-closed eyes, she unfortunately did not see the large stalagmite in front of her and collided head-first into it.
CRASH!
MK fell into a little puddle which had formed around the stalagmite and gasped. Without even turning around, she hurriedly stood up because she knew it had heard her.
Sure enough, the scorpion MK had just watched take a dump came around the corner clicking angrily. Who had disturbed its peaceful shit? The scorpion locked its eyes on MK and began sprinting towards her.
"Fuck!" MK swore as she began running away. MK panted as the scorpion slowly caught up to her with each passing second. Don't look back, don't look back she reminded herself.
She looked back. Big mistake.
For the second time today, MK tripped on a stalagmite and fell to the ground. However this time, she did not have enough time to get up before the scorpion placed itself on top of her.
MK confessional: *dripping with water* STUPID STALAGMITES! NOBODY LIKES YOU!
MK choked as the stinky scorpion brushed itself on her menacingly. She tried to turn her head away from its ugly face but only saw a steep drop to a large body of water below. Should she jump?
"EUGH!" MK choked for she could still see little white pieces dangling from its posterior. The smell was so vile it was taking a toll on MK's physical and mental strength. She could not hold out for much longer. MK panicked and shoved her flashlight into the scorpion's open mouth. It blinked confused for a second before crushing it with its strong jaw and demolishing the flashlight completely.
"Guess you'll be shitting batteries tonight huh?" MK laughed, frightened as the scorpion continued to put immense pressure on her arm which was fighting for its life. "AHHH! Get off of me you wannabe lobster!"
MK felt her breathing getting shallower as her strength began to fade. Her limbs were about to be crushed beneath its sheer weight and she stared fearfully at the black, beady eyes of the scorpion, the last thing she would ever see… Should she press her badge? A little too late for that she thought miserably as she closed her eyes…
WHAM!
All of a sudden MK felt the enormous weight of the giant scorpion disappear. She heard it scream angrily as it fell into the water below with a loud CRASH! She opened her eyes to see her saviour. Julia stood over her smiling, rubbing her shoulder where she had just rammed the scorpion with as much force as she could muster. There was redness and swelling on the area so MK touched it affectionately.
"Thanks…" MK said earnestly, continuing to rub Julia's shoulder. MK did not know how or why Julia had found her and rammed a scorpion for her, but she was grateful for it all.
Julia gave a weak smile but it quickly vanished. She put on a serious face. "Bad news. I lost Damien, he could be helping Emma now… you didn't see him by any chance…did you?"
"Nope…damn it, they weren't supposed to get alone time…" MK stared at the ground as her brow furrowed. "If he spills the beans we're toast…"
"What do we do?" Julia whispered.
MK bit her lip, thinking hard. "Let's worry about that later… right now, we can only focus on winning immunity… hopefully we can find Damien if we're lucky. COME ON!"
Julia staggered as she leaned her head on MK's shoulder. MK put one hand around Julia's waist and the two continued to move slowly, limping as they supported one another.
12:14 pm
Suddenly MK fell.
"MK!" Julia yelled as she quickly grabbed MK's hand. MK dangled her feet in mid-air and for a brief moment looked down. Waiting for her below was a 20-foot hole filled with what appeared to be waist-deep water.
MK confessional: Seriously? Is this place just filled with random watering holes?! What are the chances I run into that?!
Julia pulled with all her might, heaving MK up slowly to bring her back up to the surface. MK looked up and panted as Julia pulled her closer and closer to the top. They were almost there…
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
Julia whipped around in horror, still clutching MK's hand tightly. There it was. A giant scorpion was clicking its pincers angrily right behind her! And it was moving towards her fast. Without even thinking, Julia screamed and instinctively did what anyone else would do in this situation. She jumped into the hole. Julia and MK yelled together as they both fell with a loud SPLASH! into the water.
They popped their heads out of the water and shook their wet hair out of their eyes. For MK, the water was chest-deep while for Julia it was waist-deep. Ugh, the struggles of being 5 foot 2 MK thought as she looked over at Julia jealously.
"NO! WE HAVE TO GET BACK UP!" Julia cried as she rushed to raise her bag above her head so that it would not get wet. MK did the same.
CLICK!
They looked up. The scorpion was still there clicking furiously at its victims for escaping it at the last second. The scorpion stared down at them menacingly but did not jump down. Apparently, it could not fit. It was simply too chunky.
MK smirked and stuck her middle finger out as the scorpion turned its back and scurried away to find a new victim to play with. Now to more pressing matters…
"Anything useful in the bags?" MK asked as she continued to hold her bag above her head, panting. Oh what she would give to just be a little taller like Julia!
Julia unzipped MK's bag carefully to make sure nothing slipped into the water. Especially the batteries.
"Ugh nope! You didn't bring anything this time?" Julia asked slightly irritated.
"Forgot to, I was just so fixated on Damien. My bad," MK shivered. The water was rather cold. At least this water isn't rising though… MK thought bitterly. Julia rolled her eyes but she could not be too mad at MK. She too had forgotten about utilizing their advantages because of Damien and the idol.
"SOMEBODY! HELP US!" Julia cried out, as her voice escaped the hole and echoed throughout the caves. "HEEEEEELLLPPPPPP!"
MK's heart sunk. Even if someone managed to somehow hear them crying out for help, who would be willing to help them? They had already acted rather hostile towards everyone. Being a villain came with the price of being unpopular.
"I think we're screwed…" MK stared up hopelessly. Here they were, at the bottom of a 20-foot hole suspended in water with no way out. It would be impossible to jump and there was no climbing gear to scale their way out. Julia sighed frustratingly.
"Guess it's time to press our emergency badg –" MK began resignedly but Julia cut her off.
"Absolutely not!" she said fiercely, looking up in determination. She had one last card to play. MK stared. How was Julia going to get them out of this one without emergency help?
Julia confessional: *looks up angrily* I HAVE THE POWER OF FAKE NAILSSSS!
Julia gave MK her bag before gripping the walls tightly and beginning her grueling climb up. MK stared stunned. She's nuts if she thinks she can climb up vertically like that using just her bare hands without any support MK thought incredulously.
But to MK's great surprise, Julia's nails, though they kept sliding and scratching the dirt walls, kept her hanging on… barely. Julia clenched her teeth as she clung desperately and slowly climbed up.
"MK! HOP ON!" Julia yelled.
MK gaped open-mouthed. Was Julia seriously asking her to do that? "No, no, no," she protested. "There's no way you'll be able to hold me up! You're already struggling enough on your own."
Julia's foot slid along the wall sending tiny rocks splashing below.
"See? You're slipping! If I hop on, we'll both just fall into the water again!" MK protested.
"JUST DO IT! TRUST ME!" Julia ordered sharply.
MK sighed. Julia was obviously not going to take no for an answer. MK took a deep breath before leaping on to Julia's shoulders. For a moment, they wobbled around but MK wrapped her arms tightly around Julia's shoulders. Unfortunately, they were both slipping. Soon they would be right back in the water!
Through tightly shut eyes and gritted teeth, Julia held on as tightly as she could, determined to get them out. Finally, the slipping stopped. Now it was time to go up and out of here. MK looked at Julia in amazement.
Slowly Julia made her way up, clawing at the wall moving inch by inch upwards. Though it was a struggle at first, eventually she was able to climb up with relative ease. When they got up about halfway, Julia got stuck. Her energy was being sapped right out of her.
Climbing upwards carrying MK with nothing but her own blackened fingernails was no easy feat and since all good things eventually had to come to an end, it seemed their good luck streak was now over. Once again, Julia found herself in a position where she could not move no matter how hard she tried. Even worse, Julia knew she could not hang here all day. Any second now, her strength would fail her and then she would slip once again back to the water.
"Can you go up further?" MK asked slightly panicky. Halfway was not good enough to get them out of here. There was still approximately ten feet left.
"I CAN'T!" Julia screamed as she desperately clung on. Her feet were already beginning to slip slightly.
MK looked up anxiously. If they didn't get out now, they never would. Unfortunately, the only solution from here was for MK to jump up vertically but that would also mean she would have to set a world record. There was no way she could jump up ten feet into the air. Which meant…
"JULIA! YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO THROW ME!" MK said.
"WHAT?!" Julia yelled. Now it was her turn to be confused.
"It's the only way out. I can't physically jump this distance but if you throw me hard enough I might be able to get out!"
Julia nodded. She had to act now and use her last bit of strength to toss MK with her dominant hand. Otherwise they would be stuck here forever.
Swearing at the weight of all the lapis (why did they take so many?) she mustered up all of her last remaining strength into her right arm and chucked MK straight up into the air. Everything had gone into that throw so Julia, now completely drained of energy, let go and fell back into the water.
SPLASH!
Julia gasped for air as she looked up, hoping MK would be able to get out.
MK, on the other hand, extended her arms and clawed at the top, her feet dangling below. A few seconds later, she had climbed out of the hole. She turned around and looked down at Julia, waist-deep in water once more.
MK squeezed some water out of her shoe and smirked. Julia blinked.
"MK, get me out," Julia said, extending her hand as if MK would just casually reach down and pull her up twenty feet.
MK turned around and waved. "Sorry Julia. One of us has to win immunity, remember? I trust you can get out of here yourself?"
Julia's breathing was turning shallow. Was MK seriously betraying her now?
"I just got you out! You can't double cross me!" Julia snapped.
MK shrugged. "Yeah… you're right. I was only just joking. You should've seen the look on your face!"
Julia rolled her eyes but she couldn't help and give a little smile at this cheeky fake-out.
"I'll try to find a large stick or something to pull you out," MK said as she frantically began searching the cavern floors for anything useful.
"OK... hurry!" Julia insisted. For now, she could do nothing but sit here like a helpless duck. Julia looked up miserably as she saw MK's shadow disappear, leaving her all by herself in a hole with nothing but waist-deep water to distract her.
Emma and Wayne continued running, slightly out of breath until –
"WHOA!" Emma's feet sharply skidded to a stop. Phew, that was close. She had almost missed it. Bits of rubble and rocks rolled over the edge and fell to a deep drop below. A few seconds later they heard a splashing sound.
Wayne looked up and cursed. Here they were, on one land mass. And on the other side, slightly above them, another piece of land which they had to somehow get to. In between was a wide gap of darkness. And judging by the splashing noise they had heard earlier, it looked like this darkness was actually a steep drop to a river below though they had trouble seeing it.
Emma looked up. A vine! She tugged at it. "Not stable at all…" she muttered, unsurprised. Things were never easy around here.
"You feel like going for it?" Wayne said, looking at the vine uncertainly. He had a funny feeling it would not be able to support his weight. Unless he took off his jersey? But that was not allowed. He had to rep the Snow Owls everywhere at all times!
Emma took a shaky breath before committing. "Oh yeah! I've dealt with worse on Three Guys and a Girl in a Beach House," she said fiercely.
"Alright, I'll give you a little push so you have more momentum," Wayne chuckled. "You should be able to clear it."
Emma wrapped both of her hands and held on to the vine as tightly as she could. She turned around and exchanged a look of understanding with Wayne.
"On three!" she mouthed. He gave her a thumbs-up.
"One…" Emma began counting down. What was that noise?
"Two…" It was getting louder and louder.
"THREE!" Emma yelled as she took off sprinting. She kicked off the ground, felt Wayne's hand shove her backside and she flew through the air. The vine made a disturbing squeaky sound but Emma did her best to ignore this.
Suddenly, Emma felt solid ground. She had made it to the other side!
CRASH!
Emma flinched and covered her mouth as she stared at something coming up behind Wayne.
Wayne turned around in horror. A filthy, great scorpion had just burst through one of the walls and was charging towards him.
"Oh man!" Wayne tripped over his left shoelace, startled.
"WAYNE! THE VINE! QUICKLY!" Emma yelped, sending the vine back to Wayne. Was there enough time for him to cross?
Wayne stared apprehensively at the vine coming towards him. His leg shook up and down as he tried not to focus on the scorpion coming up behind him. "Come on, come on… faster…" he muttered.
The vine was halfway between him and Emma now.
"Faster… FASTER…" Wayne gulped, sweat rolling down his forehead and into his boots.
CLINK!
Wayne turned around horrified. It was right there, in his face!
Wayne confessional: I… HAVE NO CHOICE! I HAVE TO JUMP!
Without a second thought, just narrowly avoiding the scorpion's pincers, Wayne jumped to the river below.
"WAYNE!" Emma said thunderstruck, as she helplessly watched him fall. There was nothing she could do for him though. They would have to split up for now.
"COW-A-BUNGAAAAAA!" went Wayne's loud voice as he disappeared from sight. The scorpion looked up at Emma and let out a frustrated exhale. It could not reach her from this side so it had no choice but to turn around and leave.
Emma breathed a sigh of relief but she also felt worried for Wayne. There was no telling just how high that fall had been. Unfortunately, there was not much she could do for him now so she resorted to dusting herself off and heading the only way left for her – straight ahead.
MK stuck her tongue out as she tried to lower the giant stick she had found for Julia to grab on to. It was rather difficult. MK shook as she tried not to slip and fall into the hole herself. Otherwise, they would be back to both of them being stuck which was not a situation they wanted to be in. MK didn't think Julia would be able to claw her way up halfway again. Her nails had taken too much damage from their first climb.
"You see it?" MK said from above.
"YUP!" Julia's voice came from below. "Just a little more MK!"
MK cursed as she stretched her arm as long as possible, the stick now dangling from her fingertips. After a few more inches, Julia had managed to grab the other end of the stick. Instinctively, MK tightened her grip.
With MK holding one end of the stick and Julia holding the other, MK then proceeded to tug as hard as she could to bring Julia back up. If MK thought lowering the stick for Julia was hard, it was nothing when compared to bringing her back up. Julia wasn't even considered 'heavy.' MK just knew she was physically weak. Her short T-rex arms didn't exactly help either.
"Come…. ON!" MK swore as she pulled as if her life depended on it. Finally, after a few long, painfully excruciating seconds, Julia's head popped out from the hole. Julia managed to get her arm over the top and pulled herself out. The villainous duo lay on the floor, each attempting to catch their breath.
"High-five partner!" MK chuckled.
"Oh yeah!" Julia winked as she high-fived her favourite pickpocket.
Finally feeling they had gotten enough rest, they stood up and saw the wooden sign with an orange arrow pointing them east. It was time to get out of here and finally find that stupid exit.