The Last Test
1483 Words
At last! I am standing on land now! I feel great! Feeling the sand under my feet felt like heaven. It is already past three in the afternoon, for we started swimming in the middle of the night. The others were also looking relieved as they sat on the sand. Sander and Philip were beside me while we sat down. I feel dizzy because my senses haven't adjusted to the steady landscape. There was a cliff ahead of us, and we will have to climb it if we were to get out of this beach. It is made out of some volcanic lava or something because it looks dark and brittle. It's so high up, and I can say that it is higher than the cliff we climbed, back at the obstacle course.
"Man,.... That was tiresome!" sighed Sander.
"Yeah, I am glad we made it together," said Philip. "Lord Enzo was amazing earlier, no?"
"Uh-huh," I nodded. "No one calls him a God of Demigods for nothing."
We feel cold because we are all topless, except for the girls. I saw Lord Enzo at the distance. He stood up just fine like he could swim a thousand laps more of that sea. He really is strong! I also saw the other guys who failed the test, being round up by a supervisor at the distance, and sent them away. Up, I saw lightning, and it is weird because there are no thunderclouds. Wait..... Could it be?
Suddenly There was a lightning strike beside Lord Enzo. And my guess is right. It is...
"Lady Aurelia!" exclaimed someone from our group.
"Why is she here?" asked someone as we all bowed down.
I looked at her, and it seems that she looks very proud that we bowed to her while chewing her lollipop. She wore a jacket and jeans that made her look like an average person, but her hair is still bright gold that gives away her identity as a goddess.
"Alright," said Lord Enzo. "so I don't need to introduce her. Now let's get down to business. I will be giving you the last test, right now."
We were all outraged.
"What?" questioned someone.
"No way!"
"That's not fair!"
"We just swam a whole ocean!"
"This is unbelievable!" complained Sander to us.
Lord Enzo looked serious, and he had this aura of intimidation that pierced our skins. We all shut our mouths.
"Thank you for quieting down," he said in a calm tone. "Now listen to my instructions." We all stood up but he said, "You can sit while listening." So we did. "That cliff," he pointed. "If you manage to climb over there, you pass."
"That's it?" asked Sander.
"But there's a catch," said Lord Enzo. "Lady Aurelia will be here to stop you from climbing the cliff." She smiled as she looked at us. We didn't dare to look back.
"Well, that's easy," said someone behind us. I looked back to see who that proud person is, and I wasn't surprised to see that it was Darius - the boy I first met in the academy. Lady Aurelia just stayed quiet. As expected of someone so strong. I wonder how strong she is...
"Okay," continued Lord Enzo. "The last thing I want to tell you is that when the time that the tide covers all of these shores, all of the remaining people that didn't make it to the top, fail."
I looked at the tide, and I see that it is still far away. It could rise just before dusk, so we might as well have three hours to climb.
"The area available for climbing will start from the tree," he pointed at the tree far to the north. "and to that rock," he pointed to the south.
It was a wide area to climb. So we must spread out evenly if some of us were to pass. The problem is that I don't know if all of us will cooperate, or how fast is the Goddess of Lightning actually is.
"You can use any method you want. And now that's settled, begin!" Lady Aurelia went to the top of the cliff in a clap, while we were just getting started in approaching the cliff. Lord Enzo also jumped his way to the top. I wish we could do that effortlessly too.
"Stop," said Sander.
"What now?" said Philip.
"Let's watch for a moment."
And so we did. There were thunderclaps and flashes across the cliff, and many of the climbers fell down.
"Waahhh!" screamed someone falling from the cliff.
"Now that's just unfair!" said a girl who just fell down.
"How are we gonna get through this?" asked Philip.
"The Goddess has lightning speed," said Sander. "and the cliff is so high, I think this is impossible!"
He's right, climbing this cliff alone is already tiring, adding up that a Goddess is stopping us from climbing, but that's it.
"We should stop her then," I suggested.
They both looked at me like I am crazy.
"What?" said Sander in a high tone. "Are you crazy? That's a Goddess of Lightning we are talking about. The reincarnation of Zeus? What the hell, dude?"
"I think Leo's right," said Philip. "We have no choice but to fight her."
"If that's the case, then how?"
"I will be the bait," I said. "I will get the timing right to grab her, and you guys put your remaining strength to knock her unconscious."
"But can you even do that?" asked Sander.
"I don't know if I can catch her or hold her long enough, but we have no choice, but to make myself a bait."
They thought about it for a minute until they decided.
"Alrighty," said Philip. "Let's go with that."
I started to climb first, and both of them waited at the bottom for the cue. Inch by inch, I am entering the kill zone - where Lady Aurelia attacks us. It is right in the middle of the cliff, so it took me some time to reach it. I looked down, and I saw my friends looking up to me, I mean literally. I saw the others getting pushed off by her, and I am already in the kill zone. I prepared myself.
I heard the thunder getting closer and closer. Everything seemed to become slow as the adrenaline kicked in. Instinctively, I jumped off the cliff and grabbed my two arms. A lighting flash appeared in front of me. I was just in time to grab her by her right arm. Below, is an already flying Sander, boosted up by Philip - who is already climbing up the cliff with is leg power. Sander grabbed her by the left arm, and she cannot move anymore. She looked at me in a shock as Philip jumped high above us, preparing a powerful heel kick that's gonna hit her head, to knock her unconscious.
"It's up to you, Philip!" both of us shouted.
"Yarghhhhhh!" screamed Philip when he started to descend and deliver the final blow.
I looked at her face again once more, and she was smiling like she's entertained. She busted out from our grip and the plan failed. The plan fell apart with us.
"Damn!" I spat. "We almost got her!" I watched the sky as I fell down. Then I felt someone holding my left hand. It was Lady Aurelia. She threw me up the cliff. My arms felt like they were about to be broken, because of that powerful throw. I landed on the top of the cliff with my face on the grass.
"Arghhhhh!" screamed Philip and Sander as they told were tossed up here.
We saw Lord Enzo on a rock with a cup of coffee and reading a book on his left hand. The Goddess of Death, Mila is here too. she sat on the cliff with her legs hanging out. She's far from where we are.
"Well done, boys!" he said without looking at us.
"What?" asked Sander. "Why did she help us?"
"The test wasn't about climbing a cliff."
"Huh?" we reacted confusingly.
"This is a test to test your courage. Lady Aurelia is a perfect person for this test. Know that your brains are run by the firing up neurons that use a little bit of electricity. She can sense that, so it's like she can read your minds."
"Woah...," I awed.
"The frequency of the sureness of the mind - at least that's what she says, is different from the frequency made by doubt. As soon as she distinguishes it she decides on whether to drop you off the cliff or let you pass, but you boys did something very unusual. You fought against her, that maybe was the reason she helped you climb up. She was impressed by your courage, and maybe it tingled her senses. Congratulations."
We three celebrated.
- Writer
